How to buy from a US website that does not ship to Singapore

Many products are much cheaper when we buy from their original USA websites as compared to buying them in stores in Singapore. However, many of these websites do not ship to Singapore. Thus, many of us participate in sprees maybe because we are not sure how to make purchases ourselves, or being new, we feel it is safer to buy under someone who is more experienced. I started off that way. But then I thought, why should I keep letting these spree owners earn money? Why don’t I learn to make purchases myself and save some money from paying the spree owners? And I did. However it was not a short process as I couldn’t find step-by-step guide anywhere. I had to ask people who were willing to answer my many questions. In the end, I managed to purchase, and have been doing so ever since. 🙂 I hope this post will help first-timers to buy from sites like Carter’s, Osh Kosh, Gap, Disney, Victoria’s Secret, Ralph Lauren, etc. Please feel free to comment if you have any questions to ask. I will help you as much as I can. Hopefully in time for the upcoming Black Friday Sales!!

1. Sign up with a Shipping Company of your choice
Here are some links to some of the companies that are commonly used. Personally I prefer Comgateway due to their prices and cashback reward system. They also have some discounts with DBS cards, and so far, their customer service is ok. I only tried Vpost and Comgateway so far. And I didn’t really like Vpost’s prices and customer service. But I think they have discounts with Citibank cards. How to choose which one you might ask. I would say first, check which credit cards you have and which have discounts with them. Then trial and error based on reviews from your friends on the service and speed of delivery.

Comgateway: http://www.comgateway.com/
Vpost: http://www.vpost.com.sg/
MyUS: http://www.myus.com/
Borderlinx: http://www.borderlinx.com/
Ezbuy: https://ezbuy.sg

During registration, give your address that you would like them to ship to. Eg if you know you won’t be home to receive the parcel and want to save the hassel of having to go to the post office, you can key in your mother’s address knowing that she will be home all the time. At the point of successful registration with the shipping company, you will be given an USA address. Take note of this address as you will need it in the next step.

2. Register with the Website you would like to purchase from
Go to the website you intend to buy from, and register with them. For the address, key in the USA address you were given at the point of registration with the shipping company.
For example: If you would like to order from Carter’s/OshKosh (which in fact is the same website and company), go to www.carters.com and click on “Sign In”. You will be prompted to key in your email address. Click on “Create an account” and then follow the rest of the instructions. Just remember to use your USA address when you register. You can always change this USA address later on if you intend to change the Shipping Company.

3. You are ready to shop! But remember not to exceed $400sgd!
Start adding items into your cart, check out, and key in your credit card details etc. So far from experience, DBS cards give slightly better exchange rates with USA websites. Your shipping address (your USA address which you keyed in at the time of registration) should automatically be reflected. For billing address, you can key in your Singapore address. Remember to keep purchases within $400SGD if not you will be charged GST. This $400 limit includes shipping as well. As a rule of the thumb, when I purchase kids clothes from Carters, I try to spend about $200-$220 each time. This will maximise shipping cost and stay within the non-taxable amount. $200usd will be about $260-$290sgd. Shipping will cost about $40-50usd which is about $65sgd. That will be about $350, quite a safe amount to stay clear of the $400sgd limit. remember shipping is based on weight and size of the items. The example I am giving here is based solely on kids clothes only. Try not to buy less than $200 unless you are combining purchases from other websites as well. If not the shipping will not be worth it. Get a few friends who stay nearby or are people you meet often and buy together.

Happy Shopping!! 🙂