I have been a regular and one may even say at one time a loyal customer of VPOST for many years now, in fact I believe they were the first in Singapore to offer customers individual US addresses for reshipping back to Singapore.
Over the years the service rendered by VPOST has been lukewarm, good and hassle free for some shipments and problematic for others. I will not go into the nitty gritty details of the fees both company charges, because they both offer competitive prices which is not very far off from one another. Some would say Borderlinx is relatively cheaper, but I say it depends….
I will say however that I am switching to Borderlinx because of a recent ’screw up’ on VPOST’s part once again. You see, I ordered a few things from one company in the US. Instead of shipping them to me in one shipment, the US based company decided to ship it in multiple shipments ( 3 to be exact ) so that I may receive them faster. I informed VPOST via email at least three weeks to a month prior to delivery, and they even acknowledged receipt of the email notification. Then late Dec and early Jan this year, I received two separate delivery billing invoices from them for the same shipment, which means I was charged with two base charges instead of one. When I contacted them, the case was escalated to their operations department which did nothing to help!
So what are the major differences in services? :-
- VPOST mandates that you send or forward all you invoices beforehand so that when and if they update them online in a timely manner, they will then be able to match the items received accordingly. Even then they sometime feel that the description of the items received may be inadequate and will contact you again to match the items manually with the box no.!
- With Borderlinx you don’t have to submit your invoice though they might over estimate the value of the items received which can be easily rectified by contacting them and providing them with the invoice if need be.
- VPOST takes a minimum of 5-8 days for the items to reach you and uses Speedpost, Borderlinx takes between 4-8 days with standard shipping and you even have an option to pay more for Express shipping which will then take only 2-3 days. For either option DHL staff are the ones contracted. You even have the option to change your delivery to the office easily if you know no one is going to be home. Oh and almost forgot, I have had two to three occasions where the Speedpost Delivery personnel for VPOST simply slips a Deliver advice under the door without even pressing the doorbell to check if anyone is home. Someone was home for all the two to three ocassions I am referring to, most recent being 7 Jan 2045hrs!
- For Borderlinx though, you have to be careful to note the values of your items as a whole because inclusive of shipping the amount cannot exceed SGD400 (for Singapore residents) otherwise you’ll be charged an extra 7% for taxes and duties which could add up to an extra $30.
- Borderlinx no concierge fees for shopping for you, VPOST charges hefty concierge fees excluding shipping.
- For VPOST you have to pay for an optional insurance coverage for the delivery to your home address, for Borderlinx the insurance coverage is free on the Purchase value capped at $10,000 for any one shipment.
- Borderlinx gives you only a US address, VPOST offers addresses for USA,Japan and UK
- And lastly you’ll need a Citibank Card for Borderlinx in Singapore ( sort of tie-in with the bank) For VPOST you can use any bank cards though they have special discounts for UOB cards.
For now I’ll be switching to Borderlinx permanently unless VPOST improves their service to their customers, which I will only be able to know through unlikely rave reviews by others!
**ATTENTION OTHER RESHIPPING COMPANIES!**
Advertisers for such companies,kindly do NOT post your links here without explaining how your company justifies the costs and extra fees if any, in comparison with these two competitors. -Just stating your modus operandi will not do. Thank you……
Filed under: Notes To Remember, That's Life
Another option is a company called http://www.BongoUS.com
They offer great international shipping and consolidation services, images of your items, and afforable insurance options. Website technology is top-notch.
Both Bongo and MyUS starts with a sign up fee whereas Borderlinx does not require any.
For a 1kg package,
Bongo charges $32.22
MyUS charges $33.67
Borderlinx charges $14.40
Assuming that dead weight does not exceed volumetric weight.
Which would you choose?
cheers
Borderlinx is so much better than Vpost, in my opinion.
Vpost is fixed rate per kg, while BDL actually gets cheaper if you ship more (ie: large boxes or heavy items).
