I've been using Shipito for more than 18 months. I have consolidated 124 packages and sent 20 of them to Russia. Lots of experience not only to write praises, but also complaints.
What I don't like about Shipito
Is it that bad that I will switch to some other shipping forwarder? The fees are not bad. You can find the fees I have paid to Shipito and USPS when sending packages from USA to Russia here, here and here. And here is an example of fees paid to Shipito and AT Post for sending my parcel from Austria to Russia. Despite all the negativity mentioned above, it works good for me. And my Virtual Mailbox plan will end up in more than 6 months. If I see any better shipping forwarder after that, I will think about it.
What I don't like about Shipito
- Changing service plans. Shipito has been introducing new service plans, changing current ones and removing them. This is very annoying.
- Hidden Charges. Shipito does mention that they charge extra for heavy packages ($10 for over 30 pounds, $20 for over 70 pounds, $30 for over 100 pounds, $50 for over 150 pounds). The most interesting thing is that they charge extra $8.5 for consolidating large packages. And if you have consolidated your packages already and the consolidated package is ready to be mailed out, then they will charge $44 for consolidating this package with another one!!! They call it a double repacking fee.
If you don't request them to take pictures of the contents of the packages, they will charge 1% as an additional insurance. Does it really have to do anything with insurance? Absolutely not. Plus they charge 1% as a warehouse insurance, although it is not related to insurance as well.
And how about their Bank fee of 4.3%? They charge it even if you fill in your account using one of their partners.
But can you find all this information on the Shipito Services and Prices page? For whatever reason they don't mention all these hidden fees at all:
Shipito Services and Prices - Blurry pictures. Many of the pictures of the packages they make are blurry. In many cases it is next to impossible to recognize the sender of the package. You can notify them that the label is unreadable and they will take another picture. But why can't they always take good pictures?
- Significant delays every Chrismas and New Year. Some customers had to wait up to a week for the packages to be consolidated and sent.
- Account validation. Shipito requires you to send 2 IDs to verify your account. Moreover you need to send a utility bill and a notarized FORM 1583 to fully verify your account. You can receive packages, but not letters without providing the notarized FORM 1583.
- Limiting the size of the mailbox. Although my mailbox has bee 44% full at most, I don't really want to have any limits. The more packages their customers send, the more they earn, so I don't understand why posing any limits like that at all.
- Not working on holidays.
- No mobile apps, so you can easily manage your account from an iPhone, Android smartphone,... The web-site is not mobile device friendly at all.
- No branded duct tape. It would allow to identify whether your package was opened or not.
- Not perfect packaging by default for Russian post. Some russian mail forwarders know really well how russian post works, so they take additional steps to prevent damages of your goods. And you don't need to pay any additional fees for this service.
- Poor customer service. I must admit that sometimes they do solve your problems. But sometimes communication with their customer service turns into endless discussion, when they don't even recognize their own mistakes.
- No ideal shipping method for Russian Federation. While Shipito offers great rates to customers from different countries of the world, the situation with Russia is very different. DHL Express, UPS, Fedex and TNT are not a good option in most cases in Russia (due to the problems with customs, lower limits,....) Some russian mail forwarders offer shipping methods that are faster than the state post, avoid state post and are cheaper than the state post.
Is it that bad that I will switch to some other shipping forwarder? The fees are not bad. You can find the fees I have paid to Shipito and USPS when sending packages from USA to Russia here, here and here. And here is an example of fees paid to Shipito and AT Post for sending my parcel from Austria to Russia. Despite all the negativity mentioned above, it works good for me. And my Virtual Mailbox plan will end up in more than 6 months. If I see any better shipping forwarder after that, I will think about it.
