Calls Marcia from the Costco parking lot. Confirms the list. Walks into the warehouse with her own membership card. Heads to the formula aisle first because that's the one with stockout risk.
Field notes
Tuesday · 9:14am
Twin Cities
What a US personal shopper
actually does, hour by hour.
This isn't the marketing version. It's the notebook version. The page where we tell you what one normal Tuesday in our Twin Cities Costco looks like — and what your $75 actually buys.
Most "US personal shopper" pages are written by marketing teams. This one's written from the desk. If a sentence sounds like it was drafted in a conference room, mark me down.
01 — what it isThe job, in one line.
A real Twin Cities person who walks into a US store for you on a live video call, shows you the shelf, picks what you point at, pays at checkout with their own US card, and ships from our warehouse to your door. That's the whole job. Everything below is detail.
02 — a normal sessionTuesday 9:14am. Marcia in Riyadh.
Marcia booked a 60-minute slot for 9am CT (5pm Riyadh, after her kids' school). She sent a 6-item list the night before: 2 cans of Similac, a Costco multivitamin, a specific Trader Joe's salsa, two Kirkland body wash, and "anything that looks like the moisturizer in this photo." Here's what the hour looked like.
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9:14am
Shopper — Liz
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9:21am
Costco · formula aisle
Similac Total Comfort is fully stocked. Liz reads the lot number and best-by date on video. Marcia OKs. Two cans into the cart. Multivitamin next aisle — Marcia wanted the 500-count. Liz shows two SKUs (500 and 600). Marcia picks the 600 because per-tablet is cheaper.
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9:34am
Costco · health & beauty
Body wash: Liz holds the Kirkland bottle next to the photo Marcia sent. Same fragrance line. Marcia nods. Two into the cart. Moisturizer photo — turns out it's a Cetaphil that Costco doesn't carry in that exact bottle size. Liz pivots: "Want me to check Target after this?" Marcia says yes.
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9:48am
Costco · checkout
Liz checks out on her personal Costco member card. Subtotal $87.14. Photo of the receipt sent to Marcia in real time. Walks out, drives 7 minutes to Target.
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10:02am
Target · cosmetics
Cetaphil moisturizer — exact match. $13.99. Liz also asks about the Trader Joe's salsa Marcia wanted. "I'm half a mile from TJs after this. Worth the stop?" Marcia: "yes please, also grab the cookie butter."
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10:21am
Trader Joe's · 12 minutes
Quick stop. Salsa + cookie butter + one off-list dark-chocolate bar (Liz: "this is the one expats always ask about, want me to grab it?"). Marcia: "sure."
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10:38am
Warehouse · packing
Everything to our Twin Cities warehouse. Repacked, photographed, customs-declared, handed to DHL Express for SDF airport that evening. Marcia gets a tracking number. Hangs up call. Total live session: 84 minutes.
This is the boring true version. The marketing version would have said "Selectido brings the magic of America to your doorstep." We try not to write like that.
03 — the boundariesWhat we shop, what we don't.
We shop
- Costco (member access via our shopper)
- Target, Walmart, Cub, Lunds
- Trader Joe's, Whole Foods
- Sephora, Ulta, MAC, Aesop
- Apple Store, Best Buy
- Mall of America stores
- REI, Bass Pro, Dick's
- CVS, Walgreens, Hy-Vee pharmacy OTC
- Home Depot, Lowe's
- Drop sales, sneaker launches, BFCM
We don't shop
- Hermès, Chanel (reshipping prohibited)
- Most prescription drugs (transfer rules)
- Alcohol (state liquor laws)
- Firearms or ammunition
- Fresh produce or meat (international)
- Rotisserie chicken (sorry)
- CBD or cannabis
- Adult-only categories
- Items we'd have to misrepresent at customs
04 — what marcia paidThe receipt, line by line.
