Is it worth using a freight forwarder for purchasing few cheap items in the USA from Russia and other countries overseas?

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!

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!

www.leftlanesports.com (LeftLane Sports) valid coupon code July 2012

LeftLaneSports is an american private shopping club (private sale site) for sporting goods (footwear, apparel, and gear). It offers top Outdoor, Cycling, Running, and Fitness brands at up to 70% OFF retail! Every day, LeftLane Sports offers unbeatable deals for sports enthusiasts and athletes from brands like Mountain Hardwear, Sierra Designs, Columbia, Salomon, Kelty, Keen, and many more!

Coupon code: RETAIL10
Discount: Save 10% off orders of $50 and more.

New LeftLane Sports users may also use the following invitation link to register and get a $10 shopping credit for free:
http://goo.gl/t9L2z

Amazon sale: Save an extra 20% on contemporary clothing and shoes (July 2012)

Save an extra 20% on contemporary clothing and shoes with promo code YOURSALE on eligible items shipped and sold by Amazon USA.

Coupon code: YOURSALE

Shop clothing and luggage:

• Women: Tops & Tees, Active, Dresses, Jeans, Shorts, Skirts, Outerwear & Coats
• Men: Tops & Tees, Casual Button-Down Shirts, Jeans, Shorts, Outerwear & Coats
• Girls: Tops & Tees, Dresses, Jeans, Clothing Sets, Shorts, Outerwear & Coats
• Boys: Tops & Tees, Casual Button-Down Shirts, Jeans, Sweaters, Clothing Sets, Shorts, Outerwear & Coats
• Baby Girls: Tops, Bodysuits, Dresses, Footies & Rompers, Clothing Sets
• Baby Boys: Tops, Bodysuits, Bottoms, Footies & Rompers, Clothing Sets
• Luggage: Luggage, Carry-Ons, Rolling, Travel Totes, Matching Sets, Bags & Accessories, Backpacks, Briefcases, Duffle Bags, Garment Bags, Travel Accessories

Amazon sale: Save an extra 20% on contemporary clothing and shoes

Terms:

• The promotion is valid through 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) July 30, 2012. Amazon reserves the right to cancel it at any time.
• Discount will be shown on the final page of checkout.
• The promotion applies only to qualifying items displaying the offer message on their product information pages.
• Items are eligible for Amazon Prime and FREE Super Saver Shipping *(*restrictions apply).
• All qualifying items must be purchased in one order and shipped to a single address. If you return any of the promotion items, we will subtract the value of the discount from your return credit.
• This promotion may not be combined with other offers, including promotional certificates.
• Offer good while supplies last.
• Void where prohibited.

Shop now

How to save money by using Multi Piece Shipment (MPS) service

If you have more than one package going to the same delivery address, you may save money by using MPS (Multi Piece Shipment) service. You can usually get the best savings for several small packages. In some cases, MPS may be cheaper than consolidating these packages into one box. MPS can also significantly lower shipping costs for larger packages that cannot be consolidated.

If you use Shipito shipping forwarder and have a Shipito Virtual Mailbox, the MPS service is available for you. It is available for DHL, TNT and FedEx shipping methods.

FedEx MPS (Fedex Multiple-Piece Shipment)

FedEx MPS pricing is automatically available on each Shipito account. Just select more than one package for immediate mail out. Select the same FedEx shipping method (Economy or Priority). And make sure that the addressee is exactly the same. MPS discount will be automatically calculated and lower price charged on each package. Additional discount can be up to 30-40%.

MPS discount is not guaranteed. Expect to pay the quote you see on your shipment. If the MPS discounts kicks in the price is automatically lowered. Sometimes MPS discounts will not be as big as discounted rate already provided through Shipito. It seems that more packages you send at the same time the more likely is to get the MPS discount.

New Shipito MPS system: DHL Express and TNT Express Multiple-Piece Shipment

There are some limitations at this moment:

• Only DHL Express and TNT Express shipping is available. To ship FedEx MPS shipment, you have to use the old method (see above).
• The maximum number of packages in MPS shipment is limited to 10 when using DHL Express and limited to 3 when using TNT Express. The limits may be increased in the future.
• MPS is not available to Russia (because of the customs problems with express carriers like DHL, TNT, FedEx)

How to enter new DHL Express or TNT Express MPS Request ?

1. Login to your Shipito account, and go to the “Packages in Warehouse” section.
2. Click the “MPS Request” button. New window with the MPS Request form will show up.
   
3. Select a Shipito Warehouse with packages you want to ship using MPS.
4. Select all packages you want to include in the shipment and click the “Select Packages” button. Some packages may not be available for MPS shipping (for example if they are scheduled for separate mailout or for consolidation). These packages are displayed on the bottom of the page with the explanation why they are not available at this moment.
   
