Coupons, discounts, bonuses, gifts - the secrets of saving in online stores. Promotional codes: Free inbox from the postal intermediary Shopfans Shopfans discount on first delivery

Review of delivery using Shopfans from my regular reader Oleg oleg_gr : Hello. Shopfans, although not cheap, are very fast,…

Good afternoon

It’s unlikely that I would have ever decided to buy from America if it weren’t for my daughter’s love for LOL dolls. Many people know these babies, which are worth like gold, and trusted stores in Russia that sell the original can be counted on one hand. In addition, new products arrive to us late.

On the eve of my daughter’s birthday and the New Year at the same time, I decided to surprise her and order episode 4, which just appeared.

When it comes to shopping from overseas, I’m not boom-boom at all; my maximum is Aliexpress. I chose among several American intermediaries and settled on Shopfans. In my Google, Shopfans comes up first in the list when searching for “intermediary from America,” so I didn’t think long, especially since Shopfans gives a $10 discount on the first parcel. As it turned out later, I didn’t take into account a couple of pitfalls and made a big mistake; the delivery cost me a lot, but we’ll talk about this in detail below.

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You need to start your purchases abroad by registering on the intermediary’s website. Registration is simple, I didn’t even create a new account, but used my Google account.

First, let's take a closer look at the delivery calculator. shopfans has 6 tariffs. They differ in cost, speed, and place where the goods will be delivered to you.

The default setting is Shopfans Lite, but you cannot combine parcels in it - this is an important point!

Don't forget that in addition to delivery, we also pay Shopfans for processing each light parcel - $3, heavy - $5. A light package is 3 lbs (0.45 kg). For comparison, most other intermediaries offer this service free of charge.

But the delivery rate for one light parcel (up to 0.45 kg) is shopfans will cost 10$ + 3 $ for processing - a total of 13 $. With a promo code for the first delivery you will pay $3. For free, right?

But, for example, on Banderolka the cost of delivery of the same parcel will cost as much as $26.

Support

At the bottom of the page there is a chat button where you can ask the operator all your questions. I went there many times, I constantly had questions about the registration, the operators help promptly, work politely, they literally chew on everything.

REGISTER on shopfans. ru / Shopfans

There is no point in going into detail here - everything is extremely simple. You can register as usual, you can log in using a password from VK or Google, for example. I used the latter.

Fill in the recipient's name, phone number, select the pick-up point where you want to receive the order in Russia

You are immediately assigned an address at the warehouse. There are two of them:

1. in DELAWARE (best used for toys, books, accessories and other goods)
2. in PENNSYLVANIA (best used for clothing and shoes)

How to add a package to shopfans. ru / Shopfans

After registration, the interface is completely simple, where you can add your parcels and its track. You cannot combine or select a tariff. Below I’ll explain what to do next with these.

So you placed an order in a store, in my case it’s Amazon, the order is completed and ready to ship. We return to shopfans and wait for the “Add parcel” button. In the window that opens, fill in the data, everything is simple - enter a link to the product, its price and number of items.

It is worth naming your order as simply as possible and so that it is immediately clear to you what is there.

You fill in the track number field after your seller gives it to you.

How to collect a parcel and send it to Russia

As you have already noticed, the interface is extremely sparse; apart from windows with parcels and the delivery address, there is virtually nothing. Three parcels were coming to me from Amazon and one from Ebay. I was going to combine them, but it was not clear how to do this.

I contacted the Help Desk chat and it turned out that the default version is the cropped version. It provides for sending parcels using the Shopfans Lite tariff - this is a tariff when combining parcels is impossible.

I had 4 orders from different stores and at first I decided to combine them and send them to Russia in one parcel. To do this, we contact the Help Desk chat and ask you to connect the extended version of the site. This is done quickly and takes a couple of minutes. We refresh the page and see a different interface.

3 of my parcels have arrived at the warehouse by this time, so they have the status “Received”, one is still on the way

Delivery directions

In the “delivery directions” we fill in the addresses where we want the parcel to be delivered to our city. Different addresses are available for different tariffs. For example, Priority-BWW delivers only to the post office, Shopfans Lite, which by default - to the BoxBerry or DPD pick-up point, Shopfans-Express - delivery by courier to your home.

