buying from USA

[qld]

Allmost 10 weeks ago i paid and ordered from Astrosystems a cover for a 16 inch truss dob and paid for air delivery.Todate it hasnt arrived.i have raised this with the company which keeps telling me that they have sent the item and that it takes anything from 7 days to 10 weeks to send to Sydney.i cant believe them anymore.......has any body else had any similiar experience with this Co or other USA suppliers and what did you do,other than send countless emails complaining about lousy service.

[norm]

Hey QLD,

I recently purchased 2 items from OpticsPlanet, chose the cheapest air freight option there was ($48 AU) end to end about 8 days via DHL.

Likewise bought some ice skates for my daughter, UPS, cheapest option, abt 6-7 days from memory.

If they're stating up to 10 weeks, they're having you on.

Thats my 2 cents worth.

Good Luck with it mate.

Norm

Detailed Results:

Delivered Abroad, April 07, 2010, 10:23 am, AUSTRALIA
Attempted Delivery Abroad, April 06, 2010, 4:29 pm, AUSTRALIA
Attempted Delivery Abroad, April 06, 2010, 11:46 am, AUSTRALIA
Out of Foreign Customs, April 02, 2010, 2:29 pm, AUSTRALIA
Into Foreign Customs, April 02, 2010, 2:12 pm, AUSTRALIA
Arrived Abroad, April 02, 2010, 2:12 pm, AUSTRALIA
International Dispatch, March 30, 2010, 10:07 am, ISC CHICAGO IL (USPS)
Arrival International Dispatch, March 30, 2010, 10:06 am, ISC CHICAGO IL (USPS)
Arrival Electronic Shipping Info Received, March 29, 2010
Shipment Accepted; March 29, 2010, 3:44 pm, NORTHBROOK, IL 60062

[PeterM]

10 days for my delivery from Sirius Technologies (soft cover for LX200) postage was about 20% of cost of item. Having said that back in around mid-late 90s? (around the time they had a fire that destroyed a lot of gear) I purchased a mirror cell from Astrosystems with no issues.

Peterm

[casstony]

A couple of times we've had books turn up months late after having gone to Austria instead of Australia. World geography isn't a strong point in the US public education system.

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

Just out of interest qld, which delivery service did you select for your order, and was it a traceable service. I ordered a telescope from OPT a few months back and received it in about 5 days via USPS:

Service Type: Express Mail PO-Add
Shipment Activity Location Date & Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delivered Abroad AUSTRALIA 01/25/10 5:11pm
At Foreign Delivery AUSTRALIA 01/24/10 7:47pm
Unit
Out of Foreign Customs AUSTRALIA 01/24/10 11:09am
Into Foreign Customs AUSTRALIA 01/24/10 11:05am
Arrived Abroad AUSTRALIA 01/24/10 11:05am
International Dispatch UNITED STATES 01/21/10 7:06pm
Arrival UNITED STATES 01/21/10 7:05pm
Processed through Sort SAN DIEGO CA 92137 01/20/10 3:44pm
Facility
Electronic Shipping OCEANSIDE CA 92054 01/20/10 1:57pm

I really think 10 weeks is a ridiculous lead time for sending anything from the US to Australia. See if you can get some tracking information from the sender. Additionally, you could try ringing them rather than emailing to see if you get any better service if email isn't working out.

Dean

[JethroB76 (Jeff)]

Last few smaller packages like this have gone through USPS first class international mail or similar and have each turned up on the 10th day.

[AstralTraveller (David)]

You need to ask whether it was USPS or a courier, and which one. Then you want a tracking number. USPS and most (all?) couriers will have an online tracking system. Some are more use than others (Aust post is v poor) but at least they will show the date of lodgement - probably also arrival in Sydney for an internation shipment. At work I've caught out suppliers saying they posted before they really did.

[MikeyB (Michael)]

Sounds like qld's parcel might be coming by surface mail (if it's coming at all!) I had to wait three months for a surface mail parcel from Canada (private eBay seller), a couple of years back.

[qld]

Originally Posted by MikeyB

Sounds like qld's parcel might be coming by surface mail (if it's coming at all!) I had to wait three months for a surface mail parcel from Canada (private eBay seller), a couple of years back.

hello team,finally got a reply from astrosystems today,they are adamant that they have sent the article and that i should receive it soon,they informed me that they could not provide me with a tracking number,nor did they provide me with the name of the courier(i paid for airfreight as quoted by them in US $ by bank electronic transfer.....i.e....CASH)as i requested. The joke is that i recommended their scope cover to a chap in the blue mountains three weeks ago and he informed me that he received that article and another item within 7 days! last week.Not much i can do about it but next time i will insist on courier contact details....thought you all should be on your guard in the future
happy days
qld

[Nesti (Mark)]

I received a 980kg palette from Illinois USA is just 15 days (although a 980kg shipment is quite expensive)...you get what you pay for, and if you paid for a good freight service, did they?

[Moon (James)]

When I visited their site www <dot> astrosystems <dot> biz my virus scanner blocked it!

Perhaps they sent it to the wrong address and it got sent back to them. That could take a few weeks.

I would demand a tracking number, or my money back.

Hope you get it soon.

James

[qld]

Originally Posted by Moon

When I visited their site www <dot> astrosystems <dot> biz my virus scanner blocked it!

Perhaps they sent it to the wrong address and it got sent back to them. That could take a few weeks.

I would demand a tracking number, or my money back.

Hope you get it soon.

James

i received another email today from astrosystems they have asked me to wait 2 weeks and if i dont get it they will make a claim on their insurance co and send me another unit.....although this is unsatifactory i dont have much choice

[duncan]

Sounds horribly like they didn't have it in stock to start with and have had to source one and then forward it on. With a bit of luck they'll get wind of whats been said on here and get their act together. In the meantime i hope it turns up asap for you.
Cheers,
Duncan