A Guide on Online Shopping for International Products to Deliver to your Doorstep

Are you frustrated because the latest gadgets are taking forever to launch in your country? It can be really annoying to keep watching the reviews and pictures of your favorite gadget or another such item and to dream about it every single day while waiting for it to launch in your country. Well, let us introduce you to a whole new world of global online shopping where you can find all of your favorite international products that haven’t been launched in your country yet.

International products are now at your fingertips. With the help of the internet, you can now buy top international products at the touch of a button. You need not depend on shady black markets that scam you when you buy something from them, you can be a proud owner of legit international brand products using the internet. In fact, if you pull it off correctly, you might even find top international products to be quite economical and effective. In this article, we will take a look at how to buy products internationally using global online shopping e-commerce websites that deliver right to your doorstep. If you are still wondering what is an international product, then read along to find all the answers to your questions.

What is an International Product?

international brand products are items that aren’t readily available in your country. If you are looking to buy items such as the latest Nintendo switch, premium leather bags from Harrods, or latest collection of clothing from Saint Laurent, or limited-edition beauty products from Gucci, then the only option that you have if you are living in a country that does not have these brands, is to look for them on global websites and buy them from a store that is shipping them internationally. Or if you are lucky then you could ask your NRI relative to bring them for you on their next trip abroad. But not all people have the luxury of a relative who can bring them their favorite international products.

How to Buy Products Internationally?

If you are looking to buy International products from global online shopping sites, then you must keep in mind that there is naturally a premium that you would have to pay which includes various custom duties, taxes, shipping charges, etc. But even though there is a quite a premium that is attached to the product, there still are a majority of people who do not mind paying for it, as numerous surveys of global e-commerce websites suggest. To make it easier for you to shop globally, we have made a list of all things that you need to know before you buy your favorite international products online.

Be Aware of the Charges:

Shipping Charges:

If you are an avid user of online shopping sites in your local region, then you must be used to one-day free delivery from amazon and other such e-commerce websites that operate domestically. But ordering products from an international e-commerce website is a completely different game, where you are bound to attract various shipping charges. A lot of factors are to be taken into consideration when determining the shipping charges for your package. Some of the common factors include things like weight, origin-destination of the shipment, dimensions of the package, duties, taxes, whether you have insurance for the product, the service type (Express, Economy, Regular), etc. You would find that the majority of well-known global e-commerce websites have preferential agreements of the shipping charges with various courier companies, the same is mentioned on the page during the checkout.

Customs Duty:

Every single product that is imported from international online shopping sites for personal purposes attracts a custom duty of at least 10%, the other tax rates vary from country to country but this is the average across the most popular destinations. And on top of this customs duty, you also have to pay various other national taxes (such as GST if you are living in India) which is completely dependent on the slab rate that is fixed by the respective government where you are currently living in. It should be noted that there are some global e-commerce websites that choose to levy the local taxes to be paid in your country well in advance at the time of the checkout, whereas some other e-commerce websites decide to collect the customs duty from the customers at the time of delivery.

Currency Conversions:

You would find that a lot of the popular global online shopping websites list their international products in the local currency of the country that you are visiting the website in. One great way that you could save during the currency conversion process is to check if the product is available on another country’s portal such as the US or Uk for example. You might be able to get slightly lower prices due to better conversion rates of those counties. When you are making a purchase on one of these global e-commerce websites then you must not only pay attention to the listed price of the product but also try to find out what the actual price at the time of delivery might be.

Be on the Lookout for Offers:

Here’s another great tip to help you save money while ordering from global online shopping websites. Always look for offers, especially during festive seasons such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas because the global e-commerce websites often have free international shipping during their festive sales. You would notice that a lot of these sites also waive off charges that are applicable on the minimum order amount, so you can also order items that you need on a budget for a great deal.

Conclusion

Global online retail is something that is expanding every single year and it does not appear to go out of style anytime soon. If you are looking to buy international products then now is the time to do so.