We’ve all been there, you wanted that brand new MacBook Pro but the prices in Saudi Arabia compared to Amazon are exorbitant! So what should you do?
There are a lot of international package forwarding companies that can ship to Saudi Arabia. One of the most common services is Aramex’s Shop&Ship but they have increased their prices many times, from $5 per pound to $10.
It’s been a year since I switched to MyUS’s services. They offer full control of the mailbox; you can group the shipments the way you want it and ship them to Saudi Arabia whenever you want. You can provide special instructions on how to treat your shipments and you can also set a declared value of your choice for the customs.
They ship using DHL (and sometimes FedEx), the shipments take 3-4 days until they arrive and I had no issue with the Saudi customs unlike Aramex. The support is very responsive and once I received a damaged item and I had an immediate refund for that value.
Another advantage of MyUS is that they can buy for you. For example if you want to buy from Newegg ( a well known hardware store that doesn’t accept Aramex mailbox) you can make a request to MyUS and they will make the order for you. They will take a small percentage as processing fee but it is better than not being able to order.
I am very satisfied with MyUS services after a year and I will renew for a second year with them. No more crappy Aramex for me!
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that’s cool!..
I need to understand how this works.. I remember before when I was looking for a lens for my canon camera i find saudi prices too high, so when I tried amazon , they told that they are not shipping in saudi
They give you a US based mailing address. You make the order and ship it to MyUS’s mailbox.
depending on your settings you can either hold and wait or ship every month, as you like.
MyUS control panel have more control, more control than Aramex.
Once you ship the items to Saudi Arabia, they combine your shipments in one package and ship it using DHL.
Thanks Khaled.. Out of topic, Why have you not monetize your blog ? just wondering..
For Guys in Saudi Arabia: Have you tried “Saudi Post My US Address” (SPMyUS) service?
I’ve USED “SPMyUS” and I’ve looked at MyUS.com reates, and there’s a big difference.
SP Service charges SAR 50 for the 1st Kg (or less), then 50 for each additional KG.
For example, a 2 KG package would cost SAR 100 or USD 26.7 using SP. The same would cost USD 36.56
BTW: I am an Aramex Customer, and a very active one, however, I’m finding SP to be cheaper by the day. I did use Aramex for a Large/Heavy Shipment (120 KG) and I got Excellent Price & Service. So, Aramex will be much better for +50 KG.
I never bothered to try SPMYUS service, but if you want to review Aramex then please do. They are very bad in my personal opinion.
Aramex: (From US to KSA)
- Setup Fees: SAR 132 (one time) + UK Address for FREE
- Monthly Fee: FREE
- 1st KG or less: SAR 100
- Additional KG: SAR 70
- Pros: 50+ KG will go Cargo (with much cheaper rates). If you’re a regular S&S Customer then you’ll get 15% Discount.
- Cons: No Package Consolidation
SP My US Address: (From US to KSA). SP Actually uses ITS-SHIP.com Freight Forwarders.
- Setup Fee: FREE
- Monthly Fee: FREE
- 1st KG or less: SAR 50
- Additional KG: SAR 50
- Pros: Cheap, and right to your door!
- Cons: No Package Consolidation. You pay for shipping in advance, otherwise, package will NOT leave the US.
Muhammad,
quoted “- Pros: 50+ KG will go Cargo (with much cheaper rates). If you’re a regular S&S Customer then you’ll get 15% Discount.” end of quote
as i have left their services a while ago and as a past super regular customer, i didn’t get cheaper fee on 50+ shipments nor the %15 discount, though i used to beg them to give me ANY discount by presenting my hundreds of saved receipts.
Now with MyUSABox, i don’t need to worry really.
best of luck
Guys ..
Here are the rates for “Saudi Post My US Address” Service:
- SAR 50 for the 1st Kg OR LESS!
- SAR 25 for Additional 0.5 Kg OR LESS!
- Weight will be rounded UP to the next 0.5 figure, e.g. if the package weights 1.70 Kg, then it’ll be calculated as 2.0 Kg. If the package weights 1.40 Kg then it be calculated as 1.50 Kg.
