Amazon Global Shipping

[thelem-again]

Don't think this should be in the Skybox thread, although i'm not sure if it was discussed there already. It's nothing new though.

According to Amazon, it's an international shipping programme directly to you with all costs and apparently they handle all the customs and import fees.

I haven't officially tried it, but i did checked it out in my cart.

A $14USD board game 2.5lbs in weight with direct shipping to trinidad is costing $50.61USD to ship in 5 days or $28.91USD in 10-15 days.
Plus its import/customs fees is calculated at $24.26USD for 5 days or $16.02 for 10-15 days
Total Cost $88.12 or $58.19

Compared to an estimate cost from a reputed Skybox company, a total cost of $38USD ($14 + $24.46)

It doesn't seem that much items are available as yet through the program though.

Has anyone tried or considered this and can provide any insight?

[boxy]

I don't support Amazon trying to slip into our economy like this it seems as they may eventually try to muscle out the local sky box companies which is pretry bad in the long run.

[roadhog]

I don't support Amazon trying to slip into our economy like this it seems as they may eventually try to muscle out the local sky box companies which is pretry bad in the long run.

Price of service would dictate is they give skybox companies the boot. Nobody is going to intentionally pay more for something, when a reliable cheaper alternative is available.

[boxy]

I don't support Amazon trying to slip into our economy like this it seems as they may eventually try to muscle out the local sky box companies which is pretry bad in the long run.

Price of service would dictate is they give skybox companies the boot. Nobody is going to intentionally pay more for something, when a reliable cheaper alternative is available.

this is Amazon bro they are notorious for absorbing the competition. Besides once u are able to provide an airway bill to Amazon showing that the items bought were shipped to another country they credit you back the state taxes u would have paid.

[10-01]

I don't support Amazon trying to slip into our economy like this it seems as they may eventually try to muscle out the local sky box companies which is pretry bad in the long run.

Price of service would dictate is they give skybox companies the boot. Nobody is going to intentionally pay more for something, when a reliable cheaper alternative is available.

very tru and i feel Amazon will be cheaper .... these days skybox prices jus going up by the day

[boxy]

this is the ignorance that places companies into receivership. sky box companies pay for their services in USD in an economy where that currency is scarce and sometimes expensive to come by they tend to do what is necessary to keep the operation running. customers who come to pick up packages don't want to hear that they can't afford to pay the airline in USD they just want their shipments so they pay their bills by any means necessary without affecting their bottoming which they pass on to customers. In a sense it's customers own fault that they pay so much as the much needed USD is also syphoned out via credit card purchases. which is only now being regulated in some banks.
What going to happen now is that u going to put companies out of business and pay Amazon directly in USD for local vat and duties shipping and cost. Therefore hurting our countries economy further.

[kstt]

Customers win with competition. Lower ur price or lose out!

[ragzinc]

this is the ignorance that places companies into receivership. sky box companies pay for their services in USD in an economy where that currency is scarce and sometimes expensive to come by they tend to do what is necessary to keep the operation running. customers who come to pick up packages don't want to hear that they can't afford to pay the airline in USD they just want their shipments so they pay their bills by any means necessary without affecting their bottoming which they pass on to customers. In a sense it's customers own fault that they pay so much as the much needed USD is also syphoned out via credit card purchases. which is only now being regulated in some banks.
What going to happen now is that u going to put companies out of business and pay Amazon directly in USD for local vat and duties shipping and cost. Therefore hurting our countries economy further.

cry me a river

[boxy]

this is the ignorance that places companies into receivership. sky box companies pay for their services in USD in an economy where that currency is scarce and sometimes expensive to come by they tend to do what is necessary to keep the operation running. customers who come to pick up packages don't want to hear that they can't afford to pay the airline in USD they just want their shipments so they pay their bills by any means necessary without affecting their bottoming which they pass on to customers. In a sense it's customers own fault that they pay so much as the much needed USD is also syphoned out via credit card purchases. which is only now being regulated in some banks.
What going to happen now is that u going to put companies out of business and pay Amazon directly in USD for local vat and duties shipping and cost. Therefore hurting our countries economy further.

cry me a river

[Redress10]

Skybox companies are nothing more than "manufactured" middlemen with even extreme mark ups at times. If the mark ups weren't profitable then why are there so many skybox companies etc. Amazon actually exists to cut out the middle man....Amazon is a global giant and they should be welcomes. In fact the government should enquire about getting a regional hub here...That would be interesting for employment etc.

