4 US Products Aussies Overpay For (and How to Get Them Without the Markup)

You find the thing. Maybe it's a candle scent your mate brought back from Florida, or a tote bag all over your feed. You click through to the US site, fill your cart, and hit the wall: "We don't ship to Australia." Or your card gets knocked back. Or you find it locally, from a reseller, at two or three times the US price.

So you either pay the markup or give up.

Here's the thing I want you to know: cross-border shopping doesn't have to be expensive. Most of that markup isn't shipping. It's the gap between what a product costs in a US shop and what someone in Australia can charge for access to it. I'm Rahul, I run Shipbird from Austin, Texas, and closing that gap is my whole job.

The 4 products Australians overpay for

Prices below were checked in late September 2026. US prices move with sales, so treat them as a guide.

1. Bath & Body Works 3-wick candles

This is the big one for anyone searching "Bath and Body Works Australia price." A 3-wick candle on the official Australian site is about A$59, or about A$105 for two on promotion. In the US the same candle is around US$25 regular price.

And US shoppers rarely pay regular price. This September they were around US$14 each for Labor Day, and there's a sale of some kind most weeks. The US store also carries far more scents than the Australian range, especially the seasonal drops.

The catch: the US site won't ship to Australia. That's where I come in.

2. Trader Joe's mini and micro tote bags

These are around US$3 in store. They're canvas totes a US grocery chain sells at the till, and they've become some of the most resold bags around.

Trader Joe's doesn't sell online at all, so no amount of clever checkout tricks will get you one. Australian resellers know this, and listings here routinely ask many times the US price. When a new colour drops, the gap gets silly.

The only real way to get one at the shelf price is to have someone walk into a Trader Joe's for you. I'm in Austin. I can do that.

3. Owala FreeSip in US-exclusive colours

The Owala FreeSip is around US$35 on Owala's own US site, or around US$40 for the bigger size. Standard colours are easy to buy in Australia now. The problem is the limited and US-exclusive drops, which sell out fast and never reach Australian shelves. Owala itself mentions limited editions reselling for many times retail.

If you want a specific US colour, the move is to buy it at retail on drop day, not from a reseller a month later.

4. Jellycat seasonal releases

Seasonal Jellycats like the Amuseables Daffodil are about US$27.50 on Jellycat's US site. Australian stockists tend to charge noticeably more for Jellycat, and seasonal pieces are often gone before they reach local shelves, which is when resale prices climb.

Seasonal lines sell out fast in the US too. The Daffodil is sold out on Jellycat's own US site as I write this. Send me the link anyway: I can check US stockists before you pay a reseller.

Tip: bundle to spread the shipping

Shipping is priced per box, not per item. One candle on its own carries the full cost of a box to Australia. Two candles, a couple of totes and a bottle in the same box share it, so each item's slice gets much smaller. Here's a live price for roughly that bundle:

Why Shipbird

You deal with me, not a ticket queue. Shipbird is small and founder-led on purpose. I've worked in cross-border shopping and shipping for more than a decade, solving this exact problem for people who couldn't buy what they wanted from home. Shipbird is me doing it the way I always thought it should be done: personally.

Clear pricing, no hidden costs. You pay the actual US price of the item, one flat Personal Shopping fee per order (never per item), and FedEx shipping. That's it, and you see all of it before you pay. The fee is based on the order total before US sales tax and shipping, in US dollars: $15 up to $99.99, $25 from $100.00 to $250.00, $40 from $250.01 to $1,000.00, and $50 flat over $1,000.00. Your quote is itemised upfront. Orders over A$1,000 may attract GST or duty at the border, billed by the carrier.

A personal experience. I buy your items, check them when they arrive at the Austin hub, and pack and ship them to you. If something's off (a dented jar, the wrong colour), I sort it with the store before it leaves the US. And you can message me directly the whole way through.

Like having a friend in the US. That's the whole idea. Someone on the ground who can walk into the shop, use a US card, and send it home to you.

Competitive pricing. Shipbird ships on discounted FedEx Express rates. I won't tell you we're the cheapest option out there. I'll tell you the price, and you can check it yourself on the shipping calculator.

How it works

1. Send me the product link. Paste it into the Personal Shopping form, or several links for a bundle.
2. Get an all-in quote. The item, the Personal Shopping fee and the shipping, itemised, usually within a day.
3. I buy it, check it and ship it to your door. On FedEx Express, with tracking the whole way.

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy Bath & Body Works in Australia cheaper?

Often, yes, by buying from the US store. A 3-wick candle is about A$59 on the official Australian site. In the US the regular price is around US$25, and US sales regularly bring it to around US$14. Shipbird buys at the US price, so your cost is the US sticker plus one Personal Shopping fee per order plus FedEx shipping, all quoted before you pay. Bundling several candles or other items in one box spreads the shipping across them.

Why won't US stores accept my Australian card?

Many US retailers only ship to US addresses, and their fraud checks decline cards with a non-US billing address. Some accept the payment and cancel the order later. I buy with a US card from an Austin address, so to the store it's an ordinary US order. (The longer version is here: why Australian cards get declined on US checkout.)

How much does it cost to ship from the US to Australia?

It depends on the weight and box size. Shipbird ships to Australia on discounted FedEx Express, and the shipping calculator gives you a live price in seconds with no account needed. Your Personal Shopping quote shows the exact freight for your order before you pay anything.

Is there a fee per item?

No. The Personal Shopping fee is one flat fee per order, based on the order total before US sales tax and shipping. Five items from three stores in one order is still one fee.

Your next step

Pick the one thing you've been putting off buying because of the markup. Maybe it's a fall candle scent that never came to Australia, or a tote you've only seen on TikTok. Paste the link into the Personal Shopping request form and I'll send you an itemised quote, so you can compare it with the local price before you commit to anything.

Want a number first? Run a box through the shipping calculator. Want to ask me something before you do either? Message me on WhatsApp and you'll get me, not a bot. The Australia page has everything else in one place.