Cheapest way to ship things from SG to US?

andeelym · Post by **andeelym** » Mon Aug 16, 2010 5:39 pm

Am looking for the cheapest way to ship things/bulky items from Singapore to US. Anyone any experience?

orly_andico · Post by **orly_andico** » Mon Aug 16, 2010 7:38 pm

probably Singpost.

Since VPOST (c/o Singpost) is (so far, for me) the cheapest way to ship things from US to SG, maybe the reverse is also true. Definitely USPS charges quite a premium...

andeelym · Post by **andeelym** » Mon Aug 16, 2010 11:31 pm

Orly, I did a cost comparison between vpost, comgateway and borderlinx. The cheapest is comgateway and the most expensive is actually vpost.

And comgateway has a couple of tie ups. One with amex where its automatically Gateway prime with cheaper cost/kg and cheaper repacking cost. Another with paypal with 10% off shipping charges. The normal comgateway has a tie up with UOB which is 15% off the first shipping charge and 5% off for the subsequent. I made a simple spreadsheet for the cost breakdown, if you want it, I can email it to you for reference.

For Singpost to send overseas, i find the cost ridiculous. Shipping a 1kg item from SG to CA costs S$30. If I were to sell my mount and have it shipped overseas, it'll cost me a bomb. Therefore, i'm looking for alternatives.

orly_andico · Post by **orly_andico** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 12:00 am

thanks for the heads-up!

i have been using a forwarding service in the Philippines that cost about the same as VPOST, so following the "everything in Philippines is cheaper," I thought VPOST is already a really good deal.

next time I buy a C9.25 I'll go through comgateway. :-) the 20kg package thru VPOST cost almost $300 to ship.. according to comgateway's rate it should be under $100. drat.

cloud_cover · Post by **cloud_cover** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:41 am

Take note comgateway calculates in USD while vpost calculates in SGD

andeelym · Post by **andeelym** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:24 am

Even with the conversion, CGW is still the cheapest among the three without the additional discounts from the various tie-ups.

Anyway, back to the subject, so no one have any experience in sending bulky items from SG to US?

cloud_cover · Post by **cloud_cover** » Wed Sep 22, 2010 2:32 pm

After buying a telescope and a few EPs from the US, this is my conclusion:
1. Comgateway is the cheapest. Especially if the amex promo is still on. However, its located on the west coast of the US which means domestic US shipping from anywhere else will cost more than viaaddress.
2. VPOST may have credit card discounts. Can try. They're very sticky on value of goods, so you have to provide your palpay recepit even if buying second hand, in order to calculate GST.
3. Viaaddress is in between but because its located in Indiana, shipping from Eastern US (Washington DC, NY, Florida etc) is cheaper and may offset the difference between its rates and the other carriers.
4. For small items, use USPS International Flat Box, its USD10.xx, which approx the base cost of these forwarders, not counting domestic US shipping, of course.

orly_andico · Post by **orly_andico** » Wed Sep 22, 2010 3:59 pm

I shipped the following items from US:

1) C9.25 (cost 300 SGD to ship)
2) Vixen Polaris (cost 180 SGD to ship)
3) Vixen Great Polaris (cost 220 SGD to ship)
4) Orion 16" pier extension (cost 80 SGD to ship)

all via VPOST. No problems experienced, it just takes quite some time (3 weeks).

VPOST has credit card discounts if your CC is UOB. Since mine is not, I couldn't use this discount (it's substantial, $20 I think).

I always try to buy small items and send them via USPS international flat rate box, this is $10.31.

There's also the small package which is $10. Some items (such as the GPUSB) won't fit in an international flat rate box, but would fit in the small package.