Overseas shopping guide: How to conduct overseas shopping, the operation process of overseas shopping

Domestic product quality problems have become increasingly prominent, and product prices have also skyrocketed. Faced with such a harsh living and living environment , can we find a way to purchase goods at low prices and with guaranteed quality?

The answer is yes. This way is "overseas shopping", or "overseas shopping" for short. It is a DIY form of self-service overseas shopping that does not rely on purchasing agents. Its main process is a transshipment company. Register on the website and obtain an overseas address, and then shop on the foreign website. The goods arrive at the forwarding company, and then the overseas address collects the goods and ships them to the country. The forwarding company clears customs and delivers them to your hands. The risk is lower and it is cheaper than finding a purchasing agent. In fact, Many purchasing agents also operate through forwarding companies.

Nowadays, most Chinese people use Lucky Mail for transportation. You can also try it.

The following is a strategy guide provided by "overseas shopping fans". It is recommended that netizens who are ready to try overseas shopping read it carefully before operating.

1. Open the language barrier

Overseas online shopping websites are generally in English. There are also Chinese ones but very few. You need to have at least not completely forgotten the English you learned in school. If you say that you will give it all back to the teacher, then forget it. It won’t work if you don’t understand English at all. It doesn’t matter if you know some English, but you are not very good at it. You can use the combination of Kingsoft PowerWord and Goog translation tools to deal with it.

Goog translation tool: ht can translate the entire web page

Kingsoft PowerWord translation tool: h can only translate words and short sentences

Now I also find that using Google Google Browse The browser can directly translate the entire English webpage into Chinese. Hey, this way overseas shopping will be much simpler. Just download and install Google Chrome and use this to access English websites. It is simple and convenient.

2. Cross-border Passing the payment threshold

Overseas online shopping is generally paid in US dollars. Domestic debit cards cannot pay, and credit cards with only RMB as a single currency are not supported, because foreigners pay with credit cards, so we want to If you want to shop overseas, you must first apply for a dual-currency credit card from a bank that can be used for international payments. It is recommended to apply for a dual-currency US dollar/RMB credit card, because the US dollar is a common currency in the world. Visa/Master will do. Generally, Visa or RMB The Master logo is a dual-currency credit card, which can be used. You can use U.S. dollars to make purchases overseas. When repaying domestically, you can use RMB to repay at the exchange rate on the repayment date. If you need to use euros and other currencies for overseas online shopping, the bank will charge 1.5 Fees, converted at the current exchange rate. Nowadays, the dual-currency credit cards that are relatively easy to use for overseas shopping include the following:

ICBC Peony International Credit Card

ABC Golden Harvest Credit Card Dual-Currency Card

BOC Great Wall International Card

China Construction Bank Business Travel Series Dual Currency Credit Card

Bank of Communications Dual Currency Credit Card

China Merchants Bank Dual Currency International Credit Card

CITIC Dual Currency Credit Card

When shopping online overseas, especially in the United States, you can basically use PayPal as a payment tool. It is not China’s PayPal, but America’s PayPal. PayPal is equivalent to Alipay in the United States. In China, using Paypal can not only link dual-currency credit cards to Paypal accounts, domestic credit cards can also be linked to Paypal for international payments. When paying, use Paypal to pay, and Paypal will deduct the money from the credit card, so that online There is no need to enter credit card information when shopping, which prevents the leakage of credit card information and prevents the possibility of credit card theft. Credit card information is only recorded in Paypal. Try to use Paypal for payment on websites where Paypal can be used. Try not to make purchases on websites that use Paypal to pay, or only use it on a few particularly large websites.

Paypal registration authentication and credit card binding, please see Paypal registration authentication and binding help

3. Register on the forwarding company website and obtain an overseas address

Most overseas B2C merchants do not support direct shipping Even if the goods are shipped to China, the shipping fee will be high even if it is supported. Forwarding companies are used to solve this problem. They can provide you with your own exclusive overseas delivery address, and then help you receive the goods overseas and forward them to China for a certain service fee. Due to the booming online retail market in the United States and the low possibility of counterfeit goods, the exchange rate of the yuan against the US dollar has also stabilized at a very low level. The charges of each transshipment company are different, and the customs clearance speed is slightly different, but the functions are basically the same. After registering and logging in to the website of any forwarding company, you can find your delivery address in the United States in the backend. For specific methods, please refer to this overseas forwarding introduction ABC. The operations of each company are similar.

