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WorldPurchases gives global access to US stores
Posted by Angus Kidman at 9:45 AM on July 25, 2008
It's a familiar problem: you spot an item you want in an online store, and then discover that it won't deliver to a non-US address or without a US credit card. WorldPurchases offers itself as an intermediary, allowing you to order from multiple US retailers. Pretty much every major online store is covered (though sadly no eBay). The service charge is 5% of your total order and shipping from the US, but that still might work out cheaper than buying locally for some items (especially if you take advantage of services like Amazon's Super Saver Shipping to minimise postage). If you've used WorldPurchases or a similar service, let us know how it went in the comments. (Thanks Tony!) [WorldPurchases]
Comments
Ian
Posted July 25, 2008 10:07 AM
I use www.PriceUSA.com.au because you can claim coupons via them, plus for a small fee you can buy warranty returns insurance which saves you the cost of paying returns postage.
Also, they are based in Bendigo so you are dealing with an Australian company.
Julian
Posted July 25, 2008 10:22 AM
I use www.usglobalmail.com they will tell me on their website what is waiting in my mailbox. I can then choose what to forward, ask them to combine multiple items into one package and best of all to produce a trade invoice showing the values I decide.
It doesn't get you over the problem of needing a US credit card though - but I have one of those. Its just great for the forwarding side of things.
David Cartwright
Posted July 25, 2008 10:28 AM
I have not used WorldPurchases, however I have used a similar service called vPOSTASIA that is operated by Singapore Post.
My first shipment of a device
Despite about three emails to customer support, I received not a single reply about the problem.
Everything points to the fact that someone in the vPOSTASIA warehouse in the US has tampered with the computer system and my goods have been stolen by an insider.
Basically, it appears impossible to recover items under such an a scenario.
I would therefore caution anyone using such services - TAKE CARE!
molloby
Posted July 25, 2008 11:02 AM
I've also used PriceUSA. It's a very good service.
Neil
Posted July 25, 2008 11:06 AM
+1 for priceusa
Check out the Whirlpool thread.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=913221
Sarah Stokely
Posted July 25, 2008 12:40 PM
Holy crap that image is huge. Came through full size in my RSS reader too. I actually thought it was an ad.
Angus Kidman
Posted July 25, 2008 1:31 PM
Oops! Got published in non-thumbnail form for some reason. Apologies to everyone, it's fixed now.