Everyone says that a summer body is made in winter, or something along those lines.

That’s why we’re saying well done on buying that Fitbit, or whatever other brand of fitness tracker the kids are rocking these days. Now you can remind all the lazies on Facebook that you just crushed seven kilometres on a Wednesday (in less than 40 minutes nogal), as well as your calorie count and those other handy features.

But then one day it all comes crashing down – your Fitbit decides to stop working. Heartbreak, but you can just take it in for a repair or get a replacement if you’re under warranty.

You head to their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to make sure:

Yeah you’re good on that one year bit, so what’s the big problem? Well, you’ll have to send that off to their offices over yonder in the United States and wait for them to ship back to you.

Still not a biggy, but you think you’ll email and check. This is exactly what happened to one of our readers, who was then sent this in return:

Hi [name redacted],

Thank you for getting back to us and for providing us more information.

Upon checking our system, we are glad to let you know that we have confirmed that your Charge is still within warranty.

In line with this, we’d love to proceed in providing you with a Charge replacement. But please note that our webstore currently only supports shipment within the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and anywhere within the mainland of the European Union.

If possible, we would be happy to ship the device to an alternate address. The package could then be forwarded on to you. If you have someone available in any of the countries above, please provide us with their information.

So hang on a second – they’ll fix it up, or provide you with a new one, but they won’t ship it back here to SA?

We think this is bollocks, which is why we asked the guys at Postbox Courier if they could help. Turns out they could, because they hooked our Fitbit friend up with an address in the U.S. that Fitbit could send to, and then ferried the replacement right back to S.A. no problem.

The only cost incurred – $35 (about R500), which is sure as heck a whole lot cheaper than hassling overseas friends to handle your mess and then putting them up for a week when they visit these shores.

The point is that we’re stuck down here on the tip of Africa and we like it, but many big brands have yet to pull their weight when it comes to shipping. You can shout from the rooftops about it, or you can let Postbox Courier handle it all and be lekker.

Your call, of course.

SO, ONE MORE TIME – HOW DO I ORDER PRODUCTS FROM OVERSEAS THAT DON’T SHIP TO SA?

You’ll be pleased to know the owners of Postbox Courier are South African. You’re in very safe hands, because you know they’re looking out for you.

I GET IT – TELL ME WHAT TO DO NEXT

Postbox Courier is reliable, quick and easy to use – just follow their simple steps:

1. Sign Up
   Register free of charge with Postbox Courier via their website. They will assign you with a Personal Postbox at each of our worldwide depots. Look out for the confirmation email which provides a link to activate your account.
2. Sign In
   Once you have activated your account, you will be able to login to view your unique Postbox addresses, by clicking the “View your Personal Postbox addresses” banner. Your addresses are permanent, so you can save them and start sending items to your Postbox!
3. Notify us of incoming items
   Each time you send something to Postbox Courier, please notify them via the Parcel Pre-Alert (in your Parcel Manager).
4. Manage your orders
   You can ship single items or multiple pieces combined into a single shipment. If you do wish to consolidate orders from different suppliers (in the same origin country), you will be able to do so in your Parcel Manager. Just notify them of each shipment that is en-route to your Postbox, and then use the ‘Group’ button to let them know which items you wish to combine.
5. Pay for shipping
   Once they receive the items that correspond with your booking they’ll let you know via email and invite you to login to your Parcel Manager and make payment, upon which they will courier your items to your door within South Africa immediately.

It’s too easy.