[amansanc]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

GoJavas is quite a decent courier service. They even have the facility of tracking where the courier has reached once it is out for delivery.
Have received all shipments from Jabong through Gojavas.

Yes they are the official courier company for Jabong I think. But, when I first googled GoJavas, the reviews that came up were very disappointing. People complained that the courier never reached them. Maybe they have improvised after that.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by ajaypjayaraj

Thanks for the update. I just called them up after reporting once more online and I got to know that my shipment was sent back on 16th June!!

Shocked upon hearing that because, just before the call I checked online status and there was nothing of that sort mentioned there. I told that person I rec'd confirmation mail that all KYC and required documents well rec'd by DHL and also someone was looking into this matter. Whatever happened to all that and why was the shipment sent back and why was I not informed?? Then she put me on hold for a min. and checked and told me the package might still be in India (what?!) and the concerned team personnel will check and contact me today.

That was a first from DHL!

That is very weird. Have you talked to the sender? Might be worth at least letting them know that they should get a refund on their courier fee.

My parcel now shows Arrived at Sort Facility CHENNAI. Whilst that sounds like real progress, I'll abstain from any positive smileys until the thing reaches my door.

Originally Posted by mvadg

You guys are probably too young to know - the PDP11 (that is/was a minicomputer, yes those were the hi-tech devices the size of a cupboard) used the mains frequency to set the real-time clock. The first time I saw that, I couldn't get over it! Yes, in the civilized world the frequency is reliable and stable.

Not sure how they are now, if left to themselves rather than an ntp server, but PCs used to be lousy timekeepers. Worse than clockwork! And that is at least 1 generation post PDP11, which is just slightly before I entered the computing world.

Come to think of it, I don't think my PC asks for an ntp time werver when it starts up (Ubuntu: does it?) and it keeps time reasonably well.

[ashwin.terminat]

While all of you are worried about your parcels being stuck in the customs office, my parcel from AliExpress for a phone case costing Rs. 182 made it to me in 10 days flat!

[ajaypjayaraj]

Smaller parcels would get through without attracting much delays as Customs clear them straightaway. I have received many such shipments without having to worry about any documentation or delays. Bigger parcels (higher value shipments) are not treated the same way.

[dre@ms]

In my case it was a epic failure. In Feb I booked a iPhone 6 case, costing around 60 rs. Till date havent received it. The seller shipped it again, but the parcel returned due to strict Indian customs. Finally settling for a refund now. Not sure how a lost cost product would be stuck in customs.

[archat68]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

In my case it was a epic failure. In Feb I booked a iPhone 6 case, costing around 60 rs. Till date havent received it. The seller shipped it again, but the parcel returned due to strict Indian customs. Finally settling for a refund now. Not sure how a lost cost product would be stuck in customs.

While shopping from abroad always insist for shipping with tracking (pay extra if you have to). A lot of times the local post office delivermen steal the items which are shipped without tracking. When the packets are with tracking there is accountability.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Not sure how they are now, if left to themselves rather than an ntp server, but PCs used to be lousy timekeepers. Worse than clockwork! And that is at least 1 generation post PDP11, which is just slightly before I entered the computing world.

Come to think of it, I don't think my PC asks for an ntp time werver when it starts up (Ubuntu: does it?) and it keeps time reasonably well.

There was no Internet when the PC first came into the Market! (Usenet, maybe). Oscillator crystals were not too accurate at keeping time (I remember this was a question on my assembly language test). These days almost everything silently 'phones home' and this includes setting the time - even my SJ4000 Wifi camera, set time by itself once I connected it to my phone!!

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by mvadg

You guys are probably too young to know - the PDP11 (that is/was a minicomputer, yes those were the hi-tech devices the size of a cupboard) used the mains frequency to set the real-time clock. The first time I saw that, I couldn't get over it! Yes, in the civilized world the frequency is reliable and stable.

@naveenroy - Good looks ain't everything, I guess!

Wow ok, that is something that I have learnt today. Thanks!

About the clock, hehe yeah have already thrown it into a corner of a cupboard.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by mvadg

There was no Internet when the PC first came into the Market! (Usenet, maybe). ...

How easy it is to forget that! It feels like it has always been there!

Not sure of the dates, although it would be easy to look up. Yes, there was "internet" when I first shifted my profession into computing, but no, it was not www; only usenet and mail. There were dial-up bulletin boards: the precursors of today's forums.

Back on topic: my parcel is still being "sorted" in Chennai. I hope it gets sorted soon!

[binand]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Come to think of it, I don't think my PC asks for an ntp time werver when it starts up (Ubuntu: does it?) and it keeps time reasonably well.

Ubuntu installs ntp.ubuntu.com as the default NTP server. Pretty much all modern OSes install something or other (time.windows.com for Windows).

Originally Posted by mvadg

There was no Internet when the PC first came into the Market! (Usenet, maybe).

A claim that can be debated. Wikipedia says:

"The Programma 101 was the first commercial desktop personal computer, produced by the Italian company Olivetti [...] It was launched at the 1964"

And:

"The first two nodes of what would become the ARPANET were interconnected [...] on 29 October 1969"

So probably there is some merit in what you say.

At my alma mater, we had Internet access (FTP, Gopher, Email, Usenet and very early WWW) in the late-eighties but PCs started making their appearance much later, in the early nineties.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Back on topic: my parcel is still being "sorted" in Chennai. I hope it gets sorted soon!

And it now says they want an import licence to complete processing.


I have fired off another complaint on the web form, pointing out that that this is a personal, retail, on-line purchase, and that KYC documentation has been given and received.

[ajaypjayaraj]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

And it now says they want an import licence to complete processing.


I have fired off another complaint on the web form, pointing out that that this is a personal, retail, on-line purchase, and that KYC documentation has been given and received.

That does not make any sense. If DHL forwarded it to Chennai from Bangalore, it is after Customs clearance as per what I understand. After all that, while "sorting" was done in Chennai, who got alarmed about an import license if Bangalore Customs already cleared it for onward forwarding? Or is the Customs clearance being done in Chennai? Could be.

One thing is for sure. There is a drastic change seen in these activities since Apr, May. ie, from the start of this financial year onwards, things don't seem as easy as earlier with regards to importing stuff.

DHL keeps mailing saying that they are looking into the matter whenever I make an online complaint. And that's it. Nothing after that.

[archat68]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

And it now says they want an import licence to complete processing.

If it is a drug you need to obtain import licence for personal use. The procedure is described here and usually is simple. It is normally issued in the same day.
http://cdsco.nic.in/forms/list.aspx?lid=2068&Id=30

[Thad E Ginathom]

I would not describe it as a drug, neither, as far as I am aware, would any medical practitioner, pharmacist... or customs officer. Even though, as with many supplements, it has ingredients which are medically proven.

[archat68]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I would not describe it as a drug, neither, as far as I am aware, would any medical practitioner, pharmacist... or customs officer. Even though, as with many supplements, it has ingredients which are medically proven.

The demarcation between drug and dietary supplements are very thin in India.
You can do two thing:
i) Get the literature of the product which states that it is dietary supplement/ayurvedic medicine and a clarification letter from you submit the same to DHL for onward submission. If you are in Chennai you can personally go to the Airport office of Drug Control.
ii) You can ask your doctor to prescribe the medicine (or whatever) and apply for a personal import licence as I mentioned earlier. Unless the quantity is very large you'll get the import licence and yours items will be cleared without any problem.