Shipito.com alternatives. Part 2: VIAddress.com review and comparison with Shipito

VIAddress is a worldwide shipping forwarder offering a USA virtual address for making online purchases in America. Its membership is free. There are no fees for package consolidation, you may store your packages for free for 90 days. Assisted purchases are available. And VIAddress can ship to worldwide destinations via UPS, FEDEX, DHL, USPS. Looks attractive, isn’t it? Let’s find out whether there is any catch.

Comparing VIAddress and Shipito shipping rates

If you take a look onto VIAdress homepage, you will find a very attractive chart:

So I decided to compare VIAdress estimated shipping costs to the costs of real packages I sent to Russia in 2011 via USPS Express Mail using Shipito

Weight, lbs	VIAddress Estemation	Shipito
12.3	$127.38	$121.89
19.9	$180.42	$135.25
34.7	$279.86	$222.59

I do pay $50 for a yearly membership in Shipito, while VIAdress membership is free. But if I send a package of 34.7 lbs via USPS to Russia using VIAddress, I will pay extra $55+ compared to Shipito.

Some more details about VIAddress

Unfortunately shipping fees is not the only problem of VIAddress. VIAdress has the lowest possible rating on BBB. And there many complaints about VIAddress from around the world, some of them even lead an investigation by The Indiana Attorney General’s office.

Would you recommend to use VIAddress?

I have never been a customer of VIAddress, but personally I prefer to stay away from it.

Shipito shipping rates are one of the best. Considering the amount of services Shipito provides, their quality and cost, I think Shipito is one of the best freight forwarding companies.

Shipito.com alternatives. Part 1: BundleBox.com review and comparison with Shipito

BundleBox provides you with your personal USA parcel forwarding address. Registration takes a minute, and your address is available immediately. BundleBox has no registration or subscription fee. With your BundleBox address, now you can shop at any USA website, using your BundleBox address as your delivery address.
Once your purchases arrive at your BundleBox, we will notify you via email. When you are ready, and received all your purchases, you can book the shipment of your purchases to final destination.

BundleBox offers an Fedex express delivery service of 2-3 days and a Fedex regular delivery service of 4-5 days. The more items you bundle, the better our international shipping rates get.

Additional services

• Buy For Me personal shopper service: If the USA website does not accept your credit card, we can purchase the item on your behalf. Just let us know what you want and we’ll buy it for you.
• Suite Insurance: You can insure your purchases while they are in your BundleBox against damage or loss up to a value of $10,000.
• Repack & consolidation service: BundleBox offers a repacking and consolidaton service to save on shipping cost and to ensure that your purchases are extra protected.

Comparing BundleBox and Shipito shipping rates

Unlike Shipito, BundleBox offers shipping via Fedex only. It might be the most reliable shipping method, but it is the most expensive one:

BundleBox Shipping rates for Canada destinations

Weight, kg	Example	Delivery service
		Express	Regular
0.25	CD, DVD, Necklace	BundleEnvelope – CA$26.00	CA$33.71
0.5	Adidas tank top, Tshirt, Watch, Xbox Game	BundlePack – CA$33.98	CA$35.78
0.9	Camera, Baby fleece jacket, Cosmetics, Track Suit	BundlePack – CA$33.98	CA$35.78
2.5	Laptop, Set of kitchen knives, 2 pairs of Jeans, Jumper, Pajamas, iPad, eBook reader, Coat	CA$49.70	CA$48.26
5	Boots, Baby doll, Ugg Boots	CA$60.09	CA$59.33
10	Cowboy Hat, Power tools, Home Server, Steering wheel cover, 3 pairs of shoes	CA$90.59	CA$79.86
25	Electric guitar, TV	CA$158.61	CA$140.45
50	Kitchen chair	CA$250.55	CA$213.59
100	Lounge chair	CA$507.41	CA$456.67

BundleBox Shipping rates for the U.K. destinations

Weight, kg	Example	Delivery service
		Express	Regular
0.25	CD, DVD, Necklace	BundleEnvelope – £18.94	£28.25
0.5	Adidas tank top, Tshirt, Watch, Xbox Game	BundlePack – £25.37	£30.51
0.9	Camera, Baby fleece jacket, Cosmetics, Track Suit	BundlePack – £25.37	£30.51
2.5	Laptop, Set of kitchen knives, 2 pairs of Jeans, Jumper, Pajamas, iPad, eBook reader, Coat	£48.04	£41.78
5	Boots, Baby doll, Ugg Boots	£61.08	£54.72
10	Cowboy Hat, Power tools, Home Server, Steering wheel cover, 3 pairs of shoes	£90.42	£74.00
25	Electric guitar, TV	£168.45	£115.67
50	Kitchen chair	£307.42	£177.16
100	Lounge chair	£549.60	£316.89

