Shuvam M.

I've been using their service for about two years now. Before this, I've used at least three other international services, and this one is the best. Their customer support is excellent and on point, their package handling is methodical and prompt, and their portal works very well. They operate in the geographies I'm interested in: EU, UK and the US.

Overall, okay experience. The UI can be improved, error messages can be much more informative.

I didn't know about sitejabber -- just chanced upon it now, and was stunned to read all the reviews. I live in Bombay, and have been using Borderlinx for more than a decade, I think. For some reason, I believe I started using them since 2006. I must have done 40-50 transshipments through them over this period, all for personal use. I buy used audio equipment sometimes from eBay UK (the mains voltage matches India), and all sorts of stuff from Amazon US and UK. I've also bought one or two items from European sellers on eBay and gotten them transshipped through the Borderlinx Germany warehouse. They opened their HK warehouse several years after I started using their services.

I've bought amplifiers, high-end disc spinners, expensive Walkman Professionals, mechanical wrist watches, photo equipment from KEH, used IBM Thinkpads from eBay US, and other things. (A used Thinkpad can cost $275 on eBay and give you 3+ years of totally trouble-free service without any warranty cover. :) )

I've never lost a package. I've used both DDU and DDP modes. Things have always reached me undamaged. When I say "always", I really mean 100%. I've had a few instances of unhelpful customer support personnel, maybe 5-7% of the time, but then this is what you get worldwide when any global operation uses cut-rate support centres in the Third World (I know what I'm talking about -- I have friends working in dead-end jobs in call centres in Bombay...) I accept these things -- it goes with the territory, in my humble opinion.

Of late, I've also seen that they take 2 days or more from the time they receive a package at their warehouse to the time it shows up in their listing on their portal. Contacting their support doesn't help get this done faster -- they just throw their "this-is-our-standard-operating-process" line at me. I know that they used to do this in less than a day before. I am certain that most of their customer support executives have had a shorter association with Borderlinx than I've had as a customer, but then c'est la vie.

Their Customs clearance in India has always been smooth. Indian Customs can be notorious, but these guys clear my stuff smoothly. Sometimes, Indian Customs asks for additional details, which I give Borderlinx/DHL on email, and then they release the goods. They used to ask for cash payment of the duty, but they've started a payment gateway online now, and I pay the duties online. They deliver the package within a few hours of my paying my duties.

They are cheaper than shipping through DHL directly. I have no doubt about this; I've done my homework. They may not be the cheapest shipment option, but I'm a bit non-Indian in my attitude towards pricing -- I don't always place the lowest price as my topmost priority. I've also bought stuff from overseas occasionally, from China and Europe, without using Borderlinx, and while the shipping costs have been low, they've taken a month, even 2 months, to reach me, through ordinary posts. I'm ok with those delays, but I am happy that with Borderlinx, I pay for a faster, timebound, tracked delivery even with their cheapest shipping option.

When multiple items come in one shipment to me, they sometimes land up separating some of the items. So, two items will land up at Indian Customs and wait for two other items, and those two will still be in Heathrow. This sometimes adds 2,3, days to the delay in my receiving the goods. Some people may get upset by this, but for me, all these are my own personal goods for my own pleasure or for my family -- nothing here is time sensitive.

The actual shipment is done by DHL as you know, and I've had 100% positive experience with DHL. (I've used Fedex once, exactly once, for a shipment from HK to India (not Borderlinx) and they treated me like garbage. I lost a piece of equipment costing about $500 because Fedex wanted me to get a clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt of India, before they would get it cleared through Customs. I told them to discard the item. It was an ordinary audio processor from MiniDSP, completely non-controversial.) So, having seen some of this, I value DHL for their professionalism.

One last point: some people keep saying that Borderlinx should use cheaper shipping options, not DHL. I think this is silly, because as far as I know, Borderlinx is a service extension of DHL. They exist because DHL created them in order to sell DHL services.