SHOPPING & SHIPPING FROM USA USING A SHIPPING AGENT
I've used shipping forwarders (US to NZ and US to UK) for some years now and thought I share how the process works.
I use a company called Stackry, which has worked well for me for the last couple of years. There are many others, but Stackry was the simplest option (for me) without a monthly/annual fee, which is good for a casual shopper. I have no experience with other companies, but they seem to work in a similar way.
If you use this referral link, you and I both get $10 credit to use towards Stackry fees.
The benefits for using a shipping agent / forwarding service
Access to shops that only ship within US
Additional/alternative shipping prices & options compared to seller only
Temporary storage service (helps with combining shipments)
Consolidating shipments (cheaper than shipping multiple individual parcels)
Repacking service (removing excess packing & with combining shipments)
The service will provide the following
US address to received the parcels
Temporary free storage for 45 days
Email notification of arrived/shipped/delivered parcel
Optional parcel inspection, photography to find out what's in it (for a small fee)
Optional repacking by removing excess packaging to reduce volume (for a small fee)
Optional combining shipments (for a small fee)
Optional removal receipts (if desired)
DIY customs declaration of value & content (you must do this yourself for every parcel, even when combining shipments)
Multiple tracked shipping options, prices start from around $13 using DHL Global for small items.
You do pay for "double shipping", from seller to Stackry (unless seller offers free shipping) and then from Stackry to you.
You also have to declare the value & contents. If the value declared is under $30 (based on my experience), it comes through free to UK. Over it, and you pay around £8.50 for processing fees + VAT & duties with the cheapest DHL Global, other courier prices may vary. You should declare the actual value, but some people probably don’t. If you declare any other value and something happens to it, you only get compensated for the declared value.
If you want to compare costs between direct shipping from US retailer and using Stackry, use this free tool (5 free uses per day)
You can also use it calculate the import costs even when using Stackry, by using the (your self) declared value if the value is over £20.
All the shipping options have tracking.
How it works:
Open or have an account with Stackry.
Have your US order delivered to your Stackry locker. Please note that you need use a trackable delivery service. Stackry doesn't accept untracked deliveries according to their website.
You'll receive an email that you've received a parcel. The Stackry website shows each delivery as a separate item with the tracking number and sender details. Stackry is closed on Sundays.
If this is your only parcel you can skip to step 5
Wait for other parcels to arrive to Stackry
When you get a notification of a new parcel arrival, login into the website. Next to the item listing there are actually two photos for you to help to identify which order it is. It’s worth downloading the photos sometimes, as the photos are not available while the parcels are being processed (consolidation, repacking, shipping). If the photos are unclear, you can request additional photos (for a fee).
Declare the value and contents of each individual delivery (note: sometimes resellers ship in multiple parcels). You can only declare the content, quantity and value. You can't select options like gift, sample, etc.
Declaration now requires an item that can be matched to a customs official list. This can be difficult to find the right item. I try to use as general and generic terms to find something that is closest to what the item is and go with that.
You also have options to keep the receipt(s) (removed by default) or keep the extra packing (removed by default).
Now you have options to consolidate all the orders (if multiple) to a single parcel (this option includes repacking). Consolidation takes 1-2 days and costs extra.
If you don't need a consolidation, there's often an option to repack the item (for an additional fee) which means removing all excess packaging and makes the parcel as compact as possible. (Stackry does open all parcels and has restrictions on items which can't be reshipped). Repacking takes 1-2 days.
When consolidation or repacking is completed, you'll receive an email.
Proceed to pay for the shipping on the website. There are multiple shipping options.
When the parcel has shipped, you'll receive an email with tracking information.
If the parcel is processed by the customs, you'll received an email from a broker with a link to pay by card. Once the payment is made, the parcel is released to the last mile courier. With DHL Global Express it's usually Yodel or Evri in the UK.
When the parcel has been delivered, you'll receive an email.
Stackry has a list of prohibited items, which they won't process. Shipping anything with a battery, will limit the shipping options and may occur an extra fee. I ordered little item with a coin battery inside and that excluded 2 cheapest shipping option and occurred an additional hazardous fee of around $13 on top of the shipping price.
Things to consider:
Stackry appears to be closed on Sundays, so items can’t be received then. Try to time your orders so that they don’t arrive on Friday or Saturday, as it sometimes takes a bit longer to process them.
I advise against using the “consolidate & autoship” option. I got stung with a higher delivery charge than what I usually use using this one. Now I just consolidate, wait for the consolidation to complete and when I get a notification, I select my chosen shipping option.