How to Buy Korean Products Abroad 1 AtoZ Overseas Express Shipping

The Galaxy Watch 8, which I've been wanting so badly, is finally here. When I tried to buy it in New Zealand, it was much more expensive than buying it in Korea, so I ordered it from Coupang and had it shipped to me through a forwarding service. Here's how I bought it in Korea from overseas.

How to buy Korean goods abroad

When you live abroad, you often find that the same things are more expensive than at home. In my country, when new products come out, there are often great deals or discounts if you book in advance, but in New Zealand, where I live, that seems to be the case.

In fact, if the price difference between the Galaxy Watch 8 in Korea and New Zealand wasn't that big, I'd probably just buy it in New Zealand, because I think it's a bit of a hassle to order it domestically, have it shipped, and then have to deal with customs duties.

However, the price difference between the Galaxy Watch 8 in South Korea and New Zealand was larger than I expected. So I googled how to buy Korean goods from abroad and found that most people use international shipping companies.

Galaxy Watch 8 prices in New Zealand

New Zealand's leading electronics store Noel Leemingand saw the freshly released Galaxy Watch 8 series. The Galaxy Watch 8 40mm base model (Bluetooth) was on sale for $599. In our money, that's about $490,000.

I preferred the basic model, but the LTE model, which is $699, which is about $580. However, the price on sale on Coupang pre-order in Korea was much lower than that.

1) Galaxy Watch 8 pricing in Korea and New Zealand

In this organized table, you can see that the difference between domestic and New Zealand prices is significant.

International shipping forwarding (A2G Overseas Express)

There are two main ways to receive Korean goods while living abroad. One is when a family member or friend sends me something I need via postal courier. However, in this case, I feel a little sorry for them because I have to ask them every time.

So I'm comfortable using international shipping companies, and there are more than a few that do this than you might think. In this case, I'm going to use the AtoZ expressfor this.

For casual inquiries regarding international shipping, you can use the KakaoTalk channel below. We're happy to answer any questions you may have, so please feel free to try it out

1) How to use AtoG International Express

I just found out that getting electronics with batteries shipped internationally is trickier than I thought. The first place I contacted said no, and now that I think about it, I think they meant no postal courier.

The way I buy Korean goods overseas is by ordering the product I want from Coupang, sending it to A2G Overseas Express, and then sending it back to my home in New Zealand.

2) A2G Overseas Express Bundled Shipping

Bundled shipping is a service that allows people living overseas to order items from multiple shopping malls in Korea and have them shipped overseas. It can be a group of horses, but it can also be a single product.

To do that, you'll need to fill out the bundled shipping application below.

Since the goods ordered from Korean online shopping malls are received by A2G Overseas Delivery and sent to us, the destination is automatically entered as A2G Overseas Express.

The photo above is where you write the address where you'll eventually receive your goods overseas.

To summarize, I purchased the base model Galaxy Watch 8 from the Korean Coupang site and sent it to A2G Overseas Express in my name.

When you sign up for A2G Overseas Express, you will receive a customer number, which you can use to easily identify our products.

If possible, try to ship during the week for expensive items, as no one works on weekends. After packing the item, send a picture of the packed box and the shipping cost via KakaoTalk.

3) The process of ATG's international express delivery

Because the Galaxy Watch 8 was pre-ordered, it took a little while for the device to be shipped by ATG's international express service. It actually took 8 days to get from Korea to my New Zealand residence. My item was shipped by UPS because it had a battery.

Once your shipment has been shipped, A2G Overseas Express will provide you with a UPS tracking number and you can track your shipment on the UPS website (New Zealand) below.

4) ATG International Express Shipping Costs

The cost of international express shipping with AtoG consists of shipping fees, insurance, and handwritten signature fees. Of course, you'll also have to pay the customs taxes of the country you're shipping to.

In my case, the actual weight of the Galaxy Watch 8 was 0.32 kilograms, but the billing weight was 0.5 kilograms. The premium was 2,500 won for every 100,000 won of the product price.

It cost me 49,100 won for shipping and about 60,000 won for insurance. New Zealand did not have a handwritten signature as an option, so it was not worth the extra $3,000.

I was worried about customs duties, but New Zealand generally doesn't charge customs duties if you spend less than NZD $1000 (about $82). However, even if you don't pay customs duties, you could still end up paying GST 15%.

I was charged neither duty nor VAT. I don't know exactly what the VAT is, but I've heard that there are quite a few goods that don't qualify for automatic customs clearance if they are under NZD $1000, as shown above.

<Tips for international residents to know about shipping

1. get Korean books with international shipping (Aladdin)

2. How long does it take to ship a Postal Service EMS package from Korea to New Zealand? (How to use it)

3. mail from New Zealand to South Korea

Finalize

Today, we talked about how to buy Korean products overseas. In New Zealand, the Galaxy Watch 8 base model (LTE) costs NZD $699, or $580 in Korean won.

On Coupang, I can buy the same thing for about $420,000, plus $60,000 for shipping and insurance through international shipping, for a total of $480,000. Of course, the fact that I didn't have to pay customs taxes makes the price difference even wider.