Vpost? Borderlinx? Comgateway?

kayden

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hey guys,
i will be going to the states pretty soon for my studies, and i was wondering if there will be a demand for personalized one-to-one shipping services since services like vpost, borderlinx and comgateway already exists? By personalized, it means you'll deal directly with me to get your shipments over.
however, how do you think payments can be done and if there is sufficient margin for profit (i.e. how much are you willing to pay for personal services as such?).
feedback and suggestions will be extremely appreciated! ultimately, i hope to provide some kinda service that people do want, so i hope to hear from you guys. thanks!
 

wacko

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hey guys,
i will be going to the states pretty soon for my studies, and i was wondering if there will be a demand for personalized one-to-one shipping services since services like vpost, borderlinx and comgateway already exists? By personalized, it means you'll deal directly with me to get your shipments over.
however, how do you think payments can be done and if there is sufficient margin for profit (i.e. how much are you willing to pay for personal services as such?).
feedback and suggestions will be extremely appreciated! ultimately, i hope to provide some kinda service that people do want, so i hope to hear from you guys. thanks!
I think you will be hardpressed to be able to provide the same cost that the big name shippers are able to, with the same kind of courier service (DHL). Go do a quick rates check on DHL website.
 

touchme

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hey guys,
i will be going to the states pretty soon for my studies, and i was wondering if there will be a demand for personalized one-to-one shipping services since services like vpost, borderlinx and comgateway already exists? By personalized, it means you'll deal directly with me to get your shipments over.
however, how do you think payments can be done and if there is sufficient margin for profit (i.e. how much are you willing to pay for personal services as such?).
feedback and suggestions will be extremely appreciated! ultimately, i hope to provide some kinda service that people do want, so i hope to hear from you guys. thanks!

For a start, what u can do, is Buy4Me or Concierge Services, and still rely on vpost, cgw.. Your us-sg postal services may not be competitive for small ops, moreover are u prepared to handle import illegal sabotage pdts?

Currently most sites still do not accept Sg ccard or SG paypal, Buy4Me services are too slow, 2-3 days to cfm, 2-3 days to buy, another 2-3 days to complete..which is a hassle. Moreover, most sales are 1-3 days limited.
Also some sale are not available online, only pickup at nearest store.
So running a buy4me service will be unique (not many ppl doing), and earn you some allowance from 5% sale amt, or exchange commission. I dun hv a US relative/frd, neither will i bother them to ship/bring over, for small $10-20 sg shipping, so I will be a subscriber to you.

How you build the trust part, I leave it to you.
But I reckon, using sb local to run yr US credit card, will be more feasible.
 
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afrovillain

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hey guys,
i will be going to the states pretty soon for my studies, and i was wondering if there will be a demand for personalized one-to-one shipping services since services like vpost, borderlinx and comgateway already exists? By personalized, it means you'll deal directly with me to get your shipments over.
however, how do you think payments can be done and if there is sufficient margin for profit (i.e. how much are you willing to pay for personal services as such?).
feedback and suggestions will be extremely appreciated! ultimately, i hope to provide some kinda service that people do want, so i hope to hear from you guys. thanks!

Maybe the best you can do is like doing MO and taking orders from people. That way you can take abit of profit cos and will not be tempted to jake up shipping prices just to earn some profit.
 

Trivolve

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eh i ask a dumb question here... if i wanna escape custom GST 7%, when i send invoice to vPOST can i edit the price until <S$400? Will they check or smtg?
 

jazdrive

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eh i ask a dumb question here... if i wanna escape custom GST 7%, when i send invoice to vPOST can i edit the price until <S$400? Will they check or smtg?

Asking to evade tax in a public forum?

Amazing..
 

touchme

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Asking to evade tax in a public forum?
Amazing..
relag lah, at least he know how to keng..unlike many..enlighten some.
just intend, no din commit, din endanger lives..liddat oso repork again meh?
get caught, let him learn a lesson, where he went wrong makes him a smarter man.

eh i ask a dumb question here... if i wanna escape custom GST 7%, when i send invoice to vPOST can i edit the price until <S$400? Will they check or smtg?
Not dumb qn, but dumb to ask here..

