I have zero loyalty when it comes to mail forwarding services and I’ll flip flop between Shop & Ship, MyBox and MyUS without hesitation. They’ve all got issues and end of the day all I care about is getting my items to Kuwait at the most reasonable rate possible. I know Shop & Ship gets a lot of hate here but I have a nostalgic connection to the brand since I was one of their first customers 20 years ago. But, for the past few years, I had been using MyBox for all my US and UK shopping since they were cheaper than Shop & Ship. But recently I moved back over to Shop & Ship because of their FLEX membership program and because MyBox was starting to get on my nerves.
One of the most annoying things about MyBox was the fact they would send me an SMS, email and app notification all at the same time whenever a package arrived to my mailbox, a package shipped from my mailbox or when a package was out for delivery. Three notifications at the same time and there wasn’t a way to stop it (from within my account at least). Another thing I found annoying was that every single time I logged into my account I would get a pop-up asking me to rate my experience. Every single time and I really really hate pop-ups. The final straw I think was when they most recently started charging 90$ a year for the option of consolidating packages. I thought that was too much to pay but it made me go back and take a look at the Shop & Ship FLEX program since that was only $45 a year. I ended up realizing that I could actually be saving money going with FLEX so I shifted all my shipping back to Shop & Ship.
FLEX has been around for a while now but I never signed up for it because I was happy using MyBox. The service costs $45 a year and has a number of benefits but the two most important ones for me were:
– You’d be charged in 100g increments instead of 500g increments
– You’d get a 20% discount on shipments weighing over 3KG
The 100g increments thing is obviously useful but the 20% discount on heavy items helped me out a lot recently since I was ordering a bunch of car parts for my Datsun 240z and they were mostly all over 3KG (pictured above). So far these two benefits combined have helped me save a bit of money compared to if I had shipped it with MyBox. For example:
13.4lbs
S&S Flex: 23.93 KWD
MyBox: 26.500 KWD
8.56lbs
S&S Flex: 15.69 KWD
MyBox: 16.500 KWD
1.88lbs
S&S Flex: 3.44 KWD
MyBox: 4.500 KWD
So not major savings but enough to justify signing up to FLEX and, I’ve actually already made back the $45 membership fee in savings this past month alone. So if you use Shop&Ship but haven’t signed up to FLEX then you should since you could be saving a lot of money. For more details on FLEX you can check out this page.
42 replies on “Shop & Ship FLEX”
On average, how long does it take to receive the package?
I wanna order some Bernie Sanders merch but they only ship to America.
A week maybe
So this is good if you order frequently. But if you order once or twice a year, then my box is cheaper correct?
Yes
n00b question here, aside from consolidation, should i be using direct Amazon shipping to Kuwait or use MyBox for single item shipping?
99% of the time shipping direct from Amazon USA would be more expensive. But, if you’re shipping from the UK it could be a lot cheaper to ship direct. Check this old post out: https://248am.com/mark/shopping/order-heavy-items-from-amazon-uk-with-free-shipping-directly-to-kuwait/
Never considered Amazon UK, thanks for that,
I made a comparison between ordering directly from amazon, or ship the item from its company’s website to MyBox, i then calculated the shipping according to its weight, then added the 5% Kuwait customs and other fees, turns out it was cheaper to send it directly from amazon, 8KD cheaper.
So I’m torn to be honest, that was my first Amazon order, so i’m still learning
I’ve ordered dozens of items directly from Amazon even though I have a Shop & Ship account. It is fast, and delivers to your door and you don’t have to worry about an intermediary step.
Okay, this is why its getting worse for me,
I have checked the UK site, and tried to order the same Item that i have just ordered from the US site,
the item costs around 151KD
with Amazon US Direct Shipping 176KD
with Amazon UK Direct Shipping 300KD
and with Shipping from the Item’s main site through MyBox 185KD
so, does that mean i have to do my calculations throughout these sites first prior every purchase to determine who is cheapest?
what is the item?
