The Ultimate Guide to Package Forwarding in South Korea

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The demand for Korean products has increased since Hallyu, also known as the Korean Wave, reached further audiences from all over the world. Thanks to the global success of the movies and series, Parasite and Squid Game, K-pop groups such as BTS and BLACKPINK, and the Samgyupsal food craze, the world is now paying more attention to South Korea. But it’s not just that, more industries like K-beauty and K-fashion are continuously proving their rightful places on the global market. Good thing, buying, and shopping can now be done through the Internet.

The concept of e-commerce, or the buying or selling of products through online services, dates to the 1960s. Before, there was teleshopping, which is connecting buyers and sellers via TV commercials and telephones. But today, the rise of e-commerce can be traced back to Amazon’s success when the internet took off in the early 1990s. And it is still continually evolving up to this day. There are now more practical ways to shop and ship from one country to another. One of them is called package forwarding.

the ultimate guide to package forwarding in south korea delivered korea blog

What is Package Forwarding?

You’ve probably come across the term “package forwarding” if you are a regular online shopping buyer. Purchasing from an overseas online shop can be tricky, especially if it’s in a different language like most Korean online stores where you have access to exclusive and original Korean products like K-pop merchandise, cosmetics, clothing, shoes, accessories, and foods. That being the case, all you need is to discover a convenient way to ship them to your own country.

Not to be mistaken as freight or global mail forwarding, a package forwarding service helps international consumers or businesses buy things from overseas online stores and have them shipped to their own country. They provide a delivery address, or what they usually call a virtual address, to ship the items from the country of origin of the seller to the international buyer’s country. This type of service is best to use when you want to buy from Korean online shops that don’t offer international shipping services.

Also, package forwarding is much more affordable compared to when you buy from resellers. With just a little extra cost, both consumers and retailers can enjoy the same convenience that they experience when purchasing from a domestic e-commerce site.

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What does Package Forwarding Process Look Like?

Package forwarding is a more suitable process for international buyers as the provider will take care of the handling of packages. This way, the customer will end up saving more time and money. Package forwarders can also help consolidate multiple orders from different online stores. Specifically, if you just need to buy one or a small item, the shipping rate alone can come at a higher price than the item itself.

To help you understand it better, think of a possible scenario. You live in the Philippines and you want to buy clothing from Shopperland which doesn’t provide direct international shipping to your country. What should you do? Here is a simple guide:

1) Look for a reliable package forwarder. You can contact them through their website or social media accounts. Sign up or apply for memberships to maximize their services.

2) Choose a package forwarding service to use. Usually, there are two types: the first one is the buy-it-yourself service and the second one is the shopping assistance service.

Buy-it-yourself
– You will be the one to purchase the items directly from the online store, up to the check-out process.
– Ask the package forwarder for the Korean address or virtual address where your item will be domestically shipped.
-From there, they will handle the international shipping to your country.
– Charges and fees may apply for every service they provide like customized packaging, consolidating, and photo services.

Shopping Assistance
– The buy-it-yourself process might be difficult for first-timers or consumers who are not familiar with how overseas online purchasing works.
– For example, Shopperland’s website and more Korean online stores are in the Korean language. It is a hassle to turn on the Papago app or Google Translate just to understand the content.
-Also, checking out through your credit or debit card may have some usage restrictions when utilized for an overseas online store. If you don’t want to face these problems, make use of the Shopping Assistance service.
– The package forwarder will handle everything for you, from the ordering of items to international shipping.
– They will ask you to fill up a form where you need to specify the details of your order, for example, from which online shop and what items you will be purchasing.
– Then, just relax and simply wait for your items to arrive in your home country.

3) Take advantage of the consolidation services. Most package forwarders can take multiple orders, may it be from one or multiple stores. They will all be shipped to their warehouse, their Korean address. And then, they will pack it as a single parcel before shipping them to your country. This process will save you a lot, generally between 50% to 80% of shipping costs!

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Top 5 Benefits of Using a Forwarding Service

By now, you’ll have a better understanding of what package forwarding is and how it works, so let’s now dive into some of its main advantages. Let us list out some of the reasons why it’s being used frequently by hundreds and thousands of both consumers and retailers.

Accessibility to exclusive international merchandise

Before, you had to travel to South Korea personally if you wanted to purchase exclusive products from there. But with package forwarding, they are more accessible with just a few clicks online. Also, you have more freedom to choose any items that you can get overseas where usually, a lot of them tend to be only available within the country.

Especially now that the Korean culture and products gained more popularity with the Hallyu’s global success, a lot of people have shown their demand for original K-pop merchandise, Korean beauty products, foods, and clothing.

Significantly cheaper buying and shipping costs

Buying from a reseller can be expensive because they add more to the final cost of the products and shipment. Whereas, if you buy them directly from the online store, you can get them at the right price. Also, package forwarders are usually partners with international carriers which is one of the primary reasons why they can negotiate and offer lower shipping costs.

