an open letter for USPS

[gregbradley]

I recently bought a camera from overseas. It was sent USPS. I was tracking it and then noticed after several days it was delivered back to the shipper.

It was because USPS will not ship anything worth over $2500. So it had to be resent using UPS and it arrived within 4 days. The USPS added a week.

Greg.

[PRejto (Peter)]

Greg,

Actually I think you got lucky that it didn't arrive in Australia only to have AusPost grab it and hold it hostage!

Peter

[dreamstation (James)]

Originally Posted by dreamstation

An update on my DGM filter, it has finally been processed through the USPS facility in San Francisco, which has taken a little over 48 hours. Total time since it was shipped? 16 days. Hopefully soon it will make it to the runway...

Well it finally made it's way to Australia. Landed in Sydney on Saturday and that's the last I've heard... Time since being shipped: 22 days...

[Slawomir (Suavi)]

Originally Posted by dreamstation

Well it finally made it's way to Australia. Landed in Sydney on Saturday and that's the last I've heard... Time since being shipped: 22 days...

Hopefully you will get it shortly James.

I am still waiting for an item posted on the 21 July with USPS Priority Express (advertised 3-5 days worldwide delivery)...2 more weeks of waiting and apparently I will be able to apply for a refund.

On a slightly different subject, just got a reply from the US Customs to my enquiry made on the 25th of September 2015! It went something like this: Due to the extremely high volume...

[Slawomir (Suavi)]

The sender did not include all necessary paperwork so the item was held up by the customs for a week. Did the N10 form myself - not such horrible thing as it might seem at first sight; took me about 15 minutes - you only need to fill in one page; all went well, the form has been already accepted by the customs and there are no duties to pay (except for an administrative fee..) - anyway, happy days!

EDIT: I finally got the parcel today. International priority express took only 26days...but what matters most that it is here

[acropolite (Phil)]

Hate to be a spoiler but I bought an item off ebay, posted 3/8 (US date) arrived today 11/8 not too bad, perhaps USPS treats eBay shipping differently.

[Shano592 (Shane)]

Originally Posted by PRejto

So, Shano592 what does your customs broker charge you? Is it worth it compared to just using a full service shipper like DHL or FedEx? I hope to never personally see another N10 in my life. I think it's almost a miracle I somehow filled it out to their satisfaction.

Peter

Hi Peter,

Sorry, I just saw this.

I deal in container lots now, not LCL or air-freight.

You could check with any of the import agents around Mascot. Last time I did that, I think it was around $100 on top of the GST/Duty (but that was a while ago).

For a container, with up to 40 lines, they charge me around $2-300 on the top.

[Shano592 (Shane)]

Originally Posted by acropolite

perhaps USPS treats eBay shipping differently.

If they are anything like AusPost, then their inner workings are a total enigma.

I can often get stuff arriving in Perth, faster than it gets to Manly. The issue is the Black Hole of Chullora. The huge sorting centre down there must have a section with the lights out or something. Local stuff takes ages, but interstate is generally quite fast.

Unfortunately, with USPS being an overseas organisation, it is significantly harder to get a trace done on a missing parcel.