Anyone else with delays in shipped items?

[Ronincat]

Hey all

 

A quick question - I am waiting on a few items from both US and Japan - shipped to Canada mid January (Japan) and end January (US).  I know our postal service is bad, but this seems to be an excessive time to wait.  Is anyone else experiencing issues with long delays in delivery?  Just wondering if I should hit the panic button yet and contact my CC provider for a non-receipt of goods claim.

 

I have attempted to contact the sellers as well, but have not heard back from them yet.

 

Thanks,

 

Grant

[Guest ___]

Well, it sounds like your order has shipped SAL, which can take 4-7 weeks. (Using EMS 4-7 days is the norm) SAL is JapanPost's economy shipping. Depending on the size of the order, or rather the container it is shipped in, SAL can be pretty fast or slow. It's all a matter of the space available on the cargo plane heading from Japan to N. America. Essentially how SAL works is that shippers fill a plane with whatever is crossing the ocean. Often time there is space left on the plane, so they fill it up with SAL. the more space on the plane, the faster the larger stuff will go on it. Smaller stuff usually always finds space on the planes faster. Granted, this is a simplified response on the process. Persoanlly some of us habeve had better luck than others with SAL orders, but I'll digress on that matter for the time.

[keitaro]

ronin i have been waiting for my sal close to 5 weeks now. unfortunate thing is other packages from same place ordered 1 week behind have arrived :( but the package a really want is the one that hasn't hah! typical

[Ronincat]

ronin i have been waiting for my sal close to 5 weeks now. unfortunate thing is other packages from same place ordered 1 week behind have arrived :( but the package a really want is the one that hasn't hah! typical

 

Well, that makes me feel somewhat better.  I had the same issue - two orders from the same place - 1 order arrived in 2 weeks, minus one of the items.  Contacted the seller, who shipped the item out to me.  It arrived last week.  Still waiting for the other order, which was placed and shipped 3 days earlier.  And yes, that is the package I am really waiting for.

 

As mentioned, I sent an email but have not heard back yet.  Somewhat concerning, as pretty well any Japanese retailer I have ever dealt with has provided top-notch customer service and almost instant communication.

[keitaro]

if you are talking about hwjapan expect a reply within 2 days from Aiko :p

you will get a generic response like below...

 

Thank you for your contact.

 

Eventhough two orders were shipped from the same office at the same time,

it is rare that both orders don't arrive at destination at the same time.

 

This is because, shipping process is different per carton.

 

Therefore, it is understandable that you received later shipping item faster than the other one.

 

Thank you in advance for your understanding.

 

Best Regards,

Aiko

[Martijn Meerts]

This is why I never go with the cheapest option if it comes to shipping. I really like being able to track packages, and to me, that alone is worth the extra cost. The fact that packages are also insured (up to a certain amount anyway) also makes me feel a bit less paranoid...

 

I've never used SAL, so no idea how reliable (or unreliable) that is, but I've had some bad experiences with other cheap shipping methods, which makes me a bit hesitant to try SAL.

[westfalen]

I've had some SAL items from HS and also a couple of packages from M.B.Klein in the U.S. shipped around late December/mid-January take a bit longer than usual. I think the delays lie more with the various postal authorities rather than the shippers. I've never had any problems with SAL but if the price difference is not likely to be much in comparison to the overall order, like with a couple of train sets or three or four locos, I'll go EMS.

[disturbman]

Maybe Keitaro's package took the sea instead of the airs.

 

Discussion moved to New Releases, Product Announcements and Suppliers

[keitaro]

dude I think mine ended up in indonesia and on a refugee boat to aus.

[cteno4]

My SALs from japan to the us were a bit slow (ie closer to 3 weeks) around the new years, but last one was about 2 weeks in late jan. couple in the air now so ill see how long those are.

 

SAL does vary its never been over 4weeks for me, with most being just under 2 weeks and the record was 4 days (a small package with a tram).

 

usually its clockwork to expect 2 weeks and its w/in a few days either side.

 

did get a notice on one hong kong package that took almost 3 weeks that the seller had a bunch of delay notices and checked with hong kong post and they said there was a slowdown due to increased screening right now. dont know how true that is.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[keitaro]

oh well 5 weeks now hwjapan didn't seem to care when i asked em about it

[Guest ___]

There is no way for HW to track an SAL order. I'd think it would eb a shorter trip time wise from Jpn to oz. I never ship SAL, and my views on SAL are even more intense than my TOMIX opinion. However I will admit I ordered a manga book on camera girls fro, HS today and sent it SAL becasue the EMS was five dollars more than what the item cost. (The book was 18, EMS was 23 on top of it) Thankfully books do not have moving parts and HS packs pretty well.

[keitaro]

my hope was that they would resend the item... should i make a paypal did not arrive complaint i'm right on the 45 day mark on wednesday i think

[cteno4]

well SAL is at your risk as there is no insurance or tracking. HW will send out a second order at their cost. Their terms state if its lost or damaged you can start an investigation with japan post on it, but i think thats not going to result in anything...

 

All that being said, Im on the opposite side of the fence from aaron on SAL. I have maybe 150 or so SAL shipments over the years with none ever damaged or lost. a few were more like 4 weeks, but other than that the vast majority came in 2 weeks. i have had two boxes shipped at the same time from the same vendor come at the same time and a week or so apart as well. if i figure the savings over doing SAL over EMS on those orders i have probably $2k or more built up now so pretty well self insured.

 

but that doesnt make it better when something has not shown up for you... SAL is a gamble that you need to take account with the savings and be prepared to maybe have to invest some of the savings into covering a lost shipment if it happens.

