Vpost? Borderlinx? Comgateway?

laopokcar_g

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just had a poor experience with vpost

delivery came later than promised. online tracking doesnt work. customer service reps were poor and totally unhelpful. sounds like it's outsourced to india and the reps were totally not keen to help. overall it feels like each dept doesn't know what the other dept is doing.

I am switching to comgateway. no wonder vpost keeps offering repeat customers 25% off future deliveries - that's their only hope of customer retention
 

wacko

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I'm curious to your vPost's miscalculation. Because right now I'm puzzled. I bought 3 items from Amazon and use the single packaging option. That means they will put all 3 items into 1 box. When it reached vPost, they then repack the box (for god knows why). This repacking makes the box from 1.9kg to 2.6 kg now. Then vPost then charge me $12 for the repacking.

Seems like a red flag to me. See attached.

http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/4102/4fyn.png[IMG]

Oh and worst part about vPost is their customer service. So I emailed them to ask why is my packaged being repacked, it gained 0.7kg and I'm being charged $12 for this?

See the reply by this Jerna Bustamante :-
[IMG]http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/9576/pbpw.png[IMG][/QUOTE]

[QUOTE="EddyVlad, post: 82198260, member: 55611"]Update. vPost charged me $12 for repacking service and increased the weight of the package but they didn't repack at all. When I got the package, it's still in the Amazon package.
[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/jmsrjlj][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/150x100q90/c/706/srjl.jpg[IMG][/URL][/QUOTE]

1.9kg is the actual weight, your initial volumetric weight of the package should have been more than 3.9kg, hence the repacking. When a forwarder repacks, they will re-use the original box, but cut it in such a way that they can refold it into a smaller dimension. It is not clear from your tiny picture if the box has been "re-sized". Are you absolutely sure Amazon shipped all 3 items in a single box to you?
 

derick87

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UK Address

Hi guys, I am planning to buy something from slendertone.com (UK). Where can I get a free UK address? Only vPost and Borderlinx have free UK address? How about Comgateway?
 

icebabys81

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Just Sharing Guys.....

Enjoy 20% off your shipping rates in January 2014 when you pay for your freight charges within 1st - 31st Jan 2014

Promocode: SHOPUS2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
www.uclick2buy.com (Your Personal Shopping Concierge)
 

BlackLab

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borderlinx is the best and less headache among the rest?

Actually no. I just gave Borderlinx a try after being a longtime vPost user, and I would seriously NOT recommend them.

Seems cheap at first, but a LOT of hidden costs. I know vPost has a few detractors here, but at least with them you always have a rough idea of how much you're gonna pay for your packages once the measurements come in. Base charge + each package's actual/volumetric weight charge, that's it. Anything else like insurance or faster shipping, your choice if you wanna pay for it.

Borderlinx hides behind a lot of jargon in their FAQ without explicitly telling you how much you have to pay and for what purpose.
Even their stupid cost calculator is redundant when they can just give you their actual shipping rates, because it doesn't matter what items or value your package has (things you need to input into the cost calculator), it all ends up the same.
The only thing that matters is the actual/volumetric weight and they refuse to just plainly state that and give the rate anywhere on their site.

I thought I'd give them a try cause I got some 25% discount code, so I signed up for their UOB account (they have different types of accounts, bloody confusing).

Later informed the 25% discount doesn't apply to the UOB-based accounts, only the "main" one, whatever that is. Nowhere is this stated in their terms and conditions for the voucher, and I had to go through their customer service to find out.

Also, a MAJOR drawback if you usually consolidate multiple packages for forwarding, it seems like they calculate the cost of the shipment for purposes of insurance and tax by adding the TOTAL of all packages, i.e. your ENTIRE shipment.

If you're not aware, Singapore charges import tax for packages valued at S$400 or more. Borderlinx adding the value of ALL the packages together naturally increases the odds of you hitting that tax-free limit!

To make matters worse, they charge you mandatory insurance if your packages are valued above US$250, and again, this is determined by the sum of the entire shipment.

As far as I know, vPost calculates this separately, so you can have multiple packages of S$300, S$240, S$100, and you will NOT be charged tax for it, as long as not a single one is over $400, and even if it is, I believe you just pay tax for that one, not the entire shipment.

And insurance is never forced on you by vPost - it's optional and even then, you can choose which packages to insure. Why the hell should I need to pay insurance for a couple of t-shirts unless you're shipping them in plastic bag or something?!

Bloody Borderlinx ended up charging me a lot more than I expected and I would have been better off sticking with vPost. Total rip-offs, never using Borderlinx again.

tl;dr
Be prepared to pay for a lot of hidden costs with Borderlinx, especially if you consolidate multiple packages.
 

lutein

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I've been using VPost USA for my Amazon purchases and so far so good - once you get over their rather idiotic procedures.

For one, I think they've stopped send you delivery slips! You have to guess when your shipment arrives in Singapore, then copy down the VP number and go to your nearest post office to collect!

I now have an issue with VPost Japan. My item has been delivered last week (confirmed by Yamato) but VPost Japan has no record!

I hope it's not because of the address as the one provided by VPost Japan doesn't match the format requested by Amazon Japan. I don't think it should be the problem.

I called VPost to ask. The call centre staff asked for the usual stuff - account number, tracking number etc. She asked me which shipper was used and I told her Yamato. She checked and said Yamato page had no record of the package. I told her I'd check separately, and hung up.