Here you can enter several addresses.

There, in the “Recipients” section, we check our passport data and make sure that a scan of the passport is attached. If something is missing, you need to add it.

Assembling the parcel

In order for the shipment to go smoothly, you need to fill out the declaration correctly. For each order, you need to indicate the names of the items, their quantity and cost, and attach an invoice from the store confirming the cost of what was purchased. At the bottom there is a hint “how to fill it out correctly”, everything is described in detail there. My declaration looks like this.

After filling out the declaration, we begin to collect the parcel.

If we want to combine parcels, then in the “Orders” section we mark all the purchases that we want to put in one box, select the delivery method and recipient and click “assemble” the parcel - then it will go to assembly, you will not be able to edit anything, or “Save to drafts", then you can still edit."

In the end, I didn’t combine my parcels, I sent each one separately - one order = one parcel. In this case, simply tick one order and also select the delivery method on the right.

For each order we fill out an invoice. On Amazon it looks like this:

After this, our parcels appear in the "Parcels" section

There we check everything again and click “Collect”. After this, the parcel is sent for collection, and the declaration is verified to be filled out correctly. If there are errors, you will receive a notification by email. If everything is correct, then the parcel is sent to the post office.

There were some confusion with the declaration:

I filled it out before I processed the parcels. Those. The "Parcels" tab was empty. After I created draft parcels, all declarations turned out to be empty. I filled them out again, but there was no function for attaching an invoice.

To avoid problems later, I wrote to the support service asking them to check the orders. This function is described on their website - a standard operation that I recommend using

Top up your balance

Since you are in my review, then most likely you are ordering for the first time. You can use a promotional code. To do this, you need to write to the Support Service email and ask for it, the promotional code will be sent by reply letter.

After you have entered it in your personal account, $10 is credited to your balance. Valid for 30 days after entering it on the website.

To top up your balance, you need to click on your profile and select “Top up balance”. Payment systems charge a small commission

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Now about the sad thing, how I screwed up and received expensive delivery and how you can avoid repeating my mistakes

I had 4 parcels with a total weight of 0.96 kg. The heaviest is 0.45 kg, i.e. all light.

I failed that in the Shopfans Lite tariff you cannot combine parcels and was counting on delivery for $20 and even with a promotional code of $10. Naive, right? Moreover, for each incoming parcel we also pay $3

After calculating everything, I decided that it doesn’t matter to me whether to combine or not, it turns out the same.

Without unification - Shopfans Lite tariff - delivery of four parcels will be $40, taking into account the promotional code I need to pay $30

With merger (consolidation)) - I settled on the Priority-BWW tariff - $38, taking into account the promotional code I need to pay $28

There is also an Airmail Russia tariff, where delivery is only $29, but the parcel is not tracked there, so I rejected it.

So, of the two tariffs, I chose Shopfans Lite, it is $2 more expensive, but parcels go to the pick-up point faster, and with Priority-BWW it takes longer to get to the post office. In addition, I decided that all 4 parcels would not be lost, and in the second tariff, if the post office fails, then all at once.

We remember that I paid another $3 for each incoming parcel, i.e. for 4 pieces - $12.

In total, for Shopfans services only $52, of which the discount due to the promotional code is $42 (2,600 rubles at the then exchange rate)

If I had chosen, for example, Parcel, I would have been able to combine packages at the cheapest rate and would have paid only $26.03 according to their calculator.

It was a little comforting that a friend joined me and paid part of the delivery. But it’s still a shame, it just won’t let me go)

The parcels were sent at the same time and arrived in parts with a difference of a day. The total delivery time was about 2 weeks and the dolls arrived to me. Not everything is in the photo, a friend has already taken the couple. The entire route was tracked.

Conclusion:

Later, having delved into everything and studied other intermediaries, I came to the conclusion that Schopfans is only good for ordering 1-2 light parcels (up to 0.45 kg). For heavy parcels or a bunch of small ones, other intermediaries are more profitable.

Overall, I was not particularly pleased with the work of Schopfans. And it’s not about expensive delivery - that’s just my carelessness, but about all sorts of little things.