[sMASH]

this is really, if u want to buy at the local pharmacy or the superpharm... the sheer size of amazon, they could afford to penetrate price and just undercut the local competition. eventually they could raise back their fees. but at that time, they could have a local distribution hub that would end up being a local purchase than an import.

trinidad is too small to stock a wide variety of items for local business, but if they look at trinidad as a south caribbean hub, it may make sense


the potential is attractive yet ominous.. i keep thinking we would be encouraging skynet to come about... probably its our destiny.

[Redress10]

I think it could work but we backward here so politicians etc still wouldn't see the benefits. Remember we looking to add pan building to the school curriculum whilst other countries adding programming to the curriculum. So after we learn to build the pan and find out we don't have a sustainable market to export it to some other youth from another country would program the pan into software and sell it globally......That's trini logic for you. Common sense is a foreign concept here.

[pugboy]

Amazon would likely be always more expensive since they air shipping individually
Whilst skybox lumping all on a skid and getting cheaper air freight rates

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

I'm interested!

[VexXx Dogg]

me too.
come thru bezos

[sMASH]

It is interesting to see how far it could be developed if Amazon is embraced.
Is like using cd's when flash drives are starting to be advertised, and the flash drive, if successful enough could lead to streaming... Or the flash drive could just buss the cd scenes and raise costs when it has no more competition


A Pandora's box.

[sMASH]

I doubt the government might burden the foreign company. Because one dummy say they want to woo Facebook to trinidad...
Also, look how easy Uber functions. There was a little bear up initially about the legality of it, and then crickets,,, outside the window of ur Uber taxi.

Them also, Kamla is inclined to technology and modernization , she would let them come.

[pugboy]

it will be interesting to know how amazon plans to do this
eg hire local shipping agents, skybox companies ?

in many us cities they do subcontracted local delivery from localized warehouses

interesting to know how many are willing to pay $20-40usd more for a small package
dont think I can sacrifice my lunch money so badly lol

[thelem-again]

I'm interested as well. Additional cost i predict will be to facilitate no delays and cutting out the middle man (skybox).

Also it would help with employment. I don't see how it would hurt the country in terms of forex (I could be wrong).

I think this move by Amazon is based on their recent determination to eliminate the middle man (delivery companies) worldwide. Through the introduction of their Amazon shipping, which I have use before. And yes, its quite efficient.


Story about this development and its affect on the stock market. ..

The decline in UPS shares this year is a great buying opportunity due to the company's dividend, according to one Wall Street firm.

Stifel raised its rating to buy from hold for UPS shares, predicting Amazon will remain a big customer for the delivery company.

The company's stock is down 11 percent this year through Monday due to investor worries over competition from Amazon and UPS' increased investment spending guidance for 2018.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Feb. 9 that Amazon is gearing up to launch a delivery service for businesses.

"We believe the [UPS] shares have been oversold and find it the most attractive dividend play in large cap U.S. transportation," analyst David Ross wrote in a note to clients Tuesday. "Amazon needs all the capacity it can get from its service providers, and still needs to build more capacity in-house, in our view … Amazon is a significant customer and were they to take all their business away, it would hurt, and the stock would move lower. We just don't believe it is in Amazon's best interest to do that, nor do we believe it is consistent with Amazon's operating philosophy and stated strategy."

UPS' stock has a 3.4 percent dividend yield, according to FactSet. The company's stock is up 1.2 percent in Tuesday's premarket session.

Ross lowered his price target for UPS shares to $121 from $127, representing 14 percent upside from Monday's close.

The analyst said the company will likely avoid a strike as negotiations with its unionized employees continue into the current contract's expiration on July 31. He predicts an agreement will be completed before the deadline similar to the last three deals.

"We believe the package and general freight markets remain strong, and the stock has sold off to a valuation that we believe reasonable considering the risks ahead and the increased capital investments expected over the next several years," he wrote.

[rotorhead24]

I highly recommend the service as I used it recently, items reached within the country four days ahead of schedule, and if it wasn't for the weekend I would have received it three days ahead (I used priority shipping). The carrier was DHL as I expect, since they are the best, and when the items reached no extra payments were made. Delivered straight to my door with options to deliver elsewhere once shipped. My overall take on it is, global shipping is for when you have a few items, not for one item orders, it's almost a steal on both shipping and customs.