BundleBox Shipping rates for Australia destinations

Weight, kg	Example	Delivery service
		Express	Regular
0.25	CD, DVD, Necklace	BundleEnvelope – AU$30.75	AU$42.39
0.5	Adidas tank top, Tshirt, Watch, Xbox Game	BundlePack – AU$37.83	AU$49.28
0.9	Camera, Baby fleece jacket, Cosmetics, Track Suit	BundlePack – AU$37.83	AU$49.28
2.5	Laptop, Set of kitchen knives, 2 pairs of Jeans, Jumper, Pajamas, iPad, eBook reader, Coat	AU$79.53	AU$81.21
5	Boots, Baby doll, Ugg Boots	AU$112.66	AU$116.66
10	Cowboy Hat, Power tools, Home Server, Steering wheel cover, 3 pairs of shoes	AU$182.65	AU$184.48
25	Electric guitar, TV	AU$345.97	AU$317.85
50	Kitchen chair	AU$651.61	AU$435.08
100	Lounge chair	AU$1146.11	AU$765.35

BundleBox Shipping rates for Russia destinations

Weight, kg	Example	Delivery service
		Express	Regular
0.25	CD, DVD, Necklace	BundleEnvelope – RUR1609.12	RUR2956.93
0.5	Adidas tank top, Tshirt, Watch, Xbox Game	BundlePack – RUR1954.98	RUR3013.19
0.9	Camera, Baby fleece jacket, Cosmetics, Track Suit	BundlePack – RUR1954.98	RUR3013.19
2.5	Laptop, Set of kitchen knives, 2 pairs of Jeans, Jumper, Pajamas, iPad, eBook reader, Coat	RUR4020.39	RUR3447.60
5	Boots, Baby doll, Ugg Boots	RUR5216.59	RUR5356.04
10	Cowboy Hat, Power tools, Home Server, Steering wheel cover, 3 pairs of shoes	RUR9384.70	RUR8189.01
25	Electric guitar, TV	RUR17289.12	RUR13956.70
50	Kitchen chair	RUR30041.36	RUR18517.86
100	Lounge chair	RUR59666.55	RUR36779.19

Bundlebox shipping rates: Canada

Bundlebox shipping rates: the UK

Bundlebox shipping rates: Australia

Bundlebox shipping rates: Russia

 

It costed me $121.89 to ship my last 12.30 lbs (5.58 kg) 17″×13″×10″ (44×34×26 cm) package to Russia via USPS Express Mail International. Compare with $290 for a 10.00 lbs package sent by Fedex Regular Mail via BundleBox. So even if you pay $50/year for the “VIRTUAL MAILBOX” plan on shipito (there are other options available as well), it will still be cheaper to use Shipito.

Shipito 12.30 lbs package sent via USPS Express Mail International

 

And even if you want to use Fedex only, Shipito offers FedEx, FedEx MPS, Fedex Freight. Plus you will be able to use other shipping methods in the future (USPS Express Mail, USPS Priority Mail, USPS Flat rate box and Flat rate envelope, UPS, Polonez Parcel, TNT, Shipito Air Mail and DHL).

Comparing additional features of BundleBox and Shipito

Like BundleBox, Shipito offers package consolidation and assisted purchases. BundleBox has no hidden charges, no checkout fees, no ongoing monthly fees. Shipito fee structure is slightly more difficult depending on whether you want to consolidate your packages or not, but still it is pretty simple.

Bottom line: Shipito is a clear winner

I prefer Shipito to BundleBox. Any idea why to use BundleBox?

How to shop on Zulily.com from outside the USA (international shipping from Zulily)

Zulily is one of the best US private shopping clubs for moms and kids. It ships to USA and Canada only, but international shipping is also possible.

Zulily.com states the following:

Can zulily ship internationally?
Zulily can ship packages to street address in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, plus all US territories and APO/FPO/DPO addresses. Note that packages containing liquids cannot be shipped outside of the contiguous United States. If you’re shipping to an APO/FPO address, you may need to call their service team to complete your order. If you’re shipping to a PO Box, Zulily may contact you for more information.

Besides USA, Zulily ships to Canada. They use their global partner FiftyOne for payment and shipment of Canadian orders.

You need a US debit card or credit card to make a purchase on Zulily, a US Paypal account or a Gift Card. You can also use Zulily store credits.

Zulily.com payment methods

But you can still shop on Zulily from outside the United States even if you want your purchases to be shipped outside the USA. You need to get a virtual address in the USA from a company like Shipito.

You may pay for your Zulily order using an international debit or credit card (Visa, Mastercard). If your card is not accepted online, just call their toll-free number (You can call toll-free numbers for free using free Skype). This worked fine for me.

If your English is not good enough for making a phone call, you may use the “Assisted purchases” service from companies like Shipito. You may use the assisted purchase to buy the items that you want. Or you may use it to buy a Zulily gift card, and then pay for your order with the gift card.

Here is my package from Zulily (ordered by the phone using an international debit card):

Package from Zulily.com on Shipito

I use Shipito to consolidate my packages from online stores and private shopping clubs, and then send them overseas.