How to Shop Online and Deliver using Shop & Ship

Shop & Ship is an online shipping delivery service from Aramex — a global logistics, courier and package delivery company based in Dubai.

The service allows customers to shop online from stores across many countries, and then they handle the international shipping down to the delivery to one’s doorsteps.

This service is a lifesaver as it allows you to buy items that you may not be able to get locally, or items which may be overpriced but cheap overseas, e.g. computer accessories. Buying items from international retailers or directly from manufacturers in many cases may actually be cheaper to buying locally, even with the added shipping cost.

How Shop & Ship Works

Destination Countries

Shop & Ship support shipping to over 80 countries. You need to be located in one of these countries in order to use the service. The destination countries have branch offices where you can pick up your packages in case you don’t prefer a door delivery.

Some of the countries and their branch stations include:

Origin Countries

Origin countries are the countries that Shop & Ship supports shipping from. Currently, the service supports shipping from a total of 33 countries. This list however keeps growing, their latest addition being the Nigeria origin.

After signing up, the service will give you personalized addresses to each of these countries. You can then use these addresses as the shipping address when buying items from online stores located in these countries.

The countries include:

US, UK, Canada, China, Australia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates.

Shop & Ship’s Plans and Pricing

Shop & Ship requires user registration and membership to use the service. Currently, they offer two plans:

• S&S Basic
• S&S Flex

The S&S Basic plan is free while the S&S Flex is a premium plan with extra benefits that costs $40 annually. The difference between the two plans are as follows:

Both plans include the following add-ons:

S&S Perfume

This add-on service allows you to ship perfumes between some select countries. It includes a service fee, of which the Flex members get a 25% discount.

The maximum size per bottle of perfume that can be shipped is 200ml, while the maximum quantity is 5 bottles per shipment.

Refer to the S&S Perfume page for information on supported countries and other conditions.

S&S Protect

By default, Shop & Ship covers items of up to $100 from loss or damage. This add-on allows you to in addition to this to protect shipments with a value above $100.

In case of loss or damage, the service will compensate the full value of the package up to $2500. User who want to protect items worth over $2500 are advised to contact their local Shop & Ship office for more information.

This add-on is included in the Flex plan for free, while Basic plan members can access it at an additional cost. Protection for an item worth $500 will for instance cost you $4 if you’re on the Basic plan.

Refer to the S&S Protect page to calculate the fees on this page.

S&S Select

This add-on allows customers to ship some items that are considered dangerous and/or hazardous. They include the following items:

• Nail Polish
• Nail Polish Removers
• Hair Spray
• Hair Growth Products (Rogaine – both spray and liquid)
• Deodorant Spray
• Tanning Spray

This service is only available between some select countries and includes a service fee of which the Flex members get a 25% discount.

Refer to the S&S Select page for information on supported countries and other conditions.

Shop & Ship Shipping Rates

Shop & Ship calculates shipping rates by weight only and don’t factor volumetric weight as is the case with some shipping companies. This is a huge plus as some items may have large dimensions despite weighing very little. Packages are however not consolidated and are shipped as they arrive.

Between the two plans, Flex is the most cost-effective as shipping rate are calculated for every 100g while in the Basic plan the shipping rate is calculated for every 500g. For items over 3KG, however, the Flex rate is adjusted and instead calculated for every additional 500g.

Let’s use an example to illustrate the price difference between the two plans:

To deliver a package from US to Kenya weighing between 100g to 500g with the Basic plan will cost you $8.12. However, if the package weighs 600g the price jumps to $15.08 which is the same price for a 1KG package.

With the Flex plan however, the rate is adjusted for each additional 100g. For example, a package shipping from US to Kenya will cost you $2.53 for the first 100g. Each additional 100g up to 3KG will cost you $0.96. So for a 600g shipment, the Flex rate would come to $7.33 instead of $15.08.

As you can see, the Flex plan is the best way to go if you intend to shop regularly, especially for small items that don’t weigh much. The subscription price is well worth the price considering the above savings and the additional benefits.

Refer to the shipping rates calculator to see how much it will cost you to ship packages between supported countries based on their weight.

