A Dutch American
Online shopping is a favourite pastime of mine. Whether it is for fashion, computer equipment, gifts, or even Tupperware, I love it!
Of course I rather go out and about to discover new shops and boutiques, but unfortunately I sometimes lack time and opportunity for that. So for some years now I am engrossed in on-line shopping. The fun of on-line shopping grows continuously with new shops shooting up. Bargain hunting is of course the best thing of (on-line) shopping. Buying that great dress in the sales or those amazing shoes with a 60% discount really makes your day! Unfortunately even on the internet there is not always a sale on. Which brings you to eBay.
eBay is an on-line marketplace, comparable to the Dutch Marktplaats, with eBay being a tad more professional than Marktplaats. Their rating system guarantees a high degree of certainty you deal with a reliable seller (or buyer). Something you don’t find at Marktplaats. With eBay you also know where you stand. If you make a bid, you’re tied to it. So you only put in well-considered bids, a good thing for sellers. A bid on Marktplaats doesn’t really mean anything. eBay increases scope as well. You go international and shop around the globe without having to travel any (long) distance. My favourite place to shop is America. Especially with such a profitable US dollar exchange rate, it is quite inexpensive. Clothing is more affordable there anyway, and an extra advantageous dollar exchange rate (30 dollar = 20 Euro) plus the uniqueness of some products (not everyone in the Netherlands will have this) has me hooked! Of course additional shipping costs are a bit higher, but again with this profitable exchange rate, it is not bad.
Unfortunately not all America can be counted in when it comes to on-line shopping. Many American on-line shops and eBay sellers do not ship outside their own country. Think of Amazon.com. DVDs and CDs do ship across borders but that is as far as it goes. Wonderful offers pass by and at ordering them direct, and at filling in your address details, you get cut off with the message “We can’t ship this product to other countries than the United States or Canada”, leaving you defeated and disappointed. What a bummer!
I am happy to report there is now a solution! For $132 a year (not much at the current exchange rate) you can purchase your own American address on myus.com. For this money you receive a PO box in America, a suite. When placing an order, you enter the address of your PO box as shipping address and all is taken care of. Access USA, the party who thought this brilliant concept out, removes your purchased item of all packaging, puts it in an inconspicuous box and sends it on to your own address in the Netherlands. Shipping costs are very reasonable and customs declaration value of the product is noted down as wholesale value. This means products often pass through customs unnoticed and only occasionally the 19% VAT has to be paid for. I see a lot of dollar signs in front of my eyes!
Still, there are some snags and catches. Not every American on-line shop will automatically accept the entered PO box address. Some shops have an extra security check and verify whether the address of your credit card matches the shipping address. So an article can still be denied to you. But this is not hard to skirt. Credit card companies are happy to assist and one phone call will provide your American address with its own credit card.
There are some shops that are on to this fact, like Apple’s iTunes store. But then you can turn to Paypal. You create a new Paypal account with your American credit card and after verification of your details nothing will stop you from shopping to your heart’s content at Apple!
This week I placed my first order with Amazon.com and had it sent to my suite in America. Everything went smoothly (without a billing address in the US for that matter) and my purchased items have been shipped to my suite. I am now waiting to hear from Access USA to inform me my items are ready to be sent on. I find it thrilling and can’t wait to receive my first purchase.
Access USA literally opened up a new world of shopping to me!
Marloes van Beek
Communications Director
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