ForwardBuy.com Reviews 428

Difficult to use
Super expensive

poor service, bad communication

FowardBuy quickly responded my request and kept me informed throughout the entire process. I received all the items I wanted, and the pricing is very transparent. Would use again!

Everything is on time. The communication is great and the items come back safely.

EDIT FOR FORWARD BUY RESPONSE:

My review stands. The fact that my item was received damaged due to Forward Buy not properly packaging it and not bother even providing any sort of shipping refund like they did to other customers will keep my review at 2 stars.

Their response to my review doesn't explain how the original documented shipment weight as received from the original seller went from less than a pound to almost 6lbs AFTER it was re-packed from Forward Buy. Forward Buy is claiming the seller put nearly 5lbs of excessive packaging material when that isn't the case.
My item weighs less than 4.0 oz (ounces) without packing material. The parcel as shipped from the original seller was still only less than a pound (0.88 lbs) with shipping material. Yet Forward Buy tried to charge me for 2.65kg (5.84lbs) shipping after they re-pack it, then say it was the seller that put excessive packing material to make it almost 6lbs.

As I mentioned, my item was not damaged when the seller packed it and sent it to Forward Buy. I have the photo that shows it was fine. Forward Buy did not properly package the item (they sent it all the way from Singapore to the USA in a polybag), charged excessive shipping and I received the item damaged. This could have easily fit into a small box with bubble wrap and still be in the parameters of the shipping I paid for.

Funny that they're responding to this review but don't bother responding to my email inquiry.
****
While I did eventually receive my items, I'm unlikely to use Forward Buy again. Forward Buy isn't a seamless service and greatly lack transparency.

I had to prompt them to make the purchase that was otherwise idling (it was a one off item that is no longer in production and being sold on a resale market). The original shipment that is sent to Forward Buy from the seller weighed less than one pound. You as a buyer do not know this ahead of time.

I selected the Auto Pack option prior to purchase which reduces the shipping weight in case it's packed heavier than it should be (again, you don't know ahead of purchase how it will be packed from the originally seller so this is the safer option).

It turned out, the original shipment from the seller weighed less than a pound. Forward Buy then repackaged it and suddenly this tiny, lightweight parcel ended up almost 6X it's original weight and they wanted to charge me for a 6lb parcel!

When I asked them about this, they said that the seller packed excess bubble wrap which made the package heavy. Essentially, instead of admitting they are charging the customer far more in shipping and creating an excessive shipping weight, they're telling me that the seller added almost 5lbs of bubble wrap How is it possible for the seller to add all this extra packaging AFTER the original lightweight parcel arrived at the Forward Buy warehouse?

They then said the removed the excess packaging and changed the shipping weight.

Next, the lack of transparency with courier. Forward Buy states that customers have many options for their courier service, and have the best pricing.

Well, you don't have a choice of courier and they do not disclose who the courier is. My particular parcel could have been sent through SingPost for cheap (less than $20 USD). Instead I ended up paying over $40 USD through an undisclosed courier (turns out to be FedEx but you don't find out until after you pay). I just paid to get it over with since customer service didn't bother responding to my inquiry.

The good thing is, once the package is with the courier, it is delivered quickly. The poor part of it, for all that excessive money they charged me they could have properly packaged it and at least packed it into a box so I didn't receive one of the items in the package crushed as it's a collectors item.

If you're ordering, be prepared for questionable service and lack of transparency. Definitely pay extra for a photo of the items before it's shipped out like I did. That's how I know what I received wasn't in the original condition.

No problems, good shipping price, easy to use.

Ordered shoes from SG and it arrived here in PH just fine though the box looks a bit battered.

Only feedback I have is their customer support should be more responsive to questions, inquiries, and follow-ups.

No complaints. Reliable service.

TL;DR - Product received faulty. After multiple support queries could not get any action, no response from forwardbuy.com. Placed review here and got action and refund.

Keep well away from this forwarding company. I purchased product from Singapore to be delivered to Australia and I had a very bad experience with forwardbuy.com.

1) I was quoted one freight figure but when the product arrived, they increased the freight cost by about 50%. The item was as specified at the same weight that the estimate was for, but once they received the product, I was basically stuck with whatever they said, or I may have lost my purchase. The change in price wasn't because of volume either - the product weighed 130gm and only measure approximately 10cm x 15cm x 5cm - and cost roughly AUD63/SGD58 to deliver it! (the original estimate was SGD33). Note: This is a correction from the original review.

