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If you’ve read my article How to use Scotia VISA Debit Card Online on shopping online with your Scotia VISA Debit Card or Credit Card, you must have concluded I’m Paranoid. Trust me, I’m beyond paranoid. I’m PETRIFIED of the Internet and the propensity for people to steal your personal information when using a computer, ESPECIALLY your Scotia VISA Debit Card or Credit Card .

scotiabank-visa-debit-card-onlie-shopping

Especially if you’re using your Scotia VISA Debit Card or Credit Card in an Internet Café, where someone can install a Keylogger software and steal not only your Credit Card but also your Passwords according to Dr Marc Gercke, an International Cybercrimes Expert.

Basically, they can use that information to scam you for money or just simply use your Credit Card to shop online, both abroad and here in Jamaica, as online shopping is becoming more prevalent in Internet Cafes. Or worse, the culprits can use it to access Porn websites, which Millenials (ages 18 to 28) seem to be into aside from learning even at GOJ (Government of Jamaica) and Private Internet Café’s.

For that reason, Scotia VISA Debit Cards and most Credit Cards in Jamaica have an Online Banking portal that makes it easy to check on your account and preset features to report to you unusual activity on your account as noted in ScotiaBank’s VISA Debit Card – Jamaica’s Online E-Commerce Renaissance.

Thus my words to the wise from my article How to use Scotia VISA Debit Card Online condensed in a single line: shopping online on approved websites that have SSL (Secure Socket Layer) using an Apple Mac or YOUR personal computer running an Open Source OS e.g. Fedora or Ubuntu that is the SAFEST way as most keyloggers are written for the Windows environment. Word to the wise!

But the rewards are obvious:

  • Cheaper Items than purchased in the store

  • Better quality products

  • Customization of Products

  • Ability to buy thing or subscribe to Services not available in Jamaica

  • Makes Couch Potato Shopping or shopping during the Holidays i.e. Christmas Shopping, a breeze

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The advice for where to shop can be found at the expert Online Shopper, Lorane, blogger for OnlineShoppingJa with detailed reviews and the benefits of shopping with certain online portals and learn the secrets of the ICI (Informal Commercial Importers) and how they import their goods.

OnlineShoppingJa list is summarized here and I already recognize a few of my faves:

  1. Amazon

  2. Best Buy

  3. Ebay

  4. JCPenney

  5. Macy’s

  6. Old Navy

  7. Payless (we got this already in Jamaica!)

  8. Sears

  9. Target

  10. WalMart

Others exist, but mainly for thing you can’t find on these website, which I personally find hard to imagine! OnlineShoppingJa favours them as do I, as they offer great benefits to Jamaican shoppers, especially as it relates to their Return Policy should you receive a damaged or defective product. International Shopping at its finest!

Then the inevitable question arises: “How do I get the items here back to Jamaica?” There’s a nice list of Online Shopping Portals, basically Customs Brokers that facilitate your purchases of items, depending where you are purchasing from:

USA and Canadian Websites

UK and EU Websites

The days of having to go to the wharf to clear that barrel of items you had your relative’s ship down are over. Just use any the above, albeit the British ones will naturally take longer. The main thing that differentiates them is how they charge for their services and the level of professional service they offer in terms of convenience, as Custom Duties are fixed no matter who ships the item.

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shopping

Also be wary of the fact that there are some items as listed on the Jamaica Customs website that you cannot import. Check the Jamaica Customs List of Restricted Items and be careful how you declare your items when the Customs Broker calls you, as you can be held criminally liable for the items, especially if you falsely declare and they are on the list.

They all work pretty much the same way:

  1. Sign up using your GOJ (Government of Jamaica) ID

  2. Pay a Yearly Fee for access to their shipping services

  3. Get an account with a special PIN (Personal Identification Number) and password

  4. Get a US Mailing Address for Packages, Letters  and Periodicals

  5. Get the option to use their Credit Card or use your own, preferably

  6. Go online and buy the items paying for shipping to your US Mailing Address

  7. Item is delivered to the US Mailing Address, which is really a Warehouse for receiving and sorting items for customers

  8. Item is checked and repackaged and reaches in Jamaica and takes several weeks to clear

  9. They act as Customs Broker, clearing the items for you.

  10. Package arrives at their office or delivered to your door

  11. You pay for Customs Clearing Charges and their Processing Fees

  12. You get the satisfaction of tearing open the item with you own Box-cutter

There you have it folks. Shop abroad from home from the comfort of your Bed with Laptop on Pillow. Just check out the Customs Brokers listed above and you can Be American, Canadian or British without ever having to get a VISA and fly go a farin’. More time….I’ve got packages waiting to touch down and to clear Customs to come into Jamaica at my courier Mailpac Express Limited..

Here’s the link:

OnlineShoppingJa

Jamaica Customs website

Jamaica Customs List of Restricted Items

 

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