Many moons ago, when I got into Ashtanga, the first thing I did was get on Amazon and order all of the prescribed reading (Yoga Mala, Autobiography of a Yogi, etc.) and a John Scott DVD. After paying half a limb for shipping, when the package finally arrived, I remember reeling from the additional taxes that were slapped on it.

(Epilogue: After opening the box, I examined its contents, maybe played the John Scott DVD once, shoved the box under my bed, and never saw any of it again. Thus concluded my life as the Ashtangi-who-never-was.)

Since then, I stopped having items from Amazon shipped directly to me in the Philippines. I’m not even sure if that’s possible now. I’d have stuff sent to Friend Alan in San Francisco instead, who would then pass them onto Friend Raffy whenever he was in town for work. Raffy would then bring the items back to Manila for me. And this worked for a while (- for a very long while and I thankyouthankyouthankyou, Alan and Raffy!), but it really was a bit of a hassle for everyone concerned.

Recently, my cousin introduced me to My Shopping Box. (Thank you, Cousin Peachie!) Actually, she’s been telling me about it for a year but I was on a self-imposed no-shopping hold order last year, which I’ve temporarily lifted this year, so I finally got the details off her. After signing up and paying the $25 annual fee, guess who now has a U.S. address for online purchases!

This is how it works:

When I buy something from Amazon or any other online merchant, I enter the address My Shopping Box provides as my shipping address. When their office receives the package, it’ll take them two to three working days to process, after which they’ll upload the details into my account and send me an email notification.

Logging onto my account and clicking on “Authorize Shipment” will take me to options to send the package to me at my Manila address by sea (45 to 50 working days) or by air (10 to 12 days). After I’ve made my choice and paid the appropriate amount, all I have to do is wait for the package to show up at my doorstep.

It’s pretty straight forward.

I bought a Kindle Fire and its various accessories as a gift for Nicolas’ godson this way.

My last purchase was for a few small items that I’ll need when traveling and, so far, this is the timeline on it:

• March 4 – Bought the items from Amazon (total including shipping $72.85)
• March 7 – Amazon shipped the items to My Shopping Box address in Los Angeles.
• March 8 – My Shopping Box received the package and I received an email notification.
• March 9 – I authorized My Shopping Box to send the package to me by air ($5.99) and they sent an acknowledgement email.
• March 19 – Checking on my account today, I can see that it’s been dispatched from their Manila facility so it should be at my house any time soon. Yay!

All transactions are coursed through Banco De Oro (BDO) and, as a special promotion, BDO credit card holders don’t have to pay the $25 annual fee (- I’m not sure if this is just for the first year or forever and ever) and get a 3-5% discount on shipping fees. While this sounds tempting, the last thing I need is another credit card. I’ll just pay the fees and stick with my HSBC credit card. So far, it’s worked too well.