How-to Guides
Buying from abroad, explained plainly
What things really cost, what to watch for, and when it is worth it. Written by the people who do it every day.
Advice
Ramadan and Eid gifts from abroad — order early or not at all
The single most useful thing on this page is a date, not a product. Two to three weeks from purchase means the decision is made a month before, not a week before.
7 Sept 2026
Advice
How to tell an American shop is safe to buy from
From Egypt you cannot practically return anything, so the seller matters more than the price. Here is what we check before we buy on somebody's behalf.
7 Sept 2026
Stores
Buying from Nike US when you live in Egypt
Nike's American site has the full size run, the exclusives and the colourways that never reach here. It also will not deliver to Egypt. Here is what works.
7 Sept 2026
Stores
Buying from iHerb when you live in Egypt
The shop Egyptians ask about most for supplements — and the category with the worst arithmetic we price. Both things are true, and here is how to decide.
7 Sept 2026
Advice
Buying from abroad for your business
Equipment, stock and parts, with one fixed price you can put in a budget before you commit. What quantity actually saves, and what it does not.
7 Sept 2026
Stores
Buying beauty from Ulta and Sephora in Egypt
The two shops people ask for by name, and a category that splits sharply: one expensive serum prices well, a boxed set of inexpensive things does not.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying an iPhone from America
The numbers are among the best we price. The things that go wrong are not about money — they are about bands, warranty and which model number you actually bought.
7 Sept 2026
What it costs
Why a price changes, and what we hold
The exchange rate moves, shops reprice, customs assesses. Here is exactly which of those become your problem, and which stay ours.
7 Sept 2026
Stores
Which American stores you can actually buy from in Egypt
Most American shops will not deliver here, and the ones that will are not always the ones worth using. Here is the practical map.
7 Sept 2026
How it works
No link? Send a photo
Every request needs a link or a photo of the exact product. If you have no link, a screenshot or a photo of the box or label works just as well.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying toys and LEGO from America
Toy boxes are enormous relative to what is inside them, which makes this a category where the specific set matters more than the category does.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying sunglasses and accessories from America
Small, valuable and easy to get wrong only in one way. One of the quietly excellent categories, with a counterfeit problem worth knowing about.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying sports and fitness equipment from America
This category contains both the best and the worst numbers we have ever priced. Which one you get depends entirely on what you are buying.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying clothes from America, and getting the size right
The prices are reasonable. The sizing is the risk, and it is the one that costs you the whole order rather than a percentage of it.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying chocolate and gifts from America
A category where the arithmetic is poor and people order anyway, for reasons that are perfectly good. Here is how to do it without overpaying for air.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying car parts from America
One of the quietly sensible categories: dense, valuable, and often simply unavailable here in the exact specification your car needs.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying books from America
Books have one of the worse multiples we price, and one of the largest savings from ordering several at once. Both facts point the same way.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Vitamins and supplements from America
The worst multiple of anything we price, and still sometimes the right decision. Here is how to tell which case you are in.
7 Sept 2026
Advice
Sending something to family in Egypt, from abroad
If you live outside Egypt and want to get something to someone here, buying it yourself is usually the expensive way round. Here is the alternative.
7 Sept 2026
How it works
If something goes wrong
Sold out, damaged, the wrong item, or you changed your mind. What actually happens in each case, and what you get back.
7 Sept 2026
How it works
How to pay, from Egypt
Card, Instapay or mobile wallet, in two payments, with nothing collected at your door. What each one means and when the money actually moves.
7 Sept 2026
How it works
How long it takes, and what happens along the way
Two to three weeks from the day we buy, in six steps you can watch. Here is what each one means and where the time actually goes.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying perfume and cosmetics from America
Two categories that look identical from the outside and behave completely differently once you price them. One is among the better things to import; the other is among the worse.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying kitchen things and cookware from America
Heavy, bulky, and occasionally still worth it. The category where the difference between a good decision and a bad one is largest.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying headphones and audio from America
The best category we handle, by the numbers. Here is why, and the two things that decide whether it is worth it for you.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying a laptop or an Apple device from America
The numbers are excellent and the warranty question is real. Both things are true, and which matters more depends on what you are buying it for.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying a handbag or leather goods from America
An expensive bag prices far better than a cheap one, and not by a little. The reason is the same arithmetic that makes a cheap bulky item the worst thing you can import.
7 Sept 2026
What it costs
Why two things at the same price cost very different amounts to bring in
A cabin bag and a pair of headphones can cost about the same in dollars and land more than twice as far apart in pounds. The reason is that empty space is charged as though it were weight.
7 Sept 2026
Advice
What not to buy from abroad
We are a business that gets paid to bring things into Egypt, and there are several things we would tell you not to bring. Here they are, with the reasoning.
7 Sept 2026
What it costs
What it really costs to buy from America to Egypt
The sticker price is about a third of the answer. Here is what the other two thirds are, and why the same $120 turns into very different numbers depending on what it is.
7 Sept 2026
Advice
Shopping the American sales from Egypt
Black Friday and the American sale season are the best few weeks of the year to buy from abroad — if you prepare before they start rather than during.
7 Sept 2026
Advice
Is it actually cheaper than buying in Egypt?
Sometimes clearly yes, sometimes clearly no, and the way to tell takes about two minutes. Here is the method.
7 Sept 2026
Customs
Customs in Egypt: what to expect when you buy from abroad
Customs is the largest single cost on most orders and the one people understand least. Here is how it behaves, why the number varies so much, and what a fixed price actually protects you from.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying shoes and sneakers from America
The most common thing people ask us for, and the one where getting the size right matters more than getting the price right.
7 Sept 2026
Stores
Buying from Amazon US when you live in Egypt
Amazon US does not deliver most of its catalogue to Egypt, and the part it does deliver often prices badly. Here is what actually works.
7 Sept 2026
Categories
Buying a watch from abroad
Watches carry the heaviest customs of anything we handle, and are still one of the best things to buy from abroad. Both of those are true, and here is why.
7 Sept 2026