Irish Shoppers on a Budget Taking Advantage of Stateside Deals Online
As Published In: INDEPENDENT.IE
September 16, 2008
IF your budget doesn't stretch to a New York shopping trip, is it possible to get some stateside bargains online?
Unfortunately, most of the big department stores -- Bloomingdales and Barney's for example -- won't ship overseas. Barney's won't even take an international credit card. One way around this is to use a shipping service such as www.MyUS.com, which will buy and ship product overseas.
If the shopping site doesn't take an international credit card, and many don't, MyUS will take charge of your card and buy the product for you.
A one-off shipping transaction requires a basic $20 (€13) fee on top of the shipping charges. Other options include a yearly fee of $60 (€41) or a monthly fee of $7 (€4.80).
The shipping charges, however, aren't cheap. A minimum rate of 0.2 kilos costs $20 (€13), rising to $117 (€80) for 20 kilos, which is about half the weight allowance for most transatlantic flights.
Shipped products are also subject to customs and excise once they enter Ireland if they're worth more than €22. Rates vary according to the type of product.
For more information on duties and VAT rates for goods ordered online check out the Revenue Commissioner's online leaflet (www.revenue.ie).