On Yamato JAPAN site, my package was confirmed delivered. I guess VPost checked the Yamato SINGAPORE site???????

I submitted an enquiry via the Singpost website. There is no way of knowing if the enquiry has been received because there is no acknowledgement email!

Last resort was to post on VPost Facebook (since they seem to update quite regularly) and sure enough VPost responded.

But you know what - VPost deletes comments and feedback from its FB Page!!!

What's there to hide? Other than bad customer feedback I guess.

The plot continues. VPost USA generally no issue but VPost Japan hasn't been pleasant so far.
 

Zabiyaki

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Also, a MAJOR drawback if you usually consolidate multiple packages for forwarding, it seems like they calculate the cost of the shipment for purposes of insurance and tax by adding the TOTAL of all packages, i.e. your ENTIRE shipment.

If you're not aware, Singapore charges import tax for packages valued at S$400 or more. Borderlinx adding the value of ALL the packages together naturally increases the odds of you hitting that tax-free limit!

Are you sure about this?By right consolidating should be all packages put into 1.Therefore total value of the single consolidated package is >400 therefore inuring GST

Is vpost allowing you to put all the packages into 1 box, having a value of >$400 and not asking for GST?
 

BlackLab

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Are you sure about this?By right consolidating should be all packages put into 1.Therefore total value of the single consolidated package is >400 therefore inuring GST

Is vpost allowing you to put all the packages into 1 box, having a value of >$400 and not asking for GST?

Yes, I've shipped multiple packages with value exceeding S$400 before in one vPost shipment.
Shipment, not box. (i.e. everything still arrives in their original US packaging)

Their concept of consolidation is not packing everything into a single box, it just means they ship all the packages they've collected at once, saving you on the base fee per shipment.

Do the other freight forwarders actually packeverything into a single box for shipping though?
Still waiting for my Borderlinx shipment, but from their site, it looks like they've also sent out my packages in their individual boxes despite charging me GST for their total value.
 

foo9883

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I know for Ebay, always pay in USD to SGD.
What about Canadian dollar, Euros and Pounds?
 

Zabiyaki

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Do the other freight forwarders actually packeverything into a single box for shipping though?
Still waiting for my Borderlinx shipment, but from their site, it looks like they've also sent out my packages in their individual boxes despite charging me GST for their total value.

I dont quite rmb but i think my CGW one came in 1 box with all the USA boxes untouched inside. Thus it does make sense that GST is incurred, since its 1 shipment
 

dreant

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I know for Ebay, always pay in USD to SGD.
What about Canadian dollar, Euros and Pounds?

Any other currency is always first converted to USD, then to SGD. It's transparent to you, but it's in your CC's T&C and you're effectively hit by their exchange rate spread twice.

Do the other freight forwarders actually packeverything into a single box for shipping though?

Still waiting for my Borderlinx shipment, but from their site, it looks like they've also sent out my packages in their individual boxes despite charging me GST for their total value.

They do not pack everything into a single box; but GST is still chargeable. I can only guess with Singpost as the postal carrier that status perhaps allows their Vpost some latitude.
 
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gwen.t8

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Hi All.

I am confused as this is the 1st time shipping via vpost.

My US order from amazon is SGD$390, I have calculated vpost shipping + fuel + services fees to be ard SGD$130 so total is SGD$520. Does that means I will be charge GST?
 

dreant

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gwen.t8

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dreant;82451702 Vpost FAQ: 5. How do I calculate the Customs GST amount imposed on my online purchases? Protip: Pay Amazon in USD said:
Hi.

Thanks for the quick response.
I pay in USD. I have read the above link before posting here. I even called singpost n they say they will not charge me gst because my order is less than sgd$400 but the above link means order amt + vpost = over $400 will charge gst.

I'm so confused. y cant all online provide international shipping.... :(
 

jgyy1990

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Any other currency is always first converted to USD, then to SGD. It's transparent to you, but it's in your CC's T&C and you're effectively hit by their exchange rate spread twice.



They do not pack everything into a single box; but GST is still chargeable. I can only guess with Singpost as the postal carrier that status perhaps allows their Vpost some latitude.

Didnt know about it thanks
 

BlackLab

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Hi.

Thanks for the quick response.
I pay in USD. I have read the above link before posting here. I even called singpost n they say they will not charge me gst because my order is less than sgd$400 but the above link means order amt + vpost = over $400 will charge gst.

I'm so confused. y cant all online provide international shipping.... :(

Don't worry, you should be safe. GST is charged for the value of the goods (S$390 in your case), before any shipping fees are applied.
 

wacko

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Don't worry, you should be safe. GST is charged for the value of the goods (S$390 in your case), before any shipping fees are applied.

Incorrect.

Charges & payment | vPost

The calculation of the Customs GST is based on the Cost, vCare and Freight (CIF) value of the item plus all duties payable.

Customs GST relief is granted on items (excluding intoxicating liquors and tobacco products) imported by a total value not exceeding S$400.
Where the value exceeds S$400, the entire sum would be subject to Customs GST.

The current Customs GST rate is 7% of CIF.
Total Customs GST Chargeable = 7% on [Cost + Insurance + Freight]
where Cost is the total cost of products in a package / order paid to seller / Merchant that includes the item value, domestic shipping, handling charge etc., while vCare is the cost of purchasing optional insurance from vPost and Freight is vPost shipping charge for that item.
 
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