Saturday, December 24, 2011

Problem with Amazon: Order sent in multiple packages despite the "Groupmy items into as few shipments as possible" option

Most freight forwarding services like Shipito charge for package consolidation. Shipito charges $2 per consolidated package if you use a paid Virtual Mailbox plan ($50/year or $10/month). To avoid additional consolidation charges always use the "Group my items into as few shipments as possible" option on Amazon.


How to select "Group my items into as few shipments as possible" on Amazon



  1. Add all the items to your cart.

  2. When asked, select "Group my items into as few shipments as possible" as your shipping preference.

    Amazon: Shipping Details: "Group my items into as few shipments as possible"

If you don't care about consolidation fees prefer to ship faster, choose the "Ship my items as soon as possible (additional shipping charges may apply)" option instead.

How do I take advantage of FREE Super Saver Shipping?



  1. Place over $25 of eligible Amazon products in your Shopping Cart. Eligible items will say "FREE Super Saver Shipping..." next to their price:

    Amazon: Free super saver shipping

  2. Proceed to checkout.

  3. Ship your items to a single U.S. address.

  4. Select Super Saver Shipping as your shipping speed. Please note that your order will take an additional 3 to 5 days to ship.

  5. Select "Group my items into as few shipments as possible" as your shipping preference.

  6. Place your order, and enjoy the free shipping.


Problems with "Group my items into as few shipments as possible" option


If you make a single order on Amazon, there are several reasons why you may get it in multiple packages:

  • Amazon has a marketplace. Orders from many sellers of the marketplace are not fulfilled and shipped by Amazon itself.

  • Some items are shipped from different Amazon fulfillment centers.

  • Orders marked as gifts may arrive as several packages.

But this list is not complete. For example, I ordered 4 toys from Amazon last week. All these toys were fulfilled and shipped by Amazon. All 4 toys would fit into a 26x13x13 box. But Amazon has sent these toys in 3 packages, although they were sent from the same fulfillment center and all of them were shipped the same day! So the following message about quicker service can be disappointing despite what Amazon thinks about it:
Greetings from Amazon.com, We thought you'd like to know that we shipped this portion of your order separately to give you quicker service. You won't be charged any extra shipping fees, and the remainder of your order will follow as soon as those items become available.



If you use Shipito for sending packages overseas, you can always upgrade your free service plan to the Virtual Mailbox to enable package consolidation. But when using any freight forwarder you should always keep in your mind that you may get multiple packages instead of just one.

How to combine multiple Amazon orders into the same shipment


When possible, Amazon tries to combine multiple orders into the same shipment. This helps Amazon to reduce the number of packages they need to send to you, so you receive fewer packages and have less packaging material to dispose of when you receive your orders.


Amazon tries to combine multiple orders into the same shipment if the orders meet the following criteria:

  • Multiple orders are placed through the same customer account

  • The orders are being shipped to the same address.

  • Items from each order are located at the same Amazon fulfillment center.

  • The orders are shipping at around the same time.



There are some cases when Amazon won't be able to combine shipments. For instance, they may not be able to combine the following types of orders:

  • Orders that can't be shipped from the same fulfillment center to meet your promised delivery date.

  • Orders shipping from different fulfillment centers.

  • Orders being shipped to different addresses.

  • Orders being shipped to an international shipping address.

  • Orders marked as gifts.

Amazon will also try to combine orders for items that are placed via 1-Click ordering into a single order if the orders are placed in the same 30-minute time period.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

How much it costs to send a magazine to Russia via Shipito Air Mail

Got my first magazine sent via Shipito Air Mail. Had "Fast magazine mailout" enabled on Shipito, so it was sent so fast that I didn't even have time to think whether it was better to consolidate the magazine with my other packages. It cost me $3.76:

Shipito: Magazine sent from via Shipito Air Mail


0.50 lbs (0.23 kg)
13"×9"×1" (34×23×3 cm)
Shipito AirMail
Insurance: NO
Mailout fee: $1.00
Postage: $2.65
bank fee 4.3%: $0.11
TOTAL: $3.76

Some magazines are lighter than 0.5 lbs, some heavier.

See also:

Is it a good idea to send laptops (notebooks), cell phones (including iPhone), iPods, iPads to Russia via USPS Express or Priority Mail?

Personally I got my laptop, 4 cell phones and a router without any problem. All of these items were sent either via USPS Express Mail (EMS) or USPS Priority Mail. But many Russian customers had their laptops (including MacBook Air), cell phones (inlcuding iPhones), tablets (including iPad), iPods and other items stolen. The problem is that USPS denies insurance claims for the items from the UPU list of prohibited items. So if your laptop (notebook), cell phone, iPad, iPhone, iPod, macbook was stolen you won't get any insurance from USPS, because transmitters and transceivers of any power, except Panasonic radiotelephones, models KX-T7980, KX-T9000, KT-T9050, and KX-T90890 are prohibited items.


USPS just ignores the fact that Russian customs doesn't confiscate items silently (except for maybe weapons and drugs). If something like laptop (notebook), cell phone, iPad, iPhone, iPod is missing, it was stolen, not confiscated. When something is confiscated by the customs, you get a confiscation act. Actually when prohibited items are sent, the following options are possible:

  • Seizure of the prohibited articles only, the rest delivered to the addressee.

