Sure, Amazon now offers direct shipping to the Philippines, but this will cost you a ton of money in addition to the items you are buying. Not to mention the horror stories from customers experiencing alot of mishaps on their items or even just retrieving their packages from customs/PhilPost. Good thing there are alternatives.
I discovered this method through a Youtuber friend of mine, Think Tank TV PH, who did a tutorial on this on their Youtube Channel. The reason I'm sharing it to you now is because I recently tested this method out and explored other options as well!
You can watch the video tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTuvrRk1JW0
You can watch the video tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTuvrRk1JW0
Amazon Prime
The methods I will share to you greatly leverages Amazon Prime offering. Amazon Prime is basically like a priority shipping thing where you may get the items as soon as possible usually up to 2 days wait time and some are even same-day delivery.
You also get discounted shipping on some items. Basically, anything that has the Prime logo on the item will have these benefits.
The catch? It's only available on US based locations(at least as far as I know) and you need to be an Amazon Prime member. They do offer a 30-day trial, but of course, if you'll shop more often on Amazon, being a prime member will be more practical.
Why Buy On Amazon?
Before telling you guys what the methods are for shopping on Amazon, I guess I have to talk about why even buy on Amazon?
I've always been on the lookout on good deals online on things that I like to buy. Most are easily available locally and at good prices, however, when I looked at Amazon listings of the items I want to buy and compare it with local prices, they do have more of a better deal than local sellers(even with shipping costs). Which I understand why its more expensive locally since items here in the Philippines have taxes(especially imported ones) and of course the profit that the sellers put on top of the actual price.
But I'm a freakin cheap skate and want to save as much as I can so, as much as I want to splurge right away and just buy them locally, I took the risk and bought on Amazon.
NOTE: You really have to look for great deals on Amazon for you to really save money and keep in mind that shipping costs are still not added to the prices.
Another thing that I liked about shopping on Amazon is that, you can find great refurbished items at affordable prices as well as items that are typically hard to find or only available abroad.
I'm into tech and tech items on Amazon are relatively cheaper there than here in the Philippines, so, naturally, I am now leaning towards purchasing alot of my tech stuff on Amazon and probably on Newegg as well(but that is another topic).
One thing that stopped me before from buying on Amazon are of course the shipping fees.
Amazon can now ship to the Philippines directly through their available shipping methods.
However, it really costs a fortune. And from what I've been hearing from my friends, the customs and taxes that will be charged for those items are also high. Not only that, there are times that you actually need to take time from your day and pick it up in the local post office and charge you 100+ php for it to be released.
It such a drag and hassle to pay more fees to get the items you ordered online. Sometimes the fees go up to almost the same price as the items you're buying.
Because of this I've been on the hunt for a workaround or to at least lessen the hassle of getting the items.
And that's where I remember the tutorial from Think Tank TV PH.
If you're into tech as well, visit my tech blog at www.techgabster.com :)
How To Shop On Amazon(and have it delivered straight to your door step)
- Go to Amazon.com
- Sign up for an account(if you don't have one yet) and confirm your email address or just login using your account
- Find the items you would like to purchase
- Once you are done, click on your cart and select Checkout
- You will probably receive an offer regarding Amazon Prime especially if the item has the Amazon Prime Logo on it. If you do, sign up for the 30 day trial and use it on the check out.
OKAY, Now you have items to order. Here's how to have it delivered to your doorstep, or pick it up from a FORWARDER but before that, let's talk about what forwarders are.
Forwarders and Why It's A Good Alternative
To cut this really short, forwarders are basically just that. They forward your packages/parcels/mail either directly to you or have it pick up on their local centers in the Philippines. They handle all of the paperwork/customs fees and other charges that comes from importing/delivery abroad but for a significantly smaller fee than having it go through other means of services.
It's a good alternative to direct shipping because of a few things:
- Cheaper fees
- Faster shipping/delivery times(it depends on other factors, but with my experience, it's relatively faster)
- Your items are in good hands.
- Easy to do
How to Use A Forwarder with Amazon
So you now have items to order in your cart and ready for checkout, you either have free shipping on your items or leveraged on Amazon Prime offerings and now we have to send it to a forwarder.
What I used in my recent purchase on Amazon is a known forwarder here in Manila called Johnny Air. You can visit their website here: https://johnnyairplus.com/
I chose them because of a few factors:
- One of their local centers are near me(they have one in Megamall)
- I frequent the area of Megamall so I can pick it up there during my visit
- They have a good tracking system and relatively low fees
Before you use their service:
- Make an account on their website
- Specify your branch of choice for easier pickup/delivery area
- Make sure to take note of their contact details(email/contact number)
To use their service it's very simple:
- In the PLACE ORDER section during check out make sure to change the DELIVERY ADDRESS to one of their local centers in the U.S (Johnny Air have 4 locations you can send your orders to: https://johnnyairplus.com/home/manila-how-to-ship/
- So basically you just change the name of the receiver and the address to a format like this: JAC PLUS/ your full name then change the Shipping Address to their local center in the U.S
- In my case, I sent mine to the New Jersey Address(Note: if you're sending to New Jersey too, it will add a 2-3 days delay on the shipping date since they will forward the items to New York branch before shipping it to the Philippines)
- Afterwards, just click on PLACE Order and track your order via Amazon first to make sure they have delivered it to the Johnny Air center of your choice. Also, make sure to email Johnny Air with your tracking link and order info to notify them of your incoming package.
- They will notify you via email if it's already on the way to the Philippines
- Then they will also text you when the estimated time of arrival will be and the fees that you will pay when you pick it up (You can pay with Cash/Debit/Credit)
- Since I chose to pick it up, it's fairly easy. You just go to their branch which you've selected on your account profile(Make sure you have an account on their website).
- Once you're in the branch, present a valid ID and sign the receipt and pay the fees that they've texted/notified you with and get your package :)
Quick Review of Johnny Air's Service
I really like how fast and easy it was to set everything up. Their customer service is very good with fast responses to emails and answering your concerns. They also provide you enough information to assure you that your package is in good hands and that it will be delivered to you in good condition.
The fees are fairly cheap compared to having it done via other means. For the item I ordered(which was tech), I assumed it will incur about Php 2000-3000+ and will have another few hundred pesos to get it in Philpost or additional local delivery fee. But instead I paid just Php1000+ for it.
Getting the package is easy too! No hassle free forms or whatnot. The item is in good condition, not opened or damaged.
Other Alternatives to Johnny Air
Of course Johnny Air is just one of the forwarders here in the Philippines. Here are some of them:
Shipping Cart
My Shopping Box
There are a ton of other forwarding services but these 2 above are those that I've seen with good reviews so far. Though please note that I personally haven't used these other ones yet so proceed with caution.
Final Thoughts
Overall, shopping in Amazon gives you more options for items that you might not find here in the Philippines and it is a good place to get cheap items too. You just have to have the patience to find good deals and of course leverage on that Amazon Prime offering and Forwarders.
Initially, I thought that this is a bad idea since my experience with importing(I used to import and sell SJCAM Action Cameras before) is not that great with fees that almost costs 20% of the total price of the shipment(think 10k+ php).
Surprisingly, it is low cost and I also got a cheaper price for the item I bought from Amazon.
So for those of you wanting to shop abroad but are worried about the shipping fees or other fees involved when buying abroad, this might serve as your alternative shipping option and hopefully help you with your shopping spree haha
Thanks for reading this blog! Hope I gave a ton of information you need to do this and share it with your friends! I'm sure this will help a lot of people.
Have you tried other forwarders? What are your own recommendations?
Where do you buy abroad? :D
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