Online shopping has increased by many folds, and with the constant high demand for using imported items, parcel forwarding services have taken birth.
These international forwarding services sometimes deal with only parcels while few accept packages as well as mail & magazines.
New services launch every month, offering a variety of services that can include: a personalised experience, better customer support, upto 80% of saving in shipping fee and location-specific options, making it difficult to choose the best service for your specific needs.
While we go through much effort to mention only the best services, there are always cases where the service quality becomes weak, and so people file complaints against them. But we still try our level best to keep ourselves informed of such developments.
When choosing a parcel forwarding service you should take a closer look at the following before getting you purchases shipped to them:
Choosing Package Forwarding Service
We will discuss all the details for consumers right now.
Signup Fee & Membership Levels
There are too many forwarding services to choose from out there, and all claim to be the “best package forwarding service”. Many of these are completely free at the time of signup, whereas some have a small one-time signup fee only. Others charge an annual fee to maintain your address and some prefer to charge monthly, however, they provide added benefits such as taking your mail too and depositing checks.
If the payment transaction is taking place via a card or payment gateway, you are safe. Watch out of the ones who offer everything for free.
Business Legitimacy
USA & Canada
For international parcel services in the USA & Canada look for a BBB accreditation.
They give a rating from A+ to F. Not every business chooses to be accredited however complaints can still be filed, and the chances are that you will see some company information including their contact address, names and numbers to get in touch with them directly.
This is generally a very good thing and shows how serious they themselves are about their company.
UK & EU
For the UK, look for their business registration information in the website footer (this is a common practice), verify this with Companies House and CheckBusiness that gives slightly more information on the organisation and its people.
Nowhere as close to BBB but its something to get you started, and there is no harm in having some background info.
Customer Service
Customer service can be a deal breaker for all overseas parcel forwarding services because once you’ve signed up and sent over your purchases to them, you are locked in. Hence, it is always best to signup with a couple of services and login to their member area to familiarise yourself with it’s dashboard.
Be sure to ask support staff questions, call them and see how well they understand and respond to your queries. If you are not comfortable with their initial response time, knowledge and flexibility to help you out, chances are you are going to have a tough time with them later also.
So this is vital! Never signup, till you have spoke on phone, or chat or email!
Online Reviews
Check reviews from ‘Real’ users online at Site Jabber, Pissed Consumer and TrustPilot. Look for specific details from those who have used the service. Some parcel forwarding services go out of their way to buy reviews from Fiverr and their friends.
The tell-tale sign is that these reviews are vague and will not provide any insight into what makes the business good or bad. Also, notice the dates, some services go through bad patches with customer service and don’t seem to get out of the shadow due to the online reviews.
A review from 1 or 2 years ago may no longer be relevant today. For services out of UK, check for Feefo ratings – these are independently audited and give a near accurate idea if the international forwarding service is right for you or not.
While all reviews seem legit at first glance, a sure shot way to weed out the bought-ones is to contact that particular reviewer and inquire more details. If they reply with specifics, you know you are in the green. If they don’t get back in 3 days or just continue to be vague, ask them “how much they were paid for a review becuase you are looking for quick small paid gigs”.
You’ll know your answer soon enough.
Service Requirements
Each parcel forwarding service provider has a vast number of features that they offer for a price. Some can be free, while other require an extra price. Be sure to pick a service that gives you the best value as well as your desired options.
We have put together a list of services which parcel forwarding services provide, but while we keep it updated, there is still a chance we missed something out.
Take a look at the full list of services and what they mean.
Payment Methods
Your final pick should be a service that offers to accept payment via Credit/Debit Card.
Okay, so if that is your ultimate goal, you can settle for Credit Card and Bitcoin, Credit Card and Debit Card, any card and Bitcoin.
Apart from card payment, if they are accepting wire transfers, PayPal, Skrill, Cashback, Amazon Pay, and other routes as well, then go ahead. But the minimum has to be Card.
Card payments verify the ligitmacy of a company. And, while PayPal is good, you could get stuck with them, but cards are quite safe.
We hope the guide was helpful and you can make a wise decision to pick a good forwarder.