SELECTIDO
Personal Shopping · Twin Cities
Session · 60 min @ $75/hr75.00
+ overrun · 24 min30.00
Costco · 4 items87.14
Target · 1 item13.99
Trader Joe's · 3 items11.27
DHL Express to Riyadh (4.2 kg)68.40
Repack & consolidationFREE
Photos & receipt copiesFREE
TOTAL · USD285.80
DELIVERED · 4 DAYS · TRACKING SENT
For the same items shipped via the local Riyadh importer routes, Marcia estimates she would've paid roughly SAR 1,400 (~$373) — and waited two weeks for an out-of-stock multivitamin that the local pharmacy had been promising for a month.
05 — what one customer said
The first time I booked, I asked Liz to please not narrate every aisle — I'm an introvert and just wanted to point. She didn't say a word for an hour except "got it" and "next?" That was the moment I knew this would actually work for me.— Marcia · Riyadh · customer since 2023
What we're not.
We're not Instacart. Instacart is faster for next-hour US groceries. We're slower because we ship internationally — and we're also a real person on a video call, which Instacart isn't.
We're not the cheapest forwarder. If all you want is to ship a pre-bought online order to your country, MyUS or Shipito will probably beat our $14.99 flat on raw shipping math. We're for the things you can't just buy online.
We're not stylists or buyers. We won't tell you which lipstick suits you, which TV is better, or which formula your baby should be on. We shop what you've decided you want.
We're not a national service. Our shoppers operate from the Twin Cities. For a launch only at SoHo Apple or a regional Costco exclusive in California, we coordinate with a partner shopper.
06 — what it costs
$75 per hour, billed by the half-hour. Items at store price, no markup. International shipping at carrier cost. Or $14.99 flat per package if you're sending us something you bought yourself. Sessions auto-bundle: book the hour, package ships free with it.
Book a session →
Got a list already? Send it on WhatsApp and we'll quote a session length and rough shipping before you book anything.
I'm a writer who got into shipping because my wife missed her Trader Joe's salsa after we moved abroad. Every page on this site that doesn't sound like marketing is one I wrote myself. If this one feels too much like a marketing page, mark me down — I'll rewrite it.
— Sam
Founder · Selectido · Twin Cities
07 — questionsThe ones we get most.
What does a US personal shopper actually do?
A real Twin Cities shopper joins you on a video call from outside the store. Walks in. Holds the phone up to shelves. You point at what you want. They put items in the cart. Pay at checkout with their own US card. Drive to the next store if needed. Ship from our warehouse internationally. Whole thing usually wraps in 45–75 minutes of live time.
How is this different from a forwarder like MyUS or Shipito?
Forwarders give you a US address. They don't shop. A personal shopper physically walks into stores for you — which means Trader Joe's (no online), Costco (member-only), Sephora (where you want to see what you're buying), or drop sales (where timing matters). We do both: live shopping and forwarding. Forwarders only do the second leg.
Can I trust your shopper with my money?
You pay Selectido (the US business) for the session + items + shipping. We pay the shopper. You never hand cash or card details to an individual. If anything goes wrong, you're transacting with a US business with a real payment processor, not a stranger on Venmo.
What stores can you shop?
Anywhere in the Twin Cities metro that's open to walk-in customers. Most common: Costco, Target, Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Lunds, Cub, MOA (Sephora, Apple, Lululemon, Nordstrom), REI, Best Buy, Home Depot, CVS/Walgreens, Tesla. For specific launches we go to the launch store.
What if the item is out of stock when you get there?
Standard part of the job. We text or show you on video. You decide: skip, substitute, try another store on the route, hold for restock. We never substitute without your sign-off.
What languages do your shoppers speak?
English natively. Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Korean for live sessions. Other languages: sessions in English with phone live-caption or translate. Works fine for product names and quantities.
What does it cost?
$75/hr session, billed by the half-hour. Items at store price (no markup). Shipping at carrier cost. Or $14.99 flat per package for forwarding-only. Session auto-bundles free shipping.
Can someone else book on my behalf?
Yes. Adult children booking for elderly parents, expat parents booking for adult kids in the US, friends gifting sessions. The person paying doesn't have to be the person on the call.