This 'How To' is for anyone not living in the USA who wants to take advantage of some of the cheap US bargains for parts, apparel, etc. :thumbup:
Just thought I would post some advice on how I buy stuff from the US, and get it home to Canada. A lot of US websites only ship to the Continental USA, or to the Contiguous States (ie Lower 48), or to APO/FPO addresses. This is fine and all, but what about the rest of us?
I use a mail forwarding address. For a monthly or pay per use fee you can establish a valid US postal address, and have items shipped to it. Then, warehouse staff at that address forward your item(s) to your home country (with very few exceptions) via a shipping means of your choice.
To set this up, all you need is a valid credit card, a 'daytime' phone number that the mail forwarder can reach you at, and to add your new US address as a billing address (make sure this is a secondary address) to your credit card.
After that, it's simply a matter of purchasing an item online, and at checkout giving them your US address (the mail forwarder). You then confirm that your billing address is the same as your shipping address (this is why we add a secondary billing address to your credit card), and Voila! US bargains at your fingertips.
Obviously your shipping times will be a little longer, and your price per item will be a bit higher than our US counterparts because we have to ship from the mail forwarder to another country, and possibly pay an importation fee, but in a lot of cases it is still far cheaper to purchase an item this way...
Here is a link to the review of the company I use, but there are numerous ones out there to choose from.
http://www.600riders.com/forum/vendor-reviews/34462-bongo-international.html#post362208
I hope this helps at least one or two of the overseas guys and gals on here...
Just thought I would post some advice on how I buy stuff from the US, and get it home to Canada. A lot of US websites only ship to the Continental USA, or to the Contiguous States (ie Lower 48), or to APO/FPO addresses. This is fine and all, but what about the rest of us?
I use a mail forwarding address. For a monthly or pay per use fee you can establish a valid US postal address, and have items shipped to it. Then, warehouse staff at that address forward your item(s) to your home country (with very few exceptions) via a shipping means of your choice.
To set this up, all you need is a valid credit card, a 'daytime' phone number that the mail forwarder can reach you at, and to add your new US address as a billing address (make sure this is a secondary address) to your credit card.
After that, it's simply a matter of purchasing an item online, and at checkout giving them your US address (the mail forwarder). You then confirm that your billing address is the same as your shipping address (this is why we add a secondary billing address to your credit card), and Voila! US bargains at your fingertips.
Obviously your shipping times will be a little longer, and your price per item will be a bit higher than our US counterparts because we have to ship from the mail forwarder to another country, and possibly pay an importation fee, but in a lot of cases it is still far cheaper to purchase an item this way...
Here is a link to the review of the company I use, but there are numerous ones out there to choose from.
http://www.600riders.com/forum/vendor-reviews/34462-bongo-international.html#post362208
I hope this helps at least one or two of the overseas guys and gals on here...
