IRISH shoppers will now be able to bypass British and US delivery restrictions thanks to a new An Post service.
On Monday, An Post announced details of AddressPal, an online service which allows Irish customers to buy from websites that do not usually allow delivery to Ireland.
It does this by offering a ‘proxy’ address to the user which makes it appear as if they are purchasing from the website’s country of origin.
With both British and US proxy addresses provided, AddressPal customers can arrange for their international shipping to come via either country.
The British service offers delivery straight to the home or a nominated Post Office, while AddressPal USA accommodates delivery to home addresses.
According to An Post’s own research, more than 57 per cent of Irish shoppers have encountered issues with expensive international shipping costs when ordering online for delivery to Ireland.
Commenting on both the findings and the launch of AddressPal, Garrett Bridgeman, General Manager of Parcels at An Post, said: “We’re breaking down the barriers and making online shopping easier and cheaper for Irish consumers.
“In the past, options were too often limited by expensive shipping costs and the failure of international e-retailers to ship goods to Ireland and this research clearly shows the frustration of customers.
“AddressPal from An Post solves all these problems, with reliability and peace-of-mind guaranteed.”
He added; “The continual improvement of An Post Parcel services means that we are best placed to provide a delivery solution to Irish shoppers online.
“AddressPal resolves delivery headaches for consumers by availing of a UK and USA address that can be used as a postal address for the delivery of UK and USA online orders.”
The cost of shipping varies depending on the weight of the delivery.
The service charges for AddressPal can be seen below:
AddressPal UK Tracked Home/Local Post Office Delivery
0-2KG: €5.99
2-5KG: €6.99
5-10KG: €8.99
10-15KG: €9.99
15-20KG: €12.99
AddressPal (UK Only) Post Office Collection
0-20KG: €3.75
Oversize: €25
AddressPal USA Tracked Home Delivery
0-2KG: €15.99
2-5KG: €20.99
5-10KG: €29.99
10-15KG: €41.99
15-20KG: €53.99