Shopping from Amazon.com with My Shopping Box (Part I)
02:07
I have shopped internationally countless times, but for some reason, I have not yet tried cargo forwarding. The idea is, basically, the forwarders give you your "own" US address (which I would guess an address of their facility) then ship them to you. Johnny Air was making a lot of noise in this industry but for this shopscapade we're doing, I'll be using My Shopping Box (MSB).
I recently found out that BDO customers can sign up for My Shopping Box and get the first year subscription for FREE (regularly priced at $25/year), so I thought, heck, let's give this a go.
Note that this shopping experience is not yet complete as of writing. I thought it's a nice idea that we run through it altogether so you can kind-of feel the experience firsthand-ish, too. Am I making sense?
Anyhoo, this is the item we are going to get:
[caption id="attachment_509" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
It's a leather case for my Sony HX60v (Review soon!) (The items says it's for HX50, but that's okay. They're of the same size.[/caption]
Timeline:
November 20, 2014 (Thursday) - 12mn (Manila Time) - Ordered the item from Amazon, to be shipped to my US Address provided by MSB.
[caption id="attachment_510" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Shopping from Amazon.com with My Shopping Box.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_511" align="aligncenter" width="797"]
Order has been sent today, November 20, 2014[/caption]
--
November 20, 2014 (Thursday) - 5pm (Manila Time) - Package has been picked up from the seller by the courier (I think).
[caption id="attachment_522" align="aligncenter" width="949"]
It looks like my package is with the shipping company now.[/caption]
So while you're waiting let me run you through the advantages of forwarding:
1) They take care of the import taxes - The rates are up on their websites and those are inclusive of taxes and duties. So there should be no surprises! You know how much the idea of TAXES scares you away.
2) You will receive your items at your doorstep - (For My Shopping Box (MSB) only) It's a very rare occasion that you'll receive your package at your doorstep when your packages are shipped by regular mail/local post (e.g. USPS, HKPost, Singpost). 98% of the time, you had to pick them up from my local post office. (At least from my experience)
3) It's relatively cheaper - Some stores may offer international shipping through couriers like FedEx, UPS or DHL but that will cost you a minimum of USD 30 + taxes in PHP. This is definitely the fastest option, but, for a hefty price.
--
November 22, 2014 (Thursday) - 8am (Manila Time)
So I checked in the tracking information today and it looks like my item has been delivered, but the item does not reflect in my My Shopping Box yet. Better email them...
[caption id="attachment_527" align="aligncenter" width="923"]
Delivered![/caption]
November 23, 2014 (Manila Time)
It's Sunday evening and I have to be honest I was disappointed (and alarmed) that my items didn't come out right away in my MSB account and I didn't get any e-mails yet. I don't know if they work on weekends (if you know please let me know in the comments below), though, yesterday morning, I sent an email to their customer service address telling them I have a package that should be in my Suite already by then. I immediately replied back giving my details and I haven't gotten any response yet. I am giving them the benefit of the doubt and wait until Monday.
November 24, 2014 11am (Manila Time)
I called My-shopping box this morning about my package. I've been told that there have been problems with their Burbank office for 2 weeks now. According to their personnel, there will be a 5-day delay in uploading the package details to my account. That's 5 more days before the 10-12 days delivery time starts ticking. That's a bummer. I guess we have no other choice but to wait.
November 26, 2014 11am (Manila Time)
This is the worst update of this series, see for yourself.
An email from My Shopping Box on November 26th:
What. Is. The. Deal. With. Them. I am very sure that I've put in the correct address. Maybe for some reason they didn't receive my order correctly, there's no way for me to tell, but one thing's for sure--it's not a mistake from my end. So I had to stop being excited about it, and exchanged a lot of emails with USPS, Amazon, and My Shopping Box. Sigh.
November 27, 2014 11am (Manila Time)
Just when redelivery almost happened, finally, 5 days after the item was delivered to my US address, I got an email notification saying my package has been received in the MSB facility. I've authorised my shipment right away. To do this, you will be asked to pay for the cost the fees you've incurred. My item was under 1 lb. so I was charged the fee for a lb. which is $5.99. I used my BDO credit card so I had a 3% off (a discount is a discount). And here come's the good thing about MSB, this fee already includes custom duties and taxes. So you're paying only $5.99 (Php 275) per pound for the delivery from your US address to your Manila address, nothing more and nothing less!
