Cuzin, Fasbu and Matesfreight are just three of many companies using unique approaches to help Australians not only purchase the goods they want, but get it shipped back home in a cost effective manner.

Cuzin, founded by Shaun Greenblo, and so named because he kept asking his cousin in the US to buy him cheap trainers and send them to Australia, uses a social community to help buy whatever you want in the US.

"We have established a community-based marketplace where we have 'wanters' and 'getters'," Greenblo says. "Let's say you want to buy a Prada handbag in New York, well you post that online as a wanter, and then someone in the US may be walking past a retail shop in New York where Prada handbags are on sale for one day at 50 per cent off, they are the getter.

"The wanter then agrees a tip to pay the getter and the shipping and handling fee, along with our small commission, is included in the final price.

"This way you know a real person is buying the goods for you, whether it is from a bricks and mortar store or from a US retail outlet that won't ship to Australia, and you get to rate them on their performance. By adding a social element to the platform, we are connecting people who are wanting to help you get the items that you love."

Cuzin transactions are all done through PayPal and they use FedEx among other reliable courier companies.

The company, backed by Lance Kalish and Ido Leffler, raised $200,000 this year but are planning to expand throughout the US next year, and will be seeking further capital.

"The long-time goal is to become a global player and expand our services accordingly," Greenblo says. "The goal was to create a much better experience than existing 'freight forwarder' services which are cumbersome, expensive, don't solve the credit card issue and only work for online retailers."

An IBISWorld Report, Online Shopping in Australia, released in January 2014, states that Australians will spend $12.4 billion shopping in 2013-14, with the figure expected to grow at an annualised rate of 9.9 per cent for the next five years peaking at $19.8 billion in 2018-19.

The same report says that while domestic retail online shopping grew 28 per cent in Australia in 2013-14, international online shopping rose 25 per cent  during the same time period.

Online payments gateway, eWAY, predicted that Australians would spend $1.5 billion in online shopping in December 2014 alone.

Australian Matt Canham started Fasbu in 2014, which is basically a freight forwarding service.

"To me, it's a very simple concept," Canham says. "A person orders something in the US and the service is to forward it the same day it is received.

Canham, who has lived and worked in the US on and off since 2002 and is familiar with the sea freight and LCL (less than container load) shipments, started the company after reading internet forums about customer dis-satisfaction about freight forwarding from the US.

"There is strong demand for this type of service," he says. "We predict a steady rise to 1000 customers by the end of the first quarter of 2015, then a fast expansion once we expand our warehouses."

Fasbu has also started an international shipping service.

"I've shipped items to Taiwan, Lebanon, Japan, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia among others," he says. "We're happy to ship any item, anywhere, with the obvious exception of anything illegal, hazardous or on a banned list of items for that country.

"We are also developing an app with our own tracking system, so the buyer can easily see the progress of their package."

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/small-business/entrepreneur/easy-ways-to-get-gear-from-the-us-20150105-12acht.html#ixzz3O0HLFWcE