cutting corners in shipping

[Stephen]

Learn from my mistakes, when shipping out of USA to lets say Hawaii, always always use Priority, mailed a package to Bob Benson on the 16 of Dec. its still on the boat as far as the USPS can tell. Insured for a grand, cant claim until fifteen days after today's date as that was the estimated delivery date. PO office lady had my PTSD flaring as she was instant as to how i knew it was worth a grand, told her just mail the dam thing...god i hate my temper when I'm working with postal employees...know what going postal means for sure.

[Adrian]

Don't worry, I had a USPS priority package mailed to me (EU) from the USA on Dec 10. Went to the USPS export warehouse in 2 days, went missing for almost a month, reappeared on tracking on Jan 9 when it entered my country. Got it on 11th.

 

So basically the huge volume of goods that goes from one continent to another during the holiday season will slow down shipping to the point where the delivery date becomes unpredictable. And that was with priority, it's obvious what happens with first class...

[hxv]

Stephen,

 

John Tirado shipped my sword & new shirasaya back to me on Jan. 21 by registered mail. The sword was supposed to have been delivered on Jan. 23. Today is 1/29 and the sword is nowhere to be seen. USPS tracking says the sword is still in Philadelphia...basically next door to where John dropped off the shipment, after 6 working days...

 

Hoanh

[Stephen]

Thanks Adrian and Hoanh.. not so worried now

[Brian]

I have 4 parcels on the way to me from the USA...all sent around mid December. Non sword related.

None have arrived. None have a tracking number or are insured. I have no idea if I will get any of them....or if they pick December to steal stuff.

Wanna talk about frustration?

 

Brian

[watsonmil]

Dear Stephen,

When I was in business, ... sometimes shipping out 30 or more parcels a week to destinations all over the world. I found the Canadian postal system to be amongst the WORST in the world. Fortunately I live only 25 miles from the US border, ... so used to ship virtually all my items from the US Post Office.

In many years of business, ... the USPO lost only 1 parcel, ... and paid the insurance claim promptly. I also always received my ordered goods at my US Postal Address and again only 1 lost parcel in all the years. The absolute worst postal system has got to be the Italian followed closely by Spain, and the UK and lest I forget CANADA !

 

What I am trying to say, ... is be thankful for your postal system it is among the very best in the world. You can be sure the USPS will do there very best to locate your shipment .

... Ron Watson

 

PS. Brian I forgot to include the African countries among the worst, ... sorry to be negligent.

PPS. With the Internet virtually having taken over the regular postal letter business ( email ), .... the world's PO's are all running terrible deficits. It will be a wonder if we have any POST OFFICES left in a few years which leaves us with the expensive Private Carriers to deliver parcels and heaven forbid letter mail !

[raven2]

My condolences to all. I know the feeling. My tanto from Mariusz was stuck in Polish customs in Warsaw for 2 1/2 weeks. As I said in my other thread, when I finally got it on Monday night, it was covered in fingerprints. Not sure who examined it, but it is enough to bang your head against a wall.

[Jean]

Waited a USPS parcel sent on the 6th of January. Tracking number indicated it was still on the USPS Florida premises, I received it unexpectedly on the 22nd though it was supposed to be still in the US.

[Stephen]

guess this applys

[Curran]

Most anything mailed from Dec 10th to January 10th went into a black-hole of USPS systems overload.

Last year around July? they upgraded everything Priority to have tracking and $50 insurance. Their systems obviously weren't ready for it, but the shiite didn't really hit the fan until the holiday mailing started.

 

However: Philadelphia and Tirado.

Darcy has told me horror stories about things clearing Chicago. Not sure if I can top those. Nothing..... NOTHING.... ever got lost in Jersey. I've only had one eternal MIA in NYC, and that may have been 50% my fault. ~~~~ But Phili..........I did spent 2 years in Phili and they are definitely a bastion of USPS chicannery. I was a grad student at the time, so had flexible schedule to track everything down. Philadelphia is the Bermuda Triangle in my experience. Only city where I ever actually preferred UPS to USPS.

 

90% of everything I've ever had go missing or damaged in the last 20 years was via Phili USPS, in just a 2 year period.

(1) A retainer check I wrote to our future business lawyer for $10,000 went missing for 2 years....

After a month, the lawyer thought I'd flaked and gave me attitude. I sent a wire the next day.

Two years later she wrote me an apologetic email showing me a letter that had just arrived, post stamped 2 years earlier and rather 'stepped on'.

(2) Also got a few packages on the doorstep in plastic bags that looked like wolves had chewed on them, enclose with little paper notes saying "Oops. Sorry. Please contact this number..."

(3) A European sent me cash via envelope..... which arrived slit open and with green tape resealing it. Missing a $50....

(4) They managed to crush a double boxed brass shoami tsuba. I don't mean ding.... I must imagine drop a boulder on it from 50 ft up. Even the Postal Employee taking the claim filed had to ponder the physics involved.

(5) Had problems shipping to/from Tirado just up the way. Eventually just started doing the 2.5 hour drive roundtrip.

 

Fear the Phili.

John's shirasaya can be wonderful as I have two of them here. Still.... very wary of Phili USPS and hesitate to send anything to Tirado via USPS. Either UPS or FedEx when dealing with him.

[Pete Klein]

when shipping out of USA to lets say Hawaii

 

Umm -- Stephen -- Hawaii is part of the USA...LOL!

