If you run a US business that sells tangible product, international shipping is probably your least favorite part of the process. Heck, even non-business owners usually dread going to the post office or local shipping office for US shipping!
And, it is just as frustrating for consumers. As a matter of fact, just the other day I got an email from a reader asking if one of my Stuff Deals was valid and if they would ship to Australia. A lot of US businesses do not ship overseas. The website BongoUS aims to helps consumers and sellers with this by acting as the middleman.
How Does it Work?
Consumers overseas can sign up for a US mailing address on BongoUS that it then used when shopping online. The customer can shop for as much online as they like, and have it shipped to the US shipping address. Once they are done shopping, they log into their account on BongoUs.com and arrange to have their items shipped to their real, physical address in Australia, or one of 222 other companies. And shipments can be bulked together to save on cost.
This service is perfect for someone that has a need to often do business with US companies. It also broadens your shopping horizons. Options are sometimes limited for overseas consumers when shopping due to shipping restrictions with US companies. For companies, the cost is just too high, and the customs can be a pain to deal with. BongoUS acts as a go between to eliminate some of the hassle.
If you live outside of the US and shop online, please check out BongoUS. The service is available for $15 monthly if you shop often, or a one time pay-per-use fee of $5. Even if you do business with companies that do ship outside of the US, shipping with Bongo could save you up to 82% on international shipping costs.
Disclosure: This post is brought to you by BongoUS.
Thanks for including this post! Bongo International has made several positive changes and improvements since this was written in 2011.
No registration or monthly membership fees for one. Option to pay duty/tax fees at checkout or upon arrival.
Love the blog, it comes up in a lot of searches I make for research 🙂
Then again, don't consider them. They are unreliable. Steer clear! Their website clearly states that any item you request to ship by 4PM Eastern time will ship the same day. They took over a week for me, and I had timed my request for my package to arrive when I was in the states for a week. (I addressed my package to arrive at my mom's house where I would be staying.) Needless to say, it arrived well after I returned home from vacation and I never got to see it. I've never had such crap customer service in my life, either. They are a JOKE!