Hop Shop Go

Earlier post
Hop Shop Go is a parcel forwarding/shopping service. You buy stuff online, have it delivered to their address (with your unique line so they know who it belongs to), and they send it to whichever country you're in. This lets you buy from shops that don't ship overseas, and it's cheaper than most shops that DO ship overseas. Also, things are about half the price on Amazon!

This is the second time I'm using them. There are reviews out there saying good and bad things about them, and I'm not sure if the reviews are reliable. I just want to say they're ok so far. I haven't needed to contact them, so I don't know how prompt their service is. If things go well, I don't think I'll ever contact them.

I just wish they could do something about the volumetric weight (they can repack, but that costs USD$7, which is more than 1 kg of shipping cost, they only offer it if it reduces the volumetric weight by > 2 kg. How do they know how much they can reduce by? Hmm). Most of my items' cost comes from the volumetric weight. Maybe only round up to the nearest 0.5 kg for the whole shipment, or round up to less than 0.5 kg. I saw that another site doesn't physically consolidate your packages (i.e. combine packages). HSG says they repack, so I don't think they physically consolidate either. Maybe it's a liability.

The good thing is HSG DOES seem to be the cheapest. Searching for "us forwarding service" and having a look around, I found that other companies are all more expensive, some so much more that I wonder if I'm looking at the wrong service. e.g. bongous charges $21.75 for the first lb (0.45 kg) and at most $8 for each lb after (it diminishes), HSG only charges $11 for the first 0.5 kg and $2.85 for subsequent 0.5 kg! And a lot of those sites require registration and monthly fees!

Update 28 Aug 13
Ok I had a problem, and at the same time an opportunity to test HSG's service. I think a true test of a company's service is how they handle problems.

What happened was a merchant said a package was delivered, but it wasn't showing up on my HSG account. So I had a live chat with HSG.

• Chat times are same as local working hours
• No wait to chat

With the package's tracking number, they were able to locate it within a few minutes. What happened was the merchant failed to put the C/O line on the package, so HSG didn't know whose it was. Looks like the merchant's fault. Within a few minutes, I got an email saying I had a new package, like the emails I always get.

So, I'm very happy with HSG's service. It was fast and effective.