I also have a problem with Vpost’s efficiency. BDL offers 24 hours live chat service and they are usually quite prompt with your requests. Not to mention BDL (using DHL) can deliver your packages to you any day and any time.
For me, BDL wins HANDS DOWN.
Yup, after my first transaction with them, I was wondering why it took me so long to switch!
I have tried MyUS and Onenow.com. MyUs is troublesome(i.e you cant shop immediately after registration, you need to wait for 1full working day to process..wherelse you can shop instantly after signing up with Onenow.com and their process is very easy).
As for the rates onenow.com charges $15.50 per kg. i find Onenow fuss free and very easy to use. they were also very prompt in their updates on your parcel status. MyUs’s search function is very useful though but i do not think its worth the extra cost unless you need a mail box for official letters from the US. Its more for expats living outside of the US.
If you want a fuss free, easy to use, economical and reliable i would choose Onenow as it has no sign up fees or monthly fees. I have used their consolidation and concierge service so far. they do ship ebay items too so its a bonus for me as I am a huge ebay fan.
I have not try BongoUs so cant comment on it. its a bummer how BongoUS charges $usd 15 monthly!
would anyone know whether borderlinx ships ebay items from US to SIng?
Hi Shopaaholic,
thanks for sharing that piece of news in fact onenow.com seems to be affiliated with Comgateway which also has ties with DBS/POSB cards here in Singapore. I have not tried them myself but have read forums on their service and it doesn’t look to good. Perhaps I will give them a try if borderlinx ever gives me problems.
And as to your question…..this is extracted from their faqs -
Yes. You will need to add your Borderlinx address to your postal addresses:
Go to My eBay > My Account > My addresses > click on ‘View all postal addresses’.
Add your Borderlinx US address, BUT REMEMBER to untick the box ‘Make this my primary postal address’, and then click ‘Add New Address’.
cheers
Thanks Jules for the tips!! I have been doing some research on SEO(search engine optimisation) and i realised that comgateway’s competitors(i.e vpost) might be sabotaging comgateway. One way to prove this is that the forum with negative remarks of comgateway is always on the 5th when you search up comgateway in google. Vpost and Borderlinx did some “alteration” to their search on google too. if you notice that when u search both of these company on google, both will have forum with their positive remarks coming on the 1st page.(you can ask an SEO expert on this)
I therefore conclude that in general forums and blogs arent very accurate at all with companies acting in such a manner. However I do believe Vpost is inferior because of their consistent negative feedback across all related blogs and forums. Borderlinx seemed to receive quite good overall comments.
However i do not have a citibank card
Onenow is cheaper than borderlinx if you want to ship anything above 2kg. hope this helps!
Oh btw, does anyone know whether borderlinx’s warehouse is in a tax free state?Onenow’s warehouse is in Oregon which is sales tax free, hence if you are buying items that are well over hundreds, a sales tax of 5%-7% is alot.
i tried asking borderlinx live chat but this is their reply:
Vera: is it a sales tax free state?
Jason: I am extremely sorry but I don’t have much information about it
not very helpful at all!!!
Shopaaholic,
Not sure how you came to the conclusion that Onenow is cheaper because I got this off their site :-
To Singapore
Standard Delivery (4 – 6 full working days)
Base Charge
Weight Charge
Flat fee per shipment:
US$11.00 + Minimum 1st kg:
US$4.50 plus
Any subsequent 1/2 kg
& part thereof:
US$2.25
Hence for 2kg it will be $20US
For Borderlinx there is no base charge however for 2kg their charge is $18.92 US.
Their Warehouse for Singapore Users is in Ohio however I believe they have one in NY for other users from elsewhere.
Got this off their site :
Do I have to pay US tax & GST?
http://www.borderlinx.com/citi/sg/en/duty&tax.html
There will be up to two types of taxes which you might have to pay.