Examples:
- For 0.1 Kg to 1 Kg: SAR 50
- For 1.1 Kg to 1.5 Kg: SAR [50 + 25]
- For 1.51 Kg to 2.0 Kg: SAR [50 + 25 + 25]
The service is picking up! I’ve done multiple shipments so far and I am really pleased!
i was wondering if someone could answer a question for me – i want to get my parents a sony desktop as a gift. but the model hasn’t been released here in the middle east yet and the cost in the us is half the price of europe.
its one of those all in on pcs/hdtv, so its a large screen with built in computer. it weighs 45lbs and comes in a single box.
can i ask your advice:
1. which service gives me the best rates
2. how long does shipping take?
3. the unit is worth 1300 us dollars, should i pay the insurance (around 250 dollars) to cover the whole unit?
4. since it is large and fragile, and is being shipped, has anyone tried this before? any humidity damage or breakage when you received n item like this?
and finally, i’d love to just bring it myself rather than ship it, bit it weighs 43lbs on its own and is 27inches long by 19 inches wide, and 10 inches deep. it doesnt fit in a carry. on. do you think any airline would let me take this on board with me?!! or if not, has anyone ever checked a computer in with their luiggage.. if its marked fragile, is that ok??
thank you so much for your help. i rally want to get my parents this gift but its become very difficult to do!
Hi, if you are interested in buying a computer from the US, we can help you. We do have a personal shopper service that can buy it and then charge your credit card for it. Our rates are very competitive with the best cust service. We have live chat if you have any questions.
If you have an American Express Card and join via http://www.myus.com/saudiarabia , you can sign up we’ll waive the set up fee for Premium service and give you a 5% discount on the shipping rates — check it out, http://www.myus.com/saudiarabia
Thanks Khaled for the post,
it seems that MyUS shipping cost is higher that what you mention, for example they charge $50.34 for 1lb to Kuwait under the standard membership? but you mentioned that it is 50 SAR for 1 KG
Can you please explain as I really want to try MyUS if their prices are as you mentioned:)
First of all I don’t use the standard membership. But the premium, that makes the item cost $35 to ship. But the price per pound is cheaper as you go up. For example 200 pounds for $993 = $4.965 per pound.
I do not use myus for small orders, I can let them hold the items in the box until I get enough items for 20 pounds or so ($8.6 per pound).
their other advantage is this
http://www.sauditechview.com/en/how-to-buy-from-websites-using-myus-personal-shopper.html
i just need an american credit card to buy stuff!!
some websites accept only cards that was issued in U.S !!
getting an American based credit card is not as simple and many sites will know and block it. I suggest instead using myus’s personal shopper:
http://www.sauditechview.com/en/how-to-buy-from-websites-using-myus-personal-shopper.html
They do the shopping for you. I have explained the steps in that post.
How come your replies get to be colored @Khaled.
I want my replies to purple
“author” colors, if you replied in your topic you would get it. but as far as I know it’s one global color
Oh ok thanks for the tip
(Omar Shamsaldeen) the SAR 50 per Kg is for “SP My US Address” (Saudi Post My US Address Service), NOT “MyUS.com”.
“SP My US Address” has One Major “problem”: Package Tracking! Although they do SMS you a Tracking Number that you can key-in on SP.com.sa and get “SOME” tracking detials, yet the staff on their 920005700 Customer Service Center Line and Local Offices seem to know little about tracking packages.
For example, I’ve been follwoig up on 7 packages that show on SP.cpm.sa as “Arrived into SA”, yet no one knew exactly where they were. Wednesday morning, I drove to their local office to search for an International Express Mail Package (NOT one of the 7) and to my surprise, I found 4 packages lying in one of their offices, and the reason was that the packages were NOT listed on their System although they were there Physically.
I’ve done a figure-level comparison between “SP My US Address” and “MyUS”, and found that at the 19.5 Kg mark “MyUS” becomes cheaper! That is if we exclude the Setup & Monthly Fees.
