How do I get US-address-only items delivered to Australia?

October 31, 2009 4:22 AM

Can anyone please recommend a reputable mail-forwarding service for someone living in Australia who wants to buy from US-only stores?

Hi MeFites, I need to buy some items (headbands of all things!) which I can only find on US store websites and they will only ship to a US address (no international shipping provided).

Can anyone please recommend a good mail-forwarding service who I can have my items shipped to, and then they will ship them to me in Australia?

Many thanks in advance for any help you can give!

Katala

posted by katala to shopping (6 comments total)

There used to be lots of services of this around, the one I used the most was called Shop The States, but it closed down. What you are looking for is essentially a mail forwarder. There is heaps of discussion on this in the Whirlpool broadband forums. I would check that out, as there are heaps of user reviews, as it seems that some are definitely better than others. Good luck!
posted by LongDrive at 5:52 AM on October 31

This blog lists a few good mail forwarding services here. Several people on the Vogue Australia forums also recommend Box Voyage.
posted by nextian_geometry at 6:31 AM on October 31

I tried PriceUSA in the past, but I found the lady who runs it wasn't really professional.

There was a bit of a stuff up with the ordering process - not a deal-breaker, just one of those things that happens that could have been avoided with a bit more diligence. But her response to it was kinda unprofessional and "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT"-y (which it was _not_.)

I got the distinct impression that if I had not mentioned the difference, and then had to ask, I would never have got a refund of the extra money (a lot, like $80 bucks), it just would have gone to "credit" until I bought something w/ her again. It also took a long time for the money to arrive back to me, and I was slightly screwed by effectively exchanging it twice.

In consequence I would not use it again. I'm sorry it's not the recommendation you were looking for, but a heads-up nonetheless.
posted by smoke at 5:39 PM on October 31

Wanderers mail services might do the trick. I haven't used their mail forwarding services but I use them to send packages to australia and they're very helpful.
posted by jacalata at 5:54 PM on October 31

Not a direct answer to your question, but have you tried eBay?

The cleanser I used for fifteen years is no longer sold in Australia, and the websites that sell it are US-only, so I buy it on eBay from American sellers. I'm not sure how much luck you'll have with headbands but it could be worth a search. You'll only pay one lot of postage, too.
posted by Georgina at 11:31 PM on October 31

Thanks heaps for the responses, much appreciated :)! I appreciate the heads-up on which service to avoid too.

Georgina - Thanks, yes I did try eBay originally but even the international stores don't stock them. I think they're probably not being produced any more :(

Thanks again guys, you rock! :)

Katala
posted by katala at 4:11 PM on November 2