This tutorial covers some of the things that a person wanting products from the United States (U.S.) should keep in mind when using package forwarding. Of course, it’s great to get low-cost products from the US. But still, there are some things you should understand so that you can make the most of your shopping and international shipping experience.
Many stores in the United States (U.S.) don’t ship internationally. This is because customs regulations and international shipping requirements are complex and smaller stores simply do not have the personnel or experience to handle international shipping.
The solution is to get a U.S. Address from a package forwarding company (a package forwarder) and ship your U.S. purchases there. Once you have all the items you want in your virtual mailbox, you can log into your account and request to send your purchases to your home address in your country.
OPAS currently ships to over 220 countries.
Many forwarding companies (package forwarders) are in a state that charges sales tax. In many cases, you may be charged sales tax on purchases. OPAS is in the state of Oregon, which has no sales tax. Therefore, any purchases you ship to your OPAS address has no sales tax. This can save you between 7% and 10% on your purchases compared to other package forwarders.
You can save the most money by purchasing multiple items from different stores and then combining them and shipping them together in one box to your final destination. When you are ready to ship your items, OPAS consolidates your packages into as few boxes as possible (usually one box). Just select the items you want to consolidate in the shipment. Then, OPAS packs them all together to save you the most on international shipping costs.
There are cases where some stores do not ship to package forwarders. When this occurs, the store usually just cancels the order. For example, some of our customers can order from Apple, but Apple often cancels the order randomly.
OPAS offers two options if your order is canceled by the store:
OPAS can provide you with an alternate address to attempt to order the items. This address is not linked to your OPAS address, and many stores ship to this address and do not block it. You can request this alternate address from your account center.
You tell OPAS what you want to purchase. Then, one of the company’s personal shoppers purchases for you, and your account registers it like all other packages. This allows you to buy from almost any store.
OPAS offers shipping with top carriers UPS, FedEx, DHL, USPS. In addition, OPAS also offers Yamato for shipments going specifically to Japan.
You receive tracking information as soon as your shipment leaves our facility.
In addition to receiving packages, we also offer a mail forwarding service to receive letters and other mail items like magazines. For a small fee, OPAS scans the notes for you to read them right away and don’t have to wait for the mail to ship to you.
Usually, the carriers have you pay the assessed duties and taxes when they deliver your package to you. After that, you just pay the fee to the driver.
There are certain items that OPAS does not allow. Please look at the unacceptable items list to have a general idea of what OPAS does not ship. Anything in this list sent to OPAS is most likely returned to the store and may incur return fees from OPAS or the store.
Some items such as Perfume or Lithium Batteries are dangerous goods. OPAS can still ship these items for you. Still, there is an additional cost because the carrier charges a hazardous goods fee. The fee varies per carrier and by the type of dangerous good. OPAS does not charge extra, but we do pass on the cost from the carrier. If you have questions or concerns about any products you purchase, contact customer service and provide them the product information. They can tell you if there are additional fees or not to ship that type of product.
Sign up with OPAS and order your goods online using your personal OPAS address as the shipping address. You can use the shipping calculator in your OPAS account to check the estimated shipping fee before placing your retail order. OPAS sends you an email when we have received your order. General description and quantity are added so that you know the contents.
Please note: Your OPAS address is not a P.O. Box.
When you are ready to ship (either one order or several orders consolidated together), ensure you have entered details on all the orders you want to send in the My Mailbox section of your Dashboard. Please click on the Edit button to add the product name and unit price. If you did not receive all expected products, before you send a ship request, we suggest you check with the sender directly whether they partially shipped your orders. Then, select the orders you want to be sent to you and click SHIP. If you wish to ship all items together as one shipment for maximum savings, please check the box next to ID (at the top).
Select your shipping options. OPAS recommends you select, “Please send me an estimate,” in the Request Carrier field to compare shipping times and costs, then select your preferred service/shipping method before OPAS ships to you. As products often need to be removed from shipping boxes and repacked for OPAS to provide estimated shipping fee, OPAS recommends you wait to see the estimate OPAS sends, instead of using the shipping calculator. Please add any special instructions here. It takes up to two business days to process your order. Shipping time depends on the shipping method you chose. Please add any special instructions when sending a shipping request:
Package Inspection: To have your retail box or products checked for damage, please select Inspection.
Keep Retail Boxes: To remove bulky retail boxes to save on shipping fees, select “No”. OPAS removes on your request, but make the best judgement if it may keep it better protected and won’t add fees. *Boxes for electronics or food cannot be removed for maximum protection. Please check store return policy before requesting.
If you selected “Please send me an estimate,” OPAS sends you an email with the costs of different shipping options. Sign in to your account and select the shipping option you prefer for this order.
OPAS charges your credit card or sends a PayPal invoice. Once the payment is complete, your package is shipped. We will send you an email containing your tracking number, final charge, etc.
Payment Methods: When you sign up for your account, you must include your payment method so OPAS can bill you when you shop or ship. OPAS accepts various credit cards, including VISA, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and JCB. You can also use your PayPal account. It takes longer to process, but OPAS can also accept payments from Western Union or other wire transfer services, or you may use an international money order. Contact the team for more details.
OPAS can inspect your shipment for accuracy. When your items arrive at OPAS, the team checks for any damage and makes sure the item count matches the declaration*. If you want an inspection of your items, please request the inspection service to add incoming order details. (There is an inspection service option box on add incoming order page. You can simply check the box.) The inspection service may include:
Please include special instructions when sending OPAS a shipment request if necessary. The inspection fee is $5 up to 5 pieces and $1 per additional piece.
Package photos let you peek inside your packages!
After 4:00 pm before 2:00 pm of the next business day (PST)
Free account – $10 up to 5 boxes, $1 each additional.
Premium account – $5/$1
Between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm
Free account – $20 up to 5 boxes, $2 each additional.
Premium account – $10/$2
