Personal shopping service
Big Apple Buddy is a personal shopping service in New York. Think of us as your friend in the US: shop millions of products from US stores on our site, check out like any online store, and we buy, check, pack, and ship them to your door.
4.6★ on Trustpilot 98% recommend us on Facebook
Two ways to buy
Most of what our customers order is already on our site. For everything else, we put together a custom quote.
Browse millions of products from US stores, see the price, and pay in one checkout. We take it from there.
Can't find it on our site? Send us a link or a description. We send you an itemized quote with the item price, our service fee and international shipping to your address, and you decide.
Why people call us
Most people find us after a US store has already said no. Here are the three situations we see every day.
Plenty of US stores only accept a US card with a US billing address. Often your card is fine; their checkout just isn't built for international customers.
We pay with our own US payment details, so your foreign card never meets their checkout.
Many US retailers decline orders addressed to warehouses they know belong to package forwarders. The order is taken, then cancelled days later.
We place the order ourselves, on our own US details, and we work directly with many US stores.
Some of the best US brands sell inside the US only. There is no international option at their checkout.
The store ships to our New York facility. We ship to you.
The whole job, in order
Check out on our site like any online store, or accept a custom quote for anything we don't list.
We buy your items with our own US payment and delivery details.
Your items arrive at our facility, not at an address you have to set up and manage.
We do a thorough visual inspection: the right product, the right variant, no visible damage. We do not open sealed manufacturer or device boxes, so nothing is powered on.
If anything looks wrong, we photograph it, send you the photos, and wait for your decision before doing anything else.
We repack your items for a long international journey. Items from different stores in the same order travel together.
We prepare the customs paperwork, declare your order accurately, and hand it to a major international carrier such as FedEx or UPS.
Service fee schedule
We charge an additional service fee, not the total order cost.
For catalog orders and custom quotes alike, the Big Apple Buddy service fee is $30 per order under $200 in total product cost, $50 at $200 or more, plus $15 for each additional item. Our pricing page has the full schedule and a calculator.
What you pay, shown before you pay
After it arrives
This is the part people forget to ask about until something goes wrong.
We made the purchase and we hold the receipt. So we can request a return or manufacturer-warranty service with the store, where the retailer's policy allows it.
A service fee and return shipping apply. Outcomes follow the store's own policy and deadlines: we can ask on your behalf, we cannot overrule the store.
The order is yours and the receipt is in your name. You deal with the US store yourself, from abroad.
You also have to arrange a US return address and get the item back to it.
Choosing between the two
A package forwarder gives you a US address. You buy the item yourself with your own card, it arrives at that address, and the forwarder sends the box on to you. Every step in between is yours to run.
| The job | With a package forwarder | With Big Apple Buddy |
|---|---|---|
| A US address | You sign up for one and put it on every order. | Not needed. Your items come to us. |
| Buying the item | You check out on each store's site, with a card that store accepts. | One checkout on our site, even across several stores. |
| Declined cards and cancelled orders | You contact the store about the order you placed. | We handle it with the store, then offer you another store or a full refund. |
| Customs paperwork | You provide item descriptions and values for customs. | We prepare it and declare your order accurately. |
| Several stores, one delivery | You track every parcel, then ask for them to be combined, if your forwarder offers it. | Built in. Products from different US stores in one Big Apple Buddy order ship as one shipment. |
| Returns and warranty | You deal with the store yourself, from abroad. | We ask the store for you, because we hold the receipt. A service fee and return shipping apply. |
A package forwarder can come out cheaper if you are happy running all of this yourself. It comes down to whether that is worth your time. For the numbers side by side, compare a personal shopper with package forwarding.
Where we ship
Big Apple Buddy ships from New York to over 75 countries with major international carriers such as FedEx and UPS. Some of the many countries we ship to include the following.
Big Apple Buddy is a personal shopping service in New York that buys products from US stores for customers in over 75 countries. Most customers shop millions of products on our site and check out like any online store. For anything not listed, send us a link or a description and we send you an itemized quote. Either way, we buy the item from the US store, inspect it, repack it and ship it to you with tracking.
A package forwarder gives you a US address: you buy from each store yourself, with a card the store accepts, and the forwarder sends the parcels on. A personal shopper like Big Apple Buddy places the order for you, receives and inspects it, prepares the customs paperwork, ships it, and deals with the store if something goes wrong. A forwarder can cost less if you are happy to run the purchase yourself.
Yes. Add products from different US stores to one Big Apple Buddy cart and check out once. Your items arrive at our New York facility and ship to you together in one shipment.
Often, yes. Big Apple Buddy places eligible orders with its own US payment and delivery details, and its working relationships with many US stores help. Each retailer still decides whether to accept an order.
Many US retailers decline orders addressed to warehouses they know belong to package forwarders. With Big Apple Buddy, we place the order ourselves, on our own US details, and it comes to our own facility in New York. The retailer still decides whether to accept the sale, and some items cannot be bought or exported at all.
Big Apple Buddy tells you right away. If another store can supply the item, we offer that option. You choose whether to go ahead or take a full refund.
That is the most common reason people come to us. The store ships to our New York facility, and we ship to you with tracking. Some products, including certain batteries and aerosols, are restricted or cannot be exported, and we check this before you order.
We charge an additional service fee, not the total order cost. For catalog orders and custom quotes alike, the Big Apple Buddy service fee is $30 per order under $200 in total product cost, $50 at $200 or more, plus $15 for each additional item. The item price and international shipping are separate, and you see all three before you pay. In most countries, the carrier collects import duties and taxes on arrival. Where the law requires us to collect tax at checkout, such as UK VAT or Australian and New Zealand GST, you see it before you pay. Our pricing page has the full schedule.
Big Apple Buddy ships to over 75 countries, and many of them are listed on this page. We ship with major international carriers such as FedEx and UPS, and your checkout or quote shows the cost and the delivery estimate for your own address.
Often, yes, within limits. Because Big Apple Buddy made the purchase and holds the receipt, we can ask the store for a return or manufacturer-warranty service where the retailer's policy allows it. A service fee and return shipping apply, and the outcome follows the store's own policy and deadlines. A package forwarder customer has to do this alone, from abroad.
Customer reviews
Big Apple Buddy is rated 4.6★ on Trustpilot, and 98% of its reviewers on Facebook recommend it.
Check out our Facebook and TrustPilot pages for more customer testimonials!
Phillis and her team were so prompt (email replies within hours) professional, and most importantly I received exactly what I ordered, exactly when they said I would.....with a personalized note inside my package from Phillis. LOVELY TOUCH!
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Big Apple Buddy is a professional company and doing business with them is an absolute pleasure. I tried it from South Africa and thanks to Phillis Chan and her team, I enjoyed the purchasing process just as much as the product I purchased.
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Thank you so much to Big Apple Buddy for the super great purchasing experience! Phillis was very prompt and helpful, updating me via emails all the way from quote to delivery to Singapore. It's like having a personal friend in the US!
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