Shipito opened a warehouse in Austria (Europe)

Shipito opened a warehouse in Austria. For start, it is available to all clients with Virtual Mailbox and account verified to at least 50%. They will lift this restriction in few weeks. Consolidation is available, shipping rates can be found in the shipping calculator.

Now that Shipito has a warehouse in Europe, I’ll be more willing to try some European private shopping clubs that don’t ship outside the European Union. Although prices are usually higher in EU than in the USA, some items are not sold in the USA and some are to heavy to ship them from the USA.

Update (February 08, 2013)
The Austrian warehouse is available to all customers, and the shelves are filling up already.

All customers are able to use the European address provided in their account for purchases all over Europe (UK, Germany, France, Austria, etc.). Nearly every European store (like Tommy Hilfiger, ebay.de, Amazon.de, Esprit, H&M, etc.) is shipping to the warehouse.

The location provides all services available (content photos, special requests, consolidations, etc.).

Shipping methods available at start: Austrian Postal Service and FedEx. For Austrian Post only real weight is used (not DIM weight).

Get $10 for each friend you refer to Amazon Student

Get $10 for each friend who joins Amazon Student

Deal ends January 31st, 2013. Residents of North Carolina, Arkansas, or Rhode Island are ineligible to receive student invite credit. Credits may take 7 days or longer to appear in your account after new member signup. Credits expire one year from date of issuance, are one-time use, are non-refundable, and can be redeemed only on items sold by Amazon on Amazon.com. Credits will only be applied when the person signing up has never been an Amazon Student, Amazon Mom or Amazon Prime member.

Amazon Student is a free membership program created especially for college students. Amazon Student members receive benefits such as six months of FREE Two-Day Shipping with Amazon Prime, and e-mail alerts for discounts and promotions. Only students currently enrolled in a college or university who have a valid .edu e-mail address can sign up for Amazon Student through the website.

Save on Airline Luggage fees with Big Pocket Travel Jacket

The Rufus Roo low-cost, lightweight Travel Vests allow you to ‘wear’ up to 10 Kg (22 lbs) of luggage by carrying it in very large pockets. You can also still take your normal flight carry-on cabin bag. The durable lightweight jacket has four large and two small pockets and is carried over the shoulder whilst moving around, worn over the top of clothes during boarding and stored under the seat during flight. The jacket allows to carry shoes, shirts, pants, books, and even laptops and wine bottles.

Big Pocket Travel Jacket were featured in recent months on US TV, the BBC, across Europe and as far as Australia and Japan. Designed by Rebecca Morter of the London College of Fashion, the Vest was originally designed for flight luggage, but is also being used for carrying the kids stuff, commuting to work, shopping without bags, travelling to music festivals and sports events!

Sports complex for toddlers. Made in Russia.

Many things are cheaper in the USA, Germany or China. But there are some unique Russian items that can’t be bought elsewhere. One of them is a sports complex for toddlers Ranniy Start (Early Start). It is made in Russia. I have never seen any alternatives anywhere, so no wonder this heavy sports complex is exported to other countries.

The manufacturer’s web-site sells Ranniy Start Standard and Ranniy Start Luxe. The latter can be used by older kids (up to the age of 6 and more).

There are plenty of accessories for these sports complexes including: a hammock, a hammock-tunnel, a cover for playing with a ball (called “Basketball”), a cover with lots of holes called “Cheese”, a rope, a rope net, rope ladders, a swing, a punching-ball, a lean, a massage board, …

Still not impressed? Then see the following 30 seconds videos. It is just incredible what a toddler can do.

A one year old kid on a rope ladder:

A 14 months old kid hanging on rings and trapeze:

It is unbelievable, isn’t it?

How to see credit balance for your Amazon MP3, Kindle Store, Instant Video Download, Software/Video/Games Downloads

To see credit balance for your Amazon MP3, Kindle Store, Instant Video Download, Software/Video/Games Downloads:

1. Visit the following page How to Redeem Your Code for Amazon MP3.
2. Click onto the “Enter your code” button (you don’t need to enter any code to see your credits balance).

Amazon: Credit balance

Is it risky to send packages from USA to Russia via USPS Express Mail / Priority Mail?

