How many times have you looked online for something to buy and been frustrated by how much cheaper it would be to buy in the UK, if you didn’t have to pay the excessive delivery charges to France or Switzerland? How often have you scanned the internet for a special product, to find that it is only available in the UK, or you need to wait months before the product will be launched in mainland Europe?
Thanks to the UK-based parcel-forwarding company, forward2me, there's no longer any need to worry about the cost or lack of international shipping options on your favorite websites. When you register with forward2me, you have the option to buy UK goods from abroad, have them delivered to a UK postal address set up just for you, and then forwarded to virtually any address worldwide.
Founded in 2010, forward2me was launched with the aim of removing the artificial barriers that deter potential customers buying goods from the UK. Since it was formed, it has developed special relationships with all the major couriers in the UK, including DHL, DPD and TNT, enabling goods to be delivered quickly abroad, at affordable prices. Not only are clients able to save money on their individual purchases, but they can also buy goods that simply aren’t available in their home country. They can also access a much greater choice and quality of products, and purchase products from some of the world’s leading retailers, including ebay.co.uk, the full UK M&S, and many online grocery stores!
Operating from a dedicated depot in Preston, Lancashire, forward2me has numerous scheduled daily collections that allow it to provide the best possible turnaround times. Because of the huge volume of parcels that are shipped each week, the company is able to negotiate extremely competitive prices from its suppliers, which it can then pass on to its customers.
Operations Director, Janet Grundy, told knowitall.ch, “Our mission is to make it easier for overseas customers to buy goods from the UK. If you live in the USA, Australia, Switzerland, Cyprus or anywhere else in the world it is just as quick to access a UK online store as it is to access a local store online. If the UK store has more variety or better prices then we believe you should have the option to shop there if you choose.”
She continued, “During our first month of operation we had over 1,000 customers from 47 countries sign-up for the service. We have shipped everything from Amazon Kindles, mobile phones, and Gucci shoes to bikes, laptops, and car parts. We are determined to deliver the best possible service for our customers. The invaluable feedback we receive from them is driving how we evolve the business and improve our service every day.”
Flexible services
When you sign up for the forward2me service you will be provided with a UK address that you can use when ordering items from European shopping websites and online sellers such as eBay vendors. When your goods arrive at your unique forward2me address, the company will let you know with an email and ask you to pay the forwarding fee based on the size and weight of the item. You can choose to pay and have the item forwarded immediately or ask them to hold it for you and consolidate it with other items that are still to arrive or that already have. The company charges an additional handling fee for consolidating items into one parcel but grouping items into one package and shipment can lead to significant savings on shipping costs compared to sending everything individually. Goods will be shipped with a high quality express international courier and tracked to your door. Customs duties, if applicable in your country, are the customer's responsibility.
A new service, which is rapidly gaining popularity amongst expat clients, is Supermarket Shopping. Janet explained, “There are lots of online services offering to sell and ship UK groceries to expats living overseas – but they are very expensive. At forward2me we give you your own UK address so you can order directly from the British supermarket website of your choice. When you sign up with the supermarket you provide them with the UK address allocated to you by forward2me, so they can deliver your groceries to us at that address. We carefully package your shopping and deliver it almost anywhere in the world. ASDA, Waitrose and Sainsbury's are among those already delivering non-perishables to our customers.”
The price comparison table at this link gives an indication of the significant cost savings that can be made by purchasing a typical basket of favorite food items from ASDA or Waitrose instead of a UK-based British Food Shop exporting goods abroad for you. The forward2me fees are included in the comparison so you can see the true saving.
Another service which many clients will find useful is the Personal Shopper Service. For various reasons, some European retailers don't allow customers outside the EU or the retailer's home country to pay for or even place an order on their website. Some refuse to accept non-UK or non-EU credit cards. To overcome this problem, forward2me will place client orders with retailers and suppliers on their behalf. Clients simply need to input the detail of their purchases, specifying sizes, colors and quantities from whichever retailer they desire. forward2me will then place the order on their behalf and receive payment directly from the client. The cost of the Personal Shopper service includes the value of the goods, an administration fee, any costs for shipping to forward2me in England, and any applicable VAT. Shipping fees from forward2me to the destination address will be invoiced separately once the goods have been received at the client’s unique UK address.
Customer references
forward2me will endeavor to deliver all parcels from the UK, no matter how big or small, whether they are vacuum packed or gift wrapped, or include dangerous goods such as batteries and aerosols. Asked what kinds of goods they have delivered in the past, Janet told us they have delivered: a pram and miniature vintage trains to Australia: bathroom accessories to Sweden; personalized Converse pumps and a 4.2 meter curtain pole to Germany; Laura Ashley furniture and soft furnishings to Greece; supermarket deliveries to France: and regular consignments of traditional British ales to Switzerland. Indeed, another customer in Switzerland wrote to us directly to tell us, “forward2me really works for me because I can online shop in the UK, and get my packages forwarded to me when I choose. I also like the flexibility of the service; my online account enables me to see where my package is in transit, and if I have multiple packages that I want delivered, forward2me will consolidate all of my packages into a single delivery.”
She continued, “I have also used forward2me’s personal shopper service. This has been invaluable with certain UK online shops that will only accept a UK registered credit card. In this case, I simply use the online forms to indicate which items I want to buy and from which shops - forward2me then makes the purchase for me, and I pay forward2me directly for both the goods and the delivery costs.”
Asked what customers could do about the about the hefty customs duties on products delivered to Switzerland, Janet told us, “Duty on goods imported to Switzerland is an unwelcome reality that we can’t do much about. It is important to label packages correctly to minimize trouble or delay at customs – something we do for our customers of course. We will then take care of the customs process for our customers, making sure the export paperwork is all in order. Some of our customers find it more convenient if any duty is pre-paid (i.e. goods are Delivered Duty Paid “DDP”) and we are happy to arrange this, so that there is minimum delay and no need for the courier to collect the duty separately prior to delivery. To arrange this, customers should simply contact us through the forward2me account message system or by email before we forward their goods.”
So, the next time you go out shopping, whether it be to the local supermarket or the retail park in the next town, just ask yourself the question, “Could I buy this in the UK?” The answer will almost certainly be “yes”, in which case you should give some serious thought to the cost before you purchase anything. Don’t just assume that buying goods over here is “the price you have to pay” for living in such a wonderful country – because, it doesn’t need to be that way!
forward2me
www.forward2me.com
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+44 1995 60 60 60
