Buy from stores in the USA and UK and have it delivered locally

[JansenSensei]

Full disclosure, I am posting an affiliate link below:

https://www.myus.com/signup/?aid=1004636&ReferId=2tumvBEQkGk=&utm_source=RAF&utm_medium=MyAccount

Now that THAT is out of the way...

Most of you already know about Amazon and I am totally pro-Amazon in a big way... but some items (like the iPhone 13 and HomePod Mini) simply aren't available to buy or simply doesn't ship to South Africa. To get around that, that is where MyUS comes in.

They are a mail forwarding company so when you sign up they give you a unique address that identifies the mail as yours. All you do is go to any US or UK store, buy whatever you want and give them THAT address instead of your South African address then just wait at your front door for delivery. Simple as that.

I signed up with them years ago but I was too wary of scams to make use of them until now. I took a chance and ordered a HomePod Mini for $99. My friend said he bought 5 locally at prices varying from R2800 to R3700 (Takealot) so R1500 sure is a very welcome price!

My custom preference was to use the 2-5 day FedEx delivery option rather than the Economy option AND I chose to keep the original packaging. MyUS by default repacks your items to save on space and weight and they charge shipping based solely on weight, not dimensions so I probably could have saved a few Rands on that option... I also chose for them to bill me for customs duties in advance also so I don't have to deal with that mid delivery or wonder how much that is going to be.

With my preferences being what they are my shipping + taxes + insurance came to $65 so I ended up paying a total of R2500 for my HomePod Mini compared to Takealot's R3700 and the process was so smooth, I went there to pay for the order but couldn't find it in my queue... so I went back later and it still wasn't in my queue... I found it in my history as the item was already packed, processed, the shipping paid from the card I had on file and it was ready for FedEx to come pick it up. Painless. I literally had to do nothing. I could have just shopped at Apple.com and wait for the courier to stop at my gate.

Now, Amazon still remains my goto place for any overseas purchases but sometimes it is good to have a backup. I.e. iPhone 13 Pro Max only costs R16,000 if you buy it from Apple directly... compared to R26,000 local. You COULD fly over, buy it, come home and STILL have saved some money ( ) or you could use MyUS and add the extra convenience Last month I was looking at the Reverb V2 VR headset and saw Amazon had it listed at $650 but HP lists it at $600 but has it on sale for $500... (https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-reverb-g2-virtual-reality-headset) That is an entire $150/R2250 saving right there just by shopping directly from the manufacturer! Definitely a nice backup to have!

So yeah, all, click the link above and check them out. Their reputation speaks for itself but hopefully my testimonial helps convince you to give them a go.

To repeat: I opened my account years ago but I was too afraid to try them out... then I tested the waters with a $99 purchase and was super happy with the experience. So no fees for joining and not using them right away or years from now. Their pricing works like this:
If you ship one item at a time they charge you nothing. If you ship more then they repack it to save you as much as they can but that requires a $9 monthly subscription. I don't buy overseas THAT often so I am still on the free plan but yeah, that is all there is to it...

P.s. as an aside: they were even given a special post code that makes purchases delivered to their address excempt from US sales tax because it is acknowledged as being an overseas export location. Don't believe me? Sign up for free, go to Apple.com, go to checkout and check the sales tax for yourself! $0.00 on an iPhone worth $1099!

Hope this testimonial / article / novel proves to be of some use to someone!

 

[Ulah]

How does the import tax work?

Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

 

[SPWM]

Why must your credit card details be filled in when you want to complete registration?

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[JansenSensei]

@SPWM If you don't feel comfortable giving ppl your CC details just give them your PayPal instead. That is, after all, one of PayPal's selling points At the end of the day, it is pointless to NOT have a card on file since the entire point of using a forwarding service is for them to give your parcel to FedEx and PAY THEM for shipping it to you. Without a way to pay for your shipping they would just sit there with your parcel in their warehouse until you one day decide to add a card. It just makes sense to have one on file in advance. Don't worry, though, signup is free


@Ulah Import taxes you can choose to either get a bill from FexEd or UPS after they have confirmed with local customs then you pay it directly to customs/FedEx (I don't know cause I never choose this option) or they can just tell you "This much please" and charge you in advance. Exactly the same as what Amazon does.

