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Kuwait Personal Shopping

Hello EasyShop!

When Aramex increased their prices because oil hit over $100 a barrel I was fine with it. When oil prices fell back to normal and Aramex didn’t decrease their prices, I was like no biggie. When Aramex decided to charge an extra KD1 for to each package I receive and added a compulsory 5% customs tax to all my packages worth of $100 I was like whatever, I can deal with that. But, to pay this much more than what I was paying before and have my packages arrive slower? That’s something I won’t accept.

I had a package arrive to Aramex on November 6th. It showed up in my mailbox on November 12th and then shipped the next day on November 13th. As of November 21st I have still not received the package. Since a lot of people have been saying good stuff about DHL’s similar service EasyShop, I decided to sign up with them and use their service instead.

It took me under 5 minutes to setup my account with DHL and also pay the $37 setup fee all from within their website. The DHL forwarding mailbox is based in Ohio which means I don’t have to pay the NY taxes when ordering from Amazon. I also pay for the package by weight only and not dimensions. With Aramex they charge based on weight and size which can result in a higher shipping fee. Once a package arrives to my DHL mailbox it should also ship right away to Kuwait since they have daily flights. Once the package arrives to Kuwait I have to go pick it up myself from DHL. There are 4 collection points to choose from and I chose the Kuwait City branch since its near my office.

If you want to open up a DHL mailbox it’s really easy, just follow this [Link]

88 replies on “Hello EasyShop!”

i just ditched aramex and opened a DHL account, i noticed that when i ordered that theres a duty fee with my first invoice !
dont know whats that but no way im going back to stupid aramex.

I order stuff at least twice a month and never once got charged New York taxes from Amazon to my Aramex account. I’ve heard people complaining about that but it never happened to me. Am I just lucky?

Mark, most of my purchases are from Amazon itself, and all are from the US. My last shipment was a Kindle DX. No taxes whatsoever.

Same @*#$% problem here, I haven’t received anything from Aramex for a week now including COD Modern Warfare 2 which was shipped on the release date…yes 11 days ago! ( all of my packages seem to be stuck in NY for a week now )

So Ive opened an account with DHL and thats that.

GOODBYE ARAMEX! ((( 4 year customer )))

Amazon uses many resellers and they themselves have many distribution centers. So that could explain why u haven’t paid tax yet. Try adding an apple laptop and go to the checkout screen and see if u get the tax or not. If not u might be exempt from paying tax for some reason.

I ordered from Amazon (baby bottles) and let it shipped to DHL Easyshop. (it took 1 day to arrived to DHL USA), having a description of 2.0lb. so I was expecting around 1 kg for my shipping fees, but I was shocked when I saw my Payment invoice cost 18.62 KD having a shipping weight of 2.57 kg…my question for those who used already this service, is how did they come up on that amount of fees?

Mark

Really there is no excuse for Aramex this time. They didn’t even bother with an apology Email. Its fine if the delay was caused by inspections here. But the packages are still in my NY Mailbox after 11 days…just outrageous!

Mark, You are right. It did charge me tax for when I tried to order a Macbook. WTF! Its wierd how it doesn’t charge tax on the Kindle, I just tried again. Easyshop here I come.

Damn mark thats along time.. i was with them for 2 years. and they were good until now.. I ordered my MBP 15″ replacement battery. Arrived in my mailbox 4th nov, Contacted them they said package arrived kuwait customs on 11th and since is been stuck there.. i am changing to DHL tomorrow!

I too opened up a box with DHL’s Easy Shop, ordered something off of Amazon and was happy to not pay any NY tax. The package arrived on the 18th in my mailbox and was shipped 19th and as of today it left NY and on it’s way here.. The best best best thing is how updated their tracking system. It’s truly a beautiful thing! Updates by the minute.. I actually know the process it takes to get my package out of Ohio and here to Kuwait.

Let’s see what happens on Sunday when my package is supposed to be ready for pick up 🙂

Set up an account myself. An item got recieved there today, hope all goes well! Aramex these days are just inexcusable. A freaking week in customs!

waiting 12 days for an item to be delivered is just ridiculous!

I guess that’s it for Aramex!

But… I hope DHL don’t seize this thing (transition of Aramex customers) to increase their prices/fees! :I

To clear up the weight issue..this is from the DHL website:

“All charges are to be calculated according to the higher of actual or volumetric weight as specified in Terms and Conditions.”

