Postal Services. Buyer Guide

Week 20.1 Postal Services. Buyer Guide.

Pay first, then only seller will send you the goods

Local Postal Services

Normal mail & pos express: No acknowledgment. Seller can just send the mail to any pos box. No need to queue. Buyer may dispute stating that the item is not received. Thus, I never send anything unregistered.

Pos Daftar and Pos Laju: Item are registered thus recipient acknowledgement is required but seller has to queue at pos office during office hour something that nobody likes to do.

Courier Services: Drop in (cheaper) at telcon&post branches or MBE Branches. Or courier companies can pick up the goods from you (additional charges applies)

International Postal Services

US First Class Mail Services and Other countries normal postal services:

No acknowledgement but very cheap around USD5+. Buyer may dispute that the item is not received, thus some seller preferred to send item as registered mail. (Starting at USD14+). Most seller practices discretion on certain buyer and certain country by looking at your ebay point and their past experience. So far, first class mail is still ok for me.  If the package is lost there is no way for you to check it. Sometimes, the package arrived faster than EMS for oversea shipment. If you start losing package especially in residential area, then it is time to stop using normal mail. Sometimes, the seller gives you a tracking no LC 123456789 US. That number is not tracking when the package goes out of USA.

Registered Mail:

Slightly more expensive starts at USD14+, $7 pound etc. For normal register mail, the seller will email you a register number. When the package reached KLIA, the registration number will be changed to local number.

E.g. RJ5422 XXXX X GB (From UK) will be changed to RF10408 XXXX MY

Sometimes, when you call 1-300-300-300 and give them the number RJ5422 XXXX X GB, they will not be able to find it for you. You need to call KLIA pos center, they will give you the converted local registration number RF10408 XXXX MY and you can track it from there.

Once the system show item is delivered, ebay and paypal will consider the case is closed unless the buyer dispute something else like fake goods, received less item etc.

EMS/Pos Laju and other express mail services:

More expensive and a common tracking number is given to you e.g.  EG XXXXXXXX US. You can call 1-300-300-300 to ask the status of the shipment or track it online at USPS and other country website. Normally, most packages are sent via EMS.

Lack of communication

Most of the problems are due to lack of communication, first you need to track the package online at various website. If you still don’t get the goods then

a)      Goods may be withheld at custom checkpoint. Thus, you get a pos laju love letter requesting you to clear the goods at KLIA or ask pos Malaysia to clear for you.

b)      Nobody at home when the pos-man arrived. If you didn’t get your goods, just call 1-300-300-300 until you get some definite answer. Sometimes for registered mail, no card etc left to you informing you to collect the letter from pos office. Happen to my buyer a few times.

c)      If the package is insured then you need to collect it yourself at pos Malaysia branch. However, there is no letter or mail asking you to collect it from the branch. Thus, you just call 1-300-300-300, they will tell you the shipment is withheld at which pos office and you go to that pos office ask the officer there. Make sure you give them both local and foreign tracking number in the case of registered mail. Sometimes, it takes them one hour to find it.

Complicated case. This one PHD (permanent Head Damage) in postal services

a)      Item with-held in custom, you ask pos Malaysia to clear the item for you. Pay the taxes. This one no refund one.

b)      Got the item. Item is not as described or lesser in quantity or inferior in value. Do a pay pal dispute.

c)      Paypal requested you to resent back the item to seller.

d)     Sending back item was not properly handled by you and Pos services. Relevant declaration RMA forms are not filled or missing.

e)      Oversea custom tahan your shipments.

f)       Seller gone missing, address is non existences.

g)      Or seller replaces the product then sends it back to you. Custom tahan again.

Generally, you need to tell custom and show them the proof that you already paid the taxes and now it is just sending the faulty item for replacement.

At the mean time, $ and time spend in handling all these. Susah lah. If it is like this, don’t buy from that seller again lor.

Go and visit lowyat forum look for keyword kastam or poslaju etc, lot of information are available there. Some buyers brought original DVD and ended up in various jabatan for sensorship reason.

Action PLAN

Most of it can be told by postal officer working in various pos office. Yet, not many of them shared their knowledge to the public. Well, what R U waiting for, look at the picture below

And don’t be a POSTAL CHICKEN and start buying things online.