First Shipping Cart Experience - Hint: A GOOD One!

I don't usually order items online even locally due to some hesitation especially for scams much more for items from outside the country. But sometimes the items I am looking for is not available on local stores or even in Malls, so what choice do I have?

The first item I ordered online was an SSD for my old Toshiba laptop (which I was using for about 2-years while working online) since it was a good deal from macsales.com as it was a sale.

International shipping cost are quite high and much more if using branded couriers. That time I used USPS priority mail. Yes they issue a tracking number but only effective before it leaves the US, after that no more updates when it is hand over to Philippines' Postal Service. It's a waiting game and trust that your item will arrive at the correct Post Office.

Yes, the item I ordered arrived and there's a small fee, about P50 before I can get the item. I installed it and I was happy with the item!

I had heard some 3rd party shipping company that you can shop in US websites and ship the items to their warehouse (which you'll have a unique account name) and you can ship the item(s) you ordered to their address. They will consolidate the items if you have other items coming from different online stores before they ship the box to your doorstep. I have hesitations because of some bad feedback.

Years have passed and I still have some hesitation with 3rd party courier, but Shipping Cart to me is worth a try. They are associated with LBC in the Philippines so I guess that's a good company. That way tracking your package will not be a problem since LBC have their own tracking system.

So I decided to join the bandwagon and I have decided to upgrade my 2012 Mac Mini (which is still working like new) - faster than when it was bought since the SSD I bought years ago is installed on that machine. This time I ordered an upgrade for RAM (memory) online, from the same company macsales.com - yes I am a "suki" of their products. The 2012 Mac Mini originally only has 4.00 GiB of memory and today's system's standard is about 8.00 GiB so upgrading after 5-years is a good justification so I (or my wife) can still use the trusty computer for the next few years while saving for a new one --- just in case the machine fails in the near future.

I bought the memory just after the new year and it arrived at the warehouse after 4-days. I only used the FREE US shipping so I guess the delivery from the online store to the Shipping Cart's warehouse is still quite fast in my opinion. Since Shipping Cart have a free storage for 30-days, I was contemplating of adding more things to the cart before shipping it out but I don't really have a budget for more items. So after a week I pushed and paid my cart for shipment. I opt to ship my cart via Air cargo - which is kinda odd because it was cheaper than Sea cargo option.

The Air cargo option estimates up to 10-days before the item will arrive at my doorstep, I shipped it on January 13, and it arrived on January 18. That's only 5-days and the good thing is it was trackable from the US to the PH. You can track your package with Shipping Cart's website of LBC's website. So good job on that one LBC/Shipping Cart!

So the question is should I recommend Shipping Cart's service to ship products from US? Well they did a good job for my first attempt and hopefully they could be consistent with the service and try to improve while technology improves. I would say YES but you can try with small items first so it would not hurt that much if it gets lost. But hopefully that will not happen as there is a tracking system and you can always follow-up with their social media accounts or call the nearest LBC outlet and let them track your package via your given tracking ID.

Happy online shopping guys!

PS: Since I have upgraded my Mac Mini's system memory, the existing 4.00 GiB (2 modules x 2.00 GiB) module is up for grabs. Just send me an offer and we can meet half-way.