@mjkout: they dont i ordered many things so far from them and they are charging me based on the weight only nothing with the dimensions at all.

Borderlinx which is as same as shopandship from aramex is for online shopping unlike DHL it self.

however talking about speed. i ordered one item on 16th of Nov. and its here since Yesterday !

2 items left US on 17th and today in Kuwait 🙂

Regarding volumetric weight and DHL Easy Shop. I just got off the phone with a guy names dexter and asked him. You are to IGNORE the price that shows on their site, they weigh the items when they get to Kuwait and charge you by WEIGHT only, not by VOLUMETRIC WEIGHT. Hope that clears up anyones doubts.

Sorry for the triple post. I just realized something. Dexter told me that this was due to high demand in Kuwait only, I am not sure about our neighbors such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Therefore the volumetric weight charges may apply to them, but to us Kuwaitis, we only get charged for the actual weight.

@ BJ : I hope the shipping fees appear in my mailbox is wrong and they will charge me according to weight.

I usually ordered electronics, Camera and lenses for the past 6 years thru Aramex and ushopweship ,and never had an issue regarding the weight. I will update my post as soon as my package arrived . Thank you all!

If your talking about the link you posted. Yes it is wrong, Dexter said to ignore the fee that is shows on the website as they put the item on a scale when it gets here and you get charged for weight only.

Mark,

Does DHL provide you with a US phone number? Looks like they do not provide a phone number. Several sites require a US phone number to deliver.

When both Frankom and then Mark decide to switch to DHL … we all follow, you lead the way guys.

I hope some executive from Aramex is reading this, Bye Bye (Customer since 2003)

Exactly. I am paying more and the stuff is getting caught in customs here – in Kuwait – for another 5 days or so before Aramex clear it.

It’s ridiculous.

The delay now is in Kuwait not the US.

My experience with them is just as bad. Takes 48 hours to ship from Ohio once they recieve your package, then it takes from 4 – 7 days to reach Kuwait. Aramex in my opinion is a better choice 🙂

what will ur address format be with dhl?
i wish if there was a service where it wont have a number as box only a street address

@ifcq8, you don’t have to write Box#123 your address. You can write it as Apt 123 or Suite 123. This goes for Aramex, USWS, or DHL.

@ifcq8, you don’t have to write Box#123 in your address. You can write it as Apt 123 or Suite 123. This goes for Aramex, USWS, or DHL.

When the Fuzz about UshopWeShip was so high i`ve decided to give them a try, i`ve ordered an iPod With them They Screwed up from the 1st time by putting a Stupid Rule as Ship now thingy coasted me $20 Just to ship the item now and i have to pay another $$$ when it arrives to Kuwait, well i didn`t know about how stealy they think and guess what it didn`t ship now too LOL it took couple of days so they charged me normal just because it didn`t ship at the same time, well i won`t pay them that $20 anyway, when it arrived at Kuwait i had to clear the paper work myself and paid 13 KD in additional to what they charged me for the shipping, so it was the 1st and the last time with them :), i should`ve joined DHL that time :1 its next on my list if aramex didn`t change their way of shipping stuff.

Mark, since I hardly order on-line, I don’t recall paying taxes, but if I’m ordering let us say from Walmart an item that they don’t have in store then I do pay Florida tax 7%. Some states also request taxes depending on the items or vendor, BUT for overseas shipment I believe it shouldn’t have any taxes because you are not US citizens. Let us assume some Americans who live overseas then they have to declare their purchases with their tax filing.

You can ask or check on the vendor because if they are collecting from customers and IRS find out that they are not declaring such tax,, that seller will be in big—–!
Check this link, because lately with the economy each state is starting to change the on-line shopping to generate taxes since businesses are losing a lot.

https://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/business/business_tax_nys_sales.shtml

Also, if you are shipping to a business account is different from a personal account, again as a business you have to declare that in your business filing.

In the old days when we used to travel to Europe, we stamp our receipts at the custom to get back the tax was collected proving that the merchandises left the country. Kuwaitis were very smart in doing so too and this is how I knew about it then. I’m sure it still exists but who wants to stand in such long line.

Boss: ship now was a feature not a rule. It was meant for people who had packages they wanted urgently or else u wait till they check your mailbox and ship your stuff

I picked this company just to show how they run their business, I had nothing with to market their stuff,,, only for the following info…..
* * * *
Sales Tax Policy

Sales Tax:
We collect state sales tax when shipping to the state of New York.

