Shipping Problems Using USPS Global Priority

Pay Heed to this message!!!!
I've noted I'm not the only one experiencing problems with international shipping. I sent a couple of very expensive items to the UK on the 27th of December using USPS Global Priority. To date the purchaser has not received the items. I would advise anyone considering using USPS Global Priority not to. What I didn't realize is:
There is no way to track the item. None. Any one in the Post Office or in Customs can pocket your goods, without a trace after you handed it over. The USPS site suggest everything will be fine and even suggests it is the best economical way to ship internationally. In my opinion, this has the potential for being a huge ripoff. Great Brtitain seems to be having a big problem after reading other posts. Global Priority is suppose to be 4-6 business day. I'll never send overseas again. If there is anyone who has ideas on how to put pressure on USPS and the British Customs service, please advise.

I ship to Germany quite a bit... no matter how I send, it takes 30-45 days... the hold up is customs. You just have to live with it.
----George

I agree with the general thread that customs is usually the holdup. I've shipped a few things and received a few and you just have to wait on it. When I ship I use USPS because they act as the customs agent. Fedex requires that you use their website to do that, which for some reasons I forget about won't work for me. Does anyone know if UPS or DHL will take care of the customs issues?

USPS SUCKS SO BAD!! :C

They are so incompetant that they couldn't get a package delivered using Priority Mail w/Delivery Confirmation from Florida to Louisiana. After two weeks, the package still hadn't arrived, so I went to the PO to see what happened to the package, and I was told I would have to wait at least 90 days before the Inspector General would start an inquiry about my missing package. Finally, six weeks after I mailed the package, it shows up on my doorstep, with the return address and shipping address perfectly legible, and yet, the box was stamped several times with "Un-Deliverable". When I went to the post office and requested a refund from a PO supervisor, I was basically told to "pound sand" and that if I didn't like the job the USPS did, there was always UPS & FedEX.

IT WILL BE A COLD DAY IN HELL BEFORE I SHIP ANYTHING WITH USPS AGAIN!!

Do you have the customs declaration form? The tracking number is at the top of the form. I have sent a lot of things by USPS Global Priority and never had a problem. The delay is usually going to be caused by the customs in the receiving country.

Steve

Your statement is true. The "why" of all that is harder to come by. I have never lost a package when shipping with USPS and I know that loss has to happen given the volume. (eBay, I'm not a vendor) But I priced UPS to China and Asia, and to Europe. UPS wanted about $60.00 to ship a package that USPS would do for about $18.00. Those kinds of shipping expenses can radically inflate the cost on an item and make it unavailable to foreign markets. All my shipping to those aforementioned places was done by Air Mail Letter Post. I have never shipped Global Priority. In my listings I let the potential foreign buyer know that I am not responsible for foreign deliveries. It's up to the buyer to chose the delivery method if the seller's choice is not applicable.

The thought that crosses my mind is this: you must fill out a customs form. If you underrate the value of what you are shipping and derate the contents from a whole unit to parts for that unit then you may escape the notice of some sub-human slug that got past that particular country's respective postal employment screener. Geez, imagine if you write "diamonds" on the customs form. Imagine again if you write in a value of $300.00.
Also, USPS gives you a receipt when you ship and the receipt states the country or zip to which the package is delivered.

Hello all.

Without getting into my complaints about shipping via UPS and FedEx - which I shall not utter here, I recently had a package shipped from the US (to Canada) via USPS Global Express Guaranteed, (which is actally FedEx, by the way). The package ended up arriving in Edmonton the very next day, but, according to the tracking system, was experiencing clearance delays. After a couple of days, I called FedEx to see what the buzz was and, yes, Canada Customs was holding the package because it was labelled "used camera" but contained a used telephoto lens. They were holding it due to an incorrect descripiton - they also questioned the value of the item. The problem was that there was no phone number on the package so they had no way of getting hold of either the shipper or the receiver (me). It was fortunate for me that I had the advantage of the tracking system so I could see there was a delay (which was not caused by the carrier USPS/FedEx; rather Canada Customs). I propmtly followed up and cleared things up.

I wouldn't be too quick to knock your USPS. I've had a lot of things shipped to Canada via USPS (tracked and not tracked) and have found it to be a very reliable service. It sure beats being dinged an unreasonable "Brokerage Fee" by UPS or FedEx upon arrival. Usually, if there's a hold-up in international shipping, it's with customs, not the carrier.

I guess the moral of my story is make sure there is a contact number on the package so if there are problems with customs, they can be solved quickly.

Peter, I would communicate with USPS and see if you can find some way to determine if there was a hold-up. You package might not have a tracking number, but the ship to and from addresses are certainly there and likely in a computerized system. In a case such as this, I would think the package could still be traced... I mean, this is 2005... Everything is tracable.

By the way, knowing that USPS GXG shipments are, in fact, handled by FedEx, I specifically emailed USPS to ensure I wouldn't be getting dinged (by FedEx) the brokerage fee. I got a written response that NO, I would not. Notwithstanding this, FedEx still tried to charge me brokerage before releasing the package. Fortunately, I had the written confirmation and FedEx waived the fee. Unfortunately, if they decided not to waive it, I would've had no choice but to pay.

Just a few of my thoughts and experiences.

Derrick.