Merging multiple orders

You are free to order from different stores and ship them to the virtual or the Korean address. Aside from saving on shipping costs, consolidation can also save you from extra costs incurred from the volume and weight of the package. And you don’t have to ship different orders one by one as the package forwarder will merge them into one to save shipping time.

Costs transparency

When you buy from resellers, you don’t really get to see the breakdown of costs. But, if you make use of package forwarding service, you’ll be the one to see the exact prices of the products and service charges. The shipping costs are also transparent as the package forwarders and large carrier companies generally provide shipping calculators. With this, you will know how the shipping cost of your package is computed.

Extra services

Package forwarders provide additional services such as customized packaging. They can also accept specific requests, especially when you want to be assured about your package’s safe arrival to your country. You can ask them to take a picture of it before they sealed it for shipping. And then, you can track it as it slowly reaches your home address. Just check what your package forwarder can offer you through their website or social media account.

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Package Forwarding vs. Parcel Forwarding vs. Freight Forwarding

Package forwarding, parcel forwarding, and freight forwarding all sound similar but they can be a little different in nature. Let’s take a glance at the main differences. In general, freight forwarding focuses more on the process of package shipments.

Freight forwarding is the shipping of goods from one place to another, this could be both domestic and international. It could be through land, sea, rail, or air. They have a good logistics strategy and implementation of moving of goods from the storage area to the manufacturers, and to the point of distribution. On the other hand, packages and parcel forwarding are basically the same. They handle overseas online store orders and ship them using third-party couriers to different parts of the world. In general, package and parcel forwarding pay more attention to the ordering of goods from online sellers.

Even though they have different priorities, they all have the same purpose of delivering packages to consumers or retailers.

Tips in Finding the Right Package Forwarder

If you are a regular overseas online store buyer or a business that needs product supply, it should be a priority to find the right package forwarder. It makes or breaks your purchasing experience. As a retailer, you can have more confidence and build good relationships with your customers if you know that you have a reliable package forwarder and courier service. With the right logistics service provider, you can also trust them with customized packaging, checking, and inventory of items.

Here are some tips to help you:

  • Check the package forwarder’s feedback and reviews. With this, you’ll get to know how other people rate their experience with the forwarder and how reputable they are. Of course, it’s better if they have at least 90% positive reviews and up.
  • See if the package forwarder replies promptly to their customers. Good and clear communication with them will guarantee a smooth transaction. It will also be helpful if problems arise during the whole transaction process.
  • They must have a good relationship with suppliers, manufacturers, and courier companies. You will have the security that you’re getting the best products and services from all their networks and connections.
  • Make sure that their services come at reasonable charges and fees. For example, there are package forwarders who ask for payment for the use of their virtual address, while others provide this free of charge. Check and compare different package forwarders regarding their shopping assistance, handling, return charges, and other extra service fees.
  • Choose a package forwarder with a transparent pricing structure just to be sure that you’re not paying unnecessary fees. In any business, transparency will always gain your trust.

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Delivered Korea - Leading Package Forwarder in South Korea

Delivered Korea is one of the leading international shipping providers in South Korea right now. We provide various logistics services including package forwarding, e-commerce fulfillment, personal shopping, and dropshipping services to consumers and retailers globally. Our vision is to be the ultimate matchmaker between Korean sellers and global buyers.

Over the past few years, we have managed to establish our reputation in providing affordable package forwarding services to those who wish to purchase trending goods from South Korea. Please feel free to check out our Instagram account here for feedback and reviews from our customers.

Package forwarding services

You Buy, We Ship:
This is our own version of the “buy-it-yourself” service. You can simply fill out our “My Incoming Package” form with your order details. Once you let us know all your order details, we will take care of the rest of the shipping process for you.

We Buy, We Ship:
This is our own version of the “shopping assistance” service. You can simply fill out the “New Order” form with all the details of the item(s) you wish to purchase and the online store to purchase from, we will process both the ordering and shipping on your behalf. All you need to do is wait for your package to reach its final destination.

You Sell, We Dropship:
Dropshipping is suited specifically for retailers and businesses. We can help you with both finding suppliers and providing domestic & international shipping services. We have our own logistics app called CROSSBORDERS that can be integrated with your Shopify or other online stores built with various e-commerce platforms. Please feel free to reach out to request our dropshipping service.

You can also check out this page to see the full list of online stores you can shop trending Korean products from. We have prepared a comprehensive list of reputable suppliers and stores from different industries like K-fashion, K-pop, K-lifestyle, K-beauty, and much more. With numerous partnerships with reliable shipping companies including UPS, FedEx, EMS, and Korea Post, we can guarantee the safe and timely delivery of your packages. To learn more, you can visit our website here.