Why Hellooooo Guys!
Some of you may know that I'm currently on a blogging hiatus until my exams are over, but if you've missed me so dearly, keep in touch on my
Instagram okay? ;)
So anyway, I'm breaking this hiatus for a bit because there seems to be a battle on my Instagram feed to which forwarder service provider is better -
Vpost or
Comgateway?
|
SHEENA IS DOING SOME ONLINE DAMAGE |
I am a user on both platforms, alternating between the two depending on my needs.
I'm not here to provide a fast and hard answer.
I am, however, going to provide you with the basis to decide, based on your needs, to which service is more beneficial to you.
[
NOTE: Best read in 'web version' for easy reading of tables. Footnotes, which are important, appear tiny in the 'mobile version'.]
1. AIR FREIGHT SHIPPING COSTS
Firstly, let's compare the shipping costs in general.
Do also note that there are usually credit/debit card discounts available so don't forget to search for those to get more bang for your buck.
Different shoppers have different needs. Some simply need a one-off delivery, others need it for a massive shopping spree. Hence I'll provide you with some scenarios to help you best decide which is more cost efficient to you.
SCENARIO 1: Single Package
If you forsee your sole package to weigh more than 9kg either in volumetric or actual weight, Vpost will always be the cheaper option. (Actually if your sole package weighs more than 9kg, you should actually consider Sea Freight via Vpost instead but that's a story for another day.)
If your package is less than 9kg, it actually really depends. This is because Comgateway will round up to the nearest 0.5kg which may work against your favour as shown above. Through further calculations (not shown), I have found Comgateway is only cheaper a package that weighs 0.5, 0.9, 1, 1.4, 1.5, 1.9...... so on and so forth (do you see the pattern?) Even then, the difference in cost gets lesser as the package gets heavier and ultimately is indifferent at 9kg.
Notice that at the lowest possible weight charged i.e. 0.5kg, Comgateway is only 7% cheaper. Which means as the package gets heavier, the difference in % gets smaller.
Why am I pointing this out?
As mentioned in foot note #5, fuel surcharge has not been included. Based on the Fuel Surcharge in the past 3 months, it is unlikely to fall below 7% thus VPOST is highly likely
always cheaper than Comgateway.
SCENARIO 2: Multiple Packages
When dealing with multiple packages, there are an infinite number of combinations/examples I can come up to compare costs. However, for the sake of my sanity, I'll just bring up two different types of scenarios. For both cases, let's assume that I have 3 packages to consolidate, each weighing 0.5kg.
CIF =
Cost of Goods +
Insurance +
Freight
a) Total CIF < $400 i.e. No GST
Assuming each package has a declared value of
S$100;
For both forwarders, no GST is payable as the CIF falls below the Tax Free Allowance of S$400.
Do take note that I have intentionally left out insurance for VPOST because not everyone might feel the need to do so. Should you require all your packages to be insured, VPOST would set you back an additional $29.70 hence making Comgateway the cheaper alternative.
b) Total C.I.F > $400 i.e. GST
Now this is where the main difference between the two forwarders take place.
Assuming each package has a declared value of
S$200;
As you can see, having a high declared value per package changes the game rather drastically.
Even if one chooses to take up insurance, VPOST is undoubtly the cheaper option in such a scenario.
Therefore, for all you shopaholics out there, VPOST is the way to go!
*For more information on how CIF is calculated, visit
here (Vpost) and
here (Comgateway).
2. CONVENIENCE
If I'm not mistaken, VPOST only delivers during office hours. Hence, if there is no one to receive your package at home, there is the option to pick up your package at either your selected post office or POPStation. This option is very convenient as it reaches your hands faster since the postman need not make the failed trip to your house. Click
here to view all
58! POPStation locations. Picking up my parcels at a POPStation is actually one of my favourite things to do.
Nothing beats opening multiple doors to happiness
:B
Parcels from Comgateway are fulfilled by DHL. Deliveries from DHL are not limited to office hours thus making it even more unpredictable. Recently however, Comgateway has started a service whereby one could pick up their parcels from selected Cheers and FairPrice Xpress counters. However, compared to VPOST's extensive list, this service is only available at 17 outlets.
I've tried this service once back in February and had my boyfriend help me pick it up since I was overseas. He specifically told me not to use this service again as he had to wait a good 30 minutes at the counter itself for the staff to get the parcel sorted. Staff may or may not be better trained now. Do note that this service is done by the Cheers/NTUC staff hence the level of professionalism and adeptness may vary.
If you are unconcerned with the price difference between the two and just want one which is more convenient, just take note of which service has a more convenient collection point for you.
3. MERCHANT POLICY
Certain merchants do not allow deliveries to forwarding companies for unspecified reasons. Thus the only way to order from said merchants is to make use a concierge service like VPOST's VShop4u or Comgateway's BuyForMe service.
Even then the respective forwarders have their respective "restricted merchants".
The list for vShop4u can be found
here and as far as I know, Comgateway's BuyForMe service allows you to order from anywhere under the sun.
I can't discuss much on this point as I personally have used neither.
vShop4u does not charge any concierge rate whereas Comgateway's BuyForMe service charges 5% of your total declared value.
While vShop4u is seemingly cheaper, Comgateway's BuyForMe service
may actually be the cheaper option. Reason being, vShop4u predetermines the weight to a minimum of 0.5kg per
item,
not per order.
Here's a very simplified example;
I order 3 items from the
same merchant with actual weight 0.1kg each. Each item costs me $50.
All 3 items will be delivered in the same box of volumetric weight 0.5kg.
In the instance of the above example, Comgateway is actually cheaper.
However, as to which is the ultimately cheaper option depends largely on your declared value.
As the declared value increases, Concierge Fee + Fuel Surcharge + Insurance will also increase hence making the total payable higher. Eventually, these costs will be larger than vShop4u's inflated weight charge making vShop4u the better option.
Vshop4u is basically ideal for those who have 1 small, but very expensive, item to ship as the total payable is not dependant on the declared value.
Lucky for us, you can submit an order for quotation without any payment with vShop4u (an account is required first) and from there, deduce if the inflated weight charge is worth sticking with vPost or heading over to Comgateway.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Phew. I hope you guys have found my verbal vomit useful. Do let me know in the comments because interaction is always good :)
Also, if you find that any information I've put up is false, unclear etc, do also let me know and I'll edit accordingly.
Before I end, just a little Public Service Announcement;
|
SPEND WITHIN YOUR MEANS |
With that, bye guys!
♥ Sheena V
Disclaimer: I am affiliated to neither vPost nor Comgateway. My tables, figures and calculations are based on facts/info provided on both websites hence I urge you to visit the read the footnotes mentioned and links provided should you require verification. Additionally, I encourage you to do more research but I personally am happy with either. (: