[rajeshsundaram]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Guys, be careful while ordering any expensive item from www.zoomin.in

Myself and a few other forum members had a tough time with their customer service and they seem to have terrible logistics management

Exactly! Their packing is one of the worst and careless. They just used a paper envelope to pack some 30 maxi photos and two 8x6 photos. The result? The 8x6 photos got the edges damaged on shipment. The so called customer support takes 24 hours to reply. Which means you post a query today, and they take up the query next day and reply. On contrast, the snapfish service by HP is by far the best in terms of packaging. I have never received one single damaged photo.

[dre@ms]

Need to gift my friend in UK. Which is the best option? Purchase here and send via courier or purchase something from international site in UK and they do a local shipment?

[neofromcapone]

Purchase something from the International sites, better still the UK brands like Marks and Spencer's or Virgin group's online stores. More options and should be lower shipping.

[vinu_h]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Need to gift my friend in UK. Which is the best option? Purchase here and send via courier or purchase something from international site in UK and they do a local shipment?

For a nominal charge, Amazon.co.uk would gift wrap the item and deliver it without an invoice. You'll need to opt for it during checkout.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Need to gift my friend in UK. Which is the best option? Purchase here and send via courier or purchase something from international site in UK and they do a local shipment?

You might want to check sendit.com
I have used them a lot and they are excellent.

[dre@ms]

Originally Posted by neofromcapone

Purchase something from the International sites, better still the UK brands like Marks and Spencer's or Virgin group's online stores. More options and should be lower shipping.

Originally Posted by vinu_h

For a nominal charge, Amazon.co.uk would gift wrap the item and deliver it without an invoice. You'll need to opt for it during checkout.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

You might want to check sendit.com
I have used them a lot and they are excellent.

What about the payment? Can I still use netbanking/debit/credit cards?

[vinu_h]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

What about the payment? Can I still use netbanking/debit/credit cards?

Does your card have a Visa or Mastercard or Amex logo on it ? The information you are seeking is available on the shopping websites suggested by members.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/cust...?nodeId=492874

[dre@ms]

Originally Posted by vinu_h

Does your card have a Visa or Mastercard or Amex logo on it ? The information you are seeking is available on the shopping websites suggested by members.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/cust...?nodeId=492874

Have both visa and master. Whenever I use my Master in international sites, I get an extra charge levied in my card for conversion. So a bit worried. Will this same happen if I use debit/netbanking?

[vinu_h]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Have both visa and master. Whenever I use my Master in international sites, I get an extra charge levied in my card for conversion. So a bit worried. Will this same happen if I use debit/netbanking?

Most banks charge a conversion and transaction fee; but that varies with cards and the banks that issued them. Try the banks' webiste or call them and find out.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

What about the payment? Can I still use netbanking/debit/credit cards?

Yes. You can use your India issued International Visa or Master Credit card on sendit.com. You will be billed in GBP.

[honeybee]

I had ordered an item from an online retailer (not a shopping website like ebay, but the retailer's online store), and the item was shipped from Belgium about ten days ago.

Since the cost of couriering it here was half that the item cost, I opted for ordinary post shipping.

However the package cannot be traced in this mode. So what can be done to know where the package is? I have already shot an email to the seller to see if they can confirm the package has reached India (assuming their package tracking is better than the Indian post). Also what is the plan of action if the package has reached India? Do I need to go personally to the foreign post office to track it?

I tried the link posted above, and found a package tracking link within:
http://ipsweb.ptcmysore.gov.in/ipswebtracking

However entering the shipping item number (which starts with DN) or the package number (which starts with PAR) does not yield any information. Can someone confirm if this link is working?

The item is supposed to reach me within 7-21 working days. The seven day limit has already elapsed. How long will it take for the item to travel from Belgium to the Indian shore? How long will it take for the customs to send me an intimation for the same?

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by honeybee

I had ordered an item from an online retailer (not a shopping website like ebay, but the retailer's online -----------------snip-------------------- vel from Belgium to the Indian shore? How long will it take for the customs to send me an intimation for the same?

Try tracking it via 17track.net

[dre@ms]

Originally Posted by vinu_h

Most banks charge a conversion and transaction fee; but that varies with cards and the banks that issued them. Try the banks' webiste or call them and find out.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Yes. You can use your India issued International Visa or Master Credit card on sendit.com. You will be billed in GBP.

So this is normal process.

Have visited sendit.com and found it useful, will try Amazon too.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Try tracking it via 17track.net

Thanks Mayank, but it's not working. I mean when I type in the shipping number, it's showing some chinese which when translated through Google, returns "Not recognize".

The delivery note from the seller contains a section called Shipping List. The first item under this list is "Number", which starts with the letters "DN". There's also a "Your Ref" which has a 13 digit alphanumeric value (6 digits + a letter + 6 digits).

The Master AWB Number field shows "Registered" (probably short for Registered Post).

Is there any way to know if the parcel has reached India?

Edit: Came across this link: http://www.indiapost.gov.in/tracking.aspx

However it still does not accept my tracking numbers. As per this site the tracking numbers must start with EE or RX, while my delivery note does not have anything which starts with EE or RX. Can anyone help?

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Thanks Mayank, but it's not working. I mean when I type in the shipping number, it's showing some chinese which when translated through Google, returns "Not recognize".

The delivery note from the seller contains a section called Shipping List. The first item under this list is "Number", which starts with the letters "DN". There's also a "Your Ref" which has a 13 digit alphanumeric value (6 digits + a letter + 6 digits).

The Master AWB Number field shows "Registered" (probably short for Registered Post).

Is there any way to know if the parcel has reached India?

There is a English site link near the top right.
Though I'm surprised it didn't work. It traced one of my dx shipments via sg post that the sg post site itself was not able to track.