Shipping from Canada to USA is taking more than two weeks up to month when they used to arrive in a week or so
Good effort. I've a order from Old Coleman Parts via USPS on its way, don't think it will beat that! I'll let you know when it arrives.
Clobbered by customs is the right word. Don't mind the tax, it is the £8 or £12 inspection/admin charge that is added to the bill that can vex me at times!
I sent out a parcel earlier this week from England to Scotland using Hermes booked through Interparcel. It arrived intact and a day quicker than they said it would. No complaints from me...
It's how it's worded, blah blah blah value of the package, i.e. value of goods + value of postage. It's not dissimilar to suppliers of goods ordered online including the cost of postage when calculating V.A.T.
US to UK 14 Days. Ordered with Old Coleman Parts on the 10 Aug, arrived today. Very good service from Mike at OCP. Sent tracked USPS. All good, much fettling to be getting on with! P.S Customs took their slice as ever.
Is anyone still having issues with shipping from Germany? I have an ebay seller telling me still no shipping to USA due to covid restrictions.
I do not have any covid related issues with shipping. The general flight security policies certainly sill apply: (short version, for detailed information ask your air freight company) Any item which ever got in contact with fuel is regarded "a dangerous material" and thus excluded from air transport. Any pressure tank is excluded from air transport. Anything which looks dangerous to the guy at the x-ray machine is excluded from air transport. A parcel may be returned to the sender (so he just looses the postage he paid) or may be destructed at sender's expenses which will include a criminal complaint to the police. These policies were introduced and tightened several times on the request of the US authorities after 9/11. So legal shipment of lanterns to the US by postal services has almost become impossible. Easiest way to avoid that trouble: Seller throws some wire, a wall plug and an old light bulb into the box and calls it an "old electric lamp". Erik
Just found this which might explain a little why prices for mail to the US have increased by so much, The cost of sending mail to the US is to set to rise dramatically from July 1, as the combination of COVID-19 international flight restrictions and changes in US policies on postal rates for incoming mail combine to create a worrying precedent for international mail. Royal Mail in the UK is one of a number of international mail providers affected by the circumstances, with the price of sending International standard parcels to the US increasing by 49% on average, and the price of International signed and tracked parcels sent to the US increasing by an average of 38%. The impact of flight restrictions due to the Coronavirus pandemic is one cause of the price rise, with Royal Mail explaining that "Most of Royal Mail's international mail is carried on commercial passenger flights. There has been a 95% reduction in air passenger flights globally following the outbreak of Covid-19. We are having to use air freight to keep the mail moving instead." According to Royal Mail, this has led to a "five-fold increase in our air freight costs to the US". A more notable trend in international mail, though, comes from a change in US policy towards incoming mail from outside of the USA, which will contribute a long term cost increase in sending mail to America. Royal Mail explain that "The increase in the rates we pay for last mile delivery in the US are a result of decisions taken at the UN's Universal Postal Union (UPU). This met the US administration's stated objective – to increase how much they charge other countries for delivery. We expect other countries to follow suit. We are likely to see price increases to elsewhere in the world in due course." The complex relationship between the US and the UPU was first raised in 2018, when the Trump Administration announced plans to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union, citing unfair trading conditions which they alleged favored China. The US opted against withdrawl from the UPU when a deal was struck to allow the US Postal Service to set its own postal rates, which, according to Royal Mail, will see "A significant increase of more than 100% in the rates we pay for last mile delivery in the US from 1st July". Responding to the price increase, Richard Snowdon, Managing Director of Royal Mail International, said that "Changes to the way in which international mail services charge each other for the last mile delivery, as well as significant increases in the cost of securing air freight has resulted in Royal Mail experiencing substantial costs outside of our control. We have absorbed the higher costs of air freight to date. This is no longer possible. These changes are necessary to help ensure the sustainability of the universal service to the UK and internationally. We have kept international mail flowing throughout the Covid-19 crisis, supporting UK business and keeping families connected. It is with regret that we are making these parcel pricing changes to the US from 1st July. In passing on these costs, which are outside our control, we will not profit in doing so." For further details on how these price increases will affect you, check out the website of your regular postal supplier, or to see Royal Mail's price finder, go to www.royalmail.com/price-finder
I posted a brief warning elsewhere this morning but I believe this is a better post to summarise and add to as it directly relates to shipping expenses. Anyway, I tried to purchase some small compasses for fixing a Tilley FL6 gauge and the price was a few UK pounds. They would fit in a cigarette box so I was surprised by the postage of a few hundred pounds. That's about $500 Australian. I wrote today to the seller and they replied and said eBay sets the shipping price under it's Global Shipping Program and that I should write to them. Shame as they were the best compasses for the job. I'm guessing it's a stuff up. I am just so lucky I did not automate the Pay Pal link from Ebay as I would never have picked up on the postage readily and may have had the money go out of my account. Key point is to double check the postage!
@podbros Yes thanks, I have just written to eBay as they asked why I left it in the checkout without paying for it. I told them we could post that to the UK for probably $10. Oh well maybe just a glitch. Just so very glad I changed my password after reading here or in CCS about someone being hacked. That stopped it from automatically going through and saved me from a nightmare.
..You did the right thing It can be difficult to contact companies that operate only online and have no traditional type customer service
Anyone used parcelforce or landmark for shipping lamps abroad from the UK? Any problems? Are DPD still a problem?
I've not had a problem with DPD although I've not had any great dealings with them. I've had several problems with ParcelFarce over the years...
Spot on! Seriously though, they are amateurs ... remarkable how anything gets to where it's supposed to? Using Parcelforce is.. Not Recommended
