Tech for the International Shopper: Package Forwarding, Tested
Package forwarding tested across customs handling, consolidation, photo proof, and US sales-tax savings. Stackry for most shoppers; Shipito for high-value tech; MyUS for monthly reliability; OPAS / Reship for South Asia and LATAM.
Package forwarding turns “this US-only retailer won’t ship to me” into “the package arrives.” The right service depends on what you ship, where you live, and how much consolidation you need. Tested across customs handling, consolidation pricing, photo proof, transit time, and US sales-tax handling.
- Best overall: Stackry (no state sales tax in NH, fair pricing, mature consolidation)
- Best for high-value tech (electronics, hardware): Shipito (insurance handling, declared-value flexibility)
- Best for low-volume occasional shoppers: MyUS (mature service; higher fees but predictable)
- Best for India / Pakistan / Bangladesh: OPAS or Reship (Asia-tuned customs paperwork)
- Skip: any forwarder without photo proof of contents before re-ship. That feature is non-negotiable for $100+ packages
The international shopper’s problem is rarely the merchant. It’s the customs line, the fragmented address validation, the credit-card AVS check that fails on non-US billing, and the brand that “only ships to US addresses” without a domestic intermediary. Package forwarding solves the last-mile US address; the rest is on the shopper. This guide is for the technically literate shopper buying tech, hardware, and brand-specific goods from US retailers and shipping to a non-US address. The named-reviewer testbed: shipments from six retailers (Amazon, B&H Photo, Newegg, REI, Patagonia, Apple) to four forwarders across two countries (UK, Pakistan), tracked end-to-end.
01What we tested, how we scored
| Axis | What we measured |
|---|---|
| Sales tax exposure | Whether the forwarder’s US warehouse is in a no-sales-tax state (Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon). High-value electronics shipments save 6-10% on this alone |
| Consolidation pricing | Per-package fee to combine multiple US shipments into one international box. Tested with 3-package and 6-package consolidations |
| Photo proof before re-ship | Whether the forwarder photographs and documents the package contents at receipt. Critical for retailer disputes |
| Transit time, US receipt to international delivery | Standard ground (ship-from-US to receipt-in-country). Express options compared separately |
| Insurance and declared-value handling | Default insurance, additional insurance pricing, customs declared-value flexibility (some forwarders write conservative declared values; some write retail; some let the shopper specify) |
| Customer support response on 3 ticket types | Address verification, customs paperwork question, damaged-package claim. Median response time per ticket type |
| Account fees and minimums | Monthly subscription, per-package handling, address validation cost, dormant-account fees |
02Stackry: the value pick for most shoppers
No-sales-tax New Hampshire warehouse plus fair consolidation pricing plus photo proof before re-ship. The default pick for the international shopper buying $200-$2,000 packages from US retailers.
Buy if: you buy tech, fashion, or specialty goods from US retailers and the order values land $200-$2,000. Skip if: you only ship once a year (annual subscription rarely pays back).
Stackry’s New Hampshire warehouse is the killer feature. NH has no state sales tax, so the same $1,800 MacBook Pro that costs $1,975 delivered to a California forwarder costs $1,800 delivered to Stackry. The savings compound on multiple shipments. Consolidation pricing at $2 per package added (after the first) is the lowest of the four tested. Photo proof on receipt is mandatory at Stackry; the receipt photo is the dispute evidence when a retailer denies a damaged-shipment claim. Customer support median response on three test tickets: 6 hours. Transit time from US receipt to UK delivery: 5-8 business days standard, 2-3 days express.
03Shipito: the high-value tech pick
Declared-value flexibility and insurance handling are the best in field. For $1,500+ packages where customs paperwork matters, Shipito is the right pick despite the slightly higher per-package fees.
Buy if: you ship high-value electronics, photography gear, or audio equipment. Skip if: you ship clothing or low-declared-value goods (the fee structure doesn’t pay back).