What I didn't like:

I don’t like this fuss with site versions. Why make a limited version and then ask to connect the full one. I asked to include the full one in order to combine the parcels and send one large one by mail at the Priority-BWW rate.. Then I changed my mind and left Shopfans Lite. Because of this, I got confused when filling out the declaration - I filled out a detailed one for Shopfans Lite, but in their database it opened for the Priority-BWW tariff. The inspectors had to edit them manually.

In general, the interface is not the most intuitive; many questions arise when designing it. For example, later I used the LiteMF service and the interface there turned out to be much nicer and more convenient; I never had any questions or needed to contact technical support.

In most cases, Shopfanns delivery is more expensive than its competitors. For many, delivery is almost two times cheaper. Therefore, do not repeat my mistakes, before placing an order, carefully study all the nuances and compare prices.

Pros:

The support service is excellent, they explain everything.

The parcels were collected quickly and efficiently, and arrived safe and sound. The site works quickly, the tracks are clickable, they immediately go to the carrier’s website and can be tracked.

Delivery of the first parcel can be ordered almost free of charge

Hello, reader!

Finally, I grew up to shopping from overseas, or rather, these harmful stores are to blame, which do not want to ship to Russia, they forced me to look for workarounds.

I do not order bags of clothes, shoes and equipment. But this is for now (^_~) My limit is cosmetics, i.e. light weight parcels. But I would like to understand American clothing sites, so I plan to add to the review.

There are many intermediaries, I am alone. We were considering Banderolka, Polar Express, Shopfans and Beauty Post. Each is good in its own way, and so far I have absolutely nothing to criticize these organizations for. But when choosing an intermediary to send my beauty box, I chose Shopfans.

HOW TO WORK WITH THE SITE

In order for you to receive your first package weighing up to 0.5 kg for free, you need to go to the intermediary’s website through one of the advertising banners that are often found on other sites as contextual advertising.

Alas, my link no longer gives a $10 discount, so if you see a new one somewhere, I would be grateful (and thousands of readers of this article) if you let me know. But I already have such a link, so To get $10 for your first parcel, write to PM, I’ll send it to you (to write personal messages or comments under reviews on this site, you need to register).

Easy registration. I didn’t bother at all and logged in through my Google account.

First of all, determine for yourself what you want. If it's a bicycle or a refrigerator, I'm not your advisor. Perhaps this is simply not the place for you to order large equipment. I am interested in small parcels: cosmetics, clothing, small equipment, etc.

Alternatively, you can look at Uncle Sam’s new sites directly on Shopfans, they have a list of popular American online stores.

Sephora, Forever21, GAP, Ebay, Julep, Amazon, 6PM, FabFitFun, Papaya, Delia's, Crazy8, Victoria's Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch, etc.

1. List of goods prohibited for transportation

2. Parcel weight

Determine the weight of the ordered product. As far as I can tell, the first approximately 0.4 kg costs $10 for the most reasonable delivery time and price. Further - more expensive.

Delivery method Shopfans Lite has restrictions ( one order - one package, no consolidation, no repackaging). However, if you choose any other method, you can ask to remove boxes or various fillers to maintain volume ( like in bags), which increase weight, combine orders from one or different stores into one package, etc. But it's more expensive.

3. Notification

If you order equipment, check in advance at the American store for notification availability. No notification - no parcel.

Notification is permission from the Russian FSB to import electronic equipment containing encryption modules.

4. Customs limits

Russia - €1000 per month

Belarus - €22 per month ( there are restrictions)

Ukraine - €150 per parcel.

Kazakhstan -$1000 per month ( there are restrictions)

Jewelry is sent with a limit of no more than two per package.

One package can contain no more than 2 phones

One parcel can contain no more than 4 different electronic devices.

5. Shopfans services

Processing of incoming packages weighing up to 3 pounds (up to 1.36 kg.) - $3

Processing of incoming packages weighing more than 3 pounds (heavier than 1.36 kg.) - $5

That is, for their services, roughly speaking, acceptance of goods, Shopfans charges from 3 to 5 bucks. This is not some kind of rip-off, it’s all spelled out in the rules.

However, with the help of promotional codes, which the IRecommend site forbade me to voice, you can cancel this fee ٩(◕‿◕)۶ Enter the code in the PAYMENT menu

6. Delivery address

The intermediary provides you with his address in the USA for free, the received parcel may lie for 45 days ( further on for a fee).

