Aramex global shopper

Might be a silly question, but how does AGS compare to buying from Amazon directly, in terms of shipping/import fees?

Amazon has the benefit of free shipping to US addresses, but from there on out, which would be more cost effective?
 
Amazon is great for the convenience of it all. Quite a few suppliers will not ship to SA, so it makes sense to use the New York address.

Amazon also have a higher shipping fee than AGS. Last time I ordered they used DHL.

When it comes to purchasing a Kindle Paperwhite, it works out cheaper as well.

This is me ordering the International (ad free) wi-fi version:
Order Summary
Items: ($139.99)ZAR 2,010.40
Shipping & handling:ZAR 444.90
Total before tax:ZAR 2,455.30
Estimated tax to be collected:ZAR 0.00
Import Fees DepositZAR 309.62
Order total:ZAR 2,764.92

Now, I'm paying $20 more for my kindle than the US version as there are no adverts (the US one is $120).
I am also paying a klomp of money to send it here. I estimate a kilo in weight, maybe just over, so if we take it on AGS rates it is R175 + R99 + R99 = R373. Amazon are charging R444.90 to send direct.

The only thing that seems reasonable to me is the import duty. It is based on R2010.40 and if you get it direct via NY you would be paying duty on $120 or R1634.36, but as we know, SA customs are a law unto themselves and you may not pay that much less.

So cheaper, yes, and although you get the Kindle with adverts on, you can always get Amazon to remove them. You simply go to Amazon chat and tell the operator that you are in South Africa and the adverts are no longer relevant as you cannot order. I have successfully removed the adverts on both my parents kindles, so I know just how easy it is to do.
 
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Alas it looks like too many of us have used the promo code - it is now returning an INVALID CODE error
 
Is it worth it to ship party supplies weighing about 15kg. from phillipines to south africa using aramex shop and ship and are there any custom/tax charges on party supplies? I have no experience in shipping. This will be my first time. Or are there any other shipping companies that arent too expensive? The party products in phillipines are very cheap. So the shipping would most probably cost more than the products itself just looking for the best option that wont cost too much.
 
MoniqueMarissa said:
Is it worth it to ship party supplies weighing about 15kg. from phillipines to south africa using aramex shop and ship and are there any custom/tax charges on party supplies? I have no experience in shipping. This will be my first time. Or are there any other shipping companies that arent too expensive? The party products in phillipines are very cheap. So the shipping would most probably cost more than the products itself just looking for the best option that wont cost too much.
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Shipping would kill it. R175 for first 500g and then R99 per 500g thereafter? Yikes!
If you can wait 5 weeks rather get surface mail.
Take into consideration that party items will probably attract at least 20% duty and then there's 14% vat on the whole lot.

To add to the above post, I used the AGS duty calculator:

15kg Shipping fees (Excluding custom duties and any applicable taxes):

Shopping From Zone 1: US, UK, Canada, China, Hong Kong, South Africa, Germany , Italy, Spain, France, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and Japan
3046.00 ZAR

Shopping From Zone 2: Turkey, UAE and India
2286.01 ZAR

So if you can get them to ship to India or the UAE for cheap-cheap, you're good.

Expedited Mail (Post Office EMS) is not any cheaper. They are R364 for the first 500g and R100 per 500g thereafter.
 
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Yikes, I completely forgot about the weight of items. Was thinking of bringing in some car parts. Thanks for the cost breakdown.
 
MoniqueMarissa said:
Is it worth it to ship party supplies weighing about 15kg. from phillipines to south africa using aramex shop and ship and are there any custom/tax charges on party supplies? I have no experience in shipping. This will be my first time. Or are there any other shipping companies that arent too expensive? The party products in phillipines are very cheap. So the shipping would most probably cost more than the products itself just looking for the best option that wont cost too much.
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Party supplies? Can't you just get stuff like that locally? It will be massively expensive.
 
Everytime why is Johannesburg so slow?

Also super excited for 11/11 sales from china to start ordering more goodies and AGS'ing them in.
 
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f0Iygu7gXHVM said:
Everytime why is Johannesburg so low?

Also super excited for 11/11 sales from china to start ordering more goodies and AGS'ing them in.
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Probably not Aramex JHB that is slow, but perhaps New York or London. They are hubs and deal with a huge volume of parcels.
Or perhaps it's customs. If worried, phone someone as nothing should take more than 3 weeks to reach you.
 
FNB said:
As an FNB cardholder, you can sign up and enjoy a free lifetime membership to Aramex Global Shopper, saving yourself 45 USD. PLUS, for a limited time only, you will receive R75 off your shipping fees!
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Great!
FNB said:
Please note: Parcels shipped through Aramex Global Shopper cannot be consolidated, parcels are shipped individually.
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Not great. But I guess its okay.

One question came to mind though. If we purchase from a retailer/store that does export sales, we don't pay the local country's sales tax/Vat.
But if we use AGS and a local address, sales tax becomes applicable. Can we specify to the retailer that the items are being shipped to ZA and not to charge VAT/sales tax?

Otherwise the exercise becomes 20% more expensive before it even gets into the country...
 
X-Gamer said:
One question came to mind though. If we purchase from a retailer/store that does export sales, we don't pay the local country's sales tax/Vat.
But if we use AGS and a local address, sales tax becomes applicable. Can we specify to the retailer that the items are being shipped to ZA and not to charge VAT/sales tax?
Otherwise the exercise becomes 20% more expensive before it even gets into the country...
Click to expand...

This is an old article, but I think it is still valid:
http://248am.com/mark/shopping/how-to-get-a-tax-refund-from-amazon-aramex-shop-ship-users/

More info from just asking Google:
How do I remove tax exemption from Amazon?
Simply select “Remove Tax Exemption” next to the specific item. You are able to request a refund of the sales tax for items fulfilled by Amazon at the line item level in your order by emailing [email protected]. Orders fulfilled by sellers or third parties will require you to provide a exemption certificate.
 
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DeeinSouthAfrica said:
This is an old article, but I think it is still valid:
http://248am.com/mark/shopping/how-to-get-a-tax-refund-from-amazon-aramex-shop-ship-users/

More info from just asking Google:
How do I remove tax exemption from Amazon?
Simply select “Remove Tax Exemption” next to the specific item. You are able to request a refund of the sales tax for items fulfilled by Amazon at the line item level in your order by emailing [email protected]. Orders fulfilled by sellers or third parties will require you to provide a exemption certificate.
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Thats awesome. I wonder what the email address for amazon.co.uk is.
 
That's really cool, I wonder if the same can apply to other stores?

The store I am looking to purchase from (Mountune) charges 90GBP (~R1500) for 10-20kg Express shipping (probably 1 week, going by comments).
 
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