TBC...
I recently found out that BDO customers can sign up for My Shopping Box and get the first year subscription for FREE (regularly priced at $25/year), so I thought, heck, let's give this a go.
Note that this shopping experience is not yet complete as of writing. I thought it's a nice idea that we run through it altogether so you can kind-of feel the experience firsthand-ish, too. Am I making sense?
Anyhoo, this is the item we are going to get:
[caption id="attachment_509" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
It's a leather case for my Sony HX60v (Review soon!) (The items says it's for HX50, but that's okay. They're of the same size.[/caption]So we are shopping from Amazon.com (US). I have had an account with them already, so what I did now was just to sign up for a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime so I'd receive my order sooner.
Timeline:
November 20, 2014 (Thursday) - 12mn (Manila Time) - Ordered the item from Amazon, to be shipped to my US Address provided by MSB.
[caption id="attachment_510" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Shopping from Amazon.com with My Shopping Box.[/caption][caption id="attachment_511" align="aligncenter" width="797"]
Order has been sent today, November 20, 2014[/caption]--
November 20, 2014 (Thursday) - 5pm (Manila Time) - Package has been picked up from the seller by the courier (I think).
[caption id="attachment_522" align="aligncenter" width="949"]
It looks like my package is with the shipping company now.[/caption]So while you're waiting let me run you through the advantages of forwarding:
1) They take care of the import taxes - The rates are up on their websites and those are inclusive of taxes and duties. So there should be no surprises! You know how much the idea of TAXES scares you away.
2) You will receive your items at your doorstep - (For My Shopping Box (MSB) only) It's a very rare occasion that you'll receive your package at your doorstep when your packages are shipped by regular mail/local post (e.g. USPS, HKPost, Singpost). 98% of the time, you had to pick them up from my local post office. (At least from my experience)
3) It's relatively cheaper - Some stores may offer international shipping through couriers like FedEx, UPS or DHL but that will cost you a minimum of USD 30 + taxes in PHP. This is definitely the fastest option, but, for a hefty price.
--
November 22, 2014 (Thursday) - 8am (Manila Time)
So I checked in the tracking information today and it looks like my item has been delivered, but the item does not reflect in my My Shopping Box yet. Better email them...
[caption id="attachment_527" align="aligncenter" width="923"]
Delivered![/caption]November 23, 2014 (Manila Time)
It's Sunday evening and I have to be honest I was disappointed (and alarmed) that my items didn't come out right away in my MSB account and I didn't get any e-mails yet. I don't know if they work on weekends (if you know please let me know in the comments below), though, yesterday morning, I sent an email to their customer service address telling them I have a package that should be in my Suite already by then. I immediately replied back giving my details and I haven't gotten any response yet. I am giving them the benefit of the doubt and wait until Monday.
November 24, 2014 11am (Manila Time)
I called My-shopping box this morning about my package. I've been told that there have been problems with their Burbank office for 2 weeks now. According to their personnel, there will be a 5-day delay in uploading the package details to my account. That's 5 more days before the 10-12 days delivery time starts ticking. That's a bummer. I guess we have no other choice but to wait.
November 26, 2014 11am (Manila Time)
This is the worst update of this series, see for yourself.
An email from My Shopping Box on November 26th:
What. Is. The. Deal. With. Them. I am very sure that I've put in the correct address. Maybe for some reason they didn't receive my order correctly, there's no way for me to tell, but one thing's for sure--it's not a mistake from my end. So I had to stop being excited about it, and exchanged a lot of emails with USPS, Amazon, and My Shopping Box. Sigh.
November 27, 2014 11am (Manila Time)
Just when redelivery almost happened, finally, 5 days after the item was delivered to my US address, I got an email notification saying my package has been received in the MSB facility. I've authorised my shipment right away. To do this, you will be asked to pay for the cost the fees you've incurred. My item was under 1 lb. so I was charged the fee for a lb. which is $5.99. I used my BDO credit card so I had a 3% off (a discount is a discount). And here come's the good thing about MSB, this fee already includes custom duties and taxes. So you're paying only $5.99 (Php 275) per pound for the delivery from your US address to your Manila address, nothing more and nothing less!
TBC...
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