US mail forwarding

[matrixweb]

Hi,
anyone have any experience using US mail forwarding services? if so some reviews and recommendations would be highly appreciated!

[matrixweb]

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[matrixweb]

anyone???

[abzo]

[MartinMorrison]

Hi,
anyone have any experience using US mail forwarding services? if so some reviews and recommendations would be highly appreciated!

I've used MyUS and it was great. The thing I bought was pretty expensive and I was nervous but all went well. I hope this thread isn't going to get spammed by bots like the other one now.

[matrixweb]

I've used MyUS and it was great. The thing I bought was pretty expensive and I was nervous but all went well. I hope this thread isn't going to get spammed by bots like the other one now.

Hi , how long was the shipping process? what was the pricing like? thanks for the response!

[matrixweb]

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[Blubbio]

I've been using MyUS for about 3 years (roughly around 6-8 times a year) and haven't had any issues. The shipments' values ranged from $20 to $600 shipments. You can choose between FedEx or DHL, with DHL normally being the slightly cheaper option.

The cost of shipping is...realistic for a courier service. Not very cheap, but reliable and not unrealistically expensive. I purchased a projector from Amazon for about R2500. It was priced at R5000 on Takealot. But after shipping, customs, insurance and extra bubble wrap costs, I probably only saved about R200-R300 in the end. So if it's also available locally, do the comparisons first. If it's not available locally, then this is a great way to get ahold of it. It all comes down the weight and size. The heavier and bigger it is, the more expensive it will be to get it here.

You can get a pretty good estimate from their site: http://www.myus.com/en/ship-to-south-africa/.

The only random variable is when it reaches customs (wrt speed and customs fee). I'm not sure what our official rate is, but it seems to vary order by order. I think it's supposed to be 14%-20%? Whatever the amount, DHL or FedEx will contact you when it clears customs (of if there are any problems, eg. they need to know if it's PC parts, etc for customs purposes) and ask how you want to pay the fee (EFT or cash on delivery).

It's different for everyone, but from personal experience, if MyUS have the package in their possession on a Thursday morning, they will do the preparation on Thursday and Friday, and ship the item Friday night. You'll normally get a call that Monday morning asking when it can be delivered, and you should have it on Tuesday.

*Edit* When your package ships, you get a tracking number. So once they ship it, you'll have a pretty good idea of when it leaves their facility in Florida, reaches JFK airport, arrives in JHB, goes through customs, gets cleared by customs, in possession of DHL, etc.

You also get 3 types of memberships. You get Standard, Premium and Premium+Mail subscriptions. This is basically to secure your 'US address'. Standard is more a once-off type of sub, while Premium is better if you use the service more regularly. With Premium subs, you get slightly better rates on shipping. http://www.myus.com/en/compare-memberships/

[Paperweight]

In this day and age I do not think one needs MyUS. Most places will ship to South Africa via DHL, FedEx or UPS. You will then cut out the middle man. I mean if you can't find what you need on Amazon (which ships to SA) then what could you possibly be ordering?

[Blubbio]

I'd be very interested to know what you've bought from Amazon recently. Because the last time I purchased items from Amazon (a few days ago), only DVDs, CDs, books, and a handful of electronic equipment could be shipped to SA (without having to go through a mail forwarding service). And this has been their policy for a loooong time. So if you're saying all items on amazon can now be shipped to SA, then their policy has definitely changed very recently. I'm referring to Amazon.com, co.uk and .ca.

Other US shops such as BestBuy, TigerDirect, Newegg, etc have even tougher policies when it comes to shipping to SA and internationally. (In most cases, you'll need a mail forwarder with them).

[Paperweight]

I'd be very interested to know what you've bought from Amazon recently. Because the last time I purchased items from Amazon (a few days ago), only DVDs, CDs, books, and a handful of electronic equipment could be shipped to SA (without having to go through a mail forwarding service). And this has been their policy for a loooong time. So if you're saying all items on amazon can now be shipped to SA, then their policy has definitely changed very recently. I'm referring to Amazon.com, co.uk and .ca.

Other US shops such as BestBuy, TigerDirect, Newegg, etc have even tougher policies when it comes to shipping to SA and internationally. (In most cases, you'll need a mail forwarder with them).

Every product I have wanted to order I have been able to do so with Amazon or just various websites. I've never experienced a time where I hit a dead end and I don't ever use Takealot.com. I guess me and you just order different things? Anyway just shop around because there are so many online stores based overseas so if one doesn't want to ship to you trust me another one will. Don't spend money on US forwarding when you could be putting that money towards the customs charges you'll pay at the end.

[sal12344]

I use MyUS at least 8 times a year. I have saved quite a bit. Projector that sells here for 20k I got for just under 11k. A 2800 rand ASUS laptop, Landed cost me around 12k. It depends on the item. In fact just waiting for one more item to be delivered and will probably ask them to ship my box this Friday.