Finally delivered....9 weeks...why so long!!!! (1 Viewer)

[mikemiller1955]

I mailed an Ebay auction piece to Italy on 6/11/11...to a very good friend and JJD collector...who also happens to post on this forum...

me and him have both been sweating it's delivery for about 2-3 weeks since he first notified me that he had still not received it...

I got good news today from him that is was finally deliverd today...

it took 9 weeks to get there...^&grin...sent USPS First Class International...but he finally got it today...

9 weeks seems more than excessive...I know there are faster and more expensive ways to send it...that's not my question...

I have had trouble with some Internatinal deliveries to certain countries...

Germany and Italy especially...these countries seem to be the slowest...

Has anyone else found some countries slower to process parcels through Customs?

My faith is somewhat restored in the postal services...but I have a hard time justifying the slow process of delivery...

I don't understand the Custom's process...

where do these boxes end up sitting for 9 weeks...

once it's accepted by a foreign Custom's office...why does it sit on their shelves so long...it seems somewhat negligent to me that it takes 9 weeks to send a package overseas in this day and age with all the advanced technology available...I can only guess circumstances like this are attributed to human error...

 

[thebritfarmer]

I don't know why the delay Michael, usually a parcel takes 5-7 days to arrive from the UK but it takes 2 weeks to receive from the US. I have noticed that quite a few eBay sellers will not ship to Italy amongst other countries, perhaps because of the long delivery times???

 

[jazzeum]

Nine weeks is hard to figure out. When I ship overseas, less than two weeks is the norm (once took three though). I know I receive packages quickly from overseas.

Maybe you have bad karma this year Michael

 

[mikemiller1955]

Nine weeks is hard to figure out. When I ship overseas, less than two weeks is the norm (once took three though). I know I receive packages quickly from overseas.

maybe you have bad karma this year Michael

Brad...lol ...I don't know about the karma...but you said something somewhat profound...that seems to be true...on another post I made about a severely delayed delivery to Germany...that was eventually returned to my house 3 months after it was undeliverable...

you said you had a conversation with Shannon one day about these postal delays...and she replied...

"everything gets delivered sooner or later"...

I guess that's true...

I just don't understand why Italy and Germany operate such a slow Custom's process...

with modern transportation...electronic paperwork...I guess it still boils down to humans doing the actual work...I just can't help wondering why Italy and Germany can't seem to speed up the process...

 

[theBaron]

...I just can't help wondering why Italy and Germany can't seem to speed up the process...

It may depend on the direction, that is, sending vs. receiving. I buy online from Scholz' Berliner Zinnfiguren website, and shipping back to the US is now down to a week to 10 days. When I first bought from them, it was 2 weeks or more, and that was for air mail, with delays here at depots in the States.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Njja]

I have found Italy to be the worst myself. I have not sold much this year, and I really don't miss the shipping hassles!

 

[mikemiller1955]

It may depend on the direction, that is, sending vs. receiving. I buy online from Scholz' Berliner Zinnfiguren website, and shipping back to the US is now down to a week to 10 days. When I first bought from them, it was 2 weeks or more, and that was for air mail, with delays here at depots in the States.

Prost!
Brad

Brad...I think you're right...receiving in the US is a much more expeditious process then shipping outward Internationally...

I have found Italy to be the worst myself. I have not sold much this year, and I really don't miss the shipping hassles!

John...I agree...Italy is one of the worst...but it seems to be indiscriminate...I have had a few packages arrive promptly...while for no reason...others seem to take a long time...

I split an order once for a guy that bought multiple auctions on Ebay...both address's (his and his friend) were in Italy...both were mailed the same day...one of them took an extra 8 day to find it's destination...it made no sense...but it did eventually get there...

from my experience...Germany is not too Customs friendly either...I got a parcel returned after 3 months to my doorstep...all 7 individually bubble wrapped boxes were in it...all the boxes were in perfect shape...not a dent or a crease on them...only one had been opened...and it was poorly re-wrapped after inspection...both figures in the opened box were horribly bent up...the other 6 sets were in perfect shape...I got the feeling that German Customs purposely damaged the set that had been opened...it was not casual damage...it was definitely man made...one of the figures looked like it had been thrown against the wall...the damage was too severe to have just been accidently dropped on the floor...it was definitely intentional...

I have been warned about South America also by the attendants at USPS...but have no personal experience shipping there...

I keep having these images of Italian Customs personnel sipping cappuccino at their desk while my parcel collects dust...^&grin

 

[mikemiller1955]

 

[marco55]

That's why I really hate to ship to another country.It's nothing against our comrades but it can really be such a hassle.
Mark

 

[wayne556517]

I thought this thread was about someones Missus having a baby,along labor.
Seriously i would never go that first class thingy to risky and i get stuff from the US and England quicker than i get it from Brisbane,work that one out international quicker than good old Aussie post !!