2) I wanted to do my own online shopping and use one of their addresses for delivery. But, for Australians shopping in Singapore they would not allow me to do it myself. They purchased on my behalf charging a 9% commission on top of the price. This was ok and expected. However... we had a problem with one of the products that they sent (it was not caused by forwardbuy.com, but the online store), but since I did not personally make the purchase, I was not able to go directly to the online company. I logged a support query with forwardbuy.com to get them to act on my behalf, since they charged 9% commission and also because I couldn't do it myself. Response? Nothing at all. They didn't even acknowledge my query. So I sent another request a week later for help. This time, also no response. It's like I didn't even exist - they had taken the commission and run. I can't get hold of them at all. They may answer this query with "please contact support", but if I was to do this, I am pretty sure they will ghost me and won't even reply, going by past attempts to contact them.

If I could give forwardbuy.com a zero star rating I would. Unfortunately a 1 star is the lowest I can give. If you are considering using forwardbuy.com, don't! There is zero support and zero care for the customer. You also cannot trust the freight estimate, and once you've made your purchase, you are caught with whatever extra freight charge they decide to change the estimate to. Very disappointed. Never going to use them again.

EDIT after reply:
1) Corrected freight cost. The cost was over AUD60, not AUD80. The original estimate was SGD33 (for 500g), but actual ended up being SGD58.

2) From reply: "As you are aware, we are a package forwarder and we provided shopping assistance services to yourself"

If I could have ordered my own product, I would have - and then the issue would have been my own to fix. But since I was not the purchaser, I had no ability to go to the online shop to seek a remedy. An additional 9% of the price of the product was charged for forwardbuy.com services, so this was more than just freight forwarding services. I was not able to liaise with the shop if I was not the one making the purchase. If this method can't be supported, then it should not be provided.

3) From reply: "Unfortunately, we were unable to provide you faster updates due to this on-going communication with seller."

Until I posted this review I had received zero response to my two attempted contacts, even though there was communication in progress with the seller? Any response to me at all would have been "faster". I would expect at least some communication with the customer to keep them updated.

EDIT 2:
I was provided a refund of the faulty item, minus commission and freight. I was never expecting a refund of freight, but it would have been nice to receive the full amount I was charged for the actual item (i.e., commission included). However, it was good to see that forwardbuy.com did make a refund for the item that was faulty, even though it appears that it took this review to get any action. Updated rating to 3 star since a remedy was achieved.

Excellent communication, very very quick delivery. Just be aware that shipping can be costly and there may be limited (or even singular) choices in that regard.

I ordered comic book set and its TV series video disc set from Singapore. All was great: their communication with seller, their communication with me, as well as organising local collection directly from seller and packing it well for transport from Singapore to Croatia.

Pick up and shipping were fairly fast. That’s a big plus.
Don‘t have a comparison but shipping was quite expensive.
Would have loved to have a better view of the overall costs upfront.

Good experience but you guys missed or seller did not send the required quantity for one of the item. But I got an refund for the same.

It was the most hassle free experience and very efficient.

Everything worked well, would order again if I need something from Singapore or India👍

Good communication, did what they said they’d do (ordered, received, shipped onward), and also shipped quickly.

The package did arrive on time but the item was damaged and obviously not proceeded with care along the shipment. Some warning label on the parcel and protection inside the parcel would have been very much appreciated.

My experience was not great. Forward Buy took about 2 weeks to respond to two of my email inquiries. Communication could really be improved. Shipping Costs: the options for shipping from Singapore to United States are expensive. I asked if there were cheaper shipping options, and after 2 weeks they got back to be with a slightly cheaper (but still expensive option). They only got back to me after I followed up with them. Then when I finally received my package it only contained 3 of the 5 items I ordered! They made it right and shipped me the 2 items they forgot to add to the package (and didn’t charge me), but it was still a frustrating experience overall. Also, they emailed me and said one of the items I ordered and paid for was no longer in stock. I said please give be a refund. A few weeks later I noticed Forward Buy never refunded me the money and I had to follow up and request it!