Shipping to Singapore thread - options and tips, read this before you order

[jeffong]

Comgateway can be a good alternative site as they charge all their disc shipping by weight unlike Vpost which charge by discs.  In addition, they also offer 4% Amazon rebate instead of the 3% for Vpost Toolbar and they provide free insurance if you sign up with them using your HSBC card. 
BUT... 
their processes are damm cock up and not transparent at all.  The information that they keep on your orders are inadequate and info such as final shipping charges and the payment status are not kept online unlike Vpost.  In addition, they rely almost exclusively on the online chat mechanism to communicate with you.  Sending them emails is like sending them to hell without any replies and there's no way to contact them by phone.  Your only recourse is to march down to their Singapore office and bang tables if required.  Further more, if your disc orders gets broken up into multiple shipments, you are almost certainly screwed if you have already used their system to split them once.  Worse still, your past conversations with other Call Centre personnel doesn't seemed to be tracked and you usually end up telling the whole grandmother story again.

Hence, proceed to use them with your eyes wide open and prepared to take out that bazooka of yours and use it when things screw up.  I am currently in the midst of a delivery charge dispute with their invisible Finance dept which takes forever to sort out their accounts.

[armoury]

Yap..DVDSOON.COM.. me got burn too.. lost $200++ worth of dvds. Never get back any $$. By the time i try to do chargeback, the period to do it is over.....

In my case (and my friend) it was Total Action Universe.

From the complaints about Comgateway, it seems to me that, for me at least, I'll just continue ordering from Amazon with shipment direct to me, and use Comgateway only for the odd items that are from retailers that don't ship overseas.

[DizzyD]

Yap..DVDSOON.COM.. me got burn too.. lost $200++ worth of dvds. Never get back any $$. By the time i try to do chargeback, the period to do it is over.....

What about the infamous TotalActionUniverse fiasco that most of us DVD collectors got burnt in 2001 - 2002 period?

Anyway I have high recommendations for ipsparcel.com..There service is efficient and fast. My 20lbs shipment of A35 and 20 Blu Rays cost me USD 200 from Florida to HK and arrives in 4 days..Should be faster if not for Christmas.

[zapp]

ordered Harry Potter 1-4, selected super saver shipping from amazon to vpostusa, was charged 23.96 for VPOST charges after rebates. Amazon was charging about 30SGD for direct shipping lol...i think i shld have just used amazon direct zzz

[petetherock]

Amazon is about service, speed and safety
If a disc goes lost, they give you another
If it is spoilt, again the same
vpost also means a date with the MDA
So your choice, cheap cheap or the above.


Also the recent BOGOFs have led to a surfeit of orders and the holiday period means there are delays, so its natural.

[petetherock]

If you have an issue with vpost, let them know and let us know, the more people voice their issues the more likely they have to improve. I have been using amazon direct or shipping to my friends in USA instead. You save pennies and end up with more agony, your choice.

[Darthfunk]

ordered Harry Potter 1-4, selected super saver shipping from amazon to vpostusa, was charged 23.96 for VPOST charges after rebates. Amazon was charging about 30SGD for direct shipping lol...i think i shld have just used amazon direct zzz

Agree with you, for future orders i'll be back to using Amazon direct shipping since the savings are so negligeable. Time vs Money vs Agony!

[armoury]

From the complaints about Comgateway, it seems to me that, for me at least, I'll just continue ordering from Amazon with shipment direct to me, and use Comgateway only for the odd items that are from retailers that don't ship overseas.

I recently used Comgateway on a DeepDiscount package (2 items, on a BOGOF deal), just to 'try them out', before I use them for anything bigger (i.e. more expensive).  I received the package without any trouble, but they didn't actually call me first to check whether it was convenient to deliver, unlike their website says, but no problem for me anyway since I have all my parcels delivered to the office.  But the odder thing is they haven't told me how much they'll charge, and to date my credit card still hasn't been billed for it.  Most odd.

[petetherock]

friends, amazon has provided sterling customer service, giving us a cheap alternative to paying $50 and up locally for discs.
Lets avoid abusing them with false declarations of lost discs etc.
If all of us get tainted with the same brush, then they may stop accepting local credit cards and we are stuck.

Already quite a few websites shun SG cards, and thats one reason why I retain my Oz CC.

Lets all play ball so we keep the flow of cheap discs coming...

Cheers

[desray]

Yes...I agreed with Pete. Please do not resort to unscrupulous means to attain an extra copies for re-sale purpose...its not very nice when Amazon has been very accomodating in genuine cases of lost shipment.

Be fair to them so that we'll not be in their little black list.

[armoury]

If it ever reaches that stage, and SG gets blacklisted, hopefully those of us with a sterling record over the last 6 years (e.g. me!) will get an exemption...

[petetherock]

I have contact in USA... but each time I see members here and in other forums talk about 'declaring lost' I cringe...
I mean if you are so cheap as to lust after free discs, this hobby isn't for you.

Even now, my fav sites for camping like campmor.com shun SG....

[Darthfunk]

Geez cant believe there are such cheapo people around to falsify lost disc    What a shame 

[redryder]

What about the infamous TotalActionUniverse fiasco that most of us DVD collectors got burnt in 2001 - 2002 period?

Anyway I have high recommendations for ipsparcel.com..There service is efficient and fast. My 20lbs shipment of A35 and 20 Blu Rays cost me USD 200 from Florida to HK and arrives in 4 days..Should be faster if not for Christmas.

Oh man, seeing you guys talk about TAU and DVDsoon really brings back memories. Remember those days when it was so easy to get Amazon GCs, I was getting a free dvd boxset once a month!

[dankoo]

Totally agreed. Amazon has been very accomodating and I hope that they will not change their service level due to these "cheats".