International Tax:
All International orders may subject to import fees, duty, customs, VAT charges or additional taxes when the package arrives in the country of their shipping destination. Leisure Pro is not responsible nor can we offer any specific advice on fees or additional taxes that you may be charged when your merchandise arrives.

We cannot make refunds to customers who do not receive shipments because they have declined to pay these costs.

We recommend that you contact the appropriate government agency for your country/locale before placing your order and ask for information about these potential charges, so you know in advance what your total charges will be.
Cited from:
https://www.leisurepro.com/Content/Faq.html

NS: There is a difference between ordering items to Kuwait and ordering items to the States. If you order stuff to Kuwait which is counted as an international order you don’t pay tax. The thing is we order items to our US mailbox which is a local address and not an international one.

If you check Amazon’s policy for example they don’t ship electronics outside the US. But, by using services such as DHL, Aramex and USWS you can bypass that rule by having the items shipped to your US address and therefore having Amazon believe you are a US resident and then have DHL, Aramex or USWS forward your mail to Kuwait.

Now regarding getting tax refunds when you travel, I do that all the time. it’s a very simple procedure and there usually isn’t any line at the airport.

Thank you Mark for the info, may be with the new software at airports things move faster. I recall Germany was the fastest and they just stamp your receipts , while UK you have to show the merchandise which I used to ship 2 suite cases to Kuwait a week before traveling back. I like to travel light. Honestly it used to be a good refund to get back…Why not…..

I never ordered from Amazon ( my daughter does). I like Amazon to check the latest then find the item locally and if it is books I get from the public library.

Germany pay you cash but they actually checked my stuff to see if i had them. London refund it back to your credit card and it takes a few weeks but they never asked me to show them my stuff.

Thank you again Mark. Things (laws) keep changing,,, I’m talking 30years ago. Now you can figure my age…Well, my birthday is coming soon.

Aramex: I have some items that were “supposedly” shipped to Kuwait since the 11th so it’s been 10 days and still nothing! no idea how much will I pay once I actually get them and when.

U shop we shit: only use that for magazines since I don’t care when I get them

and now thinking of switching to DHL since I had no problem paying the shitty Aramex prices if that meant that I get my packages fast but now it’s like a more expensive version of u shop we shit

I have received 2 packages from Aramex today which were supposed to be delivered to me last week!! And guess what the receipts are gone I mean what the hell? what if I need to send a package back what will I do then? Why doesn’t aramex put the total price of the package including the new fees they recently added when you check the status of your shipment???WHY?? I tell you why because they are hiding something those freakin losers better sort themselves out and I hope their business burns down to ashes cause they deserve what comes to them.

guys guys
I just talked to my relative who works in the Airport customs and etc.
They have NOT charges on whoever there. The company which is handling the place (Ma’7azin el 3omomiya) is in charge of the aviation services and its part there, and they imposed the charge on aramex as 5% on everything, Aramex is collecting it from us the customers. This is an insider thing, just for the record.

lunardream:
“there. The company which is handling the place (Ma’7azin el 3omomiya) is in charge of the aviation services and its part there, and they imposed the charge on aramex as 5% on everything”

I think that Aramex & Agility (Ma`7azen 3omoya) are direct competitors in the Dubai market for the Freight Forwarding business. maybe this has something to do with it..

FYI Agility is in A LOT of trouble with the US military why? because they tried to scam them with some of the contracts they signed with them it has been all over the news last week. There you go Agility this is called Karma and karma is a bitch enjoy your big lawsuit and I hope they suck you dry like you tried to suck us dry.

Mark, could you please tell the difference between USWS and Easy Shop. I have been using USWS, never paid any tax when purchased from amazon, i have a mailbox account in Florida which was setup from USWS. How is Easy shop different.

Ya 100% made by Aramex. So stupid and obvious. Instead of improving their service, they’re counter attacking the competitor. A low and lame move.

READ THIS

Today I received my package (Canon EOS 7D) from ARAMEX after almost 25 Days since it arrived to my INBOX

They charged me 15KD (original Cost) and 1KD clearance! and when I asked what about the 5% he showed me his list where it showed 35KD supposedly I had to pay! But then he told me that he called his office and they told him NOT to collect the 35KD.

Now I don’t know if I should thank them or not but I think the whole issue is fishy in my opinion.