 

[Badsector]

Thank you for the info! What happens if the item breaks and it is still under warranty? I presume I will pay the shipping fees to send it back?

 

[Dom]

How does the import tax work?

Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

I imagine it would depend on the company you are buying from (Apple is well known for their tax evasion & avoidance) - there is a tariff guide that SARS publishes annually that can be used as a guide.

The sole logic I apply - if it is not something that SA already makes, the tax may be higher if they want it to be imported in (otherwise it may be quite cheap if it is deemed to he something that the SA market needs).

 

[Senshi]

How does the import tax work?

Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

You are still responsible for the import Tax. Duties and Taxes | South African Revenue Service
When the package arrives with whichever carrier you chose (let's say DHL for example) they will start the process with SARS/Customs and get in contact with you, letting you know what the duties and import fees are.

It's usually % based so keep that in mind, the more expensive the item, the higher the taxes.

Thank you for the info! What happens if the item breaks and it is still under warranty? I presume I will pay the shipping fees to send it back?

As they are a forwarding company, they don't get involved with the products you ordered. The shipping is for your account (both from them to you and back to the supplier).

Most of the time it's not an issue, however keep in mind shipping (export) back to the US can also get rather expensive.

I've used MyUS before and the service was pretty good and their shipping rates competetive for the most part. I can recommend them (especially now that Newegg no longer ships to South Africa).

 

[Scrooloose]

Just be careful, folks. If you bring in more than 2 orders per year, SARS sees you as an importer and that has it's own implications.

 

[Goofed]

the only issue i had with them because you sign up with your CC or paypal, they literally can charge you whatever and gets debited upon shipping with not much details on what they charging you for. Had to mail them to explain as some charges were unexpected. Albeit the packaging was good and shipping was very quick.

 

[Goofed]

Just be careful, folks. If you bring in more than 2 orders per year, SARS sees you as an importer and that has it's own implications.

yea i know first hand. SARS came for my ass after shipping a couple of things.

But got a importers code online, very easy.

 

[Scrooloose]

yea i know first hand. SARS came for my ass after shipping a couple of things.

But got a importers code online, very easy.

Is there any sort of caveat around the importers code that we should consider? I bring in some stuff every couple of months which I try to bundle together, but it's pretty kak waiting 6 months between orders for some things - Especially for brewing equipment like keg couplers and whatnot. If I could find a workaround, such as in importer code, without it becoming overly cumbersome then I'd be very keen on doing that.

 

[Scrooloose]

Just be careful, folks. If you bring in more than 2 orders per year, SARS sees you as an importer and that has it's own implications.

Correction, it's 3 transactions per calendar year now. A bit of relief at least.

FAQ: Do I need to register as an importer if I buy personal goods from abroad e.g. from Amazon? | South African Revenue Service

 

[JansenSensei]

Just had myself a bit of a nasty experience with MyUS so it seems they are not all sunshine and roses after all

I wanted to buy some items direct from the manufacturer in Florida. They quoted me $120 for shipping and $107 for customs.
I figured I could get a better deal from MyUS so I had it shipped there. I saved $45 on sales tax and then I received my bill from MyUS.
They charged me $40 shipping for FedEx Express delivery saving me another $80 on shipping! Total savings $125 !!! Woohoo!
Too bad they picked the wrong "what is this item" code to declare it to customs and my taxes ended up being $335

Thus, I saved $125 and was overcharged by $228, leaving me paying $100 more than what I would have paid with the manufacturer. Here it would have been better to pay import duties manually and giving customs the correct code myself.
Having MyUS take care of my duties FOR me was a very expensive learning moment

UPDATE: They refunded me 50% of the tax for a total of $169 so that was nice of them!

 

[Phoenix Energy]

Dont forget that if you use them too often, you will get a call from SARS asking for a importers code

I believe you are limited to 3-5 imports a year under R50k or something like that

 

[Ninpookurin]

Why does my us websites for shopping
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