The world of international shipping continues to grow more difficult. As of October 1, the US Postal Service has halted acceptance of international package shipments to New Zeleand, due to COVID-19-related service disruptions at the destination. The same suspension was applied to Australia on September 3, so BMOW is now unable to make direct shipments to customers in either country. I had hoped this would be only a brief disruption while the countries’ post offices worked on mitigating COVID-19 impacts. But with Australia’s suspension already stretching to more than a month, my hopes for a quick resolution are dimming.

One bit of good news is that Australia Post’s ShopMate service is still working. It’s a package-forwarding service for Australian residents who are buying products from vendors in the USA. ShopMate provides you with a USA address, so BMOW and other vendors in the USA can make a regular domestic shipment and you pay them the domestic shipping rate. Then ShopMate repackages the shipment and dispatches it to your home in Australia, in return for an additional fee. A few BMOW customers have already tried buying through ShopMate during the past month, and reported that it worked. I’m not aware of a similar forwarding service for New Zealand, but if I find one, I’ll report it here.