Aramex global shopper

Speaking to Vusi was a frustrating exercise for me to say the least. Promises to call but it never happens. And also it ended up being pricier than I expected.
 
Xiphan said:
Getting it to SA is quick, getting it through customs however is a whole other story...
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I know how you feel. You don't send flurry of emails, your parcel just joins the customs queue and waits it's turn, along with everything else, be it EMS, regular post or seamail.
Customs don't care if you pay for courier, they just plod along as usual. So you have to email Aramex, who get pissed off with customs and finally they do something.

Another thing that works is to keep the value below R400. Sometimes it is actually worth the extra R175 to get two parcels under R400 than one at R800 and have it languish in customs for God knows how long.
 
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Xiphan said:
Getting it to SA is quick, getting it through customs however is a whole other story. Lately, at least for me, my parcels have been getting stuck in customs for days on end. One of my last parcels got stuck in customs as per the following...

...but managed to miraculously clear very quickly after I sent an email asking why it was taking so long. Now the same thing has happened with yet another parcel, but I won't send an email this time. Instead I want to bide my time and see how long they take to clear it without any prompting from me. So far I'm up to 7 days waiting for clearance:
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So your first package took 4 working days to clear and the second has been in for 4 working days as well... And you want to complain about this? Lol. And trust me your emails go straight in the bin, not once person involved in clearing your items has ever seen one of these hurry up emails. 3-5 working days is how long it takes, and there is nothing you can do about it.

Aramex does have issues(Vusi is pathetic and I still haven't got my insurance out of them after weeks) but customs clearance is not one of them.
 
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DeeinSouthAfrica said:
It usually takes 2 working days minimum before you will see movement from NY to JHB. Aramex NY is probably the busiest hub there is, so be patient. If speed is necessary, rather order from a UK supplier and use Aramex London.
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Thx, I feel a bit better now. First time using the service and the hellopeter reviews don't inspire any confidence at all. Then again I guess most of what you see on HP is what went wrong.

It makes sense that they are pretty busy, one hub for a whole country. I'm not too bothered about the speed, but it would be nice to know that they are actually busy processing it. I bought a safety razor (a hobby of mine) which isn't available over here and I have the feeling they might not ship it as they might classify it under knives, which it clearly isn't. Anyway, I'll have to wait and see if it works out.
 
Xiphan, unfortunately it seems like the only way to get decent service is to be on their case. Although, to a degree they don't really have control over customs. Things seem to get sorted pretty quickly once people post on HelloPeter. It's a shame really that they can't always offer good service without one having to complain like that.
 
I've read on other reviews that some people got a surprise from customs costs. It seems like it depends on what mood the customs officials are in.
 
MrJacques said:
I've read on other reviews that some people got a surprise from customs costs. It seems like it depends on what mood the customs officials are in.
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Research is the key. Take it as read that customs will be at minimum 25% and then 14% VAT, and be pleasantly surprised if it's less than that.
Remember that all luxury goods like cellphones attract an immediate 15% mark up (as far as I can recall), and then duty and vat is added, so be aware of this before ordering that sweet S7 on eBay.
 
Only used Aramex once, via the NY hub. Customs clearance was 2 days, the whole process from NY right to my door in CTN, was every so slightly less than 2 weeks, at 12 days (including weekend days).

So all in all, was a great experience vs SAPO, and I didn't email them once in those 2 weeks, just let it be, other than doing the payments.
 
Tinuva said:
Only used Aramex once, via the NY hub. Customs clearance was 2 days, the whole process from NY right to my door in CTN, was every so slightly less than 2 weeks, at 12 days (including weekend days).

So all in all, was a great experience vs SAPO, and I didn't email them once in those 2 weeks, just let it be, other than doing the payments.
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Exactly the same for me. Ordered 29 June from Hong Kong via New York, Aramex out for delivery in Parow Cape Town today.
I have used Aramex about 10 times so far, using mainly Aramex NY, but also Singapore, Hong Kong, London, and Germany.
Always upload invoice first thing, as this streamlines the whole process.
 
Ho3n3r said:
:wtf:
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I use and collect these old razors. It's not as bad as it sounds, not really dangerous at all. They give me much less ingrown hairs and it's fun shaving the old school way with a brush, etc.
 
DeeinSouthAfrica said:
Yay for us FNB people!
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:D

Very lucky indeed.

Just a question: anyone else unable to see the tracking on their parcel? With my previous shipment, I wasn't able to track it via the website itself, but clicking on the link in the email gave me a result - as it was a different URL.

Now, both are the same URL and both are blank.

Anyone seen this before?
 
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