Alright, so this was a really exciting pitch. 200 stores to 34 countries is ambitious enough, so we decided to give it a spin.
DHL Africa eShop Review: How It Works
When you click on the Checkout button (of the extension), you’ll be redirected to DHL eShop’s website. Here, you will be required to register and log in. I really didn’t like the login experience. DHL eShop asks for your username/email, password, and secret. I find either the secret or password field redundant as either should serve the purpose of authentication. Once you are past the registration/login stage, the platform automatically calculates your shipping rate, Taxes & Duties, and processing fee. These are added to the total checkout amount of products in your cart.
Shipping costs
DHL eShop is opaque on their shipping rates. They say shipping fees vary based on an algorithm on size, weight, and volumetric dimensions. But according to my estimate, it’s between $8-20 per kg which, trust me, is quite fair. DHL is able to make savings from economies of scale being a logistics company first and foremost.
Taxes & Duties
When I probed them about this variation, DHL said; Electronics and luxury goods tend to attract higher taxes. These are determined at checkout. One thing note here is that for Ugandan residents (and possibly other countries), you must provide your Tax TIN from URA. Without it, you can’t checkout on DHL eShop. DHL says they use it to pay customs tax on your behalf without which you can’t import goods. So that’s an important caveat right there. Luckily for me, I already had one (it’s free to get one).
Payment methods
Finally, we come to payment methods. DHL eShop supports Visa/Mastercard credit and debit cards combo plus Paypal at checkout. No Mobile Money or Cash on Delivery is allowed. So you must use your Visa-enabled credit/debit at checkout. All Payments are made to Mall for the World.
Order Tracking
One nice thing you will get from DHL eShop is order tracking. You’ll get email notifications about the status of your order from when it’s shipped from the store to when it’s arrived in your country. You can also get order tracking if you install the mobile app.
Delivery
Dhl eShop has the option of delivering to your physical address (if you have one) or you can simply pick up from their HQ in your country. For Ugandan residents, you can pick up from their HQ at Lugogo bypass although they have several other pickup locations to choose from. There are no extra charges for in-country delivery as far as I know.
Summing It All Up
DHL eShop is surely a good option if you are looking to buy products from online stores that don’t directly support shipping to the above mentioned African countries. All you need is a Mastercard or Visa-enabled payment card with cash on it. In some countries (like Uganda), you will be required to provide a TIN number. Last time I checked though, this doesn’t seem to be a requirement anymore! Costs of shipping are fair enough but Customs/Taxes might bite you real hard for premium products that require utmost care and handling during shipping — Laptops, Smart TVs, Smartphones, etc. So get started today by following this link.
