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*CLOSED* US Shipping Service

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:28 pm
by ofey
Background
With the dollar being the way it is, the wife and I have decided to spend some money over the internet. As a result, one of my mates in the US (Boston to be precise) has acted as a recipient of our shopping there.

Problem

1. Some US sites will NOT sell to a NON-US credit card.
2. Most US sites charge alot to ship internationally.
3. Some US sites have now blacklisted forwarding courier services.

Solution
Someone in the US who can buy on our behalf.
So the only shipping will be the final box to me here in Melbourne.

Offer
If anyone wants to buy stuff from the US which is small and shippable and want to tag along on the shipping to Melbourne, please feel free to EOI here and we can discuss the nitty gritty.

This would work the same as a group buy. You pay, I receive, I order and send to a Boston Address. Everything is packed and sent to me here in Au, I forward it on.

I have so far about A$200 worth of items to ship. So to avoid the GST, I can take anyones orders up to A$750 worth... .

Onward shipping from Melbourne will be charged at cost.

What's in it for me or my friend?
My US friend needs nothing by way of charges for her services.
Like me, all transactions are going on her credit card and points galore ensure she's getting enough of a kick back... .

End of the day, I simply paypal her the US$ back.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:57 pm
by PYLee
ooo time to check out some ralph lauren :)

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:42 pm
by Meaty
is a Greddy Se small and shippable ?? .....

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:08 pm
by The X
I was looking at some rims from the USA and was planning to use a service my friend at work used to get a whole bunch of snowboarding gear from the USA I'm pretty sure the organisers are based in Victoria and use their contact in the USA to group ship stuff across. Will find out more, but this option might seem viable...maybe.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:33 pm
by ofey
I don't think my friend minds doing it but here's what my intention was:

Small items, we can all put into a bigger size box. So we can test out this method.

Also if you go for the largest item, your cut of the shipping will be the most massive and % wise you'll be paying for everyone else.

Let's start small then work our way forward.
I'll start with some small things then once a rhythm is established and my friend's interest in growing her credit card points is peaked, we can do the rims and larger parts.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:37 pm
by The X
ofey wrote:Ill start with some small things then once a rhythm is established and my friends interest in growing her credit card points is peaked, we can do the rims and larger parts.
I'm in no desperate rush, I've the money on hand and can go any time within a days notice. :)

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:41 pm
by ofey
I don't think the tail lights are feasible for 2 reasons:

1. size - yours will be the biggest item, and you pay the most of a share of shipping. Best just to ship solo.

2. risk - You're now double handling. And we all know the tail lights are such fragile items.

@VRX-Pete: PM me a link to your rims and I'll discuss it with her... .

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 3:32 pm
by justin
random question but what about springs? its hard to kinda grasp the size of box/container your going to use thats all? i been looking at springs but so much to ship them back here and espeically all by them selves pay just as much for the shipping as you do for the item....

anyway just a random question thanks Ofey great idea i reckon

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 3:49 pm
by The X
justin wrote:random question but what about springs? its hard to kinda grasp the size of box/container your going to use thats all? i been looking at springs but so much to ship them back here and espeically all by them selves pay just as much for the shipping as you do for the item.... anyway just a random question thanks Ofey great idea i reckon

I still have the original eibach springs box, so if you're getting eibachs and can measure up the box size. I got mine from the US and shipping was quite reasonable. I'll see if I can dig up the original emais/invoices and see what the pricing was.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 4:00 pm
by justin
thanks man that would be great (Y) also where u buy them from too would be great (Y)

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 4:02 pm
by lancervr
ooooooohhhhhhhhh i want earphones please..... monster turbine pro copper editions to be precise......

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 4:05 pm
by rayray
Likewise, i've been holding off getting springs due to the increased shipping costs from advanced speed shop. Would be good if this method could save on shipping costs

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 4:19 pm
by PYLee
i reckon this method is more for minimal shipping stuff like clothes and small parcels. When your talking about shipping large items such as springs/rims, your better off dealing with vendors as they have a bigger account with the shipping companies so this will result in a much better shipping rate.

I've checked this option out and found that smaller vendors usually have 30-40% higher in shipping rates compared to big vendors like MAPerformance and RavSpec.

Unless we do plan on doing this on a large scale then it's possible to negotiate with the shipping company