Aramex global shopper

[Mirai]

Q about FedEx. I recently purchased beads from China. Cost about R1100. Now FedEx wants me to pay R500+ before releasing my package. Is this usual. Customs was definitely not much.

Big name couriers abuse their position and charge big bucks for disbursement. They charge you for having paid the customs/duties for you say 1-2 days ahead of you paying them. It's just profiteering especially the local subsidiary.
If you use MyUS you can ask MyUS to prepay all fees ahead of time and that may work out cheaper. If using Amazon or Pitney Bowes (Ebay) the disbursement fees seem to be less as Amazon/Ebay have negotiated better rates. The local boys don't get to profiteer as much and have to settle on what they get paid by the source courier.

The courier companies should be regulated more for costs by bodies such as the EU Commission and locally. Sadly given DHL is German and EU is German controlled that won't happen in a hurry but all these big name scumbag couriers overcharge you if you are a typical lay low volume end user. Big stores out there have deals sometimes and so the courier charges are way less.

 

[Chilo_92]

Hi,
I want to order something from Lenovo US using AGS. I tried to go through with the order but apparently the address is not in a format that the site understands, is this possible? Perhaps someone has done this previously, I tried to search this thread but I don't get any hits. Unless I should use another method?

 

[Ojcd45]

I think they block addresses of shipping forwarding companies. Same with Dell us.

Use amazon

 

[Gtx Gaming]

I think they block addresses of shipping forwarding companies. Same with Dell us.

Use amazon

Yep most of my trading card shops blocked now

Troll and toad even tells straight its shipping forward address and won't continue .

 

[LeonG]

I bought an old Vuze camera from a US seller on eBay and got it delivered to the Springfield Gardens facility on 31 July 2023. However the package is still not showing up in the 'My Packages' section on the AGS website. How long does the allocation usually take?
I also filled-in the 'Claim Package' section on 1 August and a ticket was opened. It was closed on 2 August with the message: "We have created a case with the origin to allocate the parcel to your account".
Should I be worried?

 

[howardb]

I bought an old Vuze camera from a US seller on eBay and got it delivered to the Springfield Gardens facility on 31 July 2023. However the package is still not showing up in the 'My Packages' section on the AGS website. How long does the allocation usually take?
I also filled-in the 'Claim Package' section on 1 August and a ticket was opened. It was closed on 2 August with the message: "We have created a case with the origin to allocate the parcel to your account".
Should I be worried?

I would log another claim my package with them, given its a week later.

 

[Tinuva]

I bought an old Vuze camera from a US seller on eBay and got it delivered to the Springfield Gardens facility on 31 July 2023. However the package is still not showing up in the 'My Packages' section on the AGS website. How long does the allocation usually take?
I also filled-in the 'Claim Package' section on 1 August and a ticket was opened. It was closed on 2 August with the message: "We have created a case with the origin to allocate the parcel to your account".
Should I be worried?

Does it shows anything when using "Track my package" at the top? using the tracking code provided by ebay seller? Like it could show package received just not assigned to your account yet. Before the claim package box.

 

[LeonG]

I would log another claim my package with them, given its a week later.

I tried another claim package request and a message popped up mentioning that the package was found. The new ticket's category is : "Delay at Origin/ Received but Not Alerted"

 

[RaeesD]

It's been a nightmare with AGS!

Day 14, package stuck @ Aramex Hong Kong. Purchased a mobile phone from AliExpress, shipped to Aramex Hong Kong. They requested MSDS and Battery documents, which the seller gladly provided.
Now they want the seller to stamp a declaration form for shipping to SA, but the seller says that the agent (AGS in this case) should do this.
AGS is adamant that they won't ship until stamped. AGS only communicates once a day via email. Calls are cut and you can never get hold of a being that actually hears and understands. This is SA Post Office level service!!!

Hi Larry, I know it's been over a year, but what was the outcome of this?
I recently ordered a Xiaomi phone from AliExpress and Aramex Hong Kong flagged it as unacceptable. Their unacceptable materials list has for AGS Origins HK "Unknown Brand Mobile Phone, Powder, Animal Supplement, Fake Items", I don't see anything for destination South Africa. I've submitted a request for them to reassess given Xiaomi is a well known brand.

 

[LeonG]

I tried another claim package request and a message popped up mentioning that the package was found. The new ticket's category is : "Delay at Origin/ Received but Not Alerted"

Still in the same status

 

[howardb]

Great news for the US AGS address as it has moved to a tax free state!