BTW: I did sign up with MyUS. I think their “Package Consolidation” service is Really worth it!
I’ve always done my US Shopping via Amazon, then leately started shopping on eBay (Buy Now). After a numebr of purchases on eBay I noticed that NOT Every thing on eBay is Cheaper, at least not the “Buy Now” stuff.
Last night as I was finalizing my Shopping on Amazon, I was prompted with an AD for “Amazon Prime”. The anuual fess is USD 70, but you get FREES Shipping on 3-5 & 2-3 days delivery, and USD 3.99 per item for 1-Day shipping. A quick calculation and comparison and I found that Shopping on Amazon + Amazon Prime is actually much cheaper that eBay (Buy Now). So I placed my an Order and had it shipped to MyUS.com address. This monring I made anothe order and had it shipped to MyUS.com address.
I’ve configured MyUS.com Address NOT Ship unless I request (Package Consolidation). So, as soon as I acumulate my small packages I ship.
MyUS Tip: MyUS.com uses DHL & FedEx to have stuff shipped out. DHL uses “Package Weight” to calcualte shipping cost, where as FedEx uses “DIM Weight” to calcualte shipping cost, which is MORE EXPENSIVE for small packages! To my knowledge, you can make your MyUS.com account a “DHL Only” or a “FedEx Only”, or keep the default “Any”.
salam alikum,
Thank you Mohd for your useful review. appreciated
Hey Guys .. Have anyone notice that MyUS.com is off-line since Thursday? (cuz that’s when I tried to access it). It’s now Friday and they’re still off-line.
OK .. They’re back again! I just had a chat with their on-line support .. and yes, they’re having some technical issues that are being fixed.
I really like myUS.com after reading your great review. I just would like to ask if I can make my address in Saudi Arabia a DHL office near me and pick it up locally instead of my home address.
Thanks,
Hi guys. This maybe could be a stupid question but how could you get “SP My US Address” I start to live in saudi today and I dont know nearly anything. I tried a google search but it goes to My Us adress and the rate are high.
Another question how the custom rule is. For example if I buy a PDA or computer from ebay, do I need to pay also custom in Saudi.
Thanks…
MyUS is probably expensive, but the quality is the best in my opinion.
However check this page
http://www.sauditechview.com/en/mail-forwarding-to-saudi-arabia
We have listed other services.
As for customs, it’s totally random
the custom rate is %5
Is there a limit for price for the %5 custom. Or is it depended only the declared price. Can you please explain in detail. is %5 for all things.
I have been using Aramex for a long time, their overall service is good, cheap and the best if you are not in a hurry don’t care much about delivery time, their customer service is disastrous, they once “forgot” to add notification about delivery of one of my shipments to the system till I contacted them and inquired about it, it wasn’t that bad but not what you expect from slow-standard shipping company,,
I’m looking for faster alternatives now,this discussions was much informative and for me and I guess I would give US global mail a try,
Please do and tell us how it is!
I just posted a comment on one of your other posts stating how there are tons of different parcel forwarding comoanies and when my dad lived in Al Jubai he always used this one comapny called Shipito. They are not only cheaper then bongo or Myus but have tons of great reviews and great rating! Plus, they do buy stuff on your behave when you dont have an international credit card- which is one of the service my dad always used!
Hey guys! I want ask something about buying a 17″ Mac Pro from the US (apple store i’ll do it online) then use MYUS going KSA. I don’t have MYUS yet and I’m planning to get one but I need to know how much will it cost me from the US down here in Riyadh. May i know some hidden charges?
Mac pro $2,499.00
MYUS setup $10.00
MYUS rate $130.00 (10 lbs)
KSA custome rate ??????
Fedex ??????
Thank you so much for this wonderful article. I really hope we have Mac Store here in Riyadh.
You are absolutely right!
Viaddress.com is much cheaper then Myus.com, read this:
http://www.adslgate.com/dsl/showthread.php?t=535446&page=3
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