  • Return of the item to the country of origin.
  • Seizure of the whole item.


But the fact that you didn't get a confiscation act won't stop USPS from not paying you for the insured items from the UPU prohibited list.

Now you know that sending something like laptop (notebook), cell phone, iPad, iPhone, iPod to Russia via USPS is risky. But there are things you can do to reduce the risk:

  • Do not send send laptops (notebooks including macbook), cell phones (including iPhone), iPods, iPads via USPS.

  • Don't use the names like iPad, iPod, iPhone, MacBook... that are often stolen in the customs declaration. Declare iPad as a tablet, portable electronic device, electronic gadget,... Declare iPhone as a cell phone, portable electronic device, ...Declare MacBook Air as a notebook, laptop

  • Buy additional insurance for your electronics whenever possible. Some package forwarders offer this service.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Free consolidation of magazines on Shipito

Shipito allows you to receive magazines and letters. You can:

  • trash them,

  • enable fast mailout and send them to you via Shipito air mail,

  • consolidate magazines with your packages.


When consolidating magazines with other packages many users wouldn't want to pay the regular consolidation fee of $2 per package. Luckily there are 2 ways to get free consolidation of magazines on Shipito:

  • Get "Virtual Mailbox Premium" ($25 per month or $150 per 6 months)

  • Get "Virtual Mailbox" ($50 per year) and pay for more than 1 year. To be accurate virtual mailbox must be pre-paid for longer than 365 days and then there is no fee for consolidating magazines. Just watch when your Virtual Mailbox gets below 365 days as it will make the consolidation for a fee again.


Note that you can't consolidate a letter for free. But you can request email shipping of the contents of the letter or pictures of it, which will be a scan for $2.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Free ebooks (Kindle Edition) from Amazon: Insights from Remarkable Businesspeople (Collection of 16 ebooks)

Free ebooks (Kindle Edition) from Amazon (Kindle Price: $0.00 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet):

Insights from Remarkable Businesspeople (Collection of 16 ebooks) [Kindle Edition]

Free Kindle eBook collection: Insights from Remarkable Businesspeople


  • Changing a Troubled Ship's Course (Captain D. Michael Abrashoff)

  • What's the Problem with Customers? (Fred Wiersema)

  • Get Results, Not Salutes (Captain D. Michael Abrashoff)

  • Winning Customers with Commitment (Gary Hirshberg)

  • Listen Up! (Captain D. Michael Abrashoff)

  • Clearing the Mind for Creativity (John Kao)

  • No Company Runs Itself (Michael F. Golden)

  • Why I'm (Still) Buying Gold (Dean LeBaron)

  • How to Design a Great Customer Experience (Fred Wiersema)

  • Oprah (Brand) Renew (Nancy F. Koehn)

  • The Future Is Yours to Invent (John Kao)

  • The Pull of Customers, The Push of Processes (Jim Champy)

  • How to Rebound from Adversity (Glenn Mangurian)

  • What I Learned from Peter Drucker (Jim Champy)

  • What I Learned at the Naval Academy (Captain D. Michael Abrashoff)

  • Lessons of a Brand Manager (Michael F. Golden)



More free ebooks from the Kindle Store:

Shipito.com alternatives. Part 2: VIAddress.com review and comparisonwith Shipito

VIAddress is a worldwide shipping forwarder offering a USA virtual address for making online purchases in America. Its membership is free. There are no fees for package consolidation, you may store your packages for free for 90 days. Assisted purchases are available. And VIAddress can ship to worldwide destinations via UPS, FEDEX, DHL, USPS. Looks attractive, isn't it? Let's find out whether there is any catch.

Comparing VIAddress and Shipito shipping rates



If you take a look onto VIAdress homepage, you will find a very attractive chart:

VIAdress comparison chart on VIAdress.com

So I decided to compare VIAdress estimated shipping costs to the costs of real packages I sent to Russia in 2011 via USPS Express Mail using Shipito


Weight, lbsVIAddress EstemationShipito
12.3$127.38$121.89
19.9$180.42$135.25
34.7$279.86$222.59


VIAdress: Estimated charges for sending 12.3lbs package to Russia

VIAdress: Estimated charges for sending 19.9 lbs package to Russia

VIAdress: Estimated charges for sending 34.7 lbs package to Russia

I do pay $50 for a yearly membership in Shipito, while VIAdress membership is free. But if I send a package of 34.7 lbs via USPS to Russia using VIAddress, I will pay extra $55+ compared to Shipito.

Some more details about VIAddress


Unfortunately shipping fees is not the only problem of VIAddress. VIAdress has the lowest possible rating on BBB. And there many complaints about VIAddress from around the world, some of them even lead an investigation by The Indiana Attorney General's office.

Would you recommend to use VIAddress?


I have never been a customer of VIAddress, but personally I prefer to stay away from it.

Shipito shipping rates are one of the best. Considering the amount of services Shipito provides, their quality and cost, I think Shipito is one of the best parcel forwarding (freight forwarding) companies.