Good news.
This does look like it's right next door to the MyUS address I also use!

 

[Ojcd45]

Aramex have bought myus so makes sense

 

[Tinuva]

I tried another claim package request and a message popped up mentioning that the package was found. The new ticket's category is : "Delay at Origin/ Received but Not Alerted"

So I did a claim yesterday for a package that arrived 2 days earlier but didnt show up.
Today received a response that they forwarded request and closed the request.
Anyway, 25min later I get the email package arrived. So seems to work for me.

 

[LeonG]

So I did a claim yesterday for a package that arrived 2 days earlier but didnt show up.
Today received a response that they forwarded request and closed the request.
Anyway, 25min later I get the email package arrived. So seems to work for me.

They eventually got my package allocated after 18 days... I'm not sure how much the Customs Duty fee should be but it felt a bit expensive. I paid it anyway since I didn't want to wait even more.

 

[silkman]

Is Flex worth it for 3-4 packages a year from USA and Hong Kong? I see the annual fee is R1500

 

[RaeesD]

Hi Larry, I know it's been over a year, but what was the outcome of this?
I recently ordered a Xiaomi phone from AliExpress and Aramex Hong Kong flagged it as unacceptable. Their unacceptable materials list has for AGS Origins HK "Unknown Brand Mobile Phone, Powder, Animal Supplement, Fake Items", I don't see anything for destination South Africa. I've submitted a request for them to reassess given Xiaomi is a well known brand.

So as an update on this, (spoilers) I eventually did receive the phone in Cape Town on Friday 25/08.

I contacted a forumite who had a similar experience with a phone stuck in HK, they ended up having to arrange a courier to ship it back to China as HK was not shipping any mobile phones out at the time, and then from there on to SA, a very costly affair. It left me with some hope of a last resort at least.

First I tried disputing the "unacceptable" package with Aramex and their customer support came back on 10/08 saying the package contains a battery and that I need to provide them with "1. Valid 2023 MSDS 2. battery declaration letter 3. detailed invoice with shipper and your information for the Hong Kong hub to check.". I proceeded to request these documents from the Xiaomi Global Store (XGS) via AliExpress chat and they were quite quick to provide it, alas it was for the Xiaomi 13 Pro and not the requested Xiaomi 13 docs, but after pointing it out they eventually sent the correct docs along with extra safe for tranport certificates. In the meantime I was getting quotes from Tiptrans for transporting the phone to SA for me, they advised that only UPS ships mobile phones HK to SA and that it would cost ~R3800 for shipping...

I sent the required docs to Aramex and they came back asking me to complete some other Section II PI lithium battery declaration form. As a guide to others who might need it, fill the form in with the AE store details as the shipper and yourself as the consignee, the form also asks for a company stamp at the bottom which I requested XGS to complete but they refused, so I took a chance and signed the form myself. There were some errors in filling out the form along the way, a lot of back and forth with delays between the local Aramex communicating with HK hub and back.

The email thread reached a count of 21 in the end, but they finally forwarded the package on to SA for a shipping fee of R438, and shortly thereafter I could happily pay the ~24% taxes+duties to SARS.

So that whole debacle was pretty stressful, had I known it would be so frustrating I'd probably have just opted for a locally sourced S23. Anyway, grateful it all ended well

 

[bar1]

I always use the new york address, but been thinking I want to order something from China with free shipping to most places but for some reason they don't ship to south africa.
Maybe I should use the UK?
or another location?
What are you guys using in terms of price and efficiency?

 

[howardb]

I always use the new york address, but been thinking I want to order something from China with free shipping to most places but for some reason they don't ship to south africa.
Maybe I should use the UK?
or another location?
What are you guys using in terms of price and efficiency?

I've never ordered anything from China, but use both the UK and US addresses regularly - I find it more expensive from the UK generally.

 

[sammi01]

I always use the new york address, but been thinking I want to order something from China with free shipping to most places but for some reason they don't ship to south africa.
Maybe I should use the UK?
or another location?
What are you guys using in terms of price and efficiency?

I shipped to Hong Kong once... a few years ago

 

[SteppaZA]

Hi. Has anyone else been experiencing site outages on aramexglobalshopper.com website? the app works, but slow, bu tthe site very often doesnt load on my side. i'm on vumatel and mweb if that helps.