Friday, April 20, 2012

Free International Shipping: A Reality?




Can you resist the urge to buy that branded bag on sale overseas?  Were you tempted to click on the icon, encode your credit number and realized only later that you were charged a lot higher? Free international shipping sounds like a “too good to be true” offer. For many who buy products from international stores, expensive international shipping costs can be discouraging. What we don’t know is that there are actually free international shipping services available.

The development of technology has not only bridged communication but made international shopping possible. This, unfortunately, does not include free international shipping. How convenient it is nowadays to get the chance to buy something your geographical location has hindered you from acquiring. Before trying it, however, consider the advantages and disadvantages of buying online from international stores.

Aside from avoiding shopping buzz especially on holidays, it is faster to shop online. With an internet connection, one click of the mouse can make deals for you, anywhere and anytime. Saving on travel time and going around the store for things you like are also beneficial. With your credit card, you don’t even need to queue at long counter lines. The time saved can be spent in doing something more fruitful.

Shopping online, however, also has its drawbacks. The time we saved from not having to travel can cost us our privacy and identity. Hackers stealing people’s identity online can be the biggest threat. Our well-loved idea of cashless shopping with our credit card lets us pay more for what we are getting. Here, we may not be aware we are charged with expensive international shipping cost much more costly than what we bought! Another trouble is we won’t be able to inspect the products leading to dissatisfaction, so we need to return the goods. That sounds like another shipping fee again.


With your computer and Internet, you are open to countless possibilities. You can shop at your favorite store in Paris or New York without even leaving the comforts of your home. You don’t even need to rush after work just before the mall closes. They said these ease in shopping has hidden disadvantages we don’t realize until we look closely at the amount we’ve been charged. Shopping online isn’t all disadvantages. Instead, we just didn’t choose our shopping sites well. With the sky-rocketing international shipping charges, there are stores that offer equally excellent products and free international shipping service.  

I have heard people complaining like, “How can freight companies charge us with such a high shipping rates? How does everyone deal with international shipping? Is there a way to avoid this problem? Is there an available cheaper option for shipping bulk items? Shopping online, like many business people is a wise choice. We just have to shop at stores that offer free international shipping. Most online sites that offer much cheaper prices on their goods actually charge expensive international shipping costs separately. That causes you to pay more than you’ve expected. Shop wisely!


Here is one site that lists stores with free shipping: 
http://freeshippingworldwide.org/?show=search&extra=articles