There are so many upsides to living in New Zealand and just like everywhere else in the world, there are downsides. One of the downsides for those who love a bargain and want to get their hands on all sorts of sales items (mostly from US based e-tailers) is that a number of them DO NOT ship to New Zealand.
To counter that problem, a handful of companies such as BuyUSA set up shop to provide an avenue through which Kiwis can set up a US shipping address, buy whatever they need, get these items sent to that address after which they would be forwarded to NZ by BuyUSA.
New Zealand Post has just announced a new service, YouShop which offers a similar service to what is already out there BUT, there are some points of difference that make it more appealing.
The Benefits of YouShop
- Cost – their rates start at NZ$17.25 for 500g. The postage is calculated at NZ$12.50 per parcel plus NZ$4.75 per 500g with the minimum chargeable weight being 500g. These rates are very competitive especially when you look at the fact that you could see yourself paying about NZ$60 with other shipping service providers
- Trust – Kiwis have come to know and trust NZ Post to deliver their mail over the years and who better to have handle your purchases and ship them to you in NZ?
- Quick Delivery and Tracking – the target delivery dates for packages are set at 7 – 11 business days and an added advantage is that you can track the progress of your parcel along the way.
- Insurance – each parcel is covered up to NZ$250 by NZ Post and additional cover of up to NZ$1500 can be purchased for only NZ$6.
With a number of the consumer goods being sold in NZ costing a lot more than what you can get them for in other countries such as the United States, this will be a welcome service to a number of Kiwis. It has also come at the perfect time of the year with Christmas being just around the corner. That said, they are running a promotion that will see you saving 10% on postage costs by entering the code YouShopBF1 up until 9 December 2012 (just make sure to ship your item before 12 December to get them in time for Christmas).
What are your thoughts on this service and do you see yourself using it any time soon?
[…] by all sorts of retailers on all sorts of items. But, New Zealand Post just introduced a service (YouShop) that gives Kiwis a US delivery address which then allows them to shop online from retailers that […]