Oculus Quest VR Headset
$499
4.9lbs
where did you see 4.9? I’m seeing 3.84lbs as the shipping weight. With S&S Flex that comes to 7.93KD shipping and Amazon is charging 11KD so I’d pay the 3KD extra and go with Amazon for sure.
Ordering from the UK makes sense when the item is expensive since when u deduct the 20% VAT the price u save on VAT you use towards the shipping cost
It said 4.9lbs on their website
The package just arrived 5 mins ago, i recieved it and the sticker says 5.36lb
Probably with the amazon packaging
So why would you would u pay the 3kd extra for amazon shipping?
US items on Amazon UK are generally more expensive even without VAT because they are imports and also because of the weak pound.
In my experience, shipping direct from Amazon (at least the US site) is only marginally higher (if at all) but the benefits far outweigh the costs. You get the product within 2-3 days, right to your doorstep and mostly through DHL/FedEx (relatively more secure than Aramex or PostaPlus).
I always wonder what kind of stuff do people order from US or UK, that is not available here?
I mentioned up there that I wanna buy some Bernie Sanders merch which unfortunately only ships to other states within the United States.
this is easy I can answer right away. For example everything on this US website https://www.thezstore.com/ and this UK one https://classicalfa.com/105-coupe-parts/
NONE of these items are available in Kuwait. And that’s just a quick example because I’ve been ordering a bunch of car parts lately.
But here are a few items I purchased from Amazon last year:
Dremel 8050-N/18 Micro Cordless Rotary Tool
Jorn Utzon Logbook: v. 4: Kuwait National Assembly
2 of Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street: a collection of recipes to share
Fluance Elite High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable
Real Premium Grade Gaffer Tape
And here are “some” items I purchased off eBay last year:
1986 New Centurions Jake Rockwell MIB
1976 Nick Ingman ‘TERMINATOR’ LP
Hitachi Car Radio from a 1973
1971 Alfa Romeo GT Veloce Coupe 20-page Car Sales Brochure Catalog
BMW 2002 1972-1976 Weber Carburetor Conversion Kit
13 Vintage Ladybird Nature/Natural History Books
Sunex REDLUH Tools Underhood Light
Original Vintage Grandstand ASTRO WARS Electronic Game Boxed Japan 1981
Very Rare Tomy Tron 1982 VFD Tabletop Electronic Game
DANIEL ARSHAM Futures Relic 06 – Polaroid
MindShift Gear TrailScape 18L Camera Bag
So basically there are millions of items available abroad not available locally.
Lol much better explanation.
Wow! Cool stuff, you really are a very interesting man, Mark
i tried ordering some stuff from US store but its not accepting my card. @mark did you encounter such issue and how did you go around it.
This is the 1st time i hear about FLEX.
Thanks for sharing
Is that ACC carpet for the Alfa?
No for my Datsun, all the boxes in that photo are for my Datsun
MyUS is better for three reasons (2 of the reasons are tied to a 20% discount you get on all shipments by signing up and giving them your Visa Credit Card details from the start, it also waives the membership fee for 2 years and the setup fee)
1. Shipping heavier single packages (e.g. 21.26 lb which is a recent order of mine with MyUS) ends up costing the same on both services assuming you signed up for the 20% discount using a Visa card. 35KD on MyUS vs 35KD on Shop&Ship with FLEX.
2. Lighter packages cost less on S&S with Flex however MyUS provides package consolidation. Taking a 1kg package for example, on MyUS that single package would cost 8.12 KD vs 4.73 KD on S&S Flex. Add another 3 packages that brings the total weight to 4kg on MyUS and the total shipping cost would be 15.56 KWD vs 18.92 KWD S&S Flex and the more you consolidate the more you end up saving just because S&S forces you to ship each package separate.
Bonus: Package consolidation means you pay customs fees once vs having to pay customs fees on every single package with S&S Flex.
3. NO TAX on online orders from the US because MyUS is located in Florida which has yet to force sales tax on online retailers.
Hope people find this helpful!
Just to clarify my second point, 18.92 KWD is assuming you send the same amount of packages to S&S Flex which means you’d be paying 4.73 x 4 times.