 

have you talked to your local PO to see if it may have gotten stuck at the local end?

 

there is always the chance it got mistakenly sent back as undeliverable. i had one EMS package happen like that when on vacation (they were sposta hold stuff with the mail hold!). it took about 9 weeks for it to show up back at HS. unfortunately if this happens you have to replay shipping to you with HS and HW policies or loose the order (and your initial payment).

 

hope it turns up there! best wishes.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[to2leo]

I stand behind SAL too but I do feel your pain in waiting!

[The_Ghan]

Hi,

 

SAL from Japan to Sydney, Australia, ordered on Feb 11 arrived on Feb 21.

 

I don't think the problem is on the Japan end.

 

Cheers

 

Tue_Ghan

[disturbman]

Never had problem with SAL before either. I had once to wait 5 weeks instead of 2 and like you, I was getting quite nervous at the end... oh I forgot, one time, I thought one of my package has disapeared and that's because the post forgot to informed me they had received a package for me to pick up. My package was then sent back to Japan.

[keitaro]

yeah i checked. they don't have it.

 

also got my work mail room to check there incase they placed in some where and forgot about it ...

 

i hope it comes tommorow i really want to be able to get going again and i'm stuck with out these pieces of track

[cteno4]

sure no one in the mail room has become a closet japanese model railroader and now knows what HS/HW boxes look like?!!!

 

just kidding

 

jeff

[clem24]

I am in Calgary and ordered a bunch of stuff in Jan and everything has arrived safely and in a timely manner. I've not lost a single package yet (knock on wood).

 

BTW SAL does not go by sea. SAL goes by ground from the shipper, then hits the air when it encounters an ocean, and back by ground again to the destination. Typically I find it's between 2 and maximum of 4 weeks. Unless I am buying from Popondetta (SAL not offered), then I will always choose SAL since it's usually half the cost. But.. For Canadians, there's a slight caveat - see below.

 

Stuff from the US is hit and miss. Sometimes it can be a few days, sometimes 4 weeks. You never know. I just think you need to be patient. It's probably just stuck in customs.

 

For us Canadians, we get hit with 5% GST + $5 - $7 handling fee from the post office. Duty should be charged, in theory, because our items aren't covered under NAFTA regardless of where they come from (Japan, USA, etc...), but I've never been charged duty, ever. With that being said, 95% of my packages arriving by EMS never gets charged taxes, even with declarations like Y40,000 right on the front. It's quite weird, but likely because EMS packages are expected to be released quickly by customs, they probably just throw it under the x-ray machine and if it's not dangerous goods, they just release it. Who knows. The most epic one was my Tamiya RC truck package through EMS from Hong Kong (which cost me almost well over $200 in shipping charges!). The box was twice the size of a mini bar fridge and heavy as hell. The contents were worth north of $1,200. The shipper (a store) declared it as $50 and well, it squeaked through hahaha. I presume they do this to bypass insurance costs. In any case, sometimes it pays to ship by EMS and pay the extra bit.

[Ronincat]

Well, my US items arrived after 3 weeks.  No sign of the items from Japan as of yet.  Company I was dealing with have started an investigation and refunded the amount I paid.  I have 2 other shipments on their way as of this week (HS and HLJ) and both of those were placed on a credit card just in case I needed to make a claim.  Still would have preferred to receive the goods...

 

This is the first time I have ever had a problem with SAL (after using it for well over 10 years).  I've had many more issues with Canada Post/ Royal Mail in comparison.

 

Having said that, the service I've received from the Japanese companies is still top notch

[cteno4]

I wonder if the recent mail bombings and security rattling this winter by the US messed up all the systems with increased security and perhaps backlogs when short on equipment or staff. also wonder if the shipping agents procedures are now different and strained. Also since SAL goes on whatever space it can jump on in air freight the new security measures on freight on passenger flights may also be causing some crates of packages to get put aside for a long time maybe? Flight frequency can also affect things.

 

Not sure what HS or HW would do if you contested the charges with your cc as they do have the SOL policy with SAL shipping, also dont know what the CC would do with that policy. if the cc does give you your money back it comes from a back charge from the dealer. i guess its an issue of trust with HS and HW that they shipped it and it was the post who lost it. frankly i would trust HS/HW that they had shipped it and figure the post poofed it and with SAL you really have no leverage over the post...

 

Hoping your guys packages just show up late here and are not poof! no fun there... I got worried on a package in december but it showed up just shy of 4 weeks to dc.

 

best of luck.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[keitaro]

I trust that hw definately sent it but doesn't paypal cover you for lost items in the mail out of their money not hw's if it does get lost??

 

I was thinking i should check some chinese ebay site i'll most likely see my gear for sale there ...

 

I just think it's way out, having receieved 3 sal's now all ordered 1 - 2.5 weeks after the one that has not arrived.

[cteno4]

im pretty sure a paypal or cc challenge will result in paypal or the cc just recharging the dealer. i dont think they have a lost insurance that they will apply to this situation, they always will try to pass the cost off to someone if they can...

 

paypal just acts like a merchant account for the dealer to visa/mc or your own bank funds. if you use a cc with paypal then paypal is just like any other merchant bank to the dealer they would have if they used their bank to do a merchant account for cc transactions.

 

the ebay rules are separate i think and only apply to ebay transactions. when you use them as a merchant bank for your business outside ebay they behave just like one with recharges if you have a dispute against you. it is confusing as ebay now owns paypal, but paypal also has business outside of ebay... further confusing as you can use paypal for cc transactions and not have to have the payer be a paypal member, just use their cc directly to paypal as the merchant bank.

 

lets keep our fingers crossed for you!

 

cheers

 

jeff