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Thread: Foreign Payment

  1. #1
    Moderator IanF's Avatar
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    Foreign Payment

    Hi gang,
    I have just been through my first attempt at importing.
    Background:
    My laser tube died and the local agent did not have stock despite saying that he will stock spares. So I got hold of the Chinese manufacturer and ordered the tube plus a few other spares. Now they will only ship when they get the money in their account.

    FNB process:
    Since FNB is my bank and they advertise how good they are I mistakenly think great. I submitted my documents online after numerous phone calls on what info is needed on the 8th August. They then finally agree on the 13th to pay and charge me then. Next day the 14th I send the payment documentation to the supplier who says fine as soon as he gets the payment is his account they will ship. Today the 16th I email him and ask about the shipment and he replies they haven't received the money yet. So onto the blower to FNB and they tell me the funds where transferred yesterday and it takes 2 days for payment. So now we wait with customers getting despondent with us.

    Advice sought
    What banks do you recommend to pay a supplier in China efficiently so there is not a week wasted with the FNB red tape. I am not to concerned about the interest lost as I have kept out of overdraft for over a year now and FNB don't give me interest on the positive balance. Also any tips on how to get payment there quickly, the supplier doesn't accept credit cards.

    Only stress when you can change the outcome!

  2. #2
    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    Sorry to hear about your supplier and bank problems Ian, if I need small quantities of items I've always brought them in from the UK or Eu where I've got lots of contacts at the other end to help facilitate.

    I've been tempted to do what you're doing on several occasions so I'll follow this thread with great interest and maybe shamelessly bump it from time to time.

    Good luck.
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  3. #3
    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    Any forex payment to or from RSA can take up to a week, irrespective of what bank you with.

    The fastest payment method, is usually a credit card or paypal.
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

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    We do TTs (EFT) on a fairly regular basis using both Standard Bank and Bidvest Bank. Its actually quite straight forward, but the transaction does take about 3 working days to appear on the other side once you have submitted the docs, which include an invoice and the EFT form.

    Your delay seems to have largely been caused by the public holiday. I even had some local EFTs delayed because of this.

    I'm not aware of a quicker method other than perhaps the likes of credit cards and paypal.

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    Ian, how long did your tube last, couldn't have been a year?

    My 70W is still going strong after 18 months...

    You should consider buying a more powerful Reci tube while you have the oppertunity to do so, I have my heart set on a 150W.

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    Moderator IanF's Avatar
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    Adrian the tube lasted about 14 months and the software panel said 600 hours so very disappointing. I have ordered 1 tube plus belts and motors. Wouldn't you need a new power supply and control panel for a reci tube? Also the tube length is 800mm and not much room to fit a longer tube.
    So lesson learnt about keeping adequate spares, if the tube works I will definitely get a spare or 2.

    Now I have learnt about SA red tape and must plan for that.
    Only stress when you can change the outcome!

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    To upgrade from 70W to 150W will require the following:
    New tube (the tube is about 1200mm - my machine is long enough)
    New power supply,
    New Chiller
    ...and even new lenses and mirrors.

    I would really lik o have 2 lasers, a 70W 600x400mm for the light cardboard and paper work and a 150W 2450x1400mm for MDF. My current machine feels too big for the light work and not powerfull enough for the heavy work.

    I must admit that I still have a nasty problem to contend with. My bed is slightly skew. The left front corner is lower than the right rear corner. If the table was fixed it would simply have been a matter of shimming the corner. I have a moveable table and the entire thing hangs from two barrels that are run up and down by two leadscrews. The entire contraption is wonky and looks like a tray balanced on two pins. Its one of those things that will have to get ripped out and completely reworked. It is quite clear that the table movement mechanism was added as an afterthought. Another thing that gets on my nerves is that the x0, y0 coordinates are at the right rear corner of the machine. All my other machines are set at the left bottom. There doesn't seem to be a way to change this setting because the setting screen is password locked. One day is one day and I'm going to toss the Chinese controller and replace it with a Mach 3 CNC controller...

    The biggest problem I find with the 70W tube is that the machine gets Flu...Sounds odd but this is what happens. The machine is normally able to cut 3mm MDF at about 5mm/sec. When it rains or when the wood is slightly moist then the machine wants to know nothing about cutting MDF. We sometimes recut the same line three times to get through. Then the next morning when the sun is high and its nice and warm then the machine is ok again.....
    Last edited by adrianh; 16-Aug-12 at 02:04 PM.

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    Moderator IanF's Avatar
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    Adrian, I only have room for 1 laser in my shop. For MDF we use novalite 3 mm and it cuts well but we do a less humid climate on the highveld. Our table is fixed but is also slightly lower in some places. There is a setting for the origin point and we have it set left top as we look at the table we cut from coreldraw through the addon. We have not been able to cut the local MDF or plywood so don't offer that. One trick we learnt with paper is don't store it on the floor so we use pallets and that does help with moisture problems.
    For the password try rd8888 it works for us.
    Using a laser is rewarding but frustrating, we have learnt not to cut architect students models as the air assist blows all the small pieces inot a black hole.
    Only stress when you can change the outcome!

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    I do a lot of work for those students. A trick that I use is to put tags on the parts. All you do is to break the lines here and there and remove a 0.5mm section. The little tag keep the parts tied to the main sheet of material. Better still - tell the students that they have to add the tags otherwise you won't cut the job.

    Click image for larger version. 

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