Russian parcel forwarder SPSR USA offers a no sales tax address in Delaware allowing customers from Russia to avoid state sales tax completely.
SPSR USA uses SPSR Express for shipping parcels from the USA to Russia. SPSR has offices in 6000 locations in Russia allowing you to avoid using Russian Post and USPS completely.
USPS has notified Shipito that customers will need to use their middle names when sending packages to Russia. So Shipito freight forwarder asked customers sending packages to Russia to add their middle names to the name field in the Shipito account.
Russian Post only requires name, surname and address to identify the recipient. Russian Post can not violate the rules of the Universal Postal Union. And this is perfectly described on the Russian Post web-site.
Update
Shipito recognized that it was misinformed by a USPS representative. Middle name is not required.
Many major shipping forwarders offer alternative shipping methods bypassing state postal services and major courier services like DHL, Fedex, UPS. This allows to get better pricing and/or faster delivery. Moreover alternative shopping methods are more secure than state postal services.
For example, one of the biggest shipping forwarders in Russia EbayToday offers express delivery by SPSR Express and economy delivery by Boxberry. Both bypass Russian Post completely. And while you can deliver by SPSR Express much faster (5-10 days), the rates are comparable with USPS Express Mail International (EMS).
You may find more details on the EbayToday web-site.
I’m continuing to post detailed fee structure for sending my packages from the United States of America to Russia. The fees of both Shipito and USPS grow every year, so you may find it useful to compare the figures from my previous post for 2010-2011 and 2012. This article will be updated each time I send a new package from the USA to Russia via Shipito throughout 2013.
Shipito fee structure 2013
Total per 1 kg of gross weight: $32.53
Total Shipito fees (not including USPS shipping, insurance and Shipito monthly fee): $28.81
TOTAL: $159.4
Shipito service plan: Old Virtual Mailbox ($100 / year, available for old customers only)
Total per 1 kg of gross weight: $27.87
Total Shipito fees (not including USPS shipping, insurance and Shipito monthly fee): $31.88
TOTAL: $180.87
Shipito service plan: Old Virtual Mailbox ($100 / year, available for old customers only)
Do you use Shipito or any other shipping forwarder? If you do, are you satisfied with its fees and service? How much did it cost you to send you package?
Russian Post Standard via Berlin is a new service offered by Shipito in cooperation with Russian Post branch in Berlin.
Packages are first shipped by truck to New York, then by air courier to Berlin, and after that put on a train to Moscow from where it is delivered to local branch of Russian post office. Each package has a Russian Post tracking number which will start working after the packages arrives in Berlin and is cleared through EU.
Limitations:
This shipping methods works the best for heavier and smaller packages (like 26″x13″x13″, 18-20kg).
Delivery time: From our warehouse to New York: 5-6 days. From New York to Berlin 2-3 days. From Berlin to larger western cities like Moscow or St. Petersburg: 2 weeks. For very remote areas, this can take up to 5 weeks. The total time to deliver is then 3 to 7 weeks. Speed of delivery is not guaranteed and depends on Russian Post.
Currently available only in California warehouses. First shipment will be sent once Shipito has at least 1000 lbs. Once Shipito sends the first shipment they might wait for your feedback, before this becomes a permanent option.
I’ve checked the cost of the new shipping method using the Shipito calculator for my last package (37.5 lbs, 36″x17″12″) and found pretty interesting rates:
Please note that the dimensional weight applies and that currently this shipping method is not available in the Oregon warehouse.
I got the following question from my friend:
I was trying to learn about freight forwarders like Shipito, but still can’t find out what to do. I don’t need a huge TV from the USA, I just want to buy some clothing for this fall. It can be from Walmart, for example. But if I will only buy a couple of hoodies for $30, will it make sense to ship them to Russia via a freight forwarder? Or will it cost the same ($100 for a couple of hoodies) if purchased in an offline retail store in Moscow?
Let’s find out. We want to purchase 2 hoodies in Walmart or some other store which cost $15 each. Let’s assume that shipping is free.
Free Shipito account allows to mail out your package for $8.5. Let’s assume that the store will ship both hoodies in one package. Otherwise you will need to consolidate 2 packages and it will cost $10 (monthly subscription) and $4.5 for each package, totaling at $10 + $4.5 * 2 = $19.