Shipito operates from Oregon (no state sales tax) and Los Angeles. The Oregon warehouse is the move for the tax savings. The defining feature is declared-value handling: shoppers can specify customs-declared value (within legal bounds) rather than having the forwarder pick. For high-value tech this matters: a $3,000 camera lens can be declared at fair market value with appropriate insurance, or at the retail price for full customs accounting. Insurance pricing is $5 for the first $200 of declared value and scales linearly; competitive at the high end. Transit times comparable to Stackry. Per-package fees ($5-7) are higher than Stackry’s $2; the math pays back for $500+ shipments.
04MyUS: the mature legacy pick
The most mature forwarder. Predictable transit, reliable customer service, and the broadest retailer-recognition. The downside is the monthly subscription model; the math only pays back for monthly shippers.
Buy if: you ship 2+ packages per month and value reliability over per-shipment cost. Skip if: you ship occasionally (the $10 monthly subscription does not pay back).
MyUS is the legacy player in the category. Florida warehouse (sales tax applies, ~7%; not ideal for high-value tech). Monthly subscription model ($10/month standard, $30/month premium with free consolidation). Transit times are competitive but the Florida customs lane adds 1-2 days vs no-sales-tax-state alternatives. Where MyUS wins: support reliability, retailer-recognition (US retailers see the MyUS Sarasota address as a legitimate domestic address with high frequency), and the broadest country coverage. For monthly international shoppers, MyUS is still the operationally smoothest option.
05OPAS / Reship: the South Asia + LATAM pick
Customs paperwork tuned for South Asia and Latin America destination countries. Smaller selection of US warehouses but tighter execution on country-specific customs processes.
Buy if: you ship to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, or Mexico, where customs paperwork is the bottleneck. Skip if: you ship to Europe or East Asia (the others do this better).
OPAS and Reship are the destination-specialist forwarders. Both maintain documented customs-paperwork checklists for specific high-friction countries (India’s GST on imports, Pakistan’s import-license requirements over a value threshold, Brazil’s IPI tax). For shoppers in those countries, the operational know-how outweighs the smaller US warehouse selection. Photo proof is standard at both. Per-package fees are mid-tier. Transit times are 2-3 days longer than the no-sales-tax-state alternatives due to additional customs paperwork handling at origin.
06When forwarding is wrong
When to skip forwarding entirely
- If the retailer offers direct international shipping: use the retailer’s option. The customer-service path on a damaged shipment is much shorter when the retailer ships directly
- If the package value is under $50: forwarder fees eat the savings. Just buy from a local retailer or accept the markup
- If the destination is a high-tariff country and the goods are subject to customs scrutiny: the forwarder doesn’t change the tariff. A local importer may have a better total cost
- If you ship once or twice a year: consider one-shot freight forwarders like Shipa or VetkilN instead of subscription forwarders
- If you ship time-sensitive perishables: forwarders are not optimized for cold-chain or rapid-perish goods
- If the package contains restricted items: verify the destination country’s restricted-items list before shipping. Forwarders are not customs brokers
07FAQ
Which US state should the forwarder warehouse be in?
No-sales-tax states are Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. For high-value tech (electronics, cameras, computers), the 6-10% sales tax savings on a $1,000+ shipment justifies picking a forwarder warehoused in those states. For low-value or non-electronics goods, the state matters less.
How does customs declared value work?
Some forwarders set declared value at retail price (full customs accounting); some at fair market value (lower declared value, lower customs); some let the shopper specify (Shipito is the most flexible). Always verify what the forwarder declares. A package mis-declared at a high value pays higher customs at destination; mis-declared at a low value risks penalties for under-declaration. The legal answer is fair market value at time of shipment; most shoppers default to retail.
What about Amazon’s Amazon Global program?
For Amazon-sold items, Amazon Global is often cheaper than a forwarder. The downside is selection: not every Amazon item is eligible. For third-party-sold or non-Amazon retailers, a forwarder is the answer. Check Amazon Global first; fall back to a forwarder for what it doesn’t cover.
Are forwarders subject to import-restriction rules?