5. In the next step, enter your delivery address for the MPS shipment.
   
6. When delivery address is confirmed, system calculates total MPS postage for various shipping methods. After the form is displayed, select the shipping method.
   
7. The final step displays a confirmation form with the MPS shipment summary. And it will also show how much would the shipping cost be if all packages were shipped separately using the same shipping method. After the separate shipping cost is loaded, you can confirm the MPS Shipment
   

As you can see, the new MPS system on Shipito that allows to ship via DHL Express and TNT Express is better, because it shows you the exact MPS shipping rate. If it is cheaper than shipping separately, you can confirm the shipment and the price will be locked in and guaranteed.

Purchasing Hartan Buggy IX1 baby stroller and PUKY Dreirad CAT S6 Ceety bicycle in Germany

I had successful experience in shopping for Britax/Römer car seat in Germany. So when I needed a baby stroller and a trike (bicycle with 3 wheels) I decided to check prices in German shops. As previously I was looking for German online stores with prices lower than in Russia. And of course I wanted a shop shipping outside the European Union and excluding VAT. I’ve reviewed baby strollers and bicycles before making my purchase, so I knew I wanted the Hartan Buggy IX1 baby stroller and the PUKY Ceety bicycle. I will show the shop I’ve made purchase from and compare prices below. And I will also show some useful tips.

Comparing prices onto Hartan Buggy IX1 and PUKY Ceety in Germany and Russia

According to Yandex.Market Hartan Buggy IX1 costs almost 500 EUR:

Yandex market: Hartan Buggy iX1

Compare with 239 EUR (including shipping to Russia) at KidsRoom:

KidsRoom: Hartan Buggy iX1 with shipping to Russia

To see the price with shipping and VAT excluded, add items to the shopping cart and choose your country.

Puky Ceety bicycle is new, so I wasn’t able to find its prices on Yandex.Market. The lowest price I was able to find was 9500 RUB. Of course it was cheaper at KidsRoom.de (200 EUR), but not twice cheaper as with Romer/Britax car seat or Hartan Buggy IX1 baby stroller:

KidsRoom: Puky Ceety with shipping to Russia

Saving even more

I’ve bought 2 Puky Ceety bicycles and the Hartan Buggy iX1 stroller. As a new year gift I got Puky Wutsch (50 EUR) for FREE. Shipping for all these items was only 60 EUR:

kidsroom: Hartan Buggy iX1 and Puky Ceety

This purchase was sent in 3 packages by DHL.

So you can bundle your purchase to save on shipping. But make sure not to exceed 1000 EUR to avoid any customs fees and duties in Russia.

Mistake by paying with Paypal

This time I tried to pay for my purchase with Paypal instead of my debit card. My Paypal account is in USD, and Paypal has charged almost 4.5% for USD to EUR conversion. When I pay with my debit card, the conversion is usually only 0.5 – 1.0%. So I don’t recommend to use Paypal in German shops when you purchase from outside the European Union.

More trusted German online stores with baby strollers, car seats, toys,…

KidsRoom.de is not the only web-site recommended by Russian shoppers. There are several other baby shops in Germany that ship to Russia directly and exclude VAT, namely: maxis-babywelt.de, babyshop.de, kidscomfort.eu, Loopoo.de, PingPong Online.

Links

• KidsRoom.de
• maxis-babywelt.de
• babyshop.de
• kidscomfort.eu
• Loopoo.de
• PingPong Online
• Yandex.Market (price comparison and reviews)

Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals: Replay Capture Suite, WM Recorder Bonus Bundle, Jaksta Plus coupon codes

The best coupon codes we have seen this year for Replay Capture Suite, WM Recorder Bonus Bundle, Jaksta Plus, Jaksta for Mac:

• Click to buy Replay Capture Suite for $39.50. Coupon code: embedded into the link.
• Click to buy WM Recorder Bonus Bundle for $39.50. Coupon code: embedded into the link. Coupon discount: $40.45. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals 2011.
• Click to buy Jaksta Plus for $24.50. Coupon code: embedded into the link. Coupon discount: $25.45. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals 2011.
• Click to buy Jaksta for Mac for $24.50. Coupon code: embedded into the link. Coupon discount: $25.45. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals 2011.

Buying a car seat in Germany (Britax Römer Baby Safe Plus SHR II at kidsroom.de vs. Russian online stores)

Most of my online purchases these days come from american private shopping clubs (fashion sale sites), Amazon USA and Buy.com. But sometimes I have to shop elsewhere either due to high shipping costs from the USA to Russia or due to some kind of incompatibility of standards.

This was exactly the case with a car seat. I wanted to buy one of the safest car seats, so decided not to go for a universal one. After researching crash tests results I decided to purchase Britax Römer Baby Safe Plus SHR II with the ISOFIX base. I could have bought a similar car seat on Amazon USA, but I wasn’t 100% sure that LATCH and ISOFIX were compatible. While some drivers say that LATCH and ISOFIX bars are almost identical, few European and Japanese cars have the top tether anchor.

