So for the recent pre-order for the L.A. Crimes expansion for Detective, we tried shipping the game to my sister in Singapore as a way to get things faster. The box arrived without issue and I finally claimed it from my sister today. This at least confirms that Singapore is a pretty viable shipping option for the ever-quirky, Poland-based Portal Games.
On the flip side, I've also ordered Portal's the Robinson Crusoe: Mystery Tales expansion direct to the Sietch in Manila since UPS came up as a possible shipping option. The game is estimated to arrive on the 22nd so keeping my fingers crossed that we don't suddenly develop customs complications or anything like that. I haven't seen the UPS option for other game orders - it may have to do with the total size of the order in terms of total order value or just the actual size/s of the game/s involved.
You'd think it would be simpler to just ship everything directly to the house, but any Filipino knows that the customs agents at the local post offices are pretty random in how they assess customs duties. Sometimes they're nice and just charge you the weird opening/inspection charge. Other times they charge you an arm and a leg and you end up paying 2-3 times the value of the item in taxes and whatnot, which makes such purchases oddly impractical. But when other shipping options that bypass the post office become available, it becomes a somewhat viable option.
It's still a little hit or miss, but we just hope for the best. Or we resort to shipping items to other foreign addresses then trust friends and family to secure methods to get them home through other ways.
Comments
Post a Comment