Amazon now offers free shipping to the Philippines on select items
While those in the Philippines have their own go-to sites when it comes to online shopping, chances are you might have snuck a peek at the items being offered by Amazon.
In case you don't know, Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world and is prominent for selling many product lines such as media books, beauty products, jewelry, toys and games, and more.
However, despite being a larger retailer, it is not quite popular in the Philippines due to certain products on the site not being eligible for shipping to the Philippines. And even if they are, it may cost you an arm and a leg as Amazon does not offer free shipping to the country. According to their website, the cost of shipping from Amazon to Asia ranges from $5.99 to $13.99 per shipment, which translates to around P300 to P800.
But worry no more as you can now ship Amazon orders for free, but not all of them.
The online retailer announced on their website that it will offer free shipping to the Philippines on eligible items with an order value of $49 (P2,800) or more.
You may shop items from categories such as computers & accessories, books, beauty, Amazon fashion, home, and toys.
To get free shipping, Amazon instructed that you must set your delivery address to Philippines and check if the items you want buy display “FREE Shipping to Philippines” by item price. (Tip: When browsing the page, tick the "Eligible for Free Shipping" box to see refined results.) You must review your cart to see if your order qualifies for free shipping and if it is, “FREE AmazonGlobal Shipping” will be pre-selected at check-out.
You can meet the threshold through two ways. One is by buying several eligible items with a total value that meets or exceeds the free shipping threshold and the other is by purchasing one eligible product that costs $49 or more.
If you are wondering if you're still required to pay for import fees, Amazon says that their policies are still the same—the customs duties, taxes and fees or "Import Fees," can vary depending on the shipping method and the number of items purchased. The additional fees will be calculated during checkout.
Do note that the Philippines, under Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), has a de minimis value of P10,000. Which means that no tax or duties will be collected for imported goods value of P10,000 and below.
Amazon stressed that if your cart contains non-eligible items, you might be charged shipping fees for them.