recent shipping concerns

[chi fan wong]

hello all,

im wondering if any or some of you may have experienced shipping issues in the recent months that stood out more compared to the past.  my recent experiences are as follows:

usps:

- two items i shipped from ebay sales using usps were just extremely delayed.  something that would have taken 3-5 days took over two weeks to arrive. 

- a third item meant to go to a florida address is currently circulating in puerto rico.

- a sword i bought from aoi arrived sitting unattended in front of my door under the deluge that was yesterday's weather.  the tracking said it was delivered and left with individual.  but there was no individual to receive it, just the rain.

fedex:

- two books i bought from Japan using the buyee app arrived in a fedex box sitting in front of my door soaking up the deluge from yesterday as well.

 

the usps seems to be dropping the ball badly these days.  did they also get doged or something?

in the case with both items left in the rain i can only attest to the packing prowess of the Japanese.  nothing was damaged and nothing important was soaked.  but has anyone else experienced potentially problematic shipping and receiving issues in the us recently?

[Lewis B]

Not nihonto related but I shipped a rear bicycle wheel from Germany to San Diego at the beginning of April. Its been sitting in the SD distribution center since April 17th. Many others are having similar USPS headaches it seems reading threads on other forums such as Kitchen Knife Forum. Sadly your experience is not unique re USPS. I would only ship anything of value (commercial and sentimental) via UPS or Fedex for the foreseeable future.

[Mushin]

Chafan,

 

USPS tracking and delivery issues with Nihonto have been a persistent problem for years, and things have only gotten worse since the pandemic. Even before COVID, packages were regularly misdelivered, marked as “delivered” when they weren’t, or left out in the rain without notification—just like what happened in your case. In every incident I’ve dealt with—either personally or on behalf of other collectors—the Postal Service has shown little willingness to take responsibility or resolve the problem. It often takes relentless pressure and formal complaints, even involving members of Congress, to get any movement—and even then, outcomes are hit or miss.

 

There have also been cases of outright theft and unexplained disappearances, sometimes involving swords worth tens of thousands of dollars. Shockingly, some packages labeled “undeliverable” were routed to government auctions less than 40 days after disappearing from the USPS tracking system. This is a clear violation of USPS’s own 90-day waiting period before such items can be declared unclaimed and sold.

 

I personally had a sword vanish, only to later discover it at a Georgia store called “Found Treasures.” They’d purchased a bulk lot of unclaimed items for pennies, less than a month after my package disappeared. Despite this, the USPS Postal Inspectors refused to investigate—citing insurance coverage as a reason there was “no victim.” Unfortunately, complaints to officials and influencers have only led to sporadic improvements. I got my sword back but I had to pay the insurance money to get it.

 

My strongest recommendation: ask the dealer in Japan in the future to ship via UPS. Yes, it’s more expensive. And yes, they charge for things like Fish and Wildlife clearance and duties. But the peace of mind is worth it—you’re far more likely to get your sword delivered intact and on time.

 

And by the way, Nihonto collectors aren’t the only ones dealing with this. Customs brokers tell me this is affecting antiques and art shipments across the board.

So, be cautious. If you're forced to use USPS, start raising hell the moment your tracking goes dark.

—Bobby

[chi fan wong]

thank you for the information guys.  its seems odd that these things are only happening more frequently recently.  i have had three swords delivered to me unscathed via usps from aoi art in the past few years.  they usually leave a pick up tag asking me to go to the post office to pick up the item.  but this time it is just unexpected.... first saying its delivered to a person, then two days later dropping it off at the door during rain.  again thank goodness for the Japanese over-packaging that no water got it....

[Rawa]

I have been waiting for 2 months for delivery. Then sword came back to seller with "dangerous item" notification. It looked like usps is looking for cheapest middleman around. I prefer Fedex express now.

[Tohagi]

I agree, this is happening more and more often...

In my case it was French post, they try very hard to " loose" my tanto, probably to buy it on a cheap auction...

 

A very hard time for me, the Board really supported me on this one, thank you guys (and girl).

 

Best,

Eric 

[chi fan wong]

hi eric, i remember that whole thing you had to go through.  seemed a bit nightmarish.  hi marcin, so the books i bought from Japan and had buyee ship to me into the us was handled by fedex.... and they left the box out in the rain.  granted they didnt know there were books in the box but to leave it out in the rain is still a bit problematic.

[Rawa]

Men in USA you have different "go with delivery". In Poland it is unthinkable to not to deliver in hands. All preceded with a call "delivery coming is there anyone at home". Its a law issue. Delivery on property in states is source of all videos with attempting to steal.

[Rawa]

Dsnt matter what is delivered. Even something so cheap as microfiber cloth worth 4$ I got not in a mailbox but directly into my hands.

[David Flynn]

USPS, is being gutted on purpose.  They want privatisation. 

[Robert S]

There's talk of that around Canada Post too.  Sigh...

[Truck1]

I just received 3 swords from Japan from an ebay auction. Won items on May 1st, arrived via USPS priority on May 13th. All unscathed in perfect condition. Expecting 1 more katana from same seller hopefully in a week. USPS is hit or miss. Although I'm in the SF bay area, so I presume that shortens delivery.