Think abt how they work with the info/docs/goods u provided.
Think abt 1,000 pkgs, 5000 unmatched invoices a day..2,000 pigeon holes, 3 men working with report printouts, paper, computer or tablet.
Analyse which co.'s system is inefficient/loophole/foolproof, , and u will get the answer.
Then think about the consequences of 2-3 charges, tampering with an official receipt, attempt to evade taxes, measure the risks, then u decide.
 

Trivolve

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well i saw somewhere in the thread someone say that ebay buyers tend to underdeclare value also.. .haha. was just wondering.
 

ipadxcell

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My friends shipment was overcharged by Borderlinx yesterday.
Luckily he was buying the same thing from Amazon so he knew the weight and box dimension. Boderlinx over estimated the weight by 600g!!! He requested for a recheck and final weight was correct with his estimation.

There was no apology from the email and even query from the Livechat came to NO explanation from Borderlinx. So this is how they inflate the charges. So beware.
 
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wacko

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My friends shipment was overcharged by Borderlinx yesterday.
Luckily he was buying the same thing from Amazon so he knew the weight and box dimension. Boderlinx over estimated the weight by 600g!!! He requested for a recheck and final weight was correct with his estimation.

There was no apology from the email and even query from the Livechat came to NO explanation from Borderlinx. So this is how they inflate the charges. So beware.
what's the total weight of that item?
 

user_manutd

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Helped a friend buy a cosmetic pouch from ebags since Im gonna ship other things back to sg uisng CGW anw.
Actual weight of the package was 1.96kg, but im being charged 13kg, THIRTEEN freaking kg for the volumetric weight.

I dont know if its because ebags packed using such a large box.. but reverse calculation suggests that the box is at least 40cmx40cmx40cm large. Which is horrendously big for a cosmetic pouch. Come on, we all know how small and light a cosmetic pouch is.

Worse thing is.. I wasnt given a repacking option.

I talked to their live chat CSO suspecting that the dimensions might be incorrectly measured, but I was told this:

Garcia : [11:50:34]- yes please hold.
Garcia : [11:50:41]- just to let you know Garcia : [11:50:45]- CGW measurement and weighing are done "electronically" and not manually. Our Portland office has installed a "Mettle Teledo" scanning system and its accuracy has been certified by the USA Weighing and Measurement Department. With the acceptance of our T&C by a customer, weight measured in Gateway Express Inc is taken as final. The discrepancies mentioned against merchants standard box size are largely due to handling where boxes may be slightly compressed hence bulge the original box sizing.

I am damn sian.
 

touchme

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@user_manutd, these branded boutique definitely give big box one for its grandess..Recently with polo ralph shoes, as usual I stressed 'Compactship, w/o box, foams and airbags' arrived the same, but not as bad as i feared. Next time, must tell merchant CSO to take and email me b4 shipping to couriers.

As for over-measuring, i noticed CGW & BLX very freq, after using them a few times , plus round up to the next 0.5 kg. That;s why I use vpost nowadays, since the service has improved much. The wgt & vol. measurement is as per pkg.

Thou per weight charge is higher, it's pro-rated, and no GST restrictions on total shipment. But insurance is horrenous, $18 per item (regardless price). In the end, w/o insurance, works out cheaper, faster and better.
 
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ownmemoneyty

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Is there something like CGW or VPOST for purchasing of things here(singapore) and send it to US?

I want to send my headphones back for repair but all the shipping seems so ex just for a small headphone ($100++) so maybe a site like this would work. Anyone have any idea?
 

touchme

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Is there something like CGW or VPOST for purchasing of things here(singapore) and send it to US?