Shipito Airmail Priority and Economy are cheap for light, small and inexpensive packages. Some rates for my several packages that are now in the Shipito warehouse in Oregon:
| Weight: Dimensions: Insured amount: |
USPS Express Mail (5-6 business days) | USPS Priority Mail (6-10 business days) | Airmail Economy (15-22 business days) | Airmail Priority (8-15 business days) | Airmail Express (15 days) | USPS First Class International Parcel (varies by country) | FedEx Economy (2-5 business days) | FedEx Priority (1-3 business days) |
| 4 lbs. 2 oz. 13.80 x 11.60 x 8.80 $0 |
Postage: $74.06 Insurance: $3.41 TOTAL: $77.47 |
Postage: $61.04 Insurance: $6.53 TOTAL: $67.57 |
Postage: $39.3 insurance not available Tracking is not available TOTAL: $39.3 |
Postage: $43.35 Insurance: $5.7 Tracking is not available TOTAL: $49.05 |
Postage: $66.66 Insurance: $5.7 TOTAL: $72.36 |
Shipping method not available | Postage: $156.5 Insurance: $0 TOTAL: $156.5 (list rate $309.83) |
Postage: $183.94 Insurance: $0 TOTAL: $183.94 (list rate $369.12) |
| 2 lbs. 9 oz. 16.60 x 12.00 x 3.40 $0 |
Postage: $61.79 Insurance: $2.05 TOTAL: $63.84 |
Postage: $50.6 Insurance: $4.36 TOTAL: $54.96 |
Postage: $24.25 insurance not available Tracking is not available TOTAL: $24.25 |
Postage: $26.76 Insurance: $2.67 Tracking is not available TOTAL: $29.43 |
Postage: $55.61 Insurance: $2.67 TOTAL: $58.28 |
Postage: $36.28 insurance not available Tracking is not available TOTAL: $36.28 |
Postage: $142.8 Insurance: $0 TOTAL: $142.8 (list rate $221.06) |
Postage: $165.99 Insurance: $0 TOTAL: $165.99 (list rate $290.84) |
| Weight: 0 lbs. 10 oz. Dimensions: 14.60 x 8.80 x 2.40 Insured amount: $0 |
Postage: $49.51 Insurance: $1.01 TOTAL: $50.52 |
Postage: $40.16 Insurance: $3 TOTAL: $43.16 |
Postage: $6.4 insurance not available Tracking is not available TOTAL: $6.4 |
Postage: $7.07 Insurance: $0.36 Tracking is not available TOTAL: $7.43 |
Postage: $44.56 Insurance: $0.36 TOTAL: $44.92 |
Postage: $16.11 insurance not available Tracking is not available TOTAL: $16.11 |
Postage: $142.8 Insurance: $0 TOTAL: $142.8 (list rate $145.51) |
Postage: $165.99 Insurance: $0 TOTAL: $165.99 (list rate $197.5) |
Comparing Shipito shippping rates: USPS, Airmail Priority/Economy/Express, Fedex
If you need to calculate your shipping rate, you may use the Shipito shipping calculator.
A couple of hoodies in the box will probably weight 3-4 lbs. Delivery of such a package without tracking and insurance will cost $25-40. Delivery with tracking and insurance will cost $50-60.
Bottom line: It is cheaper to buy a couple of hoodies in an offline store in Moscow.
But please note that many people like particular brands that offer more expensive clothing. In many cases this clothing is 30-50% more expensive in Moscow. Not to mention that in many other regions of Russia prices are much higher than in Moscow.
Usually it makes sense to send much heavier packages and/or packages with more expensive content. Otherwise you won’t save much.
If you want to order a couple of t-shirts only, or a pair of jeans, or a couple of hoodies, it makes sense to ask your friends who buy a lot in the same country. Or you may ask your relatives and friends whether they want to buy something in the USA as well. Personally I help my friends and relatives to buy few items regularly.
Good luck and happy savings!
I’ve been using Ideeli private shopping club (flash sale site, fashion sale site, private sale site) for about 2 years. Never expected to have any problems paying with my debit and credit cards issued by Russian banks, especially after making 18 purchases with my Russian Mastercard debit card. But a couple of days ago I got the following error when using my new Mastercard: “Invalid Transaction Type. Contact us if you think you have received this message in error.“
It appeared that Ideeli doesn’t allow to enter addresses outside the USA for both billing and shipping, so entering my complete real billing address in Russia was not an option. I tried to enter my real name, real street address and to use the rest from my Shipito virtual address, but it didn’t work. Then I tried to use my US virtual address for both billing and shipping to no avail. Then instead of checking out I went to the account settings and tried to add my card from there. I was getting the same error no matter what address I was using.
It appeared that many customers from Russia and other countries have faced the same problem. This happens because Ideeli verifies that the billing address provided matches the one on record with your bank. You need to contact Ideeli support to disable this AVS system. Then you should be able to check out using a foreign credit or debit card.
Shipito offers new Airmail service for customers from Russia. It comes with tracking and insurance! Lithium batteries can be shipped by this method (unlike USPS). Airmail Express packages are delivered to Belgium post and from there by EMS to Russia. Delivery should be about aproximately 15 days (there is no guarantee for speed of delivery). The pricing is the same as USPS Express mail. Special 10% discount offered till the end of September 2012. Insurance is 0.7% from the value of products and $10 surcharge for packages with value over $500. Maximum value of each package cannot be over $1000.
Shipito Shipping Method: USPS, Airmail Priority/Economy/Express, Fedex
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?
Shipito has offered a new way to send packages with lithium batteries and electronics for its customers from Russia. Shipito offers Polonez Parcel for customers from Russia now. Polonez Parcel packages are shipped by Container to Poland and then given to the postal service for delivery in Russia.
Polonez Parcel limitations:
Polonez Parcel is very expensive for Russia. For example, I have compared the cost of shipping via USPS, Shipito Airmail and Polonez parcel for my two packages sent in 2012 via USPS Express Mail International:
Shipito Airmail vs. USPS Express Mail vs. Polonez (29 lbs, 37″x19″x14″)
Shipito Airmail vs. USPS Express Mail vs. Polonez (36.80 lbs, 36″x18″x17″)
Please note that Shipito allows to deliver lithium batteries and electronics with lithium, Li-ion, Li-pol batteries through Airmail Priority and Airmail Express shipping methods:
See the Shipito Calculator for shipping options and calculating postage for your parcel.
