Package forwarding for subscription boxes?

May 16, 2019 11:19 AM

I’m a subscription box junkie and there’s a particular subscription I want... nay, need. Unfortunately, it’s not available in the US, just the UK/Europe. I’m willing to pay a premium to get it forwarded to me as the contents are often original and hard to source individually in the US. Are there any services I can use?

Basically what it says on the tin! I’d be willing to pay a service, an individual, whatever, as long as it’s relatively trustworthy. Don’t know if this is difficult on purpose, because you’re not supposed to do it, or if it’s just complicated and annoying...

My main concern is that it’s a monthly subscription, not a one time thing, which I imagine makes things more complicated.

posted by stoneandstar to Shopping (5 answers total)

Maybe post in Jobs to find a willing mefite?
posted by Grandysaur at 11:39 AM on May 16, 2019

I would expect that most package-forwarding services would be more than happy to take your money once a month and forward the box on to you. I've never used such a service, though, so I can't recommend any particular one.
posted by Johnny Assay at 11:45 AM on May 16, 2019

Best answer: Are the contents prohibited or licensed by another supplier in the US? Even very innocuous things can be affected by this, and they can be grounds for confiscation at the border.
posted by scruss at 11:57 AM on May 16, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I just used a forwarding site for the first time, and I'll mention them (Mailboxde.com, in Germany) since a) it turned out fine, b) they shipped out the same day they received the item (which was the same day they notified me it had arrived, and the same day I paid), c) they answered an email query of mine very quickly and seem engaged with and responsive to their customers, and d) it's not a service that requires that you pay a monthly fee. It's not cheap, but their cut seems pretty minimal, and obviously they need to use reliable, reasonably speedy couriers who provide insurance for shipped items. Also, I wanted a service I could pay with Paypal rather than credit card, which this service does offer.

(Fwiw, I wanted to buy something that is available to UK and Germany, but not my EU country. Final shipping charges from the forwarding company were within the ordinary realm of what I'm generally charged by companies in EU shipping directly to me. In this case, what I bought was shipped free within Germany, so I paid only shipping from Mailboxde.com; if you have to pay shipping to Mailboxde, and then to US from there, your total shipping cost will of course be increased ... so if, for example, what you want ships free within UK (or for significantly less than shipping to Germany) you'll probably want to look at UK forwarders.)
posted by taz at 1:17 PM on May 16, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Sorry, I forgot to mention that they also have an option to set up an automatic dispatch for a €5 fee, which would probably be handy for regular shipments like your subscription box. I didn't look into this much, since my needs are going to be irregular, but I imagine that once you use the service and choose your delivery option, you can opt for this and make it an automatic payment from Paypal.
posted by taz at 1:54 PM on May 16, 2019