There is a warehouse in Delaware ( best used for toys, books, accessories and other goods), found in Pennsylvania ( Best used for clothes and shoes).

I was faced with the fact that on the American website where I placed the order, the ZIP code simply did not fit. I immediately wrote to the support service chat, they advised me to leave only the first 5 digits, after that everything went away.

HOW TO FORM A PACKAGE

So, after spending a little time studying the site and deciding that you already know everything, you can move on to creating a package.

On the website of the American online store, your order has already been placed for you, given the track code and weight.

Go to your Shopfans profile and click ADD NEW ORDER.

Fill in the required fields

When filling out the declaration, indicate your product as simply as possible. I have a Beauty Box, in the title I write “Beauty Box Julep Welcome Box”, I indicate how many pieces ( I have 1) and the price of the product ( 10$ ), fill in the tracking number, weight and check the box according to the selected delivery method.

The product name of each item is entered in Russian, and the manufacturer's brand in English.

If your parcel contains a watch, then you need to indicate the model, case and strap material.

If it is electronics, then you must indicate the characteristics: memory size, model, availability of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, whether the item is new or used.

"Boy's T-shirt Carters, red, cotton, size 3M." Also include quantity and cost on each line.

An example of my package:

If you wish, you can select the "Take a photo of your order" option. Yes, for a fee.

All. Now fields appear where we select the delivery method and address, in my case only the DPD service option.

Save as draft, or Collect parcel.

Let's go to the payment menu. There are no commission-free payment options.

You've paid and that's it, all you have to do is wait the number of days that corresponds to the delivery method you chose.

It is possible to add a store invoice, which will be sent to you after ordering from that same store, but I didn’t add it, somehow I forgot (￣▽￣*)ゞ Nevertheless, everything arrived.

MY PACKAGE

My first package was a free beauty box from IM Julep. Yes, they send the first box for free. So I only paid $10 for delivery and $3 for receiving it at the warehouse. And I might not have paid, by the way, if I had come to Shopfans via an advertising link and entered the promotional code right away.

There are varnishes in my parcel... If you really, really want to order varnishes, indicate them as lip gloss, oil or something else, but there is still a chance that luck will turn away from you and turn to the customs officer. In general, I was wildly lucky that the box was not opened at customs. I will not arrange a detailed unboxing, this photo is more likely just a confirmation of my order. Because the box was sealed so that a louse couldn’t get through, I tore it to shreds while opening it. It's strange, but a plus.

Having decided to order through an intermediary, you understand how good it is to have the habit of pedantically approaching new information. Sometimes I’m ready to facepalm at my own actions, but then I realize that this is all due to my own inattention. Did my little hands shake when I filled out the declaration? Oh yeah.

I was generally afraid of the word CUSTOMS. When I imagine that a mustachioed customs officer, grinning angrily, marks the accompanying documentation as REJECTED TO THE COMBES, and my parcel is returned back, my legs will give way. And to prevent this from happening, you need to be careful when placing your order.

From Schopfans I can highlight the following:

1. Wide range of delivery methods
2. Cheap delivery using Shopfans Lite method - $10
3. Fast order assembly and same shipping
4. One hour with support service from 8:00 to 23:00
5. Instant SP replies
6. Simple interface
7. (Removable) processing fee for incoming parcels
8. Armor-piercing packaging

And finally, a piece of advice: take into account the rules set by the intermediary. Thousands of parcels are sent properly, and our misunderstanding only increases the headache for both sides.

Thank you for your time! Read for pleasure ♡(◡‿◡)

Many American online stores use discount coupons and promotional codes. This is a great way to save money without losing quality!

Essentially, a coupon is an option to receive a discount.

Of course, the store is counting on the fact that next time you will buy something without waiting for the next coupon to appear, and if you have a coupon, you will collect so much that the discount provided will more than pay off. However, all this is to the advantage of a reasonable buyer - the discount is real, tangible, and affordable.

