I’ve been asked on a number of occasions for tips and tricks for shopping online. I’ve received my fair share of ill-fitting, poor quality clothing to know a thing or two about online shopping. It’s not rocket science but it does help to put a little thought into it. You are spending your hard earned money after all. I’m a busy woman, between running my website, working full-time, working out and attending events, that leaves little time to spend meandering in the mall looking for clothes. At least 80% of my clothes are purchased online. I’ve decided to take it one step further and discuss the process of shopping from stores located overseas. What do you need to look for, how to identify your correct size, how to work out if you’re sticking to your budget and how to order from stores which don’t deliver to South Africa. Check out my guide below:
- Sign up for Aramex Global Shopper at www.aramexglobalshopper.com. AGS allows you to shop online in 17 countries at any store which does not deliver to your country. Hell, you can even shop at any online store which does currently do deliver to South Africa. You might find that AGS is cheaper than the online store's standard international delivery or prefer to use AGS as the parcel will move with a courier and not through the post office. This allows you to track your order and not wait for months for your parcel to arrive. This means you have the world as your shopping oyster and you can shop and have your parcel delivered to your door from anywhere in the world. Signing up is really easy and as soon as you have done so, you are routed to a page which shows you which countries you can shop from and what delivery address to use in each country. Keep this info for later on.
- Identify a store and make sure it's legit. That’s easy for me because I’m constantly “window shopping” online and adding items to my digital basket. When it’s time to shop I know exactly what I want and from where (budget allowing). For the purpose of this post, I decided to try out Storets. Based in the USA, Storets has been identified as a reasonably priced fast fashion retailer that is on the rise. Online giants such as Who What Wear, Sincerely Jules and ManRepeller have featured Storets so I trust they will not run away with my money. If it’s on Who What Wear then it has to be legit! Do a little research to see who else has used the store and what their experience was like. You don’t want to be risk being scammed so ensure they offer online security when entering your credit card details too.
- Not being able to try out the clothes before purchasing used to be the most frustrating part of shopping online. Selecting a size still makes me a little uncomfortable to be honest. Not all smalls are made equal. As a rule of thumb, sizes from European stores are usually cut too small for my frame, while US sizes tend to fit me better. The naming convention is also enough to drive me crazy. What’s the difference between US, UK, EU and MEX? The best way to determine your size is to actually know your measurements. The first time I ordered via Net-a-Porter I received a measuring tape with my parcel. Measure your waist, hips, bust and shoulders. Most trustworthy online shopping stores will have a measurement conversion sheet that you can use to confirm your size. Use it!
- Convert the amount of the items to Rands. Don’t let the difference in currency force you out of your budget. Convert the amount to Rands and add a little buffer. Banks will sometimes add a service fee for shopping overseas, or their exchange rate may not match your exactly. AGS has a currency converter and a rate converter to help avoid any nasty surprises.
- On check out, enter the AGS delivery address that has been provided to you for the country that the store resides in. Just like that, your parcel will be delivered to AGS, who will then deliver it to your door.
Pros of Shopping with Aramex Global Shopper
> You can order from 17 countries worldwide.
> If anytime during your first year as customer, you believe Aramex Global Shopper did not meet your expectations, you can ask for a refund on your membership.
> Its hassle free and offers competitive shipping rates. Signing up is quick and easy.
> Shipping fees can be estimated to give you an idea of what you’ll be expected to pay. This allows you to budget.
> AGS offers customers AGS Protect for an additional fee which allows you to insure shipments over $100
> You can track your shipment from the AGS website so you always know where your parcel is.
> You get informative emails and status updates of your order. Not once did I ever feel like I didn’t know where my order was.
Cons of Shopping with Aramex Global Shopper
> You cannot order from multiple stores and have AGS consolidate your package and ship it to you as one. Each order will be delivered separately, which means separate shipping rates per parcel.
> There are items which cannot be delivered. Check the list of unacceptable items here
> Although this isn’t controlled by AGS at all, the custom duty fees were way too exorbitant for what I ordered. I had to pay almost the full amount of what I had ordered. Had I known this upfront I may have changed my mind and ordered something else. Unfortunately this cannot be calculated upfront so you may be lucky and not have to pay too much for customs.
Shopping with AGS is so easy and convenient. Apart from the custom duties I had to pay prior to my delivery, the whole process is seamless. I placed my order on the 1st November, it got delivered to my US address on the 3rd November and reached me on the 1st December. Exactly a month later. That’s way quicker than what I’ve had to wait for international deliveries in the past. Take advantage of those after Christmas sales and sign up with Aramex Global Shopper. I’ll even hook you up with a discount sign up code. Use this code when signing up AGS10KM and only pay $10 for a lifetime membership instead of the usual $45.
Shop the World with Aramex Global Shopper.