The first will be the Sales Tax pertaining to the United States of America (USA). Certain States in the USA are tax-free states and as a result no sales tax will be levied on the procured merchandises.
The second will be Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Singapore. GST reliefs are granted on imported items if the total value of the goods plus shipping costs does not exceed S$400.
Where the value exceeds S$400, the entire sum would be subjected to GST.
The current GST rate is 7%.
So far I bought approx 180USD of stuff and had to pay zero taxes.
cheers
Hi jules!oh sorry for not clarifying.Onenow is cheaper is your item is more than 2kg and above, for example:
for the 3rd kg, Onenow-$24.50 as compared to Borderlinx-$25.99
but Borderlinx’s express shipping seems cheaper. Apparently Borderlinx will no longer use DHL by the end of this month and they would have to revise their charges upwards.Let wait and hope that this wont happen.
As for the tax, Ohio state imposes 5.5% sales tax. (http://tax.ohio.gov/divisions/sales_and_use/index.stm)
so whatever savings from Borderlinx’s lower shipping fees is eroded. I wonder why you weren’t charged for sales tax the last time?
i didnt have to pay sales tax when using Onenow because their warehouse is in Oregon(sales tax free state) but i got charge when using MyUS(their warehouse is in Florida).
Im going to use Onenow and Borderlinx (got my new citibank cc) to ship my Ebay items from US. Will let you guys updated.
Hi Shopaaholic,
Wonder where you heard that news? Cos they just renewed their agreement in April last year. Also there is no mention on it on their site. Moreover the tie-in for Singapore was with both Citibank And DHL Express Singapore Office.
Anyhow thanks for the updates….so far I have no incentive to switch as I just got my new shipment of seven items tax free…. Cheers!
didn’t do enough home work before using VPost, from the various posts, it seems their service is from bad to worst…
I order some items from Amazon, delivery was signed off in VPost US office on 8 Sept. Only got my email to pay shipping charges on 17 Sept. I paid immeadiately and today (22 Sept) when I checked the status, it is still not been process yet ..(sitting in the warehouse)
I called VPost cust. service and they told me some “heavy volumes” experience at the US office … ask for more details, they told me the supervisor will call me back, but 5 days have gone and I hear nothing.
I believe I should count myself lucky if I can receive my item in a month time …
suck VPOST … that’s going to be the last shipment you ever done with me.
I used VPOST initially for many years but after too many numerous problems and unecessary paperwork, I decided to switch to Borderlinx and frankly may never switch back to VPOST!
Hope you have a better experience with the next provider you sign up with! Cheers
Hi,
My name is Cédric Rainotte and I’m Head of Marketing & Communication at Borderlinx.
Just some info regarding all the comments in this post relative to sales tax:
Sales tax will only be charged by merchants that have a physical presence in the state of Ohio where Borderlinx export facility is located. All other transactions are free of state sales tax. The export warehouse does not need to be in a sales tax free state (of which there are only 5; Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon), although if it is sales tax is not charged on any transaction even if the merchant has a physical presence in the state.
Best regards,
Ced
Hi Ced,
thanks for taking the time to clarify the tax issues raised in the dialogue of this post. Also I am happy to add that I will not be switching providers anytime soon.
cheers
Jules
Hi there!
Just wanted to ask if there was an alternative to VPost if I wanted to order online from Japan? Thanks!
Unfortunately not at this time that I know of, so guess you’ll just have to stick to them. My sincere condolences…
onenow reverted back to Comgateway.
back to CGW prices.
Hi,
thanks for the update but there is no mention on whether they have improved their services.
Onenow/ComGateway website looks even more confusing now. They used to have horrible service, sent my stuff to the wrong address! I heard it got better but not gonna take the risk though.
I’m using Tarazz now, whenever I can. Their single cart system is way more convenient and they provide much better service!
