How to purchase items and subscribe to Magazines online and ship them to Jamaica

By now you must realize that when you use your Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card in an Internet Café, you may be risking your Card being stolen as stated in the article “Jamaicans Scammed - Cyber Crimes Expert Advises Caution When Accessing Internet In Public Spaces Abroad”, Published Saturday August 3, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner. 

Just as bad too: your Email Account, Facebook or Twitter profile being hijacked and used to swindle friends out of their hard-earned cash as stated in my blog article entitled “Professor Marco Gercke warns of Scammers using Keyloggers for Spear Phishing - How to use Keyloggers and how to Protect yourself from Scammer's American Hustle for Fast Cash”.

Dual-booting your Laptop in Ubuntu Linux or Fedora Linux and then shop online or even just using an Apple Mac Computer among other precautions as listed in my Geezam blog article entitled “How to use Scotia VISA Debit Card Online” are more than sufficient to protect your personal information online.

This as Keyloggers are mostly written for Windows machines; Viruses writers are yet to Target Linux and Apple iOS and Max OS in any significant way, making them safe from Spear Fishing. So be wary of teenagers in Internet Cafes, as they may be doing more than just looking for free porn as stated in “XXX-Rated Kids”, Published Sunday July 28, 2013, by Tyrone Reid, Senior Staff Reporter, The Sunday Gleaner.

If you have a Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card, you can take advantage of the various security options that exist at the bank to protect you from people cloning your Debit or Credit Card as stated in my Geezam blog article entitled “ScotiaBank’s VISA Debit Card – Jamaica’s Online E-Commerce Renaissance”. This as buying items online has an irresistable pull for the following reasons, making the risks more than worth it:

1.      Cheaper Items than purchased in the store, who often add on the Stamp Duty and customer Duty and shipping costs to their items to recover that expenditure

2.      Better quality products than available in Jamaica

3.      Magazine and Service subscriptions not available in Jamaica e.g. Playboy

4.      Makes shopping during the Holidays i.e. Christmas Shopping, a breeze

5.      Personalized services, if you choose, with the items delivered at your doorstep

Expert Online Shopper, Lorane, blogger for OnlineShoppingJa comes brimming with detailed reviews and the benefits of shopping with certain online portals as listed here with a few of my faves:

1.      Amazon

2.      Best Buy

3.      Ebay

4.      JCPenney

5.      Macy’s

6.      Old Navy

7.      Payless (we got this already in Jamaica!)

8.      Sears

9.      Target

10.  WalMart

Online shopping is the secret of some ICI (Informal Commercial Importers), who often opt to purchase their items online using a Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card and import their higher-priced goods this way.

You can even take advantage of Coupons and services offered by some of these websites such as Amazon Prime and even coupons from JCPenney as effectively with a US Mailing Address it’s as if you in the States! Your items are shipped to that address, making it a useful way to subscribe to American Magazines and other fare from our Neighbours to the North!

Here’s a nice list of Online Shopping Portals who are customer-friendly Customs Brokers that facilitate online purchases:

USA and Canadian Shipping Services

1.      Go Global Jamaica Limited

2.      E-Biz Jamaica Limited

3.      Shop USA from Ja

4.      EShopJa

5.      Mailpac Express Limited

6.      SSMC Xpress International Ltd

7.      ShipMe

UK and EU Websites Shipping Services

1.      BlackBurn Shipping

2.      JP Shipping Services UK

3.      GEE Shipping Limited

4.      Mike Harrison Shipping Ltd

The services listed above differ in how they charge for their services and the level of professionalism and convenience, as Custom Duties are fixed no matter who ships the item.

How they work too is also pretty straightforward:

1.      Sign up using your GOJ (Government of Jamaica) ID

2.      Pay a Yearly Fee for access to their shipping services

3.      Get an account with a special PIN (Personal Identification Number) and password

4.      Get a US Mailing Address for Packages, Letters  and Periodicals

5.      Get the option to use their Credit Card or use your own, preferably

6.      Go online and buy the items paying for shipping to your US Mailing Address

7.      Item is delivered to the US Mailing Address, which is really a Warehouse for receiving and sorting items for customers

8.      Item is checked and repackaged and reaches in Jamaica and takes several weeks to clear

9.      They act as Customs Broker, clearing the items for you.

10.  Package arrives at their office or delivered to your door

11.  Pay for Customs Clearing Charges and their Processing Fees

12.  Alas, enjoy the satisfaction of tearing open the item with you own Box-cutter

There are some items as listed on the Jamaica Customs website that you cannot import. Check the Jamaica Customs List of Restricted Items. Be careful how you declare your items when the Customs Broker calls you, as you can be held criminally liable for contraband items.

Shopping abroad has never being easier and I hope this handy guide will make it easier for you when you take the Risk of shopping online with your Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card.

Here’s the link:

OnlineShoppingJa

Jamaica Customs website

Jamaica Customs List of Restricted Items

JCPenney Coupon page  

Amazon Prime