The basics of cross-border shopping.
Cross-border shopping is buying from retailers in one country and having items shipped to your home in another. The fastest-growing flow involves US-based retailers shipping to customers in Mexico, Brazil, the Gulf, Asia, and Latin America. Three things make it work:
- 1A real US address
Most US stores won't ship internationally. A forwarding suite gives you a real US street address you can use at any retailer's checkout.
- 2Customs paperwork
Every cross-border shipment needs a CN-22 or CN-23 form declaring contents and value. Selectido files it automatically on every parcel.
- 3Right carrier for the route
USPS for budget, DHL Express for speed, FedEx for tricky destinations. We compare 5 carriers and let you pick per shipment.
The US price advantage, spelled out.
US retail isn't just cheaper — for many categories, the same brand costs dramatically less in the US than abroad. Here's what that gap looks like on real, common items.
Same item · US vs local retail
Where US packages actually go.
Our biggest outbound markets and what each country's customers shop for most. De minimis = duty-free threshold under your country's customs rules.
The biggest hidden cost in cross-border? The box.
International carriers bill by dimensional weight, so an oversized US-store box gets billed for empty space — across every cross-border shipment. We repack to true dimensions before forwarding, free, on every parcel.
Big box, small bill. We shrink it down.
Sample save: a 19×15×11 Walmart electronics box, repacked to 11×9×8. FedEx International drops from ~$128 to ~$48.
Questions, answered
What is cross-border shopping?
Cross-border shopping is buying from retailers in one country and having items shipped to your home in another. The fastest-growing form involves US-based retailers (Amazon, Target, Sephora, Apple) selling to customers in Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Korea, and 50+ other countries. Cross-border ecommerce grew to $1.6 trillion globally in 2025, driven by better pricing, broader catalogs, and US-exclusive products.
Why do people shop cross-border from the US?
Three main reasons. (1) Price: US retail prices are often 30–50% lower than the same items locally — especially for skincare, supplements, electronics, and clothing. (2) Selection: US retailers carry brands and product variants not sold internationally. (3) Quality control: FDA-regulated US products (baby formula, supplements, OTC medications) carry trust premiums in many markets. Selectido bridges the gap with a free US address and forwarding.
How does cross-border shopping work with Selectido?
Sign up free for a US suite address at our Minneapolis hub. Use that address at any US store's checkout. We receive, photograph, repack to true dimensions for free, file customs paperwork, and forward to your country via USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, or Aramex. For stores that won't ship to forwarders (Costco, Trader Joe's, Apple in-store), our live US shoppers buy on your behalf.
Do I have to pay customs duties on cross-border purchases?
Sometimes. Most countries have a de minimis threshold — items below that value enter duty-free. Mexico: $50 USD, Brazil: $50, Colombia: $200, Saudi Arabia: ~$266, UAE: ~$272, Canada: CAD $40, EU: $0 (everything taxed since 2021). Selectido files accurate customs paperwork (CN-22 or CN-23) on every shipment. Many of our customers stay under de minimis on each individual shipment.