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Wristwatch - must have a battery. A courier story

  1. CanberraOmega Rabbitohs and Whisky Supporter Feb 12, 2016

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    so, as you will have seen, I'm selling a few watches. I sold the Enicar to a bloke in India. We agreed to use a courier, rather than post. I booked the courier, all good, picked up on Monday. Should arrive today (Friday). I'd noticed the tracking wasn't great, just saying "in transit". Oh well.

    Anyway, get to work today, and my package has been returned to sender, with a note saying it is unsuitable for air cargo because the package contains a lithium battery!

    Called them up and they said that they assumed it had a battery in it, because the contents said "wristwatch". Brilliant. So now they have to pick it up again(on Monday), delaying it by a full week.

    Idiots.

    Luckily the buyer seemed quite relaxed.
     
  2. Pvt-Public Feb 12, 2016

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    Does that mean all lithium batteries are forbidden on planes down under? I know a lot of airlines and carriers are placing a limit on bulk shippments, but single batteries? That's going to be a real big PITA if you can't take your cell phone on board. As far as I know the ground shipping options out of Australia are QUITE limited!!::psy::::stirthepot::::facepalm2::
     
  3. STANDY schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector Feb 12, 2016

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    WTF , thousands of battery powered items come in via plane each week, everything from fitbits to UHF handhelds with larger lithium batteries.

    Be interesting to know which courier company @CanberraOmega

    @Pvt-Public funny thing is you can carry as many as you want carry on, as I travel a bit with a couple of phones , HP tablet and a iPad. The issue is check-in luggage as have been made to carry on tablets a few times lately.
     
    Edited Feb 12, 2016
  4. Alpha Kilt Owner, Beagle Parent, Omega Collector Feb 12, 2016

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    Every time I visit the local post office they are obliged to ask if the watch has a battery, answer yes then on your bike they will not take it. Now if you were to answer no and :whistling: I wonder what would happen ???
     
  5. mokofoko One sad panda Feb 12, 2016

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    I knew that packages with batteries required the warning labels on the box sides, but I had no idea that watch batteries qualified--especially when they're installed in the watch. What kind of damage could a battery exploding in a watch actually do?
     
  6. STANDY schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector Feb 12, 2016

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  7. oddboy Zero to Grail+2998 In Six Months Feb 12, 2016

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  8. redpcar Feb 12, 2016

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    Dramatic video. :cautious: I've popped several. Just some heat and the top flies off. Try blowing up a capacitor! Much more fun. We are talking Roman Candles here. Flames and balls of fire. Now that is dramatic.
     
  9. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Feb 12, 2016

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    That's why you use surface, not ground... ;)

    But be prepared to wait 3 months for whatever you are sending to get to where you are sending it...
     
  10. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Feb 12, 2016

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    BTW I do recall being asked if we had any lithium battery devices in our checked luggage when we went to Hawaii recently. I can't recall for sure where that question was asked, since we had 7 flights in total on that trip, but I do recall them saying those needed to be in your carry on luggage (iPads etc.).

    The odd part about this whole story is that the vast majority of watch batteries do not contain lithium - they are silver oxide batteries. Off the top of my head the only Omega I can think of with a lithium battery is the X-33 (and I assume related watches) but most small button cells are silver oxide.

    Cheers, Al
     
  11. CanberraOmega Rabbitohs and Whisky Supporter Feb 12, 2016

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    Mob called "couriers please". They are owned by Singapore Post, they use DHL where they don't have a presence and were quite cheap. So I thought they would be worth a shot - effectively getting DHL for half price!
     
  12. CanberraOmega Rabbitohs and Whisky Supporter Feb 12, 2016

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    THAT's the weird part? I really don't think that the "security" monkey that made this assumption had any idea. But next time I speak with them, I will let them know.

    What sh::censored::rs me, is that, unlike with the post office (who have never done this), couriers please have all my details, phone, etc. so instead of being lazy and returning it to me, pick up the damn phone and call me!
     
  13. dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Feb 12, 2016

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    Incidentally Australia Post only a couple months ago removed the restriction on lithium batteries on air cargo, used to be you couldn't ship anything like that by express within AU as its all air freight. But I was sending my old iPhone 5S to an eBay buyer and was informed that the day I was sending it was the first day of new rules and so express was fine.
     
  14. CanberraOmega Rabbitohs and Whisky Supporter Feb 12, 2016

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    Well when I send my x33, I'll use AusPost!
     
  15. dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Feb 12, 2016

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    I don't know if that's international, but its definitely for internal express by air within Australia
     
  16. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Feb 12, 2016

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    Well yes - I would expect most people who are not watch collectors to assume that a watch uses a battery. To assume that battery is lithium is more puzzling to me than assuming a watch has a battery to begin with, if that is what you are getting at... :confused:
     
  17. Jones in LA Isofrane hoarder. Feb 12, 2016

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    I had sort of a similar thing happen recently. At the conclusion of a religious service, I noticed a twenty-something guy pushing his way through the congregants and coming straight toward me. When he was clear of the crowd he pointed excitedly to my wrist. My heart jumped. Wow!, I thought, this dude noticed my super-awesome watch and wants to talk about it! I was wearing a Speedmaster Apollo-Soyuz with the meteorite dial, which has a unique appearance that varies a lot depending on the angle of the dial in the ambient light, and it happened to be extra glittery in the lighting of the sanctuary that day. The guy asked: "Is that one of those solar powered watches?" My heart sank. I shrugged my shoulders and said "No, it's actually a manual-wind watch". The guy looked a bit lost for words for a moment, then he said "Really?...why?" I'm not sure if he questioned 'why' because he wondered why it needed to be wound, or if he was wondering why I would wear a watch that needed winding. I continued: "It doesn't have a battery. There's nothing electronic inside it at all. I wind it each day that I wear it." Then he shrugged his shoulders and walked away before I had a chance to explain how super-awesome my watch was.
     
    Edited Feb 12, 2016
    Civilguy007 and arkstfan like this.