Team-BHP - The Online Shopping Thread

Is there a grievance mechanism to get packages stuck at customs for months? Simple items such as a humidity sensor is held up now for four months. Aliexpress has stated it is buyer responsibility to clear customs, which I find difficult to accept. Being in Chennai how do I influence the customs folks in Kolkata?

Had ordered a watch in amazon, got the delivery in good packaged condition. On opening it found the bills and the original box for the same in the box, but no watch !
Raised a support request and amazon initiated a refund, the watch itself was a cheap quartz one - so I guess Amazon was fine with the refund.

Till now never had the experience of a dummy delivery - from now on will be doubly careful i.e either open the package in front of the delivery person or take a video for the unpacking.

My friend returned a phone to Amazon, and they sent an email that the box they received was empty and they wont be able to process this request. Even when you send something back its better to video.

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitewing (Post 4698709)

Had ordered a watch in amazon, got the delivery in good packaged condition. On opening it found the bills and the original box for the same in the box, but no watch

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitewing (Post 4698709)

Had ordered a watch in amazon, got the delivery in good packaged condition. On opening it found the bills and the original box for the same in the box, but no watch!

Who was the seller? Was that an amazon fulfilled item?

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Originally Posted by saket77 (Post 4698738)

Who was the seller? Was that an amazon fulfilled item?

Yes this was an amazon fulfilled item, the seller was some local one and has good ratings (4.3). It could also have been a genuine case of oversight from the seller.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebring (Post 4698733)

My friend returned a phone to Amazon, and they sent an email that the box they received was empty and they wont be able to process this request. Even when you send something back its better to video.

One more thing to look out for !

Quote:

Originally Posted by audioholic (Post 4697742)

Same case here. I have more than five parcels stuck in customs from close to a month. These are from various sources, Ali, Gearbest and shipped through China, Singapore and Netherlands post and in Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi respectively. This has to be some major issue with all customs centers or something is cooking. None of the parcels have been released and even on the Indiapost twitter account many are complaining.

Has anyone got a parcel customs cleared after 12th October? My last consignment that passed through customs was on that day and after that, none have come through. Its really fishy since if it was an issue in one location, we could have written it off. But in my case, its in different locations, carriers and sources. :eek: This was never the case earlier.

Finally, It got cleared through customs and got the delivery through speed post yesterday. Had to pay 1600 for customs. Almost 50 day wait period.

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Originally Posted by 2000rpm (Post 4699636)

Has anyone used shopclues?

I am looking to buy a phone (Note 9), the shop clues price is lowest, but dont know of the reliability of the vendor and the platform.

Never used the site myself, but i believe the listing you are referring to is either an unboxed or a refurbished product. Both of which could prove to have issues or not if you're lucky that's a gamble that you may take. Similar prices for refurbished products can be found through Amazon as well. In this case it is the seller that you must be questioning not the online shopping site it is listed on. With refurbished or "unboxed" phones you can encounter issues like: uneven gaps between glass and metal layers, bad c-type charging port which wont connect properly to cables thus causing charging and heating issues, minor scratches and in some cases downright poor battery life. If you are willing to be treated to one of these issues then go ahead otherwise I'd recommend looking for something else with a large screen that you can buy for around the same price brand new.

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Originally Posted by shipnil (Post 4698327)

Are the custom duties applied diligently on all AliExpress orders? How much % would it be? I have couple of items in transit, each costing about 2500 rupees.

Any recent examples would be helpful.

Received the dashcam today which I had ordered on 11 Nov. 2 weeks is a good time for delivery. No customs was charged, probably because the seller had put price as $5 (No, I did not ask him). It cleared customs in Mumbai in 1 day.

Now waiting for the second package, a bicycle speedometer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2000rpm (Post 4699636)

Has anyone used shopclues?

I am looking to buy a phone (Note 9), the shop clues price is lowest, but dont know of the reliability of the vendor and the platform.

Don't use Shop Clues, I have heard horror stories. If you are buying an expensive phone, might as well pay a bit more for peace of mind, right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2000rpm (Post 4699636)

Has anyone used shopclues?

Shopclues was never great. Have used it only for small stuff. For anything of some value, it is mostly Amazon. Have been ok at Flipkart, though been luck at Snapdeal. Have heard some good things about PayTM mall, though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2000rpm (Post 4699636)

Has anyone used shopclues?

I am looking to buy a phone (Note 9), the shop clues price is lowest, but dont know of the reliability of the vendor and the platform.

Don't. It is good only for cheap items. Buy from the big 2 ie Amazon or Flipkart. Samsung offline stores may also give a good deal like no cost EMIs or price match with online offers.

Can someone confirm if discounted items purchased from USA are billed customs duty on Original price or discounted price with SnS or other international shopping sites? I believe the rule book says that duty will be charged on original MRP regardless of discounts.

Thanks
R

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2000rpm (Post 4699636)

Has anyone used shopclues?

I am looking to buy a phone (Note 9), the shop clues price is lowest, but dont know of the reliability of the vendor and the platform.

I wouldn't recommend Shopclues even for smaller items, the high value items are a complete no-no.

They were pretty popular around 2013, and I was in college back then, so this site used to be a hot favourite for each one of us. I once saw some Beats Headsets retailing for around 10% of the actual price and ordered it. Duped. It was a cheap chinese replica and nothing like the original Beats I had experienced. Then they used to have clearance sale for daily use items, and few of us ordered body shampoo(big upgrade compared to the soaps we were used to). Again duped. Both the items were absolutely fake and downright rubbish. Not that I expected anything different for Rs. 29(IIRC), but just wanted to try them once.

They have continued with the cheapest price online even today, and God knows what's coming inside. lol: