New services ship US-only items to NZ

Two services launched in the last week offer to ship items from the US, even if they only deliver to US addresses - this is one way around Kiwis inability to buy, for example, Google Nexus 7 tablets or Kindle Paperlight eBook readers.

In both cases, you sign up for the service by providing a name and email address. For PreZoom, you also enter your regular mail address for deliveries.

Then, each assigns you a US mailing address. PreZoom sets you up an address in Delaware, USA - it's a street address, so there's no issue with companies that won't ship to PO boxes. YouShop, New Zealand Posts's version, sets you up a suite at a street address in Oregon. Both Delaware and Oregon are free of sales taxes, making them ideal venues for this kind of enterprise.

While this kind of service has existed before, both PreZoom and YouShop are specifically designed to ship to New Zealand, factoring in our Customs and GST.

When you order from the US, you enter your address exactly as written in your PreZoom or YouShop address, and the goods will be shipped first to the holding address in the Us, and then on to your delivery address here in New Zealand.

We'll be testing both services.

YouShop
For Youshop, you'll receive a notification when your goods arrive at the US address. You then declare the value of the goods for customs and pay for the postage to a New Zealand nominated address. With YouShop, you don't declare your address up front, so each package can be delivered to a different address if desired. the packages are trackable once they leave the US warehouse.

YouShop estimates 7-11 working days for delivery from their US warehouse. The postage costs are a flat $12.50 per delivery plus a charge of $21.00 per kilogram, calculated per 500g. The minimum charge for a parcel under 500g is $23, while a 1kg parcel would cost $33.50, for example.

YouShop can't ship perishable items, food, perfume/aftershave or other aerosols, danerous or prohibited items, ink cartridges, stand alone batteries, or electronic items with lithium ion batteries exceeding 20Wh/cell or 100wh per battery. For gadgets, that latter can take a little calculation - remembering that aH = Wh/V can help, as most batteries specify milliAmp hours (mAh) and Volts.

PreZoom
As with YouShop, you purchase an item in the US, and it's sent to PreZoom's address. There, they process it and forward it to your New Zealand address. You can track the purchase once it's processed.

PreZoom clears your items through Customs, though you need to estimate customs charges.

PreZoom charges $19.50 for the first 500g and $4.50 for each 500g after that. However, if duties and GST are due, there's a $90 High Value Customs Clearance Fee. The price may vary slightly because the dimensions factor into what is considered the "weight" of an item. If you multiply the height, width and length in inches, then dividing by 139, and that number is higher than the amount in pounds that the shipment weights, you'll be charged at the higher weight for shipping purposes.

As with Youshop, there are a number of items that can't be shipped, including perfumes, jewellery, original art, pornography, and more.

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