Review of Mainbox - US to Russia package forwarder (parcel forwarder, mail forwarder, freight forwarder)

I have bought Dell XPS 2720 all-in-one computer at Dell Outlet USA. I used a 20% coupon code, although it is 87 dollars cheaper with the 25% $GDBTQH7WC6FMV right now . But I had not time to wait for a better deal. And I didn't expect any deals similar to Black Friday ones when a refurbished DELL XPS 2720 costed only 1'000 USD at Woot, which is 200 USD less than you can get from Dell outlet now using the 25% coupon code.

I wanted my computer to be delivered safe and fast, so I was not planning to use the state postal services (USPS and Russian Post). I have decided to test a pretty new package forwarder (parcel forwarder, freight forwarder, mail forwarder) - Mainbox International Inc. I chose Standard delivery instead of Express, because it is much cheaper, but still very fast (sometimes even faster than the Express shipping by Mainbox).

I've made my order at Dell Outlet on January 30th, 2014.

Fedex has delivered my package to the no sales tax location in Bear, Delaware on February 4th, 2014.

I've chosen the no sales tax warehouse of Mainbox, because it only costs $2 dollars more, but allows not to pay the sales tax at all! The saving of several dozens of dollars was decisive for me. With the sales tax there was a chance I could exceed the 1000 EUR limit. And I didn't want to pay any additional customs fees or taxes in Russia. Nor have I considered an opportunity to lower the price in the customs declaration. It is an ethical decision for me, not the risk of losing the insurance in case of any problem.

On February 5rh, 2014 I requested Mainbox to test my computer. I also added in the comments that I wanted them to check whether the IPS panel has any dead pixels or not. This test costed me only 3 USD. The refurbished computer was tested to work and the screen didn't have any dead pixels.

Then I sent my purchase to packaging. My newly purchased computer was packed and the box was measured. This was the time I knew my final cost of sending my package from the USA to Russia by Mainbox Standard delivery.

On February 6, 2014 I paid for all the services of Mainbox as well as for the courier shipping by Paypal. I could have saved 10% by using a debit or credit card of the Avangard bank. As for Paypal, it costed me 0% to fill in the account. The same applies to debit and credit cards, there are no any hidden fees at Mainbox!

The size of the package was 77x62x32cm and its weight was 19.12 kg . Dimensional weight was 22.5 kg. The first kg costed me 28 USD and each every next kilogramm costed only 12 USD. This price was valid for my region, it can be less or more expensive for other regions of Russia (use their calculator to check the price for your city or town). Currently Mainbox ships from USA to Russia only. I would like to emphasize that Mainbox charged exactly for 22.5 kg (not for 23 kg). Total cost was only $286 USD.

Shipito package forwarder would charge nearly the same for shipping this package to Russia via USPS Priority Mail Express International from its no sales tax location in Tualatin, Oregon. But the state postal service is slower as well as less reliable. Moreover Shipito would charge more if you consider fees for filling in your account, mailout, testing a computer, cost of incoming package(s), optional monthly or annual fees. This is yet another proof that Shipito is not a very good option for Russia anymore due to the fact that other package forwarders (parcel forwarders, freight forwarders, mail forwarders) offer lower fees as well as much better service at the same time. But for many other countries Shipito is still one of the best options available. If you know any better service for say Australia, Brazil please let me know in the comments.

On February 10th my package was at the customs of Russia. I was notified about this event by e-mail. On February 11th the customs clearance was complete and the package was in the warehouse in Russia. On February 13th a courier of the Garantpost courier service called me by the phone and delivered the package to my apartment within 2 hours.

The package had the "Fragile", "Handle with Care" stickers which were requested by me (and I didn't pay an extra cent for the service). Moreover the whole box was covered with black sticky tape, so the content had much lower risk of being damaged by humidity. Besides this tape allows you to notice whether the box was opened or not by the customs, courier service or a thief. Because of this fact alone I would consider using Mainbox for sending electronics or something of high value from USA to Russia.

What I didn't like about Mainbox:

1. The courier that delivered the package to me didn't know whether I was allowed to open the package behind his own eyes or not. Although he did help me to open it and check the content visually.
2. One needs to provide scans of his ID. Right now you either may use the state postal service or have to provide your ID.
3. The web-site was not very fast when I was using it. The graphics on it is awesome, but I would prefer better speed.
4. The web-site doesn't support SSL protocol, so the content is transferred between you and the web-site via a regular HTTP protocol which doesn't use any encryption.
5. There are some delays with the statused of the package. The situation is far away from critical, but obviously some customers of courier services prefer this to be better.

What I did like about Mainbox:

• Very fast delivery (only 2 weeks from ordering at Dell USA to appearing in my apartment in Rostov-on-Don, Russia)
• No sales tax location available (optional service which was free in my case)
• Courier delivery to your door
• The company promises to cover any damage or loss of the package.
• 45 days of free storage of your parcels in the USA (before repackaging)
• Nice prices (but be carefull with the dimensional weight)

Bottom line: I can recommend Mainbox for sending purchases from USA to Russia!