Of course Russian Post is anything but careful with its packages. For example, see the following video showing how they can unload package:

Sending anything via Russian post has always been risky. However the discounts in the USA make this risk very moderate for me. Personally I have never had any content of my packages damaged because of the shipping.

I think that the largest risk is when shipping electronics and this is due to the following facts:

1. You can get a malfunctioned item.
2. Your item may break down during the warranty period.
3. You package can be lost.
4. Items from your package can be stolen.

Note that for most electronics the warranty is valid in the USA (or North America) only.

I recommend to ship packages via USPS Express Mail. It is faster than USPS Priority Mail and it is only slightly more expensive. The faster it is the safer it is. Besides I believe that EMS attracts better professionals than the rest of Russian Post.

Also please note that you can insure your USPS packages. And although USPS is far away from ideal when paying the insurance for lost packages, shipping from the USA to Russia becomes less risky.

Make sure to open your package in the post office to verify its content. When tracking your package at russianpost.ru make sure to pay attention to any changes in the weight of your package.

Custom fees, duties and taxes (VAT) when shopping in the USA from Cyprus

A friend of mine lives on Cyprus. He was very impressed by my shopping in the USA and forwarding packages via Shipito, so asked me whether he could make purchases in the USA from Cyprus. Here is what I have found out.

Cyprus is a part of European Union (EU), so when you ship anything from the EU, you don’t need to pay any customs fees or duties. Everything is different when you make purchases outside the EU. Goods from the USA, China,… are subject to duty.

CUSTOMS FEES and VAT in EUROPEAN UNION (EU)

MERCHANDISE+SHIPPING TOTAL	CUSTOMS FEES and VAT
< 22 EUR	No customs fees and No VAT
22 to 150 EUR	Only VAT applied
> 150 EUR	Both VAT and custom fees applied

If the merchandise plus shipping total is under 22 EUR, you do NOT need to pay any customs fee or VAT. But make sure that you take into account not only the amount you spend on your purchases, but also shipping costs.

If merchandise is between 22 and 150 EUR, you only have to pay VAT. The 150 EUR limit is calculated on merchandise value without any shipping fee. VAT however is paid instead on the total of merchandise plus shipping!

If merchandise is more expensive than 150 EUR, then you need to pay both customs fees and VAT. Both VAT and customs fee are applied to the merchandise plus shipping.

They will recalculate the price to Euro first using their own exchange rate table (at the day of the processing of the paperwork). Duty is paid at a percentage rate determined by the type of item. TARIC (Integrated Tariff of the European Communities) is designed to show the various rules applying to specific products when imported into the EU. TARIC for Cyprus can be found on the web-site of the goverment of Cyprus.

The VAT of 17% is calculated on the price of the item plus shipping and plus the duty charge.

Example:

Men’s or boys’ shirts of man-made fibres ($70 EUR) + $30 EUR for shipping.
Commodity code 6205 30 00 00

Duty 12%: 100 EUR * 12% = 12 EUR.
VAT 17%: (100 EUR + 12 EUR) * 17% = 19,04 EUR.
Duty + VAT: 12 EUR + 19.04 EUR = 31.04 EUR
Total: 100 EUR + 12 EUR + 19,04 EUR = 131,04 EUR

There may also be one or two other small charges depending on delivery method (for customs handling, courier handling).

Note that you can ask the seller to undervalue your package, but this is illegal. The customs official may request proof of price. You can get a big fine for undervaluing your package.

You can ship to Cyprus by USPS Mail or by courier services.

• United States Postal Service (USPS)
  The post office will deliver the customs form to your address/PO box. You will need to return the form to the post office along with an invoice for the goods. The post will then send the form and the invoice back to customs. Then the customs will process the paperwork, assess the duty and VAT payable, and release the package. Then the package will arrive in the post office and you will pay everything there. Note that you can go to the customs office yourself as well. And you will need to do that if your package costs more than 1000 EUR.
• DHL, UPS, TNT or FedEx.
  The courier should handle everything. You just pay the fees when the package is delivered or collected.

Note that customs will only do the assessment for private goods. If the goods are for commercial use, you’ll need to to complete all the paperwork yourself, including TARIC codes, duty rates, etc.

Also note that if you are not a resident of Cyprus and plan to use your purchase outside the EU, you may try to return the VAT.