Comments on: BuyUSA.co.nz tries to clone Shipbutu

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By: Pete

Pete — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:52:52 +0000

I notice that BuyUSA have recently dropped their prices considerably, and are much cheaper than Shipbuktu (around $10/kg vs $15/kg). They also now charge only $20 for one item of up to a kg, and subscription fee is now only $5/yr.

I’ve just signed up, but not shipped anything yet. Anybody any comments about recent experiences?

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:50:28 +0000

BuyUSA is a good concept, however, you need to be a little careful about one area they market as on – pricing.

I completed separate online transactions with three merchants in the US, all of which I had sent to my BuyUSA address.

The total costs to get these goods to me via BUY USA and the local US costs, has been NZD $491-00.

Had I simply shipped these goods individually from each of the three merchants, directly to me in New Zealand,
the costs would have been:
Merchant 1 – USD $88-00
Merchant 2 – USD $65-41
Merchant 3 – USD $59-22
A total of USD $212-63, or approx NZD $269-00.

That means using BUY USA cost me an additional NZD $222-00, to get the goods to me.

So be careful, as the real advantage BuyUSA has is that it enables you to purchase goods that merchants won’t export, but in terms of shipping costs, you could be better purchasing direct if you can.

By: Gerri

Gerri — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:17:36 +0000

I only just came across BuyUSA and other similar services and I think it is a good idea. I havent used them yet but will be doing so soon enough and I may just stop by then and let you know how things go.

By: BuyUSA

BuyUSA — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:47:40 +0000

Thanks for your feedback Alan.
I have been following this thread for a while.
Don’t like the title much.But,whatever.I get a few clicks every day to my site.So people must be reading this.
BuyUSA has been running since September and we have had a consolidation shipment to New Zealand every week since launch. We endeavour to provide a professional service to our customers and answer all e-mail enquiries promptly.
We have had some minor issues but have kept our customers informed as we work through the resolution.Most people are happy if you just keep them informed.
The weak U.S. dollar and the lead up to the Christmas season are driving U.S. exports with many airlines experiencing cargo backlogs.The new year should see some slow down though while NZ goes on holiday for a while.

By: Alan

Alan — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:59:25 +0000

Interesting blog….wished I had read it a week or so again.

Signed up with Shipbuktu to get a fishfinder from a US store who would not ship interationally, then had to do a GoogleCheckout and “Borrow” a US Phone number to have the USA address registered.

Using track and trace it seems my parcel that arrived morning USA time had not been receipted into shipbuktu….but there is always tomorrow.

Good on BuyUSA for the competition, here are my comments being a new user.

1. BuyUSA – better FAQ’s, they mention GoogleCheckout AND provide a phone number to use with it.
2. BuyUSA – Cheaper customs clearance ($40 vs $65).
3. BuyUSA – Consolidation option
4. Shipbuktu – better website
5. Shipbuktu – no annual fee…..but $19.95 per year who cares.

Overall as others have said I will try both. Remember these are light admin sites and there is unlikely to be much customer service (stil wailting on replies from Shipbuktu.

Also ….can someone tell me why when googling shipbuktu there are all these links to sites without any shipbuktu story….viral marketing?

By: poncho

poncho — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 07:06:14 +0000

Hey Rod, prob suggest you don’t use airfreight service like Shipbucktu for bigger items as in my exprience it is always really expensive and most operators hate having bulky items in the hold. anyway, don’t the sbt guys say nothing more than the courier limit of 30kg by weight or size…?

By: Tim Foye (Timbo)

Tim Foye (Timbo) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 04:07:38 +0000

I always enjoy reading everyones comments. My experience is that i have used Shibuktu many times and despite having some delays as per my last blog on my initial items, i find the service easy to use.

On the flipside, i have checked out the BuyUSA site and find it a little ’scruffy’ and a dear i say amatuerish whereas the shipbuktu site seems to be well presented and that gives me a feeling of trust and professionalism and they seem to have some media background also.

Although the services seem pretty much the same, lance’s comments on package size is very valid. Also, it seems as though BuyUSA charge a subscription fee?!? not too inviting i must say. However, i will use the buyusa service at some stage to make an acurate assessment.

Cheers

By: lance

lance — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:26:22 +0000

BuyUSA – thanks for the comments, good to see your arrival and well done on changing the Faq so quickly.
One suggestion is to put some indication of your background in international logistics on your website (in the about us section). It was the first place that I looked, as a business like this needs some credibilty to build trust.

By: lance

lance — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:22:26 +0000

I got a status update from Paul Ryan this afternoon. He tells me that NZPost (DHL) has been seriously dropping the ball over the last month, and Paul and Co are on the warpath to get business back on track.
Watch this space, and hopefully there will be some sort of annoucement on the Shipbuktu website.