How I Order And Ship Things From USA

It is unfortunate that most things are cheaper in the US and come with almost no risk of being fake; and, sometimes, still cheaper after you add shipping costs.

For some time now I have been increasingly buying things online -- from Amazon and other US sites. The problem I initially faced was that they would not ship to Nigeria (for most of their non-book items). So I signed up to MyUS excellent shipping service for just $10 and have been using them to get my packages in Nigeria.

They gave me a US address and contact phone number I can use when shopping on US sites. They then receive the package on my behalf and pick phone calls on my behalf. I get a notification when my package arrives their facility and I then choose the least expensive shipping carrier to Lagos (usually DHL and my package arrives in 3 working days).

It was how I got my most satisfying online purchase till date: my iPhone 5. I first tried getting it on eBay, then eBay banned me for no reason. So I got on Amazon and got it for $409.95 when it was selling for over N140,000 here in Nigeria for the 64GB version I bought. And I got a US quality version not the Asia quality version. The glass on my iPhone's screen is thicker than that of all the other ones I have seen with friends and my iPhone feels sturdier.

I also got my Microsoft Surface RT tablet's keyboard for $58.69 on Amazon. But it was not a very pleasant experience. Because of the size and stuffing, I paid more to ship it than I paid to ship the iPhone. However, it has been more reliable than the original one that came with the tablet.

Currently, I have two great looking Timex watches on their way to Lagos for me. And guess where I placed the order? Jumia, Konga or Kaymu? Wrong! On Amazon. I would rather have the peace of mind of knowing I am getting the highest quality version of a product than risk getting the China quality version of the product, even if shipping makes it slightly more expensive.

There are many shipping services that provide you US address and package forwarding. It wasn't easy for me to settle for one. Some don't even require you to pay a $10 registration fee. But why I picked MyUS shipping service is that they have been around much longer than most and they are also arguably the biggest which translates to cheaper shipping rate as they are able to negotiate a cheaper rate with DHL, FedEx and other couriers. 

It's better to pay $10 upfront and be guaranteed of the best shipping rate than to sign up for free on the others and get milked via higher shipping rates. 

And that is how I order and ship things from USA.