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.
Starting January, 31 for warehouses in California and soon coming to Oregon location, Shipito Airmail Express will be available to almost all countries in the Shipito shipping calculator.
Additionally:
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 Shopotam (former 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 Shopotam web-site.
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).
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?
Shipito package forwarder started offering free photos of packages to its customers. I’ve never ordered any pictures in the past, althouth the delivery+damage insurance required photos. Here is my first package gallery:
The first photo is with all my packages before consolidation:
Most other photos show the contents of the packages before consolidation:
The following photo shows all the content of the box after consolidating packages:
The final photo shows the box with a tape on it:
It is interesting that my box after consolidation had a 90-day free storage. I had to sent all my previous packages in 3 days. And it would cost me about $50 to add yet another package to the condolidated box. And now I can see how much free space I have in the box, so I can add more stuff into it. Hope this was not a mistake, but a new feature.
Shipito freight forwarder rolls out new and free service upgrade for all customers. All consolidated packages will have photos posted on your account. Some of the customers already can see the free photos of their consolidated packages.
The best part is that this service will be free for all customers! Great news!
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!
Now that USPS prohibits international delivery of lithium batteries and electronics with lithium, Li-ion, Li-pol batteries, many customers from the Ukraine will face problems delivering electronics from the US. The problem is that when you use courier services like DHL, Fedex, UPS you will need to pay for customs clearance in some cases, even if you don’t exceed the limit of 200 EUR / month. Plus when you use courier services the limit includes the shipping cots. Luckily package forwarders (also known as mail forwarders, freight forwarders, parcel forwarders, shipping forwarders) started shipping packages from the USA to Europe in containers. Many package forwarders shipping to Russia won’t work for the Ukraine when shipping lithium batteries and electronics due to different logistics. But there are package forwarders that will work for the Ukraine. And their prices are often lower compared to USPS Priority Mail or USPS Express Mail International.
Do you know any other package forwarders that allows to deliver lithium batteries and electronics with lithium, Li-ion, Li-pol batteries to the Ukraine? If you don’t live in the Ukraine, do you experience similar problems with your package forwarder?
