Get anything from abroad.

HELB is a peer-to-peer marketplace that connects shoppers with travellers who can bring overseas items to them. Instead of paying expensive international shipping, shoppers request items from travellers already visiting that country. The platform is commonly used to access products from places like Japan and Korea that may not be easily available locally.

A shopper posts a request for an overseas item they want. Travellers who are visiting that country can accept the request and agree to bring the item back during their trip. After the traveller purchases the item, it is delivered to the shopper when the traveller returns. Transactions are secure and escrowed until the item is delivered.

International shipping can be expensive, slow, and sometimes unavailable for certain products. HELB offers an alternative by allowing travellers who are already visiting a country to bring items back for shoppers. This can reduce shipping costs and make it easier to access products that are difficult to purchase internationally.

Proxy buying services and freight forwards can only get items from online stores and sometimes charge a much higher fee. HELB works differently. Instead of relying on international shipping networks, travellers who are already visiting that country bring the item back for the shopper, making it easier to obtain products that are difficult to ship internationally, only available in physical stores, or more expensive to deliver through traditional logistics channels.

Shoppers commonly use HELB to request products that are easier to find, cheaper or time-limited in other countries. Examples include Japanese snacks, Korean skincare, anime merchandise, streetwear, and limited-edition items that may only be available locally.

HELB is designed to provide safeguards for both shoppers and travellers on the platform. Payments are made through the platform and held securely until the item has been delivered, helping protect both sides of the transaction. HELB has around 800+ users with over SGD 1.4k transacted on the platform. HELB is also currently supported by initiatives from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and BLOCK71, which support early-stage startups and entrepreneurship.