If you didn’t know already, Amazon has started providing free shipping to Singapore and India. All you have to do is to have an order with items that are eligible for free shipping and hit the minimum total order of $125 (all currency in USD). This service Amazon provides is great for customers based in those countries (Singapore!). There are just some things that you cannot get locally and even if you can, the mark up on the products are simply too high.
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Free Shipping Conditions
Here is a more detailed explanation as to how to qualify for free shipping. There are 2 main criteria you must meet.
Your order must consist of items and products that meet the following conditions
- It must be available for international shipping (there are many products that are only available to be shipped within the US)
- Each item must not weigh more than 20 pounds (~9 kilograms)
- Item is sold by Amazon themselves (Amazon is a platform for retailers to sell their stuff too! Ensure that the item you are purchasing is sold by Amazon.com)
- Item does not meet special conditions (oversized, special product/brand etc. Read source for more information)
Your order must be at least $125
Start shopping! Consolidate an order with items that meet the above conditions and a total which amounts to at least $125.
Source: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1001225901
Finding Eligible Items
There is a very simply way to find items that are eligible for global shipping (doesn’t automatically meet conditions for free global shipping). Firstly, browse through the different catalogs of items or search a particular item in the search bar. Once you have your items listed, look towards the sidebar with all the different filters. Find “AmazonGlobal Eligible†and check it.
You should then see products that are available for international shipping. Now this does not guarantee you that the product will be shipped to your country. There are certain products that will not ship to a specific country even if it is labeled as “AmazonGlobal Eligibleâ€. Do keep that in mind. When you find something you’re interested in, look at the following details to ensure that it falls under free shipping conditions:
If it meets the conditions stated above, it should be eligible for free international shipping. Start adding it to your cart and once you’ve chalked up $125 or more, you can finally checkout. Choose free shipping when you’re about to pay:
If the free shipping option does not appear, one or more of the items within your order does not meet the conditions. Check through again.
Tips
Certain items can be shipped free even if the conditions do not meet
There are some exceptions the customer service officer can make to give you free shipping. Sometimes when your item exceeds the weight limit by a little or even if the packaging is extremely bulky, a simple chat with the customer service might waive your shipping fee. Contact them using the live chat and ask politely. If the reply is a “noâ€, simply move on and not be overly sad. I do know of many people that got their shipping fee waived successfully after talking to a customer service officer.
Price changes can be refunded within 7 days
Should you already purchase an item that recently had a price change in the next 7 days, you can always talk to the customer service and request a refund on the price difference. This usually works only for items sold by Amazon.com themselves. This does not apply to discounts from Golden Box Deals and Lightning Deals.
Pay in USD
It is best you pay in USD instead of using Amazon’s currency conversion. Their rates are usually worse off compared to your bank’s conversion.
Others
Do let me know if you have any other tips especially for international customers!