I am born in France and I live in Sydney. My favourite shop is Zara, which I used to shop for years when I was living in Paris. Two or three years ago, Zara finally opened their first shop in Melbourne, and I was there. I was queuing on the first day of the opening, like a little girl in a candy shop! I couldn’t wait to buy amazing fashionable clothes with clean and modern lines that I love so much.How To Buy From Retailers That Don’t Ship To Australia
Like you my days are crazy busy, so naturally I mainly shop online. But catastrophe, Zara.com.au do not exist – and they do not ship to Australia. So I went to the French Zara online shop, and to my horror they ship only in France. Frustrating isn’t it!
Last year, when I was in Barcelona I shopped at Zara and bought lots of beautiful clothes without ruining me.
Few months later on, I saw the same collection in a Zara shop in Sydney, the prices were almost 25% more expensive. Shocking and not fair. Living in Australia is a blessing and it shouldn’t be a curse when is about shopping online retailers that don’t ship to Australia. I read somewhere, it’s the same story for Gap and TopShop.
eBay Solution
Lots of people shop on eBay and say they found Zara products. Naturally, I checked it and compared it with the actual collections in Europe. Personally, I don’t like buying vintage and I don’t feel comfortable buying a top that was already worn. I work hard and I enjoy wearing a brand new top coming from the factory, but that’s just me. I found the prices on eBay quite expensive, poor quality photos and so no very attractive prices. Not for me.
Parcel Forwarding
Have you heard about it? Basically, there are companies that will give you an address; say in the UK. When shopping online, you then use this address as your shipping address. Once your goods are received at the parcel forwarding company, they’ll give you a quote on shipping and then ship them directly to you in Australia. Genius!
5 Things To Know Before Using A Parcel Forwarding Company
1- The shipping cost is around $50 – so make sure your order is worth it.
2- Payment may be blocked if you pay with an Australian credit card – use Paypal instead and it’s safer.
3- Returns will be a nightmare – so I suggest you know the size brand you buy from, and triple-check sizes because they are not the same between the USA, UK and Australia.
4- Count 3 to 4 days delivery time from the retailer to your ‘UK address’ and probably 4 to 6 days before it arrives in Australia.
5- Use a postal address and not a PO Box, lots of companies do not ship to PO boxes.
Tips & Benefits
– Coming back to Zara, I checked their UK website, and the good news is they shipped for free in the UK. So you only pay the parcel forwarding company for the shipping between the UK to Australia.
– Also, when we are in winter in Australia it’s summer in Europe – so I will suggest shopping twice per year, check the new collections in May/June for the summer collections and around November/December for the winter ones.
– Sign up for your favourite retailer’s newsletter, so you will know about the new items and sales.
– I have an XE Currency free app on my phone, this way I can convert pounds into Australian dollars and I know exactly how much the items cost.
– I did my numbers, buying in pounds at UK Zara online is much cheaper than buying in a Zara shop in Australia. And paying an extra of $50 or $60 for the shipping is peanuts.
– I also noticed that Zara UK and Zara France present different items and collections at the same period.
– You will wear your new clothes that haven’t arrived yet in Australia!
Companies That Will Forward Your Parcel
– Borderlinx: Free to join, shipping costs around $60 for standard shipping but includes Australian custom taxes – which no other service offers, and could save you surprise costs when your parcel finally arrives.
– Forward2Me: There is a joining fee and you get a UK address. Shipping is express via DHL and there are options to insure your parcels. It seems they work only with express couriers so the service is more expensive but faster.
– Skypax: Offers a one-year membership for $180 + shipping. They also offer a one-time parcel forwarding option for $22 + shipping.
Voila, Now I am saving money to buy the next new clothes I love and can’t get in Australia. I hope this article was helpful, happy shopping!
Image Credit: Zara France
