!! Free International Shipping !!

For those of us outside of the USA, shipping can be the big thorn in the side of a good deal. For me, Amazon, with it's enormous book selection and mega-department store selection of other goodies is incredibly tempting, but the shipping can be a bit of a killer.

For example, popping a copy of Tim Ferriss' book, The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated Edition into your cart and asking for it to be sent to Australia using standard shipping (taking 18-32 days) will set you back $11.27 for a total cost of USD25.80.

Still not a bad deal given you'd likely pay fractionally more than that at a Borders or Angus and Robertson locally. Factoring in exchange rates it could end up being a break-even deal. BUT, of that total price, shipping represents about 40% of the total cost.  That's a bitter pill to swallow and the high postage charges considerably dilutes the original bargain price of the book.  Combine that with the delay and inconvenience of not having it right then, it's a bit of a compromise. And that's the cheapest shipping option. Crank that up to the Priority International courier (delivery within 3-5 days) and the postage is three times that at USD33.85!

There has to be a few better options for us overseas folk.  Amazingly, there are - in fact a few odd sites that offer Free International Shipping. I plan to update this post with those generous retailers as they spring to mind and as you volunteer them

Ok, first up...BOOKS.

Duplicating Amazon's core business is Book Depository. Based in the UK and with a claimed 2.2 million book titles available, it's a must use for book lovers. Shipping is completely free to most countries around the world. I ordered a couple of books from BD earlier this year in a combined order which shipped individually since one was pre-order and they arrived within 7-10 days each. Pricing id very competitive too with the Four Hour Work Week above being AU$21.23 delivered free of course.

Next electronics, cheap stuff, cables and widgets.

DealExtreme or DX is a Hong Kong based retailer rapidly gaining popularity. If you're after a cable, something for your phone, a torch, batteries, computer accessories, memory cards are well worth a look.  Shipping is completely free once again, wherever you are in the world. A lot of the cheap stuff they sell IS cheap, but at the bargain basement prices they offer, it's well worth the risk.  Oh, and with any order add on a few of these super strong magnets - heaps of fun.

One thing I've been looking at too is a review of mail forwarding services.  While these services aren't free, they do often offer more economical shipping options, and of course provide access to all online vendors for us overseas customers.

I'm looking for other online retailers to post here, so please let me know in the comments, as well as your experiences using them (if applicable). More people should be aware of these deals and start supporting these unique providers.  Although I suppose the dichotomy here is the more international customers that use the service, the more costly and less viable it'll be for them to offer it.  Make hay while the sun shines then!

Comments

[Car Transportation]

I've had good experiences with Book Depository, however I feel the simply hide the shiping cost in the price of their books.

[interstate shipping]

Thanks for the article. I love reading books but there are so many that I couldn't afford or buy in the bookstores. Buying over internet is a good way, but most of the times the shipping fees cost even more than the books themselves and well... you know.

[Australia Shipping]

Now a days people are more dependent on online shipping .I think the main cause is free shipping and this is great concept also.