To Buy or Not Buy via Amazon (Vpost)


I usually try to save on the U.S. continental shipping by using Amazon's Super Saver FOC shipping, and just pay for the vpost leg back to Singapore.

I find VPost shipping a bit expensive sometimes.
 

Is it lower cost to buy from Amazon USA or from Local Retailers?

Very difficult to answer. I dun find Amazon USA cheap. Sometimes shipping by VPost from US to Spore very expensive.I ever bought 2 CDs total US$16, but the shipping ended up abt S$21 for the 2 CDs.
 

Please read what I have written and everything will be fine.

To your second question, do as what I have stated regardless of vendor shipment time. Just remember that holding period is based on the earliest package received without paying (the moment you pay, vpost will ship), which is stated in the VPOST website. Beyond holding period, extra charge by VPOST will be added.

let say i order 3 items from amazon, 1 of the item has the super saving shipping so it takes longer, i had already received 2 mails that the 2 other items is shipping to vpost.

qns is.. shld i send the invoice of the 2 other items 1st? or wait till the last item is shipped then i send to vpost?
 

Very difficult to answer. I dun find Amazon USA cheap. Sometimes shipping by VPost from US to Spore very expensive.I ever bought 2 CDs total US$16, but the shipping ended up abt S$21 for the 2 CDs.

With vpost, there's a base charge of $12.40 per category. If you can, buying more of what you want at the same time will save you some money.
 

If buying books, I'd save the hassle and buy from OpenTrolley http://opentrolley.com.sg. But for DVDs, no choice since Amazon has the best discount and I like their watches as well.

Try to use Amazon's own shipping as far as possible because Vpost is troublesome and you don't know how much you'll be charged. Have not been using them since last year. Comgateway isn't better either.
 

Try Borderlinx if you have a Citibank credit card. You can accumulate your stuff for up to a month before shipment. It is always a good practice to accumulate stuff from a vendor like say Amazon in a single order as they will package them altogether to save shipment cost. Eventhough for say DVD shipment is free within US, the freight forwarder may not repack for you and you could end up paying more due to volumetric weight because of the sizes of the packaging boxes each. Getting from Amazon or vendor direct will attract US sales tax too.
 

Try Borderlinx if you have a Citibank credit card. You can accumulate your stuff for up to a month before shipment. It is always a good practice to accumulate stuff from a vendor like say Amazon in a single order as they will package them altogether to save shipment cost. Eventhough for say DVD shipment is free within US, the freight forwarder may not repack for you and you could end up paying more due to volumetric weight because of the sizes of the packaging boxes each. Getting from Amazon or vendor direct will attract US sales tax too.


Are you sure about US Sales tax? Just purchased from amazon last week and no sales tax on the bill.
 

You got it thru the VPOST or direct from Amazon? Thru VPOST, I dun think there is any sales tax. But direct, I think there is.
 

I think if your forwarder is located in tax-safe country like Oregon (Comgateway), you don't kena sales tax.
 

i've checked out the tarazz.com website and it appears to be quite comprehensive for online shopping.

but the final prices are really quite expensive.

not sure if i wanna spend that much.

the difference from using other services is quite a wide margin in terms of how much extra needed to pay.

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any of you ordered electrical goods with batteries in them? replaceable batteries. what is the outcome?
 

My question- I'm going to get some stuffs can shipped directly from Amazon USA to S'pore
but If try to save on the U.S. continental shipping by using Amazon's Super Saver FOC shipping via Borderlinx.Can I save the shipping charge?Thanks.
 

I always use Borderlinx/Citibank for my electronics and camera purchases...they use DHL and surprisingly Ive found them cheaper than direct dispatch by Amazon in most cases!
 

guys.. are your made purchase from amazon with international warranty?
 

Would like to share some of my experiences.

Vpost is a mixed bag. Sometimes good, sometimes bad but overall ok. There are no tracking of packages from vpostUSA to singapore, but can be quite fast. I ever receive a package in less than 48 hrs after i matched it in vpost. The feeling was like it was already in Singapore and they were just waiting for you to match it. They did screw up before and i did not receive it even though my other packages arrived. They seem to ship separate orders separately even though you bundle in the vpost. Called them after no reply to emails and the phone support is efficient.

Borderlinx will be quite a problem if you buy blu-rays and DVDs cos they will send to MDA for censorship before sending to you. This is what I learnt from MDA. And you have to pay for the "extra" service from DHL as well as the stickers from MDA. And if its too rated, you will not be receiving it and will be sent back to Amazon etc. Borderlinx users who have order blu-rays/DVDs using Borderlinx please correct me if I am wrong.

Tarazz is very expensive. I made a comparison before for blu-rays and the prices were like marked up a few times. Its cheaper to ship direct from Amazon to SG.

Personally, I'll ship direct from Amazon for a one or 2 blu-rays, cos they charge shipping for per pcs and if you have more than 4 - 5 pcs then its cheaper to go third party as they go by weight.

All in all, after rough calculation for my latest buy, a 25kg shipping weight package, the prices for all three third party couriers is more or less the same. Just a difference by <5%. But if you pay thru UOB for vpost, you'll get additional discount so that might make vpost cheaper overall.

Just my 2 cents.
 

if u really wanna buy stuff over from the US, email me the_zard@hotmail.com

i can help u get stuff over & share the shipping costs. i have stuff coming over every month. can tag on it & lower your shipping costs.
 

too bad.. i dun seems to find a 70-200 VRII in amazon that comesn with international warranty.
 

hi guys, am i right to say that i must pay GST to when my shipment (above 400sgd) arrives in singapore, no matter what courier method i choose?

I'm trying to buy a $2K foldable bicycle from the US
 

I buy from Amazon all the time. I've used Vpost for a couple of years. At the beginning of this year, I finally gave up on the blundering slow fools. Comgateway is the service I use now. Cost slightly more, but very fast and reliable. For items without US only restrictions, I ship direct from Amazon.
 

If you are considering buying a product from USA and shipping it to SG, try Viaddress..
Ive been using it for months now, for sites like amazon as well as ebay. I'm quite satisfied with their services.

Their prices are also very competitive and are cheaper than VPOST and Borderlinx!
Take a look @ their site for a comparison chart! viaddress.com

The registration is free on www.viaddress.com. They provide you with a personal US address that you can use to shop from any US merchant and have Viaddress forward your packages to your country.

If the US merchant does not accept international credit cards, Viaddress can buy the products for you, with no commission fees, and then forward the packages to you.
 

i bought a sigma 50-200mm hsc os from amazon and was appalled by they way they packed it. they just dumped the lens package into a larger amazon box without fillings. so the lens must been bumping around all this time when it made its journey from amazon to comgateway to singapore :bheart:. so far the lens seems to work ok but that could be a testament to the built quality of the sigma and not amazon's skill at packing.:sweat:

i wrote amazon an email but haven't heard from them. might be worth something to remind amazon to pack properly the next time. i used comgateway as their rates tend to be cheaper than amazon's and for the fact that amazon does not ship the lens direct to singapore. cost me ard sgd 30 for the courier service.
 

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