Shopping could be such a hassle. Let’s face it,who doesn’t want to buy stuff without leaving the comfort of your own home ? Put on some decent clothes, schedule the time, the traffic and worst of all … the people.
Okay okay, not all people are bad. There are some out there who enjoy getting out , talk to somebody, make conversations. And you can find the basic things you need in most stores.
But sometimes the things you want aren’t always available in our beloved country. And you may not always agree with the prices you see here. We’ve all been there, see something you want, compare it with online prices and say, I’ll buy it myself.
I should first say it’s not always cheaper and make sure to weigh out the options. If I see something that would be like $5 cheaper if I bought it myself, but I’d have to wait 2 weeks, I would buy it here. I wouldn’t even hesitate if it was something I needed right away. It all depends on your situation.
So how would you buy stuff from sites like Amazon, Walmart or the Adidas and Nike stores? I’ve written a “short” how to, again based on my own experience.
Shopping without a credit card
One option is going to an import shop and sending them a link of an item you’ve seen online. Some of these shops charge between 30 or 40% of the item price. And you’d have to pay at least a deposit before placing an order.
Pros
- No headaches with entering your financial data
You will not be using a credit card so all the work would be done by them - Better chances of refunds
As they say in most of their policies, if an item were not to arrive, you would/could get your deposit back. But be sure to read the fine lines. - As mentioned above another pro with be not having to worry about suspicious looking website where they could steal your credit card info. And they would probably inform you if they already had bad experiences from bad sites. A blacklist if you will.
Cons
- The waiting.
You will not be only person requesting a quote. This can take between a day or even a week (if you’re really unlucky). - Price fluctuations
This can be very frustrating sometimes and also depends on the waiting time of your quote.
Let’s say you see an item for $12.99. At the time of processing your request, the price of the item may have gone up to $15.99 and then your quote will be based on the new price. This is where you’d be at a disadvantage.
And even if it was the opposite, where a price drop would happen, who’s to say they would not use the highest option. I’m not saying that they would do this, I’m just saying it’s a possibility. - You can’t track your own item (at most of them)
Gift Cards
Another option would be gift cards. Now online merchants like Amazon sell gift cards where you can load up your Amazon account with credits, which in turn you can use to buy products. Of course you’d have to buy them first, but they are selling them here.
Pros
- No headaches with entering your financial data again.
Cons
- Your limited to the store where you buy your gift cars
- if an item is below your balance , you would always have some left.
Shopping with a credit card
As mentioned in a previous blog post I mentioned how to get a credit card and how to set up a PayPal account.
If you can shop with your PayPal account I would definitely recommend that. Why?
Once you’ve set up your PayPal account, you don’t have to enter you credit card details anymore and it’s very secure. Plus their help desk is not that bad. I only had one complaint because they changed my default currency to SRD instead of USD. But that was all cleared up with an e-mail.
The only site I trust so with my credit card information so far is Amazon.
Ordering something online usually takes on average 2 weeks , depending which shipping you choose at the site. And getting your items here takes a little bit of price calculating.
The import companies usually work with fixed price per pound. They way they work is they usually have an American address where you can ship your item to and from there they ship it to Suriname.
Let’s work with an example :
Example
- Item cost: $12.99 (For the sake of this example we’ll say shipping in America to the address is free.)
- Shipping to Suriname: $5 per lbs.
- item weight: 2 lbs
Total cost : $12.99 + 2 x $5 = $22.99
Now this would cost you more than if you asked for a quotation yourself, even if they would ad 50% on top of it (which would be $19.49 ).
Where to import?
Now there are lot of import companies now compared to 10 years ago.
I’ve made a little side-by-side comparison which you can use to help decide. I’ve used some of these companies in the past and this is my unbiased review. I should once again mention that I’m not getting paid for this. So why am I doing this?
For now I’ve only included companies with a working website and reply on your email fairly quick.
You mean to tell me you’re one of the best and trustworthy companies out there but you’re not willing to invest a little time and money in a website?
I don’t trust companies that only have a Facebook page, no matter how many followers they have. And the companies I named below are companies who’s main business is importing goods from foreign countries.
At the time of writing the prices are:
| Rapid Imports | CRS Imports | |
| Price per lbs (air freight) | $5.00 | $3.60 |
| Warehouse fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Price per cubic feet (ocean freight) | $12.00 | $15.00 |
| Warehouse fee | $2.50 | $0.00 |
| Minimum Ocean Freight | $16.00 | $0.00 |
Local companies vs shopping
Luckily local companies are investing in their online shopping websites now, so things are slowly getting picked up. It will take a while before where actually where we need to be , but at least it’s a start. And I’m all for supporting our locals, so if you can support them too.
Final Thoughts
Let me just point out that ordering things “yourself” (you still need someone to ship it to Suriname) isn’t always a guarantee that you spend less. Make sure to weight the options first.
I might get a TV for far cheaper but there’s no warranty. Where if you would buy it here in a store, most of the time they would give you. Even if it is just a month.
And if you would order it yourself , the weight of the item can either work for or against you. Depending on how much they quote you, It might sometimes be the better option. And let me add the 30 or 40% I mentioned before is not written in stone.
So there it is, there are online shopping possibilities. And if you ever have the chance to travel, by all means go on a shopping spree.
If you have any other recommendations, or something to add, let me hear from you.
