Kapruka global shop connects Sri Lankans to giant US merchants like Amazon, eBay, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and others. They take a 5% commission for having it shipped down to Sri Lanka and mailed to your door – of course you still have to pay for the shipping and clearance from customs. What Kapruka offers is an easy and convenient way to shop online.
Honestly, its the strangest thing ever – a physical shop in Sri Lanka that enables anyone here to buy anything from US? At first it seems counter-intuitive – why would you pay someone else to get something from Amazon or eBay? But when you think about it, this makes sense.
The biggest problems we face with buying stuff from US is shipping and paying the customs duties – these guys take care of all of that. Their shipping charges are also quite cheap – starting at a few dollars per pound, or $15 fixed sea freight, regardless of size and weight.
Kapruka enables you to get almost anything available in the US market (as long as it’s legal to ship to Sri Lanka), including items that US retailers don’t offer international shipping on. They also include the US warranty, and offer to return to the seller in the event of a problem.
Real time access to US markets means that Sri Lanka is finally catching up with the online shopping trend – this is great news for anyone who’s been praying for some technological progress. And a 5% commission sounds quite reasonable.
The only thing you should be aware of is that while Kapruka tends to have your things shipped quickly, Sri Lanka Customs will still take their own time to process shipments and this can cause delays. Having said that, this is still a cheaper and quicker alternative from getting it down yourself, plus they provide a guarantee.
A small heads up – make sure your products are compatible with local standards before buying (US TV’s are usually NTSC, and domestic electrical devices in particular, tend to run on 110v) and check their Facebook Page for special deals.
