Q: When do I have to pay additional taxes and duties to the delivery agent?

Depending on your country’s customs regulations, you may be required to pay duties and taxes upon delivery. If so, your local courier (like DHL or FedEx) will collect the payment before or at the time of delivery. 💰 These charges are set by your country’s customs authority—not comGateway—and are separate from your shipping fee. To avoid surprises, check your country’s import rules or contact your local customs office for estimated duties.

Question 1

When do I have to pay additional taxes and duties to the delivery agent?

Accepted Answer

Depending on your country’s customs regulations, you may be required to pay duties and taxes upon delivery. If so, your local courier (like DHL or FedEx) will collect the payment before or at the time of delivery.

💰 These charges are set by your country’s customs authority—not comGateway—and are separate from your shipping fee.

To avoid surprises, check your country’s import rules or contact your local customs office for estimated duties.

Question 2

How do I make a Customs Order Declaration?

Accepted Answer

Customs regulations require that we declare the value of all packages shipped internationally from the U.S. The declared value must reflect what you paid for the items inside.

If you bought directly from the merchant:

If the merchant included an invoice, we’ll use that to declare your item’s value

If there’s no invoice, you’ll be asked to declare the value yourself during the shipping process in your account

✍️ You must accurately declare the value

If you used BuyForMe:

No action needed—we declare the value based on your order with us.

Accurate Declarations Are Required

Submitting an incorrect or undervalued declaration can result in serious consequences, including:

Package seizure by Customs

Fines or penalties

Criminal charges in some jurisdictions

To avoid delays, legal issues, or loss of goods, you must always declare the true purchase value of your items—even if they’re gifts, discounted, or secondhand.

✅ When in doubt, use the amount you paid the merchant as your declared value.

Not sure what’s in your package?

Request our Package/Order Checking Service for $5. We’ll open the package and confirm the contents for you.

📧 Email us to request this.

Shipping to China? Read this first:

According to China Customs:

If your shipment contains multiple items, the total value must not exceed RMB2000

If it does, you’ll need to split the shipment (we can help—email or Live Chat us)

If you’re shipping one item, it can exceed RMB2000, but you must still pay all applicable taxes/duties

All imported goods are subject to a country's customs and duties. As limits and regulations vary with different countries, please check with the website of your country's governing authority.

Question 3

Is Prime worth it?

Accepted Answer

If you ship frequently—even just once a month—Prime easily pays for itself in savings.

You’ll get discounted shipping, longer free storage, and automatic Express upgrades.

And the best part? It’s free once you qualify.

Question 4

What if I want to ship fragile items like LED/Plasma television sets?

Accepted Answer

Yes—but fragile items like LED/Plasma TVs must be crated to qualify for shipping insurance.

📦 Crating fee: approx. $300 USD and above (Crating fees are quoted individually based on your item’s size and fragility)

🚚 Your shipping cost will be based on the total crated weight

🧱 Crating helps protect your fragile item during transit and ensures it qualifies for insurance.

If your item arrives at our U.S. warehouse and is flagged as needing extra protection, you’ll have two options:

Ship it as-is
We’ll send it without crating
Insurance will only cover loss, not damage

Approve crating
Your item will be professionally crated for safety
Insurance will then cover damage as well

The following items are usually fragile and subject to crating

Big/flat screen TVs

Chandeliers

Large porcelain/glass figurines

Mirrors

How much does crating cost?

Crating fees are quoted individually based on your item’s size and fragility

Crating adds weight and volume, which may increase your shipping cost

Only select couriers accept crated packages

📦 If crating is required, we’ll contact you with full details before proceeding.

⚠️ Crating increases your package’s dimensions and weight.

Your shipping rate will be based on the greater of the two actual weight or volumetric weight.

Question 5

What is Basic Membership?

Accepted Answer

Basic is an entry-level membership tier available for $49.99/year (or via referral).

It offers benefits like discounted shipping and extended storage compared to Lite users.

Shipping to Sierra Leone

Estimate Shipping Cost to Sierra Leone

$98.08

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