How coupons work

The owner of the coupon (in the online shopping option - a special digital and/or letter code, for example, 75VACA, SPRING15, APRCART) enters it in the field COUPON CODE, PROMO CODE or similar when paying for goods and receives a discount. The field for entering a coupon may be located in the “cart” after the list of selected goods or appear on the payment page before the moment of payment.

If the entered coupon has expired or is not valid, a message about this will appear on the screen (often in red, but always in small print - be careful to check if the total purchase price has decreased). If the coupon has been applied, the amount payable will change in your favor. Two codes at the same time usually do not work. If you want to check several codes one by one, enter the most profitable one last, and it will be taken into account.

Another option is when a coupon arrives by email, and the buyer uses a special link from the email to go to the site and immediately sees his “personal” prices, already taking into account the discount. Carter's and Sierra Trading Post often do this. In this case, you do not need to enter any additional code.

Discounts can be very significant - up to 90%. Sometimes the code works without providing a discount on the product, but by including the “free shipping” option. Sometimes the discount is not calculated as a percentage, but depending on the amount spent, for example, “$15 discount on a $75 purchase.”

What to look for when using a coupon

• Coupons and promotional codes Usually they are valid for a certain period of time (day, week, month).
• They may apply to certain groups of goods (or not to a certain category, for example, household goods).
• Some coupons have limits on the number of times they can be used per customer (for example, up to three times). Then, even for a test with it, you can recalculate the purchase amount only three times.

You need to look for the conditions for using the coupon using the links; they are always written in small print. This is something like RESTRICTIONS APPLY or DETAILES.

Here, for example, is a list of categories to which this coupon does not apply.

How to get a coupon

By email

Some stores offer a coupon as soon as a potential buyer appears on their page. Subscribe to the newsletter (or register) and receive it by mail discount coupon for your first order (however, nothing prevents you from trying to use the coupon again; not all stores pay attention to this).

Subsequently, messages about discounts and coupons will be sent to your email regularly.

On the store page

Many stores simply post coupons regularly on their home page.

There are also more intimate options - for example, only registered users see the coupon (this is what Sierra Trading Post does, for example).

On the store's Facebook page

Shopping communities

Often coupons and promotional codes posted on forums dedicated to shopping and on blogs of active shopaholics - most of the coupons are not tied to a specific account and can be used any number of times. For example, we have a special section “” on our forum. If you don’t find what you are looking for, just ask in the same section, they will most likely help you find a discount.

Coupon sites

However, the most popular source of coupons on the Internet is coupon sites. If you want to find all the coupons on one site, the right choice is retailmenot.com.

Having found an interesting offer on retailmenot, just click on the coupon to copy. When paying in a store, insert it into the appropriate field (it may be called promo code, promotional code, coupon code or discount code).

Search engines

If you forgot all the names, but still want to find a discount, just write “*store name* coupon code” in the search engine (for example, “6pm coupon code”) and scroll through the results.

Where to buy a coupon

It may seem absurd at first, but sometimes people buy coupons. Paying $5 to save $25 on a large order isn't a bad idea.

There are even coupon auctions on ebay.com.

For example, coupons for Gymboree, Carters, Crazy8 clothing can almost always be found on eBay. Sellers are customers just like you who received a coupon via email or in an offline store.

Refer a friend program

Another way to save money and get free bonuses is through refer-a-friend promotions.

It works like this: you place a link to a store with a personal code “hardwired” into it on the Internet (social networks, on a blog, send it to friends) and receive bonuses (or so-called credits, but essentially virtual money) into your account for those who come Buyers make purchases using your link. Completely free for both you and those invited.

Zulily: Invite friends

The Zulily store rewards you with bonuses for attracting new customers. Bonuses are awarded after a new account has been registered using your link and the order placed from it has been sent. Bonuses can only be spent in the Zulily store, and they have an expiration date of 18 months. The number of bonuses awarded depends on the current promotion, for example, at the time of writing this is $15 dollars for each customer after his first order has been shipped.

For everyone who comes according to your referral link and the store gives $10 to those who make a purchase of $30 or more (by the way, it also gives this same buyer a coupon for $10).

Points for purchases

Some stores award points for purchases, which can then be exchanged for a discount coupon or certificate and spent in the same store.

By registering on the site and becoming a member of the My Place Rewards program, you receive 5 bonuses for every dollar spent in the store.