How does it work?
You:
- Send us an email containing the details of the item/s you wish to order. Include all descriptors necessary to make the purchase, such as color, size and preferred domestic shipping option, if applicable, as well as a direct online link to the item, if possible, to assist us in ensuring the correct item is ordered. Please note that if a preferred domestic shipping option is not selected then the cheapest shipping option will be used.
We:
- Review your order, making sure the items meet US shipping guidelines (please see here for more information) and that the items are in stock, before sending you an invoice for prepayment which includes the cost of the items, including domestic shipping and any applicable sales taxes, plus our Assisted Purchasing fee.
You:
- Look over the invoice, and if you approve, make the payment via PayPal to initiate the ordering process.
Keeping you informed throughout…
We understand that you want to be informed throughout the whole process so we will contact you:
- when we have ordered your items, which we will do so upon payment showing in our account.
- within 1-2 business days of each order being received, so you can keep track of your items
- within 1-2 business days of receiving your complete order with international shipping options for you to consider
- with an invoice for international shipping costs plus any other fees incurred once you have confirmed your shipping option
- with confirmation of the shipping of your package within one business day of payment being made, along with any tracking numbers if applicable.
What will it cost?
- Cost of Goods including any domestic shipping or sales tax charged by the retailer
- Assisted Purchasing fee: 4% of the Cost of Goods
- Mail Forwarding / Parcel Forwarding fee: $15USD via USPS; $25USD via another shipping provider. This is our service fee for the forwarding on of one shipment and NOT the actual shipping cost. Please note that USPS has package size limits; for items shipped to Australia, the maximum length of the package is 36 inches, and the maximum length and girth(circumference of shortest side of package) combined is 79 inches. If unsure if your item will meet these guidelines, or for size guidelines for other countries please contact us first.
- International shipping costs, which will be calculated once your goods are delivered to us as the cost is dependent on weight. To get an idea of USPS shipping rates please go to the USPS International Price Calculator and select your country. Use Select Shape, then Package and enter a weight and press Continue to see the shipping options – we generally offer Express Mail International, Priority Mail International and First Class Mail International (First Class is only available for packages 4lbs and under). For example, if your order is being shipped to Australia and came to 4lbs, you can see by the shipping calculator that shipping costs would be $51.50USD via Express Shipping, $38.75USD via Priority Shipping and $31.89USD via First Class.
- Package Consolidation fee: $2.50USD for the consolidation of each additional order received, whether ordered via our Assisted Purchasing services or placed yourself. We will unpack your orders and repack them together to ensure your shipping costs remain at a minimum. Please note that orders on Amazon and eBay, when ordered from different sellers and shipped separately, will incur a Package Consolidation fee for each individual order received. However, backordered items arriving at a later date to other items in an order will not incur this fee. If ordering goods from Amazon, we require the order confirmation to be forwarded to us so we can determine how the packages are being shipped.
- Administration fee: An Administration fee of 3.9% of the total of payment due will be applied on each invoice, that is in this example, 3.9% of the above 4-5 values (depending on whether consolidation is necessary).
Additional information
- Some phone orders require paperwork to be faxed through to the retailer. In these cases a $5USD fee will be added onto the Assisted Purchasing fee.
- For Assisted Purchases that do not require the Mail Forwarding component, the fee is 4% of the total cost of goods plus $10USD. Examples of such purchases are tickets, accommodation, pdf books or shipments direct from the retailer to another US address other than ours.
- eBay ‘Buy It Now’ sales will incur the regular Assisted Purchasing fee, as will auctions where the bid is successful. For unsuccessful bids, a $3USD fee will be retained. Should you require us to place your bid using a sniper program, then an additional $3USD non-refundable fee will also apply.
- Re-invoicing: If you change your mind on the items you wish to purchase after an invoice has been created, we will re-invoice you a second time for free. Further changes will incur a $3USD fee. This fee will not apply if a re-invoice is necessary due to an out of stock item.
- We will store your orders without cost for eight weeks, after which a cost of $5USD per week, per order, will apply for the next 4 weeks. For orders larger than 20lbs, special storage fees apply, to be advised of upon request. If no arrangements have been made for shipment of the order/s after these 12 weeks in total, we reserve the right to donate the items to charity. Please note that storage is only available if you are using our Mail Forwarding service.
- If you cancel your order/s after they have been processed by the retailer, a $5USD Refund fee will apply per order canceled, plus any charges, such as domestic shipping, already incurred. This does not apply should you wish to cancel your order due to it being out of stock or backordered. Please note that the Assisted Purchasing Fee and Administration fee is non-refundable on items being canceled.
- If your items need to be returned after we receive them, either at your request or due to not meeting shipping regulations (e.g. size limits or prohibited items), then the $5USD Refund fee will be charged to return the items as well as the cost of domestic shipping back to the supplier. Please note that the Assisted Purchasing Fee and Administration fee is non-refundable on items being returned.
- Additional Shipment Fee: $12USD for each additional shipment. This applies if you need us to split your order into separate boxes for shipment, or if we need to use a second box due to size restrictions.
- Handling Fee: $5USD for each additional box. This fee is incurred when using shipping providers other than USPS where one shipment may contain multiple boxes.
- Heavy shipment fees: No charge for shipments up to 20lbs. For shipments totalling over 20lbs, a $10USD fee will apply for each 20lb increment, for example shipments weighing 20lbs1oz-40lbs will incur a $10USD heavy shipment fee; a shipment weighing 40lbs1oz-60lbs will incur a $20USD heavy shipment fee, and so on.
- Items larger than the USPS limits (for Australia the maximum length of the package is 36 inches, and the maximum length and girth -shortest side of package – combined is 79 inches. For size guidelines for other countries please contact us)- will need to be shipped via another shipping provider such as DHL. The cost of shipping via DHL is largely dependent on the weight as well as the shipping dimensions of the package, so we will require this information before being able to provide an estimate on DHL shipping costs.
- Please note that we will not declare goods to be at a lower value than they actually are, and any customs taxes imposed by the receiver’s country will be their responsibility.
- The exchange rate is calculated using the PayPal rate at the time of invoicing (this is generally the spot rate minus 2.5 cents). The rate used is roughly the same rate a bank would charge for doing a foreign currency transaction.
- Refer to our Fees FAQ for a full list of fees