 

(sorry -- I couldn't resist)

[pcfarrar]

I had quite a few shipments over the xmas period from the USA and all were fast. Grey sent me a book via first class on the 17th Dec and it arrived on the 27th Dec...

[Stephen]

Petie...duh!! should have said out of contus

[hxv]

90% of everything I've ever had go missing or damaged in the last 20 years was via Phili USPS, in just a 2 year period.

(1) A retainer check I wrote to our future business lawyer for $10,000 went missing for 2 years....

After a month, the lawyer thought I'd flaked and gave me attitude. I sent a wire the next day.

Two years later she wrote me an apologetic email showing me a letter that had just arrived, post stamped 2 years earlier and rather 'stepped on'.

(2) Also got a few packages on the doorstep in plastic bags that looked like wolves had chewed on them, enclose with little paper notes saying "Oops. Sorry. Please contact this number..."

(3) A European sent me cash via envelope..... which arrived slit open and with green tape resealing it. Missing a $50....

(4) They managed to crush a double boxed brass shoami tsuba. I don't mean ding.... I must imagine drop a boulder on it from 50 ft up. Even the Postal Employee taking the claim filed had to ponder the physics involved.

(5) Had problems shipping to/from Tirado just up the way. Eventually just started doing the 2.5 hour drive roundtrip.

 

Fear the Phili.

John's shirasaya can be wonderful as I have two of them here. Still.... very wary of Phili USPS and hesitate to send anything to Tirado via USPS. Either UPS or FedEx when dealing with him.

 

Now, I am scared....

 

Hoanh

[Adrian]

My condolences to all. I know the feeling. My tanto from Mariusz was stuck in Polish customs in Warsaw for 2 1/2 weeks. As I said in my other thread, when I finally got it on Monday night, it was covered in fingerprints. Not sure who examined it, but it is enough to bang your head against a wall.

 

Grey must have thought I was really weird when I asked him to seal the wakizashi in a pvc pipe, then put the pipe in a suitable box and let me sort it out with local customs

 

But the fact is that in most countries the customs officials WILL get curious when they figure out that the sharp thing they're holding is a genuine nihonto. And if you have the bad luck to have your package picked up by an idiot who wants to play Kill Bill a bit, then try the sharpness with the finger while holding the blade with the other hand and so on, you risk to receive something that has lost consistent value since it was shipped.

 

Of course, many custom officials don't fall under this category, but there are enough who do.

 

I have no idea if I will get any of them....or if they pick December to steal stuff.

 

The only USPS package that was shipped to me from the US and got stolen (out of maybe 200 or so during the past 15 years) had high value and was shipped in late November. They knew exactly what they were doing, ripped the box in one corner, got the content, left the box there to arrive at destination with "loss of weight". The package was insured with 3rd party insurance so I got the money back after a painful fight between the seller and the insurance company, but it took a time before I had the $ back, and the item was one of a kind and intended to be a Christmas gift.

 

Since then, I try (but not always succeed, see my previous post :lol: ) to avoid having stuff shipped to me in this period and in any case I ask the seller to put a modest value on the custom forms (30-50$ maximum) and a very unattractive description ("spare parts" and so on) .

 

Never had any problem with the packages shipped like this, and some contained rather expensive stuff. Thieves don't open packages randomly when the warehouses are filled to the roof, they just read the custom forms and choose carefully.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Most anything mailed from Dec 10th to January 10th went into a black-hole of USPS systems overload.

 

Curran is almost correct. The computer consulting company I own happens to handle the computers for several local post offices, so I have a bit of an "inside track." The "black hole" actually started around 12/16 & ended around 1/7. The USPS computer system simply came to a screeching halt on 12/16, & damn near everything outbound came to a stop...with the exception of Priority & Express Mail, which are evidently handled separately. Interestingly, if you insured a Priority or Express package, it dropped back into the same hole as regular mail.

 

Go figure....

 

Oh, & thanks, Pete, for pointing out that Hawaii is indeed part of the U.S.

 

Ken

[Stephen]

That black hole is still sucking my Tadahiro, what would be your wait time before you filed a ins claim? its past the 15 day limit now

[hxv]

Stephen,

If I were you, I would file a claim now. It will take them a while to investigate before they will honor the claim. If the package surfaces in the mean time, you can always cancel the red alert. My sword finally showed up at my door step after almost 2 weeks. I feel your pain.

Hoanh

[Stephen]

Hoanh....im glad you updated us or me about your sword, i was feeling your pain. Glad its done for you. think ill file Monday.

[Stephen]

just a update, filed a claim Sunday...looked what happend

 

February 5, 2014 , 9:10 am

Out for Delivery .

HONOLULU, HI 96822

 

February 5, 2014 , 9:00 am

Sorting Complete .

HONOLULU, HI 96822

 

February 5, 2014 , 7:59 am

Arrival at Unit .

HONOLULU, HI 96822

 

February 5, 2014

Depart USPS Sort Facility .

HONOLULU, HI 96820

 

February 5, 2014 , 5:41 am

Processed through USPS Sort Facility .

HONOLULU, HI 96820

 

 

 

January 25, 2014 , 12:09 pm

Processed through USPS Sort Facility .

RICHMOND, CA 94804

[hxv]

Stephen,

 

Glad things worked out for you. Filing a claim seems to have turned wheels in the bureaucracy. I just sent off a blade to NTHK-NPO shinsa today and made sure to insure it for the full value. With my luck, the one time I forget to insure it will be the time something goes wrong.

 

Hoanh

[Brian]

Good to hear. Let us know what Bob think of the blade.

 

Brian