Personal Shopping vs. Package Forwarding: Which One Do You Need?

Shipbird runs two separate tracks, and picking the right one up front saves a step later.

Personal Shopping vs. Package Forwarding: the quick answer

Use Personal Shopping when you haven't bought the item yet and need Shipbird to purchase it with a US card. Use Package Forwarding when you already own the item and just need a US address to receive and ship it onward. Both use the same discounted FedEx Express rates underneath.

	Personal Shopping	Package Forwarding
Has the purchase happened?	No, not yet	Yes, already bought
Who buys it	Shipbird, with a US card	You, at the original retailer
You pay	Item cost, a tiered fee, and shipping	Shipping only
Best for	A store that won't ship internationally or take your card	A store that already shipped to your Shipbird address without issue

Personal Shopping: you don't have the item yet

Use Personal Shopping when you've found something at a US retailer but can't check out yourself. The store won't ship internationally, doesn't take your card, or you'd rather someone inspect it before it leaves the country. Send the product link, we buy it with a US card, inspect it at our Austin hub, and ship it out.

You pay the item cost, a tiered Personal Shopping fee, and discounted shipping.

Package Forwarding: you already own it

Use Package Forwarding when you've already bought the item and just need a US address to receive it at. Your Shipbird suite becomes the delivery address; once it lands, we consolidate and ship it onward.

You only ever pay for shipping, no item cost, no purchasing fee, since you already own what's in the box.

The quick test

Ask yourself: has the purchase happened yet?

• Not yet, and you need us to make it happen → Personal Shopping.
• Already bought, just need it forwarded → Package Forwarding.

Either way, the shipping rate underneath is the same discounted FedEx Express pricing. The only thing that changes is whether Shipbird is also doing the buying. Ordering something bound for Australia and not sure how GST and biosecurity rules factor in? See our guide to buying from US stores and shipping to Australia.