I used to use MyUs but let me tell you.. they inflate the weight of the packages by shipping in extra heavy boxes. you end up paying so much more extra in the end. Mark had made a great post regarding this. i cancelled my subscription with them after realising how much i was getting ripped off.
Yeah no thanks, I didn’t get a single package from them where the weight wasn’t inflated so it might sound cheaper when you plug in the numbers on their rate calculator, but what in reality weights 2lbs at Shop & Ship or MyBox is somehow 4lbs with MyUS.
https://248am.com/mark/shopping/myus-is-expensive/
I recall this post and its very unfortunate that this was the case. However the weight of shipments to MyUS in my case have always reflected the same weight shown by the carriers that ship to them. For example the 21.26lb they put for my heavy package is the same weight put with UPS on the shipment on its way to MyUS and I have been basing my comparison on that. The next shipment I receive I will weigh myself to see whats going on.
I’m tempted to try DHL’s easy shop, did anybody tried it yet?
Don’t, it’s not new, the reason it’s not popular is because they charge by volumetric weight and not actual weight.
Is this the service you used to order your 16inch Macbook Pro?
No I used MyUS for the MacBook Pro. The reason is I saved money by not paying tax and the package weighed in at 8.46lb so shipping was $55. I had around a $20 voucher so ended up paying $35. With Shop&Ship Flex it would have come out to around KD16 for shipping which is similar, but I would have paid tax on top of it which would have made it overall more expensive.
Mark I just ordered mac and paid hell lotta tax with MyBox, I wish I knew this piece of info before, or is there a way I could do something about it.
Makes sense too me since I ship a lot from the US. Mybox rates are way more expensive as compared before. Thanks for this Mark
Hey Mark!
questiion: whats the best and cheapest way to send stuff from kuwait to the US? I need to send stuff like clothes and shoes in the range of 10-20 kgs
probably regular snail mail
how much do they charge per kilo and how do I go about sending something? do I need to have a post box or sumthin?
I heard about shipamall.com today in a whatsapp forward. It provides the same services as shop and ship and others. Their basic plan includes 100g shipping. I thought you might find it interesting to review. The whatsapp forward also included 1 year subscription on their premium plan (30% discount on shipping rates) code PRIVILI4U. I just tried it and it worked.
I also heard they have some deal with the customs like a “Privitization service”. Buts that’s just whatsapp news.
It turns out that Agility the Kuwaiti Logistics company owns or invested in this platform.
https://shipa.com/news/new-shipa-mall-makes-shipping-easier-cheaper-for-gulfs-online-shoppers/
Shipamall have three cons
1. They give a New York based address, so you have to pay tax on your orders
2. They take two to three business days to show you that your package have arrived
3. They will only ship once every week or two so it takes you about three weeks from your order date to get your package (slow)
I reccomend Fishisfast
1. It takes one business day to show your package arrival
2. They have services like check items if it is damaged and they also offer returning order service if your order is damaged or you changed your mind
3. They give you a tax free address in Delaware and other locations
4. You choose which carrier you want to ship with (Aramex, fedex, dhl)
5. They open your parcels and place them in one box
6. They have many other options for a fee like double box, plastic wrap, removing shoebox..etc
Check it I have tried both shipamall and fishisfast, I am still waiting for shipamall order
Direct shipping from Amazon
Sometimes when you order multiple items from amazon you get a cheaper shipping price than any other shipper and they deliver it directly to your home and you don’t have to worry about custom fees, amazon will handle it.
But amazon is weird because sometimes ordering a single order cost more than ordering a single item, I tried ordering a pc gpu and shipping was about 120$, Then I added ram, ssd, cpu and some fans (all small parts) and I was surprised that the total shipping cost is 66$ + 50$ for customs and handling fees, 110$ total which was cheaper than ordering only the gpu (120$)
does it takes any customs ? this is the most important thing in kuwait. Because you order, and then you are shocked about the customs & other ridiculous fees.
We need company that its clear about their fees & charges. and their and absolutely no hidden fees.
and since its does not consolidate & re-pack shipment. do you recommend any parcel forwarder.
It is not $45 anymore. It is now $70 per year.