Note: Depending on the item and your country’s import regulations, you may be required to pay custom fees in addition to the shipping rate. Always check with customer care prior to making orders to avoid surprises.

Unacceptable Items and Limits

There are items which cannot be shipped using Shop & Ship. The exact items may vary depending on the origin and destination country.

Some general goods that are unacceptable to all countries include:

• Damaged/Broken Phones or Tablets
• Samsung Note 7
• Batteries
• Power Banks
• Drone Cameras
• Hoverboard
• Lasers
• GPS
• All Liquids
• Seeds
• Nail Polish
• Lighters
• Hookah & Hookah Accessories
• Spy Items
• Swords/Sharp tools/weapons
• Holster
• Vest and bag for gun
• Toy gun and accessories
• Walkie Talkie
• Pet Supplements
• Any endangered species products
• Government issued documents e.g. Permanent Residence Cards, Green Cards, Work Permits, Passports, Driving Licences, Health Cards
• Correspondence from a respective country’s tax authority
• Cheques

In addition to restricted items, there are weight and value limits on what you can ship. This likewise depends on the origin and destination country. For instance, shipments from US to Kenya are limited to a maximum weight of 36KG (80LB) and a maximum value of $2500.

Use the form in the Unacceptable Materials page to view the full list of limitations and restricted items for your country.

Steps on How to Ship Globally with Shop & Ship

Step 1: Create Shop & Ship Account

1. Go to the sign-up page on the Shop & Ship website. You can also sign up through their Android or iOS app.
2. Provide your Personal Details and create an account.
3. In the next step, select a Membership Plan followed by your shipping information.
4. Complete your payment if you selected the Flex plan.
5. Log in to your account and select the Address tab to view your Shop & Ship addresses.

You can now start using the provided addresses as your shipping address and your packages will be delivered to your Shop & Ship account. Take note of line 2 in your address, which is the same on all your origin addresses — this is your mailbox / account number which may be needed during support tickets.

Step 2: Shopping & Delivery

1. Shop at your preferred online store and in the checkout set your shipping address to the nearest of your personalized Shop & Ship addresses.
2. Once the delivery arrives at the Shop & Ship address, you’ll be notified over email on its arrival.
3. The weight of the package will be taken and all the necessary documentation needed for export will be prepared. The shipping fees will then be updated in your account, including any additional fees.
4. You’ll then get an email alerting you that the pay feature is now active. You however don’t have to pay immediately and can wait until the package arrives in your country or on delivery.
5. Another email will be sent informing you that the package has left the origin country.
6. Now wait for a few days as the package is shipped to your country. Meanwhile, you can track the shipment on the app or on the website.
7. Once the package arrives in your country, you’ll be called on the number on your account to arrange for delivery or to pick up the package. This is a good time to pay. You can check out with your Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) or PayPal.
8. The package is finally delivered to your doorstep.

Personal Experience using Shop & Ship

Personally, what I love the most about Shop & Ship are their delivery times. I’ve used the service two times now and they are yet to fail me. Most recently, they exceeded my expectation by shipping a book I had ordered on the US Amazon site within a total of 7 days.

Basically, it took Amazon 2 days to deliver the book to their New York address and Shop & Ship took only 5 days to deliver it to my doorstep in Kenya. I wasn’t even expecting the delivery that day, so it was quite a pleasant surprise.

This particular delivery cost me only $6.37. They had a promo discount for book orders, so the actual price based on the weight of the book came to $8.12 which is quite affordable. The total cost of the book and delivery therefore came to $14.86 which is cheaper if not about the same price of what most new books go for locally. As you can see, this is not only a viable way of shopping, but also cost-effective.

The other item I bought before the book was some ear clip headphones I could not get locally. I bought them directly from the manufacturer’s site, and it took about 2 weeks to deliver them. The shipping lag came from the manufacturer side who took a whole week to ship the item to the New York address, however Shop & Ship took only 7 days to complete the delivery.

Lastly, I want to mention that my one and only interaction with Shop & Ship customer care has so far been positive. For the book order, I had a problem with getting the promo code to work, and so I reached out to them on Twitter. The support over there forwarded my issue to their Kenyan desk, who called me and sorted the issue.

I’ll continue using the service and plan on updating my experience or concerns here.