Dont use VPOSTUSA California Adress for items with batteries

maguro77 · Post by **maguro77** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 2:27 pm

VPOSTUSA has two US addresses to send to - one in Portland (Oregon), the other in Compton (California). If you are planning to buy an item in the US that has batteries (eg camcorder, digital camera, phone that says it has a battery in it etc) and using VPOST - dont send it to VPOST USA's Californian address - send it to the Oregon Address.

I bought a bike helmet video camera with lithium battery and had it sent it to California and VPOST wont process it cos its a prohibited item.

Of course they point to their fine print - its listed in the prohibited Item list - agree that i didnt read it but who would have thought that buying an simple camera that comes with batteries would be prohibited. It turns out that California has some issues with batteries being exported - go figure.

Then I found out from other forums that Oregon address can accept items with batteries (this was confirmed when i called the help line) So i had to pay extra to have it ship from California to Oregon (S$78 for a 1.7 kg package via UPS. Shipping to Singapore is extra$)

Other tip - Call the 1605 number to get in touch with VPost. Dont use email if you need real help.

An expensive and timing consuming (1 month) lesson that i hope others wont have to go through. Am also going to try other providers next time like comgateway or borderlinx.

Post by **acc** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:11 pm

Wow that's crazy but thanks for pointing out. I did purchase a Dremel drill with lithium battery through VPost at California and didn't have any trouble, so I guess it depends on their mood

maguro77 · Post by **maguro77** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:19 pm

in my case, the battery was a separate item listed by amazon. So the alarm bells went off. Maybe your item description didnt say anything about battery.

Sivakis · Post by **Sivakis** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:51 pm

Thanks for the headsup maguro!

Post by **acc** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 10:54 pm

maguro77 wrote:in my case, the battery was a separate item listed by amazon. So the alarm bells went off. Maybe your item description didnt say anything about battery.

Oic, that should be the issue then. It's really quite ridiculous.

Post by **Airconvent** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:52 am

If the item can be mis-used by terrorists, then i think it can't be helped but in this case, one practised while the other did not so its more of a regional risk tolerance issue. I presume the batteries are those special types?
You can try www.worcell.com the local battery supplier or try the 3 battery shops in SLS too. That will save the hassle if they have them.

Thanks for sharing Maguro77 though!
cheers [smilie=cool.gif]

Tachyon · Post by **Tachyon** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:25 am

Interesting!

I will remember that. Thanks!

astrouser · Post by **astrouser** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 7:26 pm

Hey you can also try VIAddress (viaddress.com) for US to SG shipping. @ their website, theres a chart for price comparisons. Ive been using their services for a few mths now and am pretty satisfied..

orly_andico · Post by **orly_andico** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:48 pm

1) the Compton address is no longer available, must use the Oregon address

2) VIA Address repacks and re-ships your package via USPS. So they pass on the USPS fee and tack on their usage charge. I do not think it is cheaper than VPOST (which is operated by SingPost and presumably has a special arrangement with USPS).