International PACKAGE FORWARDING SERVICE

Combine U.S. purchases and save more on international shipping costs

In this tutorial, we will cover some of the things you should keep in mind when using a package forwarder. It’s great to get low cost products from the US but there are some things you should understand to make the most of your shopping and international shipping experience.

REASONS TO USE A PACKAGE FORWARDING SERVICE

Many stores in the USA will not ship internationally. The main reason for this is customs regulations and international shipping requirements are complex and smaller stores simply do not have the personnel or experience needed to handle international shipping.

The solution is to get a US Address from a package forwarding company and have your US purchases shipped there. Once you have all the items you want in your virtual mailbox you can log into your account and request to have your purchases shipped to your home address in your country.

OPAS currently ships to over 220 countries.

WILL YOU BE CHARGED SALES TAX ON YOUR PURCHASES?

Many forwarding companies are located in a State that charges Sales Tax so in many cases you may be charged sales tax on purchases. OPAS is located in the State of Oregon which has NO SALES TAX. So any purchases you have shipped to your OPAS address will have no sales tax. This can save you between 7% and 10% on your purchases compared to other forwarders.

PACKAGE CONSOLIDATION: COMBINE PURCHASES INTO ONE BOX

You will save the most money by purchasing multiple items from different stores and then have them combined and shipped together in one box to your final destination. When you are ready to ship your items, OPAS will consolidate your packages into as few boxes possible (usually one box). Just select the items you want consolidated in the shipment and we’ll pack them all together to save you the most on international shipping costs.
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SOME STORES WON’T SHIP TO PACKAGE FORWARDERS

There are cases where some stores do not ship to Freight Forwarders. When this occurs the store usually just cancels the order. For example some of our customers are able to order from Apple.com but many times Apple will just cancel the order randomly.


We offer two options if your order is canceled by the store:

ALTERNATE ADDRESS

We’ll provide you an alternate address where you can attempt to order the items to. This address is not linked to your OPAS address and many stores will ship to this address and not block it. You can request this alternate address from your account center.
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PERSONAL SHOPPER SERVICE

You tell us what you want to purchase and one of our personal shoppers will make the purchase for you. It will be received into your account like all other packages. This service allows you to purchase from almost any store.
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GLOBAL SHIPPING PARTNERS

OPAS offers shipping with top carriers UPS, FedEx, DHL, USPS. We also offer Yamato for shipments going specifically to Japan.

REAL-TIME SHIPMENT TRACKING

You’ll receive tracking information as soon as your shipment leaves our facility.

DO YOU NEED TO RECEIVE REGULAR MAIL (LETTERS AND MAGAZINES)?

In addition to receiving packages we also offer a mail forwarding service so you can receive letters and other mail items like magazines. For a small fee we can scan the letters for you so you can read them right away and don’t have to wait for the mail to ship to you.

IMPORT DUTIES AND TAXES

Normally the carriers will have you pay the assessed duties and taxes when they deliver your package to you. You just pay the fee to the driver. Every country has their own

UNACCEPTABLE ITEMS

There are certain items that OPAS does not allow. Please look at our unacceptable items list so you have a general idea of what we will not ship. Anything in this list that is sent to OPAS will need to be returned to the store most likely and may incur a return fee from OPAS or the store.

DANGEROUS GOODS

Some items such as Perfume or Lithium Batteries are considered dangerous goods. We can still ship these items for you but there is an added cost because the carrier will charge a dangerous goods fee. The fee varies per carrier and by the type of dangerous good. OPAS doesn’t charge additional but we do pass on the cost from the carrier. If you have questions or concerns about any products you are going to purchase you can contact customer service and provide them the product information and they can tell you if there would be added fees or if we do not ship that type of product.

Additional services

Package Inspection Service

We can inspect your shipment for accuracy to make sure that it arrives to you just as expected. When your items arrive at OPAS, we check for any damage and make sure the item count matches the declaration*. If you would like your items inspected to make sure they match the declaration exactly, please request inspection service when you add incoming order details. (There is an inspection service option box in Add Incoming Order page. You can simply check the box.) The inspection service may include color/size/product number matching, price tag removal, content split between packages and other special requests. Please include special instructions when sending us a shipment request if necessary. The inspection fee is $5 up to 5 pieces and $1 per each additional piece.

*Declaration: Please log in to OPAS and click ADD INCOMING ORDER DETAILS to let us know your order is coming before it arrives at OPAS.

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Package Photos

Package photos let you peek inside your packages!

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Express Request

After 4:00pm before 2:00 pm of the next business day (PST)
Free account – $10 up to 5 boxes, $1 each additional.
Premium account – $5/$1

Super Express Request

Between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm
Free account – $20 up to 5 boxes, $2 each additional.
Premium account – $10/$2

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