Then I told him good that you did not mention the 35KD cause I was not going to pay anyway.

I had in mind to ask for a receipt and a proof that they have paid 35KD as I believe it is MY RIGHT to know and to see a receipt of what I am paying. They SMS you with usual charges and at the door they calculate the clearance and the 5% without any proof.
In another countries that’s illegal and ripoff.

Thank you Aramex but no more packages from my side.

A friend of mine just told me about this post.

I’m the one who made https://noeasyshop.com . I’m not attacking DHL or saying they’re bad, I’m just putting out my (bad) experience with them so that everyone knows what to expect when ordering using DHL, since people who have been using Aramex expect to pay for the weight of the shipment only regardless of it’s volumetric weight.

DHL is pretty fast and reliable, but people have been having a lot of problems with them related to overpaying for shipments (mainly due to volumetric weight).

Aramex isn’t as reliable and as fast as DHL, but at least I can always tell beforehand how much am I going to pay when my shipment arrives. And although I’m 100% satisfied with them so far, I know a few people who had delayed/missing shipments issues with them.

At the end, you should really study and/or try all of your options and see what suits you best. There isn’t any one solution that works for everyone.

ya i opened an account too but was not charged anything.. are you sure you have to pay before using the service? im pretty sure im suppose to pay lol but where do i do that!

Not really, when you register, you can access your account but you won’t get the US shipping address, you guys need to go back to ur emails and open up the link they sent you, that will take you to whatever way to pay, other than that your accounts still not be activated, goodluck

So we have people who prefer Aramex and others DHL. Has anybody tried Fedex?
And what about the prices? Are they all the same?
For example, Aramex charge me 3.5kd for the 1st 0.5KG and 2.5kd for every other 0.5kg.
How about the others?
And can we negotiate with them because I honestly do feel like I’m being ripped off. Seriously, I don’t want to buy something for 100kd in Kuwait when I can get the same thing for half the price on amazon. But with the shipping, it ends up being almost the same price. That Sucks!
Anyways, back to my original question: priceing differences and can we negotiate for better rates?
Thanks

dhl egypt shop is a bad experience in Egypt.
ALL, DHL easy shop is the worst experience in Egypt. they dont have a clue about the service and it is all in a hand of one person, which as you expect is never their and never answer phone extension, nor email, even his mobile number and not reply to SMS.

I’ve just called DHL and they said that the charges will be like this;

If the real weight is bigger then the charges will be based on it.
If the box size is bigger than the weight then the charges will be based on it.

So it’s not like u said guys that they only charge over the real weight.

Hi, I am new to easyshop and with my first shipment I wondered how did my 3.1 lbs backpack(delivered by ups to my suite) came to 4.96kgs in the final invoice. I keep on emailing the easyhop rep here in Kuwait but to no avail.

Borderlinxs is rip-off. Think twice before using this service.
Actual weight of my package was 2.1 lb. They charged shipping for 5 KG. Cost of item was $ 45. They estimated cost as $ 100 and charged about 8% duty. And finally they lost the package in transit. My total cost was about $ 300 and they are offering $ 100 as compensation. Shipping cost itself is more than $ 140. It is almost a month since they lost it and I a waiting for compensation.
So think twice before using this service.

I agree Aramex can be expensive but I have been using them for five years and have spent thousands of dollars in delivery fees but it has been worth it for me. I tried Borderlinx, shipped with them twice (two years apart) and both experiences resulted in shipping charges that were three to four times as much as they would have been otherwise. Plus DHL charges duty and asks you now to pay upfront via PayPal? Duty? For what you EFFING assholes? These are personal items, if I bring them in on a flight, I will never be charged by KSA Customs. So EFF YOU DHL.

At least you get what you pay for with Aramex. And they are accommodating. They have dropped hundreds of dollars in shipping charges and combined shipments for me. Once, when a shipment took three weeks and cost SR375, they dropped the entire shipping fee to compensate me. Granted I am a regular customer who uses the service a lot (usually three or four times a month) but no one has to do that. This is not a service-oriented nation and most businesses simply don’t care, so I appreciate Aramex for what they have done for me. I will continue to use them despite the fact that I have to pay NY tax every single time on Amazon merchandise. That’s very painful for me!

But man, I wish they were cheaper and I wish they could store and forward like Borderlinx does. It is the ONLY advantage DHL has over Aramex but it doesn’t mean shit in the greater scheme of things.

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