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...can be a bitch. I ordered a pair of cables from Israel (to the US) via postal shipping (not UPS/FedEx) and six weeks later, nadda. I've shipped and received cables from all points, and never saw this type of delay. Any stories you wish to share? TIA
Follow Ups:
Here's what my seller wrote (excuse his language translation):-snip-
(Israel) Postal office ,here is their statment : we gave all effort to track down your shippment but it routed to recipient by the basic service because your shippment has not service level tag (by the other words they forgot mark the package as air mail and no tracking ID asigned) we are ready to refund difference of summ has been payed for requested Class of service but we waiting for U.S Postal Inspection assure us no fraud case has place in this specific case because packages from same bulk (from same date) crossed U.S Border.
-snip-
I replied to my seller: How can US Postal Inspection assure Isreal Post that no fraud has occured on a package without a tracking number? And, it's more likely that fraud would have occured via a postal worker in Israel even before the bulk lot left the country given the "forgotton" tracking ID.
The bottom line is my seller has my cash in pocket, and I don't have the cables. I smell a fish.
All shipping companies say the same...
The burden is on the seller to produce a proof of shipping, unless the buyer insists on the cheapest method of shipping. I make that point very clear for international shipping and I find that most people understand the risk and spring for the insurance.
It's still odd for me that insurance rates for Express Mail (EMS) are much cheaper than standard Airmail, making EMS much more attractive. Sometimes it's the only service that offers insurance for international shipping through the post office.
There is a ray of hope... I once sent a package to Israel non-airmail and it took four months to arrive!
Let's talk about your package next year... :-(
The problem is that the reply is not so standard. They say the package entered the US already so the matter would be in USPS's hands. I find it hard to believe that the package has entered the US and has not been delivered, yet. It's more likely on the mentioned slow boat, a scam has occured, or it's bogged down in US Customs :-(
I sold a pair of Tara Labs to a nice lady in Milan Italy. I sent the pair via FedEX international. I got an email the next day that it had arrived in great shape. I didn't pay for overnight or any expediting fees. I can't get a package across state as fast as that got to Milan. I'm still amazed.
took already 6 weeks for a heavy collection of stereophile magazines. And of course a couple were missing. I hope customs is having fun reading about Hifi...
"I wouldn't trust (no) words written on no piece of paper."
Jim Jarmusch, DEAD MAN 1995
I found that I can ship faster from California to Taiwan than to WA...
Also, the insurance rates are much lower for EMS, so the extra cost of shipping is not a whole a lot more than standard airmail.
As for horror stories, I once made the mistake and shipped a personal item non-airmail to Israel. You guessed it... Took four months!
The postal service must have used mules for the local transport and from there on I cannot imagine anything but a sailboat... In my case, they must have encountered very slow winds at that time... :-)
I ship via USPS Global Priority world wide all the time and my customers always get their cables between 5-7 day's.
"If it sound's good it is good!"
Two years ago I mailed an LP set to Sri Lanka AIRMAIL (from U.S.). Took 5 MONTHS to get there. Buyer was very nice and patient. LPs arrived in the great condition they were packed in. Postal Service did a "trace" on it, though I'm not sure that helped...I've mailed several hundred packages all over the world. They have ALL arrived and most in a proper amount of time.
The old patience-is-a-virtue thing certainly comes in handy at these times...
*** Q:Why's the chicken cross the road?
***A: Fats Waller: They don't, they all stay on my side now...***
I wouldn't worry, yet. 10 years ago I purchased a Sony car Indash Tuner/CD from a supplier in New York, he had shipped it surface when he should have done it regular air parcel post. 3 months later, I received it.In another instance I shipped back to Hong Kong a wrongly shipped cassette deck by surface mail. It took 4 months to get there.
AP
# The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men # Samuel L. Jackson (Ezekiel 25:17)> Pulp Fiction <
did the sender use airmail and not surface mail or whatever its called? because IME the latter will take ages (52 days from hong kong to minneapolis, for example).
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check out my foobar playlist at http://www.last.fm/user/tiberian001/
Thanks for your reply. The seller said the package was sent via surface by "mistake" by the post office instead of airmail (huh?). Your reply is valued since I will now not worry (as much) about lost shipping being involved. I will ignore the delivery status and just accept a further "watch and wait" stance, and hope for the best, dammit :-0
Surface mail is the absolute worst way to send/receive something. This means your cable is likely on an slow ship right now. The gentleman with the 3-4 month time frame is about right, in my experience. You may want to ask the company to send another pair, and you'll send the surface mail pair back when you receive. That would seem a reasonable request, given it was his mistake...
..
# The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men # Samuel L. Jackson (Ezekiel 25:17)> Pulp Fiction <
,
Assuming you didn't get ripped off, I would not be in any hurry. I have had items take as long as 3 months when sent via surface mail.
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