Well if it works for you then you should continue with Tarazz and thanks for the new info. However in my opinion the shipping rates are comparable, however Tarazz only allows you to shop at their listed merchants and you’ll have the hassle of informing them to setup a new merchant link outside their scope of merchants if you want it added. Moreover if they cannot reach you at your home and should you choose an alternate address you have to pay for that service. With Borderlinx you don’t have to moreover their turnaround and shipping time is faster for merchants in their list though you are not compelled to shop with them…..anyhow lest Borderlinx increase their prices I’ll be sticking with them because their service todate is great.
cheers
Hi,
Is there any shipping com that you will recommend?
Would like to purchase some stuffs from the US websites (Forever21, ASOS etc), but I do not have any citibank card thus cant use Borderlinx?
Hi Julie,
I can’t recommend the rest of the sites listed in the comments here because I haven’t tried them out yet. So far I’m happy with Borderlinx and have no intention to switch yet. I do hope however you return to share your experience with anyone of those listed.
cheers
I’ve used Bongo International for a almost a year now- you set up a US postal address on their site, they receive your items from virtually any US based online site and put it all in one box if needed.(This saves $ on shipping.) Then they ship it overseas to you. You can track on their website the whole way, great website technology.
They have both a pay per use option and a subscription option.
They have very quick responses through customer service.
They have very expedient transit times to over 220 countries worldwide.
Because they ship with DHL, there is delivery confirmation which is very important to me since the products coming from the United States are going quite a distance at my expense.
I would highly recommend them and I do to all my friends.
Happy Shopping people!
Hi Jules!
Hope you’re doing just fine.
Despite the fact that this Viaddress company is active since only a few months and stole a big part of the content of Borderlinx website (text, photo and even some of the graphic done by our agency like the banner you are using in your post; strange for a serious company), customer need to be really carrefull.
There are numerous suspiciously positive reviews on the web, all with almost identical wording (check on Google and search for the phrase “hey, for shipping products outside US, Viaddress is the best”). These reviews were all authored by “Newbies” who joined the message boards very recently.
Also, The pulldown country menu in their cost calculator includes Sudan – a country which is embargoed by the US and to which any shipments are illegal from the US; a legitimate company shipping ex-US wouldn’t show that.
So, just be carrefull with this company and give the message to your friends!
Have a great day,
Ced
*bolded by Jules to highlight this comment*
Thanks for the update Cedric and yes that is why I have deleted the comment post for Vicar007 as I believe he is drone working for Viaddress.
It is troubling that a company would resort to this sort of tactic and what baffles me is that they assume they would get away with it. It is only a matter of time before customers may be swindled wholesale because we do not know how far they are willing to go with a somewhat unethical approach to marketing and whatelse, this is unless of course they clean up their act.
Also there seems to be a problem with chronological display of the comments now on this entry, perhaps I should try and copy and paste your message in a new comment to see if it works….anyhow cheers!
Update on Borderlinx…..- You can now have a UK address and enjoy shopping in UK (you can search our UK comparaison shop at http://bit.ly/6NeV6r
- You can also try our SocialShop and use the power of Social Network to buy cheaper abroad. You can visit it at http://www.socialshop.us
I Wonder how you did. Viaddress does not exists not that long??
Domain Name: VIADDRESS.COM
Created on…………..: 2009-02-20 04:22:44 GMT
Expires on…………..: 2010-02-20 04:22:44 GMT
Last modified on……..: 2009-02-20 04:22:44 GMT
Registrant Info: (FAST-12785240)
Attn: viaddress.com
BlueHost.com- INC
You can fool some, ..you can’t fool everyone!
Thanks for sharing Shiva, so you reckon Vicar007’s post about Viaddress it’s a scam? Anyhow I was going to try them at all….
Just found out Vicar007 is a drone….deleted his post as a result!
Well thanks for providing another alternative though I cannot see how you derived that they are cheaper than Borderlinx. In fact they are comparable in price, just use the cost calculator on both sites for say clothing for 2kg from US to Singapore using standard delivery.
cheers