MANILA, Philippines – E-commerce giant Amazon is offering free international shipping to the Philippines.

Prior to the promo, buyers were already able to have products shipped to the Philippines but often with high shipping costs that deterred some buyers.

There is a minimum price threshold of $49 US to qualify for the free shipping. Not all items are eligible for free shipping, and eligible items will be marked with “FREE Shipping to Philippines” or “Your order qualifies for FREE Shipping” throughout your shopping journey. The order does not have to be a single item worth $49, and can be multiple items amounting to or going over the threshold.

“Once you have a cart with eligible items and meet or exceed the promotion threshold, you will see the Free Shipping option at checkout,” Amazon said.

Import fees will still be included, the policy for which can be found here. Import fees, where applicable, will also not count towards the $49 threshold.

It’s unclear whether the international free shipping to the Philippines is permanent. Amazon refers to it as a “promotion” and says, “Amazon reserves the right to modify this promotion at any time.” Other countries and regions with such a promotion include Hong Kong, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Colombia, Chile, and Taiwan.

Among the first to spot the change is Facebook user Kyara Labrador, who provided instructions in a September 29 post to set delivery address to the Philippines, which will have the site redirect the user to the free shipping to Philippines landing page.

The free shipping promotion comes amid an e-commerce site, Shopee, receiving headlines over its announcement of a new endorser, Toni Gonzaga, whose ardent support for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had repelled those opposing the Marcos campaign during the election period, and current administration. – Rappler.com