Job Discussion Forums

nasigoreng · Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 12:30 pm Post subject: Packages

Does anyone receive packages (containing books and magazines in my case)from their home country?

Is the Indonesian postal service reliable (read...trustworthy), or is it necessary to use Fed-Ex or another similiar company?

Chester · Joined: 15 May 2004 Posts: 383 Location: Australia

mate.
i have sent and received lots of stuff
lots goes missing
i believe because customs dudes open anything looking for something of value.
if they perceive its worthless - why tape it up and send it on?
they chuck it out.

i also had a parcel of mediciation that i need for - well - medical reasons (sic) sent from australia. took me 3 months and lots of rupiah to the quarantine dudes - although they suggested i pay an incintive - to get the stuff. feck them i says

other things have arrived ok
e.g. my folks sent 50 dollars in a card for my birthday (bless them) and that came. ( huh huh huh ....i said came uhh huh huh huh)
so i guess letter size is ok.
its a risk, not because of security or embargoe stuuf, but the dudes that process the stuff are corrupt.

so says the wisdom of chester

GuruStip · Joined: 24 Jun 2004 Posts: 47

You could get them to put "bomb" in the contents box.
Or lie about the value.
Or send a dead cat as a test run.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

What Chester says: letter-size envelopes are generally safe, but expect parcels to be opened and snooped through. Don't send anything of significant value by post - use a courier. I used DHL a couple of times without incident.

gugelhupf · Joined: 24 Jan 2004 Posts: 575 Location: Jabotabek

Had no trouble with books coming in as printed matter - not even opened. Everything else has been opened and snooped through as everyone else has suggested, but contents left intact and nothing missing, so far...

Incidentally, I don't think I ever told anyone on this forum about my parting shot against that ESLAsia bunch of fraudsters before I last left the UK in October. Myself and a friend scammed the scammers by pretending to be a likely mug and were invited to send an original TESOL certificate by DHL to an address in Thailand. We actually sent a few sheets of American Express junk mail dusted with a highly illegal substance of the intoxicating variety, in the hope that Thai customs would detect the 'substance' and knock on the recipient's door with a sledgehammer looking for more.

Never did find out if it worked.

wooskie · Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 8:08 pm Post subject:

i never had a problem sending things to friends by either Fed ex or Ups but its a crap shoot if you send it through regular mail. In fact I have a friend over there that has an uncle that works for the mail system and if it gets through the customs guys intact its likely to be snagged by the mail people if it has a foreign return address on it...so he tells me. Also never list the value at more than 50 bucks and i think it oughta be ok...at least thats what i do.

Winmarr · Joined: 11 Feb 2005 Posts: 115 Location: Melbourne

I've sent money through the post 3 or 4 times, but not since one of the letters went missing. It had photos and $50 in it. Oh well. I always use money transfer people to send dosh there now.

guruengerish · Joined: 28 Mar 2004 Posts: 424 Location: Australia

Since returning to Australia, I've had occassion to send numerous small packets and larger envelopes to Indonesia.

The Post Office here only use printed, gummed receipts and never stamps, as they explained to me that the envelope and stamps are 'souvenired' in Indonesia, and of course, the contents dumped.

DHL etc are much more likely to deliver.