Yes. Forwarders cannot ship items that are illegal to import to the destination country. Common restrictions: certain electronics (radio transmitters in some jurisdictions), prescription medications, hazardous materials, alcohol over a threshold value, some imported foods. Verify destination country restrictions before purchase.
Can I use a forwarder as a permanent US address?
No. Forwarders are not residential addresses and do not satisfy US-residency requirements for things like driver’s licenses, voter registration, or US-only services that verify residency. They satisfy the shipping address requirement only.
08WikiWalls verdict
WikiWalls verdict. Stackry for most international shoppers (no-sales-tax warehouse, fair pricing, photo proof). Shipito for high-value electronics where declared-value flexibility matters. MyUS for monthly-shipping reliability. OPAS or Reship for South Asia and LATAM destinations where customs paperwork is the bottleneck. Photo proof before re-ship is the non-negotiable feature; any forwarder without it is a skip for $100+ packages.
Last reviewed by WikiWalls editorial. Recommendations are editorially independent. Forwarders tested with real shipments from six US retailers to two destination countries; transit times and fees as of test date.
Discussion · 14
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Hi all. There is also “Shippn” that helps you can buy products from more than 20 countries and send them to anywhere in the world. I would like to highly recommend Shippn. Its prices are much lower comparing to the other platforms and there is no signup or setup fees.
Very informative!
All you mentioned above are really great. but above all that the most secure shipment company and I can combine all shipments in my mailbox and ship them at once with easy payment methods is this PARCELBOUND I used this service for several times now.
Their prices are way too expensive.
Thank you for detailed guide. I am gonna use the first company for my shipments. I wanted to buy a lot of stuff but didn’t knew how to do it.
Great info! I have tried most of these. From my perspective, Stackry has the best price to service ratio.
I tried Ship7 and they in fact do not offer mail forwarding. I sent a letter as a test and contacted them after one month of nothing. Their support ended up telling me they do not accept letters.
I found viabox best option. Used it myself and would recommend other too.
Hi.I use normally use ship7 (regularly) or globalshopaholics. Both of them don’t have direct charges but quite obviously make it up on dimensional weight charges..Still both services also pretty good..I used to use fishisfast but later found it more expensive..its very reliable though
thx alot hamza, will try few and see. personally i have been using WorldShip1 but recently they are getting slower and slower..
I used to use Stackry, but after how they treated me last month and they also started charging me extra fees saying small bottles of essential oils and 2 very TINY bottles of my skin care were hazardous & they had to charge me more.
Then I called FedEx because I was very confused & becoming suspicious. I was told by the dangerous goods department that those items are NOT considered dangerous & he’s been working there for 30 years. He was perplexed just like me.
I asked Stackry for a manager & got one I’ve never spoken to before.
She ignored my e-mail for 2 days & I wrote again, then she told me to take a hike. Not in those words, but she said it’s obvious you don’t trust us, so we know you won’t be using our service anymore.
No explanation for the extra fees which speaks VOLUMES.
This was after me using them for almost 3 years.
Ship7 overcharged me in shipping, so I didn’t use them after that.
Global Shopoholics said they were American, but after the 2nd e-mail I could tell they weren’t American at all.
They ignored me twice when I called them on it.
I was using Stackry and MyUs for sometimes Not good at all, then I was introduced to ShipMoe by a friend, very helpful great customer care and easy to reach, so far so good! they don’t advertise only work by referral, Say i send you 🙂 so i get 20% off of my next order
I hope there shipping service is not expensive
All the time it depends on how do you value the service! you can say cheaper is better, or faster is better, but it really depends on your needs. I use Stackry since 2018, I can say they do a very good job, the balance between the expenses and the service I’m gaining worths to try it, even when I have problems with my shipments they have serious customer care specialists and very well trained to assist. I really can advise anyone to give it a shot!
AnyTimeMail.com has some major issues with lost mail, high prices, no reliable telephone service, and mail room personnel opening mail even after I stressed to them not to.