Quick rant thread.

[Gabe79 410]

4 minutes ago, zero said:

What country mate?

'murica.

[zero 1162]

27 minutes ago, Gabe79 said:

'murica.

I was just back there visiting family, and you can feel how divided the country is.

Not as bad as the media makes out, but definitely noticeable.

[gjm 3258]

I've been ordering a few things from the UK. Nothing too big, nothing expensive - couple of £ here and there, several items. Shipping to NZ would be multiples of the value of any single item.

Thought I'd use NZPost YouShop. So far, it'll cost me a lot more to use their consolidated service than it would to ship each item individually!
- A book - shipping from Amazon less than £10; NZPost YouShop shipping: $22.
- A bluetooth keyboard for our daughter - shipping would have been £12; YouShop shipping £17.25.

OK - let's consolidate the two items into a single package. Consolidated shipping rate - no saving over individual shipping. £39.25.  

Perhaps I'm missing the point of using a service like this, unless it is to just make more money for NZPost?

(By the way - you cannot get an estimate for YouShop shipping until they have received the items at their warehouse.)

[eliongater 718]

@gjm I think you shop is more aimed at the places that won’t ship here, rather than for saving us money

[qube 3570]

If you have any big heavy shipments then it works out cheaper than UPS etc

[Gabe79 410]

1 hour ago, gjm said:

I've been ordering a few things from the UK. Nothing too big, nothing expensive - couple of £ here and there, several items. Shipping to NZ would be multiples of the value of any single item.

Thought I'd use NZPost YouShop. So far, it'll cost me a lot more to use their consolidated service than it would to ship each item individually!
- A book - shipping from Amazon less than £10; NZPost YouShop shipping: $22.
- A bluetooth keyboard for our daughter - shipping would have been £12; YouShop shipping £17.25.

OK - let's consolidate the two items into a single package. Consolidated shipping rate - no saving over individual shipping. £39.25.  

Perhaps I'm missing the point of using a service like this, unless it is to just make more money for NZPost?

(By the way - you cannot get an estimate for YouShop shipping until they have received the items at their warehouse.)

 

1 hour ago, eliongater said:

@gjm I think you shop is more aimed at the places that won’t ship here, rather than for saving us money

 

19 minutes ago, qube said:

If you have any big heavy shipments then it works out cheaper than UPS etc

I've been using comgateway for years. They are a lot better than the NZ Post service.

 

2 hours ago, zero said:

I was just back there visiting family, and you can feel how divided the country is.

Not as bad as the media makes out, but definitely noticeable.

I was there in January. I don't think I can live there anymore, based on that one visit, alas... First time back with family since the election, and that division the media portrays is probably not nearly as intense as what I felt, alas...

Edited March 21, 2018 by Gabe79

[Olaf 3314]

1 hour ago, gjm said:

I've been ordering a few things from the UK. Nothing too big, nothing expensive - couple of £ here and there, several items. Shipping to NZ would be multiples of the value of any single item.

Thought I'd use NZPost YouShop. So far, it'll cost me a lot more to use their consolidated service than it would to ship each item individually!
- A book - shipping from Amazon less than £10; NZPost YouShop shipping: $22.
- A bluetooth keyboard for our daughter - shipping would have been £12; YouShop shipping £17.25.

OK - let's consolidate the two items into a single package. Consolidated shipping rate - no saving over individual shipping. £39.25.  

Perhaps I'm missing the point of using a service like this, unless it is to just make more money for NZPost?

(By the way - you cannot get an estimate for YouShop shipping until they have received the items at their warehouse.)

forget youshop.  madness.  search MyUS.com visa promotion.

[Olaf 3314]

5 hours ago, Gabe79 said:

If my country wasn't crazy, I'd move back there for amazon prime, and cheap parts.

you're welcome here, mate.  this is your country now 

[qube 3570]

I got 2 boxes of 5kg each on the way with youshop for under $44 each.

cheaper than anywhere else which was double that.

feel free to tell me if there are even cheaper options but that seems solid to me.

[Olaf 3314]

51 minutes ago, qube said:

I got 2 boxes of 5kg each on the way with youshop for under $44 each.

cheaper than anywhere else which was double that.

feel free to tell me if there are even cheaper options but that seems solid to me.

I'd need the dimensions of each box, as well as the weights.

[qube 3570]

cant remember the exact dimension but volumetric weight and actual weight was all around 4.8-5.2kg

[zero 1162]

2 hours ago, Gabe79 said:

I was there in January. I don't think I can live there anymore, based on that one visit, alas... First time back with family since the election, and that division the media portrays is probably not nearly as intense as what I felt, alas...

Yea, I spent time with my wife's family and friends, and the division was really strong even between the family members, and between the friends.

One family member told another family member that they couldn't borrow the car anymore if they voted democrat.

I've been to the US five times in the last 14 years, and its never felt like this before.

[gjm 3258]

Fuggin' retrofit 3rd brake lights.

Who's idea was this? From Jan 1st 1990 you must have a third brake light on a vehicle. Any car manufactured after this date and imported to NZ must have one retro-fitted. So that's BMW E30s manufactured in 1990. Not (identical) BMW E30s manufactured in 1989.

I've got enough on my plate dealing with redundancy and trying to make ends meet while shipping Mrs M to the UK for her mother's funeral (we'd all go, but money doesn't allow that).

So, having made the sad (not as sad as losing my Mother-in-Law, obviously) decision to sell the Baur if work doesn't turn up in the meantime, imagine exactly how pleased I was to witness the complete and utter shambles of a job which was done to fit a 3rd brake light in the middle of the boot lid. Basically - the boot lid is trash. Completely stuffed. Not only did the lid not receive any sort of prep or corrosion inhibiting treatment when the holes were gouged out of it (use the 1/2" drill bit straight into sheet metal - no pilot hole) but close inspection reveals it was creased when this was done.

