International parcels good news - we hope!

[CAAD4]

Use it often and it's quick and easy. Only problem is, you get nailed for VAT in the country you order from and in SA but if you buying off Ebay etc, it works out nicely.

Let us know how it pans out. I have my eye on one or two timepieces. I found out when I was there a few weeks ago that the tax can differ quite a bit by state.

[Vetplant]

Use it often and it's quick and easy. Only problem is, you get nailed for VAT in the country you order from and in SA but if you buying off Ebay etc, it works out nicely.

This particular part is a vehicle part that I just could not procure locally after 2 months of trying, so my hand was forced, so I am "happy" to pay VAT on both sides as long as I can get this part in my hands.

 

I'll definitely have a look at eBay, especially this coming Black Friday.

[Dave Fair]

Ag nee, was starting to look forward to my Chain Reaction order from 3 weeks back .. reading this tells me to only expect the goods next year!

[Dirkitech]

Last scanned at the departing China airport.

https://track.aftership.com/china-post/RW080640138CN?

 

So it has not been scanned at customs or JIMC yet.

It is in the pile though....

 

Should pop up here when it is scanned.... Until then you will get the outside bounds error...

https://www.postoffice.co.za/contactus/trackandtracedomestic.html

I had an order to collect from sa post office early this week for an item that didn't have updated tracking since it was scanned in in China.  The tracking features seems more like a mental reassurance thing than dependable

 

I am testing the Aramex global shopper currently.

 

Ordered a 0.5kg package from an American website on Wednesday 31 October, it should arrive in New York by Monday, 5 Novermber. This costs R60 shipping.

 

From there Aramex will courier it, process the customs duties themselves and deliver it to my door for R200, plus duties if they are due.

 

I am curious to see how quickly they can do the NY->Pta link given the measly R200 delivery fee....

 

Will keep you guys posted.

 

Disclaimer, delivery fees are heavily dependent on weight, so don't for a moment think you will ship vehicle coil spring cheaply.

It is fairly quick- similar to most international courier options. This is the only way I've been able to get parts for my motorcycle without making use of the local kawasaki agents. The R200 shipping fee is a slap in the face for tiny parts but very nice for big parts. I just wish they'd combine the package and charge R200 with R100 per extra or something, as opposed to R200 flat rates.

[FDP]

I received a letter parcel from Australia this week. Normal mail. It was sent in May.

[Psyrax]

https://www.facebook.com/301961409847508/posts/1999022040141428/

 

The latest news from SAPO.

[travisza]

Mine still hasnt moved from Jet Park (15 Aug) so I won't hold my breath

[Vetplant]

I am testing the Aramex global shopper currently.

 

Ordered a 0.5kg package from an American website on Wednesday 31 October, it should arrive in New York by Monday, 5 Novermber. This costs R60 shipping.

 

From there Aramex will courier it, process the customs duties themselves and deliver it to my door for R200, plus duties if they are due.

 

I am curious to see how quickly they can do the NY->Pta link given the measly R200 delivery fee....

 

Will keep you guys posted.

 

Disclaimer, delivery fees are heavily dependent on weight, so don't for a moment think you will ship vehicle coil spring cheaply.

Arrived in JHB on 9 Nov, got a mail on 11 Nov requesting some docs required by Customs to clear the package.

 

At least the package keeps moving with regular status updates. Will never buy an international package any other way than this. It will be in my hand before a specific Takelot package that I ordered 5 days earlier.

[TheJ]

https://dailykenn.blogspot.com/2018/11/78-million-undelvered-packages-at-post.html

 

Keep a close eye on South Africa. It's a harbinger for America and other Western nations who are being dispossessed by third-world insurgents. 

South Africa has BEE laws that require rigid racist hiring quotas. Content of character and other merit markers, such as intelligence, experience, and training, bear little weight in hiring. The outcome is made evident at South Africa's post office where about 13-million packages remain undelivered.

From salivemag.com ▼ 

A backlog of millions of items still waiting to be delivered at the Johannesburg nerve centre of the Post Office is being cleared as fast as possible.

That’s according to Sapo CEO Mark Barnes.

Barnes says there have been some improvements in clearing the domestic mailing backlog but they still need to catch up with international deliveries, reports 702.co.za

    We started off in April with a 46 million item backlog and we are now down to a 7.8 million backlog.

Mark said.

    We are finding ourselves, 20 years behind, getting into a postal service that is a modern digitised, efficient e-commerce driven world and we are just starting that catch-up.

[Wil6]

Received my last parcel of 6 that was ordered in June. Must say I did not think that the last one was going to pitch up. Nice Christmas bonus

[FootballingCyclist]

Interesting yet not surprising...

[Eddy Gordo]

That's rather funny as most post office branches, especially ones in a mall look extremely modern. However behind the scenes they are probably stuck in the 1800's no sorting machines, everything sorted by hand and delivered on foot.

[Dexter-morgan]

it speaks for its self - JHB mail centre

[WR 1.0]

Finally, package from July showed up. Middle order of 3 during July and most expensive of the lot so all good. Slip was dated as 7 Nov, but I was at the postbox on Friday and it was empty. Still ridiculous!

[TheJ]

That's rather funny as most post office branches, especially ones in a mall look extremely modern. However behind the scenes they are probably stuck in the 1800's no sorting machines, everything sorted by hand and delivered on foot.

 

They need to modernize.

 

[MORNE]

it speaks for its self - JHB mail centre

pretty sure my stuff that got lost 2008 - 2012 is still in there somewhere...

This, or SAPO in general should be the description in the dictionary next to the word "clusterf@ck"