How I Travel

REI, also known as Recreational Equipment Inc., is a retail company that specializes in outdoor gear and sporting goods. They offer a wide range of products including camping equipment, hiking gear, cycling accessories, and outdoor apparel. With a focus on outdoor enthusiasts and adventure seekers, REI caters to individuals who enjoy activities like hiking, camping, climbing, and cycling. Headquartered in Kent, Washington, REI operates multiple stores across the United States, providing quality products and expert advice to help customers make the most of their outdoor experiences.

Does REI Ship To Australia?

No, REI does not ship to Australia, but I’ve designed a process for getting any REI order shipped to Australia with zero headaches.

It involves using a package forwarder: a warehouse that will accept your REI order and forward it on to you in Australia.

Here’s the exact process, explained step-by-step.

How To Get REI Orders Shipped To Australia

Step 1: Choose A Package Forwarder

Choosing the right package forwarder is important, because the package forwarder you use determines how quickly you’ll receive your order and how expensive the shipping is. I spent hours researching fourteen of the best package forwarders and scored each of them on a variety of metrics. Here are the five primary metrics I looked at:

1. Service Fees: How much they charge to accept and ship packages, including additional services like long-term storage, re-packing, package consolidation, and more.
2. Monthly Fees: How much they charge in monthly fees, if anything.
3. Pricing Transparency: How much they share about their shipping prices before I send my order to their warehouse.
4. Speed: How quickly they process and ship out packages.
5. Customer Service: How satisfied other users are with their service, and how quickly/thoroughly they respond to questions.

After reviewing the data, it was clear that Planet Express was the best package forwarder for my needs. Their customer service team responded to my questions quickly, they have thousands of 5-star reviews online, and their fees were consistently lower than the other package forwarders I researched.

To learn more about Planet Express—including a walkthrough of the Planet Express dashboard—watch the video below.

Here are a few other things I like about Planet Express:

• Planet Express has a tax-free warehouse in Oregon, so you can avoid paying sales tax on your purchases.
• Planet Express will consolidate multiple packages into a single shipment, significantly reducing shipping costs when you make multiple purchases.
• Planet Express sends you free photos of your package as soon as it arrives at their warehouse.
• Planet Express offers extremely cheap storage for your packages. Every package receives 10 days of free storage, but after that, Planet Express only charges one cent per pound per day. That means storing a 1-lb package in their warehouse for a month only costs $0.30!

Step 2: Ship Your Order To Planet Express 

After you sign up with Planet Express, you’ll receive a unique mailing address at their warehouse. When you go to make your purchase, then, you can just enter your Planet Express address instead of your home address as the shipping address.

If you’re not able to enter your home address as your credit card billing address, you should also be able to use your Planet Express warehouse address without any issues.

Step 3: Forward Your Package

As soon as your package arrives at Planet Express’ warehouse, they’ll send you photos of it to let you know it’s arrived. You’ll also be given a series of shipping options to choose from.

I find that there’s generally at least 4 shipping options corresponding to 4 different price-speed combinations. Sometimes there can be as many as 10+ shipping options—it just depends on the weight, size and value of your package.

You can choose whichever option you prefer and have your package sent out the same day.

My Personal Experience With Planet Express

I’ve used Planet Express more than a dozen times to ship packages to different parts of the world, and the experience has always been very smooth. Here’s how things went the last time I did it.

First, I placed my order and had it sent to my unique address at the Planet Express warehouse. Less than 48 hours later, I received an email from Planet Express letting me know that my order had arrived.

Second, I filled in Planet Express’ super-easy customs declaration form with the four pieces of information required:

1. The item being shipped
2. The number of items being shipped
3. The value of the item
4. Whether the item contains batteries

Third, I chose the shipping option I wanted from a list of eight options. Prices ranged from $6-$35 USD, plus insurance at an additional $2 USD, so I chose the cheapest option ($8 USD, including the insurance), and I was done. My package was shipped out the same day, and when it arrived, everything was in perfect shape.

In Summary

Overall, getting REI items shipped to Australia is extremely easy and smooth. The costs are low, and in my experience you’ll actually end up saving money, since buying direct from REI is often cheaper than buying from other comparable retailers in Australia. If you’re buying from REI, or any other retailer that doesn’t ship to Australia, I’m confident this method will serve you well.