The reality of US retail and international shipping
Most major US retailers — Target, Walmart (most categories), Costco, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Apple Store retail, Sephora US (much of inventory), CVS, Walgreens, Best Buy (many items) — do not ship internationally. Even when their websites suggest otherwise, the reality is that most product categories are blocked from international checkout, and many of these chains simply don't have an international ship option at all.
There are three real ways to access these stores' inventory from outside the US:
Option 1: Mail forwarders
Services like MyUS, Stackry, Shipito, Aramex Shop & Ship, Tenso (Japan), Malltail (Korea), VPost (Singapore) give you a US warehouse address. You order online, items ship to the warehouse, the warehouse forwards to your country.
Pros: works for any retailer that ships within the US, predictable per-pound rates.
- Cons: you still have to find and order items yourself online
- Cons: stores often block known forwarder addresses, especially Sephora and Apple
- Cons: doesn't work for Costco, Trader Joe's, Walmart Supercenter retail (these don't ship even to forwarder addresses)
- Cons: you can't inspect items before they're purchased
Option 2: Asking a friend or relative
The traditional method — a US-based friend or relative shops for you and ships home (or brings on their next trip). Pros: free in dollar terms. Cons: depends on someone else's schedule, depends on their judgment about what to buy, awkward to do regularly, and the suitcase has limits.
Option 3: Selectido — live video personal shopper
A US-based specialist physically shops at the store on a one-hour live video call. You're on the call, pointing at items, approving everything before purchase, watching shades and ingredients in real time. Selectido handles the in-store purchase (with their own card or company card), consolidates at our hub, and ships internationally.
| What you need | Mail forwarder | Selectido |
|---|---|---|
| Costco bulk Kirkland items | ✗ — Costco doesn't ship to forwarders | ✓ — specialist holds membership |
| Trader Joe's snacks | ✗ — Trader Joe's doesn't ship at all | ✓ — specialist shops in store |
| Apple Store iPhone unlocked | △ — Apple often blocks forwarder addresses | ✓ — bought directly at store |
| Sephora US-exclusive brand | △ — Sephora often blocks forwarders for prestige | ✓ — bought directly with Beauty Insider points |
| Whole Foods Manuka honey | ✗ — only Amazon Fresh option, US-only | ✓ — bought directly at store |
| Inspecting items before purchase | ✗ | ✓ — live video |
| Coupons / loyalty programs | ✗ | ✓ — Target Circle, Beauty Insider used at register |
When mail forwarders are still the right tool
Mail forwarders work great for: items you want to order from Amazon (Amazon does often block international, but forwarders solve that), items from smaller US retailers that ship within US (specialty hobbies, niche supplements), and bulk-buy scenarios where you don't need to inspect anything. For everything else, especially the big-box and prestige retailers, live video personal shopping wins.