It was an obvious step to look for Britax Römer car seats in Germany and the UK. I really liked the prices in German shops. And I was glad that some of them do ship directly to almost any country in the world including Russia. When such shops ship outside the European Union, they exclude VAT (19%). This was exactly the case with the German online store KidsRoom.de.

kidsroom.de: Britax Römer Baby-Safe Plus SHR II Trendline including Isofix Base

Now the question is did I manage to save anything by purchasing the car seat in Germany and not in Russia or not. I did manage to save a lot! The price of Britax Römer Baby Safe Plus SHR II with shipping from Germany to Russia was more than 40% lower than the lowest price I was able to find in Russian online stores!!!

The cheapest Romer Baby Safe Plus SHR II with ISOFIX base in Russia

kidsroom.de Romer Baby Safe Plus SHR II receipt: price + shipping = 281 EUR

Price without shipping at avtokresel.net: 19 800 RUR
Price with shipping to Russia (!) at kidsroom.de: 281 EUR

So basically you can buy Romer Baby Safe Plus SHR II with ISOFIX base and ship it from Germany, or you can buy Romer Baby Safe Plus SHR II without ISOFIX base in a Russian online shop!

Another reason for buying German car seats from Germany is to avoid fake items.

KidsRoom.de is not the only web-site recommended by Russian shoppers.
There are several other baby shops in Germany that ship to Russia directly and exclude VAT, namely: maxis-babywelt.de, babyshop.de, kidscomfort.eu, Loopoo.de, PingPong Online.

German shops usually ship to Russia by DHL and accept debit/credit cards and/or paypal/moneybookers.

Please note that it is always a good idea to compare prices before making a purchase. Some items cost the same, and some items are more expensive in Germany than in Russia.

Update (2012/01/14)
Also please note that if you ship outside the European Union, you may add all items that you want to purchase into the shopping cart to see the price excluding VAT but including shipping:

KidsRoom.de shopping cart: Britax Römer Baby Safe Plus SHR II with shipping excluding VAT

DiamondShark discount jewerly review: Saved $1,558.00 off MSRP on jewerly since 10/28/2010

I’ve been a happy customer of DiamondShark (www.DiamondShark.com or www.SharkStores.com/Jewelry). I had one problem with them, but their customer support was so quick and helpful, that can’t even express how much I love this discount jewerly shop.

The only problem is that DiamondShark (SharkStores) has never showed MSRP prices on jewerly items, so I didn’t really know whether I was getting any discount or not. But today I got a letter from them saying that I have saved $1,558.00 off MSRP since 10/28/2010!!! I didn’t know that all jewerly items I bought were sold at a discount of at least 80%:

DiamondShark (SharkStores) discount jewerly: Saved a total of $1,558.00 off MSR since 10/28/2010

 

Note that I was buying jewerly items on DiamondShark (SharkStores) from outside the USA.

Want to buy jewerly from SharkStores deal a day site? Check out the SharkStores coupon codes:
www.SharkStores.com: Coupon codes for SharkStores

www.jaksta.com coupons: Jaksta for Mac coupon code (June 2012)

Jaksta for Mac is the EASIEST, most ADVANCED streaming media recording technology for Mac OS X ever created. Once monitoring, Jaksta for Mac will download and save video and audio streaming from thousands of web sites as they play on your Mac. These files can be transferred to other devices like your iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or burned to a CD or DVD disc, or used in other applications like iMovie.

Jaksta for mac: Video introduction

 

Jaksta for Mac coupon codes

• Click to buy Jaksta for Mac Deluxe for $59.95. Coupon code: embedded into the link. Coupon discount: $12.00. Expires: 2012/06/12. Checked: 2012/06/07.

Older Jaksta for Mac coupon codes

• Click to buy Jaksta for Mac for $24.50. Coupon code: embedded into the link. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals 2011.
• Click to get $10 off Jaksta for Mac. Coupon code: embedded into the link. Expires: 2011/04/29. Checked: 2011/04/16.
• Click to get $10 off Jaksta for Mac. Coupon code: embedded into the link. Expires: 2011/08/01. Checked: 2011/04/16.
• Click to get $10 off Jaksta for Mac. Coupon code: embedded into the link. Expires: 2011/04/19. Checked: 2011/03/17.
• Click to get $10 off Jaksta for Mac. Coupon code: embedded into the link. Expires: 2011/03/03. Checked: 2011/02/10.
• Click to get $10 off Jaksta for Mac. Coupon code: embedded into the link. Expires: 2011/02/18. Checked: 2011/02/10.
• Click to get $10 off Jaksta for Mac. Coupon code: embedded into the link. Expires: 2011/02/18. Checked: 2011/02/10.