As an international customer who doesn't live in the United States, I've been using this service for the past half-year now to take advantage of US-only deals and to buy items (such as those on eBay) only sold in the US.
Basically, they are a storage warehouse located in Delaware. You can sign up (for free) and get your own US-based address with a unique suite number. You can then order a bunch of stuff and send your items to the warehouse with your suite number as the address. They will store your items for free for up to 90 days. Then you can consolidate all of your ordered items (also free) into one box that ultimately gets sent from the warehouse to your actual address.
When I first signed up, I got five dollars put into my account to use as credit toward shipping for the first consolidated box... though I am not sure if they still do this for new accounts.
Your US address will look something like this:
[Your Name] 620 Centerpoint Blvd Suite [Your Unique Suite # Here] New Castle, DE 19720 United States
This service is particularly useful if you are only interested in one item from any given store (since continental US shipping for one CD or DVD is usually $4.75). You can also buy the FYE-exclusive soundtracks (IT, Batman & Harley Quinn, Batman Vs. Two-Face) this way - or even take advantage of MovieMusic.com's $1 shipping on three titles this way.
Also a great way to avoid Amazon.com's shipping and import fees!
It IS a great idea... but... How much does it cost to send from the wharehouse to your actual address? For example, I live in Greece and calculated the shipping cost of a package weighing one kilo (about 2.20 lbs). I have two shipping options: DHL EXPRESS which costs $ 46.82 USPS PRIORITY which costs $ 60.15 They still seem expensive to me. My question is: is there is a way to take advantage of the service and actually save money on shipping?
It IS a great idea... but... How much does it cost to send from the wharehouse to your actual address?
Exactly. That's my main question too. It actually seems more expensive to first pay for US shipping, and then for international shipping in the second round? Especially for a big, heavy package?
Plus, with heavy packages/multiple items, you'll also have to pay customs and tax, since it's "over the limit" (which is very low to begin with).
There are lots of services like that, but I can't imagine you'd save $$$ sinec you are going to pay domestic shipping to the forwarder and then international shipping from the forwarder.
...it's useful if you have disparate shipping, but of course it doesn't take care of the main problem, which are not the shipping rates (actually , usually relatively modest) but custom &taxes in the country of arrival. Here (Italy) they are awful, hefty, so I consolidate all my US purchases in 2 "batches" per year, because I go to the US in the summer and for Christmas..and I "import" them back personally. Of course I am lucky because I have my in-law family in the US...