[cryotec]

I highly recommend the service as I used it recently, items reached within the country four days ahead of schedule, and if it wasn't for the weekend I would have received it three days ahead (I used priority shipping). The carrier was DHL as I expect, since they are the best, and when the items reached no extra payments were made. Delivered straight to my door with options to deliver elsewhere once shipped. My overall take on it is, global shipping is for when you have a few items, not for one item orders, it's almost a steal on both shipping and customs.

is it generally cheaper if you buying multiple items or skybox still provides the lower price point?

edit: also, since they shipping directly to you, when something gone wrong, do they pay to ship it back to the US?

[rotorhead24]

It is generally cheaper than a freight forwarder, and the service is a whole lot better, but buying single items seems to be a lost when it comes to shipping (think taxes are adequate on them). Can't quite remember their return policy for global, but in all my years using Amazon, I never had to return items as they easily give refunds. A next plus is, it seems like they check all items ordered as one package even if it isn't consolidated and it seems like they don't consolidate as much as before, which makes the tax and shipping they charge a steal, and even if you end up paying more, they give you a refund within two months.

[cryotec]

It is generally cheaper than a freight forwarder, and the service is a whole lot better, but buying single items seems to be a lost when it comes to shipping (think taxes are adequate on them). Can't quite remember their return policy for global, but in all my years using Amazon, I never had to return items as they easily give refunds. A next plus is, it seems like they check all items ordered as one package even if it isn't consolidated and it seems like they don't consolidate as much as before, which makes the tax and shipping they charge a steal, and even if you end up paying more, they give you a refund within two months.

I dig up a bit and for some items, the taxes are a steal for sure and in some cases, the shipping is actually lower than a skybox.

While Amazon usually refunds any defective items, they ask that you ship back the item which doesn't really make sense due to the cost of shipping, hence why I asked if they will cover the return costs. I was thinking of using Aeropost recently because they offered a service to return items to the US for free; a service which is useful if you buy something and it is DOA. If Amazon covers the shipping cost to return an item, I am down.

[rotorhead24]

In all my years using Amazon, I was never asked to return items for a refund. I did recieve a return slip (small piece of paper with a barcode, return and DHL on it) in my package, not sure how it works or if it's even for the customer. You could check through their global return policy tho, they have it posted, just can't remember the specifics. Read their freight forwarding policy, and it's quite discouraging, so having tried, and proved the global service, I'll be using it when possible. Still have to find a freight forwarder that consolidates for a backup tho!

[Ben_spanna]

IF they start offering free returns or full compensation on damaged goods then Hell yes ill use them!

[Kronik]

I did some testing with a few items, if you order like more than 3 items, it works out better using Amazon vs a skybox. But keep in mind this is only for items sold by Amazon itself and not 3rd party sellers, so once you plan your purchases properly you can save a lot more with this service.
From my experience when returning an item to them, they generate a return label for you, you just print and attach it to the package and give it back to the shipper and they send it back, should apply globally because they do free return one it is returned from where they ship it to.
Will await hard facts to confirm this

[rotorhead24]

their seller policy for international shipping
"1 

Offer a full refund without requesting the item to be returned.

2 

Provide a local return address in the buyer's marketplace. For example, if you sell on Amazon.es, you will provide a return address in Spain. If you do not have a local return address, an International Returns Provider on the Solution Provider Network may be able to help.

3 

Provide a pre-paid return mailing label for a return request from the marketplace in which you are selling. For example, if you are a seller based in China selling on Amazon.de you will provide the customer a return label from Germany to you."

[st7]

you all have any feedback with Amazon shipping compared to skybox?

[iznuttin]

you all have any feedback with Amazon shipping compared to skybox?

Works well with CERTAIN electronics, clothing and small items. Always compare before deciding.

Very competitive, and sometimes even better than Skybox rates. Amazon estimates Import taxes/duties based on known rates.

Import duties are refunded if Amazon overestimates (happened to me a couple of times) and no additional action is required if Amazon underestimates.

DHL is reliable and you get working hours (signature required) delivery to your home or workplace as indicated when you insert the shipping address on Amazon. You can also call in to DHL to pickup instead if working hours deliveries are not possible.

Speed of shipments are either equivalent to or sometimes BETTER than Skybox timelines.

[PapaC]

Good info as the shopping holiday comes around.