- Edited
Hello, I have seen alot of topics where people are asking about shipping goods from abroad and I think we should have a topic where people share their experience, post price estimations and real costs.
Let me start by telling that I was hesitating first about shipping from the US as I never done it before, but eventually I took the risk and I am very happy.
Shipment #1:
Seller & country of origin: Amazon.com | USA
Service & Carrier: Borderlinx.com | DHL
Item bought: Lenovo Ideapad Y510P Link
Item price: 959.99$
Item weight:: 4.99 KG
Shipping duration:: 12 days, timeline: November 15 (left amazon) - November 18 (arrived to borderlinx) - November 19 (left borderlinx) - November 26 (reached my house).
Shipping & taxes calculation using borderlinx calculator before buying the item (Estimation):
Shipping & taxes calculation after buying the item and arriving to my virtual address in US (Accurate estimation by DHL):
Actual costs I had to pay for DHL on delivery after clearance from Lebanese costums (2 bills, one for shipping the other for customs):
Final price:: 959.99 + 81.70 + 111 = 1158$
Savings: compared to M2 Megastore, they are selling the non FHD model with single vga for 1350$, and pcandparts selling the same model that M2 has for 1025$ + 185$ (additional vga) + 109$ (adapter 170W for SLI) + vat (on all) + shipping = 1455$ I think I have saved 295$ (comparing to pcandparts).
Shipping service and carrier review::
Comparing ShopandShip to Borderlinx, borderlinx is way better in my opinion.
Pros:
- Fast processing, the item appeared the same day in my account when it was delivered by amazon (it took 2 days on shopandship for a previous item to appear, I had to contact them to fix it).
- Account setup is for free (40$ setup fees with aramex more or less)
- Borderlinx calculator is pretty accurate if you submit the package information correctly.
Cons:
- No updates on the borderlinx website about your shipment (though they are working on it in the background).
- The AWB they provide is useless and you cannot track your shipment (with aramex you can track it).
Things you should know: Aramex gives you an address in New York, while Borderlinx gives you an address in Ohio, shipping between states is subject to different laws, Amazon usually ships from Indiana or Kentucky (maybe other states depending on the item), some times are subject to taxes, like the laptop if have chosen to ship it to my Aramex NY account they would charge additional 10% tax on it, while shipping the laptop to Borderlinx OH was tax free (0%), the tax estimation is added to your bill when you checkout on Amazon (you can see how much before paying of course).
Let me start by telling that I was hesitating first about shipping from the US as I never done it before, but eventually I took the risk and I am very happy.
Shipment #1:
Seller & country of origin: Amazon.com | USA
Service & Carrier: Borderlinx.com | DHL
Item bought: Lenovo Ideapad Y510P Link
Item price: 959.99$
Item weight:: 4.99 KG
Shipping duration:: 12 days, timeline: November 15 (left amazon) - November 18 (arrived to borderlinx) - November 19 (left borderlinx) - November 26 (reached my house).
Shipping & taxes calculation using borderlinx calculator before buying the item (Estimation):
Shipping & taxes calculation after buying the item and arriving to my virtual address in US (Accurate estimation by DHL):
Actual costs I had to pay for DHL on delivery after clearance from Lebanese costums (2 bills, one for shipping the other for customs):
Final price:: 959.99 + 81.70 + 111 = 1158$
Savings: compared to M2 Megastore, they are selling the non FHD model with single vga for 1350$, and pcandparts selling the same model that M2 has for 1025$ + 185$ (additional vga) + 109$ (adapter 170W for SLI) + vat (on all) + shipping = 1455$ I think I have saved 295$ (comparing to pcandparts).
Shipping service and carrier review::
Comparing ShopandShip to Borderlinx, borderlinx is way better in my opinion.
Pros:
- Fast processing, the item appeared the same day in my account when it was delivered by amazon (it took 2 days on shopandship for a previous item to appear, I had to contact them to fix it).
- Account setup is for free (40$ setup fees with aramex more or less)
- Borderlinx calculator is pretty accurate if you submit the package information correctly.
Cons:
- No updates on the borderlinx website about your shipment (though they are working on it in the background).
- The AWB they provide is useless and you cannot track your shipment (with aramex you can track it).
Things you should know: Aramex gives you an address in New York, while Borderlinx gives you an address in Ohio, shipping between states is subject to different laws, Amazon usually ships from Indiana or Kentucky (maybe other states depending on the item), some times are subject to taxes, like the laptop if have chosen to ship it to my Aramex NY account they would charge additional 10% tax on it, while shipping the laptop to Borderlinx OH was tax free (0%), the tax estimation is added to your bill when you checkout on Amazon (you can see how much before paying of course).