I want to send my headphones back for repair but all the shipping seems so ex just for a small headphone ($100++) so maybe a site like this would work. Anyone have any idea?
Just use singpost flat rate shipping there, $20 1week reach. Pay service center to economy ship to vpost/cgw with rma note. How to pay them will be a headache
 
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tekster

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@user_manutd, these branded boutique definitely give big box one for its grandess..Recently with polo ralph shoes, as usual I stressed 'Compactship, w/o box, foams and airbags' arrived the same, but not as bad as i feared. Next time, must tell merchant CSO to take and email me b4 shipping to couriers.

As for over-measuring, i noticed CGW & BLX very freq, after using them a few times , plus round up to the next 0.5 kg. That;s why I use vpost nowadays, since the service has improved much. The wgt & vol. measurement is as per pkg.

Thou per weight charge is higher, it's pro-rated, and no GST restrictions on total shipment. But insurance is horrenous, $18 per item (regardless price). In the end, w/o insurance, works out cheaper, faster and better.


so you're saying vpost now is by actual weight and not by volumetric weight?
 

wacko

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@user_manutd, these branded boutique definitely give big box one for its grandess..Recently with polo ralph shoes, as usual I stressed 'Compactship, w/o box, foams and airbags' arrived the same, but not as bad as i feared. Next time, must tell merchant CSO to take and email me b4 shipping to couriers.

As for over-measuring, i noticed CGW & BLX very freq, after using them a few times , plus round up to the next 0.5 kg. That;s why I use vpost nowadays, since the service has improved much. The wgt & vol. measurement is as per pkg.

Thou per weight charge is higher, it's pro-rated, and no GST restrictions on total shipment. But insurance is horrenous, $18 per item (regardless price). In the end, w/o insurance, works out cheaper, faster and better.
vPOST is faster? serious?
 

wacko

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so you're saying vpost now is by actual weight and not by volumetric weight?
nope, it's still by the higher of actual or volumetric weight, just that there is no rounding up like BDL/CGW.
 

touchme

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so you're saying vpost now is by actual weight and not by volumetric weight?
vPOST is faster? serious?
nope, it's still by the higher of actual or volumetric weight, just that there is no rounding up like BDL/CGW.

yup, vpost pro-rated, but per kg rate is abt S$1 higher, but insurance too ex-.
Take a 1.02 kg US$200 item .
CGW (1.5kg) = US11 (free 0.5kg) + 2x US$2.85 + 15% fuel surcharge($1.70) + $1.50 ins= US$20 = S$25
vPost (1 kg) = S$13.40 + 7.20 + 1.80 (f/s) = S$22.40 w/o ins ($18)
BLX = abt. vpost rate+ round-up to next 0.5 kg+ 7% domestic tax = no talk

However, if pkg is 1.4kg, 1.9 kg, cgw may be slightly less (do yr maths).
But given their constant over-rating may be disadvantageous, unless it's ex- item and ins.totally impt.

vpost gst is on per-item/inv basis. cgw is gst on consolidated shipment CIF.
< S$400 combined, siam gst, really buy nothing.

Rule of the game: many items = vpost, 1-3 ex- items (need ins)=cgw
For me, convenience = vpost, afterall vpost, has more ccard promo 10-20% off. CGW once a while, regulars' benefits negligible.

Also vpost ships the item to sg first, even b4 u pay, i.e once u consolidate payment, yr firstly sg-arrived, delivered to u within 2 days. inv update and matching times & trans-shipping abt the same for both, 2-3 days.
Overall, per item us-delivered to sg door-delivery same now, 7-9 days.

Support local, ailing and recovery company.
 

PCI_Slot

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Somehow I tried to use my POSB GO! Debit Master Card and it says invalid number... The dont accept certain Mastercards?
 

touchme

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Somehow I tried to use my POSB GO! Debit Master Card and it says invalid number... The dont accept certain Mastercards?
prolly..only ccard, in this case, use bro/frd's any ccards, dep. on avaialble promos. also got discount, not necessary in same name as addressee in us address. (as far as vpost is concerned)
 
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