Along with the Astrolux MF04 groupbuy I was offered many kinds of free shipping methods @ Banggood. I chose “Air Parcel Register” not knowing if this was the best pick of all free options. Unfortunately, I did not find much information about the differences between these shipping options yet. So, I’m curious about any helpful hints or any of your past experience in terms of shipping duration, customs and so on.
As far as I understand the order of shipping cost is usually as follows in ascending direction, in terms of duration I assume in descending direction:
I don’t know if this is much help to you because I am in Australia and you’re in Germany…so postage could vary.
I have placed close to ten orders from Bangood, and by default, the “Air parcel register” comes up each time for flashlights. This is free and I’ve never tried to change it. When I have ordered batteries there is always a small postage charge (about $4) and they are sent “Priority air mail).
On all orders the delivery time has been between 2 and 3 weeks. I live on the west coast and I believe the goods are first shipped to the east coast which is almost 4000km away, then to me, so that is where the delays occur.
Sorry, I forgot to add, we don’t pay any VAT or other duties on low priced purchases, but all parcels are inspected by our customs.
I believe in the near future they are going to make us pay 10% GST on importing goods to keep in line with our local stores which already charge that amount.
Thanks for your input! :+1: I just wish there was some more information about those different shipping options (e.g. what carrier, transportation means, shipping route, customs handling etc.). Maybe this information is being kept undisclosed for particular reasons. But especially, when you have the luxury to choose between some of these options with no shipping cost it would be interesting to know which option would be the best/fastest. My experience is that at least 3-4 weeks of waiting has to be taken into account before goods arrive over here - regardless of what option you choose. The cheaper and lighter the goods are, the faster they arrive, though.
I have just done another test…
I logged into Banggood and pretended to buy a flashlight.
I then selected the various shipping options available to me and this is how they came up:
Air Parcel Register - Free shipping
7-25 business days
Priority Direct Mail - AU$0.23
7-13 business days
EMS Express Mail Service - AU$12.94
7-15 business days
Expedited Shipping Service AU$18.52
5-8 business days
So it looks like the Air Parcel Register is the only free shipping available.
Next time I might try the Priority Direct Mail if it’s only going to cost 23 cents!!
if order from EU i would go with Priority Air Mail is best id say and doesnt cost that much ( the free shipping can take weeks sometimes months to arrive) , last order from banggood came very quick to Sweden and no custom duties or anything right in my mailbox, (astrolux mf01).
2018-05-16 08:19 The item has been delivered successfully
2018-05-15 14:05 The item has been processed in the country of destination
2018-05-15 13:31 The consignment has arrived in the country of destination
2018-05-15 13:31 The item has arrived in the country of destination
2018-05-11 08:39 The item is on transport to the country of destination
2018-05-10 21:05 The item is processed at the PostNL sorting center
2018-05-10 21:05 The item is at the PostNL sorting center
2018-05-09 10:27 The item is pre-advised
Standard Shipping: Free, but no tracking, does not come as quickly, and spends more time in customs.
Air Parcel Register: Free above 30$, with tracking, comes much more quickly, and is nice to see updates.
For some countries, Priority Air Mail: You have to pay according to its value. With tracking, comes much more quickly. If it looks good to customs, will go extremely quickly. If not, it will take a while. You may have to pay for duties, but worth it if you want it in less than 10 days.
Expedited shipping and EMS: You have to pay unless it is a very large order. Insurance included, the fastest option and the one which is more likely to trigger customs. But really expensive for small orders.