It's rotted across 50% of the boot lid, including rusting through. Most of the panel looked fine, but that was because corrosion from the inside hadn't broken through the outside paint.
Repair is possible, but any welding is likely to distort the panel even more than it is already. So it'll be a replacement bootlid, prep, paint, paint matching...

Wouldn't it be nice if others could make the effort to look after our cars as well as we will?

[Eagle 1661]

Bubba's handiwork isn't commonplace in BMW's compared to your typical jap and aus car but it hurts when its unfixable on a nice car

[gjm 3258]

On 3/21/2018 at 12:45 PM, gjm said:

I've been ordering a few things from the UK. Nothing too big, nothing expensive - couple of £ here and there, several items. Shipping to NZ would be multiples of the value of any single item.

Thought I'd use NZPost YouShop. So far, it'll cost me a lot more to use their consolidated service than it would to ship each item individually!
- A book - shipping from Amazon less than £10; NZPost YouShop shipping: $22.
- A bluetooth keyboard for our daughter - shipping would have been £12; YouShop shipping £17.25.

OK - let's consolidate the two items into a single package. Consolidated shipping rate - no saving over individual shipping. £39.25.  

Perhaps I'm missing the point of using a service like this, unless it is to just make more money for NZPost?

(By the way - you cannot get an estimate for YouShop shipping until they have received the items at their warehouse.)

OK. By adding more things to my order, I was able to reduce the shipping cost. (My brain hurts trying to work that out.)

So, all paid, package consolidated, shipped out of the UK, into Auckland airport and... That's it. 6 days (so far) 'Held for clearance'.
Whatever you do when ordering something from overseas, don't make it time-sensitive, and don't pay extra for expedited delivery. NZ Customs will not be hurried.

 

[Jacko 2153]

They took 2 weeks for my stuff a few weeks ago, and there is no hurrying it up. If you sign up for the notifications on the website you can pay the bill online, and save having to wait for the snail mail bill...

 

[gjm 3258]

12 minutes ago, Jacko said:

They took 2 weeks for my stuff a few weeks ago, and there is no hurrying it up. If you sign up for the notifications on the website you can pay the bill online, and save having to wait for the snail mail bill...

No bill involved. All-up cost of well under $300, including shipping. Nothing to tax in it.

[gjm 3258]

On 4/4/2018 at 5:28 PM, gjm said:

So, all paid, package consolidated, shipped out of the UK, into Auckland airport and... That's it. 6 days (so far) 'Held for clearance'.
Whatever you do when ordering something from overseas, don't make it time-sensitive, and don't pay extra for expedited delivery. NZ Customs will not be hurried.

Still not cleared customs. 

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

11 hours ago, gjm said:

Still not cleared customs. 

You watch. It'll turn up on your doorstep and the tracking doofer will still say "In transit".

[gjm 3258]

6 hours ago, Young Thrash Driver said:

You watch. It'll turn up on your doorstep and the tracking doofer will still say "In transit".

Well, part of that is true.

It's not here.

But it is still 'Held for clearance.'

[Eagle 1661]

Ordered some parts for my parents from FCP Euro which totaled $500 NZD. Days later get contacted by UPS about paying the expected customs charges which are a crazy $140 ( $75 GST,  $60 odd for custom clearance fee and the rest for admin fee)

I haven't been hit with GST etc for ages but GST was always the bulk of the charge, so either UPS or NZ customs are out to make you pay

[Olaf 3314]

On 4/4/2018 at 5:28 PM, gjm said:

OK. By adding more things to my order, I was able to reduce the shipping cost. (My brain hurts trying to work that out.)

So, all paid, package consolidated, shipped out of the UK, into Auckland airport and... That's it. 6 days (so far) 'Held for clearance'.
Whatever you do when ordering something from overseas, don't make it time-sensitive, and don't pay extra for expedited delivery. NZ Customs will not be hurried.

 

it's pretty simple.  or at least it has been for me, recently.  When I get a notification from the tracker that says 'held in customs' I call immediately.  Eventually I get put through to the Brokerage section. there's usually a bit of to-and-fro while they accept their calculations are wrong.  Then I pay visa credit card, and it gets underway.  Usually this is done within a business day.

HTH.

Or, just use FedEx.  They're absolutely awesome.

[gjm 3258]

12 hours ago, Olaf said:

it's pretty simple.  or at least it has been for me, recently.  When I get a notification from the tracker that says 'held in customs' I call immediately.  Eventually I get put through to the Brokerage section. there's usually a bit of to-and-fro while they accept their calculations are wrong.  Then I pay visa credit card, and it gets underway.  Usually this is done within a business day.

That's part of the frustration - there shouldn't be any fees, duties or similar requiring paying. The total value including all shipping and insurance is well under $300.

[gjm 3258]

26 minutes ago, gjm said:

That's part of the frustration - there shouldn't be any fees, duties or similar requiring paying. The total value including all shipping and insurance is well under $300.

Finally Customs have released it! Out for delivery with the courier today.

Or not...

Because I live in a RD area, couriers don't deliver to private addresses, so I arranged to have the parcel delivered to the agent in the village. (A lot of people do this.)
And...

The agent is closed on Saturdays.

FFS !!!    

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

Talk to your friendly local Rural Post driver, G. Mine is happy to leave everything I get from overseas on my porch, and I also have an "authority to leave" or whatever it is so I don't sign for anything either (could bite me if I ever need insurance)