Take the Headache out of International Online Shopping
As the online retail world continues to expand and explode across the globe, South African consumers are no longer bound to shopping purely in our region, because, while the SA online offerings are world-class, there are certain items, specialised goods, or sales abroad that you’d ideally like to take advantage of. But, before you tackle the wide world of international online stores, we’ve got some tips that’ll make the whole process a lot easier (and save you money in the process):
Safety, security, and virtual cards
First and foremost, safety and security is key when jumping onto online stores that aren’t located in SA or you’re familiar with. Always inspect the website’s finer details (there’s a lot of scam/fake stores out there) by checking the email contact, T&Cs, and further information. Even send them an email in advance to check their validity.
If you’re ready to shop, check if there is a ‘lock’ symbol in your URL tab, it means that the site you’re on is protected with secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption – and that’s a good thing. Don’t proceed if that symbol is not there, and especially don’t supply any credit card or personal information. Another safety net (just in case) is also using a virtual card to do your online payments (most South African banking apps allow you to do this). This allows you to protect your actual card, limit what’s on the virtual card, and cancel it with ease if there’s a problem.
International shipping, solved
While most retailers do offer international shipping, the sad reality is that some bespoke and smaller online stores don’t. So, you’re probably wondering, even if you find a great deal on something you’ve been searching for, how do you get it to SA if that store doesn’t even offer international shipping? There’s an answer.
Postbox Courier is a globe-spanning, but proudly South African, courier service which not only opens the door to stores in the US, UK, and more that usually don’t ship to SA, but also allows you to bundle orders together, saving you on having to individually ship multiple items. The even better news is that registering with Postbox Courier is FREE.
Having the ability to shop on the big-name retailers in the US or UK — like Amazon, BestBuy, and Walmart — will help you find some seriously tempting deals, with everything from tech, and fashion, to gaming goods being discounted regularly. You’ll often find a solid special, even taking into account the customs duties and import fees. Also, if buying one product from an international retailer still seems a bit pricey, you can always combine orders with other purchases or get your friends involved who also want some goods; which leads us to the next point.
On top of getting items you wouldn’t usually have access to, Postbox Courier also offers parcel consolidation. This is extremely beneficial for people who shop with multiple retailers or want to bundle a number of international orders into one larger package, in order to save costs doing multiple shipments.
Remember the post-shipping costs
There are specific items and low-cost goods that do circumvent import duties, but it’s good to remember that most imported products will come with a customs duty that needs to be paid when it arrives in South Africa.
SARSÂ outlines these on its website, and this simply ensures that taxes are paid in the same way they would be when you shop in-store locally. However, if you’re picking up some incredible deals from international online retailers, you can often offset the price you’ll pay in customs duties. Just do the math.
To find out more about Postbox Courier and just how easy the service is to use, visit the Postbox Courier website here.