Venom Maker
Well-Known Member
Aramex
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Question of the Day: How do you normally pay for purchases in stores?
Gearbest.com - Any good?
- Thread starter That_JC
- Start date
Either way it's damn slow. If you go to sapo and send a parcel overseas it should arrive within 2-3 weeks. Not even via boat should it take that long...slow boat to china
What went wrong? Do you have a tracking history to see where the delays were?
Inevitability
Expert Member
In my experience with tracking my parcels, they will always disappear for a while after they leave the origin country (Turkey, Netherlands, Sweden ... depending which postal service is used).Either way it's damn slow. If you go to sapo and send a parcel overseas it should arrive within 2-3 weeks. Not even via boat should it take that long...slow boat to china
Then 2 weeks later they show up as being scanned at "Incoming International" or "JIMS".
Then another 2 or 3 weeks stuck there.
If it goes to Customs, add another 2 weeks extra.
Then the next update will say "WITSPOS" (cos I'm in Jhb), and maybe 1 week later at my local Post Office
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Include your ID number as well.
They should have contacted you before the item arrived in the country to get all the details & pay the fees which expedites the process. That's what dhl did & I think it cleared customs within 2hrs. Must have different procedures in place.
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Called Aramex and spoke to a lovely lady. Had my details on the system from the tracking nr and then asked for my ID number and email address. Asked me to please give SA Customs 2 working days to clear the package and then she will email me the duties invoice which I need to pay.
So far so good...
(Thanks to Kavir <GearbestZA> for the direct number)
So far so good...
(Thanks to Kavir <GearbestZA> for the direct number)
These guys seem to operate differently to dhl which does everything in advance, wonder why?
Soprono
Expert Member
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Different strokes
It's the same amount of work though, so whether you sort all the admin out before the package arrives or after it arrives won't really affect the operational costs from what I can tell.
There is also time. Faster service costs more because of more people required to deliver the service. Aramex takes it easy and allows the package to come to them from Customs. I would imagine DHL chases and pushes and also preempts the custom process, hence you were invoiced before it landed IIRC.
The package does not actually physically go to and come back from customs, it's held in a holding facility with the courier, if customs decides to do a spot check they will send officials to go and do an inspection.
ZAGadgetReviews
Senior Member
You are correct. Package never actually goes through customs but the paperwork has to be done to get the package cleared. And customs do seem to be a little delayed as most packages are taking 2-3 days before they give feedback while it used to be same day last year. Think they are still catching up.
Do note that DHL has confirmed that all packages will be charged customs. They also used to do the under R500 free customs but changes in last year. They refused to even admit that it used to be like that but never used to pay customs. Now they charge every package and also charge their ridiculous R150.00 service fee to do clearance. Pretty much means that every package will cost an extra R150 minimum with DHL. I rather use Aramex who don't rip me off. DHL also costs 2-3 times the cost to ship to SA on most packages. They are faster but is it worth it?
They can do the documentation & payments before the package arrives in the country which will help with speeding things up.
Yes they charge R150 and if you import regularly I can see this being an issue.
If gearbest had stock of the phone I wanted Aramex shipping would have been R130, DHL was ~R400 from Tinydeal. On a cheap item I would not use DHL but when the value of an item is over R2k I don't think paying R270 more for shipping is that bad for the speed & piece of mind. So yes in this particular case it was worth it.
Wrt DHL pricing, I noticed Gearbest DHL pricing is double of Tinydeal DHL pricing so they are either getting worse rates or padding the DHL prices. If I had to order from Gearbest I would probably not opt for DHL either seeing as how much they charge you for that option...
The only problem though is Aramex is having issues delivering packages. Either lost or some other problem arises. Its not smooth sailing like how it is with DHL
I think if they sorted aramex, it would be great
I think if they sorted aramex, it would be great
ScottulusMaximus
Honorary Master
Gearbest.com - Any good?
TLDR: No
3 weeks to dispatch. To deliver to Hong Kong, from Hong Kong, the package went via Singapore, and just wait till the Chinese holidays start in 2 weeks...
TLDR: No
3 weeks to dispatch. To deliver to Hong Kong, from Hong Kong, the package went via Singapore, and just wait till the Chinese holidays start in 2 weeks...
Amarex charged no service fee or tax on my low value parcel
ZAGadgetReviews
Senior Member
Postal code is an issue right now but GearBest is working on a long term solution with a new shipping company to resolve the issue. I normally suggest that people PM me and I can advise.
Last order of mine took 10 days to arrive to me from date of order. Not all items are in stock and depends when stock can be arranged. It is not the quickest but the cheapest I have seen thus far. I am sure there are cheaper shipping methods but am not aware of them.
ScottulusMaximus
Honorary Master
Nothing to do with postal codes, I didn't even ship to SA. Expecting decent service from a Chinese seller is just an exercise in frustration. Gearbest was quite good but has fallen into the usual habits, slow dispatch, slow transit times and little to no customer service.