4. Shopping on foreign websites

Before making overseas purchases, it is best to prepare a dual-currency credit card issued by a domestic bank (Master, Visa, American Express, etc. are all acceptable). Many overseas merchants support domestic credit card payments, such as Amazon, but some merchants do not support domestic credit cards, so we have to give up on these merchants. The shopping method is similar to that of domestic B2C, except that the payment process for order submission is slightly different. The basic process is to register - log in - add to the shopping cart on the product page - confirm the order on the shopping cart page - fill in the shipping address - fill in the payment method - confirm the order - receive the order confirmation email. The shipping address needs to be filled in with the overseas shipping address for transshipment. The payment method is usually by credit card, just fill in your card number, name, validity period, and CVV security code. Some websites such as Amazon do not require a CVV security code to make purchases. Some websites will pre-authorize $1 to test the validity of your credit card. Don’t worry, this $1 will not be reflected in the bill.

Some websites have their own Gift card system, which can be used to redeem cash. The one that everyone is more exposed to is Amazon’s Gift card. Since there are many black cards (earned from stolen credit cards), we do not recommend users to go to Taobao or similar websites to buy such gift cards. The tediousness and risks of buying gift cards are no longer compared to the little money saved. There are advantages. The legal risks that such black cards bring to transshipment companies will also prompt relevant transshipment companies to prohibit the transshipment of items purchased with unknown Gift cards.

Each website has its own free shipping policy. For example, Timberland official website has free shipping for orders over $100, and Amazon has free shipping for orders over $25. The Free Shipping service provided by Amazon usually takes 5-7 days to arrive at the delivery address in the United States. If you are in a hurry, you can choose to try the Amazon Prime service, which each Amazon user can try for one month. The normal Amazon Prime service is an annual package with free shipping and 2-day delivery, and the annual fee is $89. Note, after choosing the trial, you must remember to go to the "Prime Service Automatic Renewal" in the Amazon backend to turn off automatic renewal, otherwise the annual fee will be automatically charged to your credit card after one month.

Amazon is the largest B2C mall in the United States. It has a wide variety of products, usually at competitive prices, and does not impose any restrictions on domestic users. It is the preferred website for overseas purchases. It is recommended that netizens start their overseas shopping journey from Amazon, and netizens who are purchasing overseas for the first time are advised to read it carefully. Overseas shopping requires a certain foundation in English, otherwise it is easy to make mistakes or fail to understand the details of various promotions, causing unnecessary losses. It is recommended to operate with the help of friends with good English proficiency or good English proficiency. It is also possible to use translation tools. It can temporarily solve the problem.

5. The forwarding company collects the goods at the overseas address and delivers them to the country

After waiting for a few days, the forwarding company's website can check that the warehouse at the overseas address has received the goods. If If you are worried or have not received the goods for a long time, you can see the courier number of the goods in the order details of the online shopping merchant, and then go to the corresponding courier website to check your own courier details. If necessary, record the logistics waybill number and verify it with the forwarding company. Some forwarding companies require manual storage, which requires users to manually enter the waybill number in the backend management page of the forwarding website.

The next operation is slightly different for each transshipment company, but it is nothing more than recharging the transshipment company's account with sufficient transshipment fees, registering and filling in the domestic delivery address, confirming the warehousing order of the transshipment company, and verifying Weigh (freight is usually based on weight), submit transshipment application, calculate fees and deduct money, etc. After all operations are completed, you can wait for the goods to arrive in China. Usually there will be a "waybill in transit" page in the background, where you can check the real-time status of the waybill and get an idea of ??the delivery time.

6. Customs clearance and express delivery

Products purchased overseas must be cleared for customs before they can enter the domestic distribution process. According to the Regulations of the General Administration of Customs on Adjustments to the Management Measures for Entry and Exit Personal Postal Items, starting from September 1, 2010, the tax exemption for personal postal items in the past will be cancelled, and the import tax payable for incoming postal items will exceed 50 RMB. All goods priced in RMB will be taxed based on the full value of the goods. There are currently three main ports of entry in China: Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing. Shanghai Port imposes strict taxes on electronic products, and customs policies are frequently adjusted. If you are caught and need to pay customs duties to fulfill your obligations, the delivery time will be extended, but there is no need to worry, because paying taxes in accordance with the law is the responsibility and obligation of every citizen. Products purchased overseas are usually much more cost-effective than those purchased domestically, including tariffs. If tariffs are incurred, the forwarding company's customer service will notify you by phone or email at this time, and the forwarding company will pay it on your behalf after recharging. The possibility of being forcibly confiscated by customs is very small, so don’t be too nervous even if it is taxed.

7. What items are suitable for overseas purchase

1) Some products are not sold in the mainland and are not licensed in the mainland, such as Kindle 3, etc.;

2) Special promotions Commodities are much lower than domestic prices.

8. What is not suitable for overseas purchase

1) For products that are too heavy, the postage/transshipment charges may offset the domestic and international price difference;

2) Prohibited items or goods that the transshipment company clearly does not recommend for purchase (such as aerosol cans, etc.).

9. What are the disadvantages of overseas purchasing?

1) The payment/mailing process is cumbersome and takes a long time;

2) If the product is faulty, it is inconvenient to return it for repair. .