SAL Shipping

[cteno4]

keitaro,

 

then dont read it. i was asking to try and gather as much info on SAL shipping as possible as its a topic that folks have fears about or state is unsafe and its really good to know the real data. this has gathered good information and can continue to do so. Its good to know if there are ways to avoid the shit from happening if possible. I want folks to continue to post their info here, things may change or have issues in certain countries from japan more than others. I would have a lot fewer trains if i had shipped everything EMS, thats a pretty important thing i think.

 

jeff

[Guest ___]

I've decided to tempt fate and am trying an SAL once again with the fishing pond. It's been two weeks, let's see if it arrives undamaged or at all.

[cteno4]

Hs or plazajapan?

 

Jeff

[Guest ___]

HS. Sadly this is not by choice. It was a pre-order from Feb, but I can't afford to spend the extra ¥1200 on shipping right now. Hell, I'm considering my self over extending having lunch at McD during my break at work.

[Guest ___]

UPDATE: After four years, I finally got one through undamaged, and not lost.

[cteno4]

aaron,

 

you mean all your sal packages have been damaged or lost except this one? what are the numbers? it really must be your local distribution as our experience differs so radically and yet we are less than 50 miles apart. im guessing we have the same main distribution center and customs port. ive had a few come through with some dings, but never damaged internally except for one etched metal part that came from plaza in an envelope and was bowed but luckily not creased (but that was regular airmail).

 

jeff

[linkey]

enjoying the fishing pond there? I have two of them. one with broken legs which can be glued (which isn't a problem) I am happy with the HS SAL service but also been doing a lot of EMS shipping recently.

[Guest ___]

I got one with  broken leg too Linkey.

 

No clue Jeff. I want to say it has been ten total that I have tried over the past five years. Most have arrived damaged, with only a few lost, never to be seen.

[cteno4]

Arron, what is a few? Sorry just curious what the numbers are.

 

It has to be happening in the last little bit here in maryland, as I don't have the same experience with a couple of hundred sals over the last 10 years here. Don't think anyone else in the club has had any sal losses or significant damage here as well.

 

Thanks

 

Jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

Another SAL packaged arrived safely and undamaged for me, and in a reasonable amount of time too.. Yet another Sankei kit based on a Ghibli movie, I'm getting quite the collection ;)

[Guest ___]

Arron, what is a few? Sorry just curious what the numbers are.

 

It has to be happening in the last little bit here in maryland, as I don't have the same experience with a couple of hundred sals over the last 10 years here. Don't think anyone else in the club has had any sal losses or significant damage here as well.

 

Thanks

 

Jeff

 

Jeff, we've had this discussion s many times I've lost count. I've been out of the modeling for over a year now and pretty much forgotten about SAL till this thread. This was my first SAL in almost 3 years. I want to say with this one arriving 10-12. I do recall this was only the secOnd one to arrive and I damaged. The first being a book Stevie sent from Kawasakin

[cteno4]

Aaron,

 

sorry was just trying to get numbers to everything here as as discussed in the past we would not talk numbers usually thus not great data to really try to figure out whats going on.

 

im just always flummoxed why you have had such rotten luck with sal compared to us just a little bit away.

 

jeff

[Mr Frosty]

I have just received an e-mail from Hobby Search stating my lost package has finally been returned to them. It would appear that the UK post office failed to notify me of its arrival, therefore I didnt collect it.  :cussing:

 

Anyway, I have paid for its re-delivery and hopefully it will be here soon.

[The_Ghan]

You going SAL again Frosty?

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

I have just received an e-mail from Hobby Search stating my lost package has finally been returned to them. It would appear that the UK post office failed to notify me of its arrival, therefore I didnt collect it.  :cussing:

 

Anyway, I have paid for its re-delivery and hopefully it will be here soon.

 

Royal mail are useless I returned a train to rails for warranty and it got returned to me apparently there's was never anyone at the shop to pick it up and no one collected...... store claims not the case and I believe them.

 

More like dumb ass mail man was running behind schedule and the sender pays the price for this because he skipped and didn't even bother with a notice at least when aus post do this they always leave a slip.

[Mr Frosty]

You going SAL again Frosty?

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

Yes. SAL appears to be reliable until it gets to the UK.

EMS is more than the package is worth.

[cteno4]

frosty, ouch! at least it was not ems you were paying for a second time! ems stung me on that when a preorder came in while i was on vacation and the post did not hold it with our vacation hold. in the end the 2x shipping was near the cost of the item, but it was either that or eat the whole thing as hs would not give a return credit for the item sans shipping.

 

Yeah, i think the reliability of SAL may be in the last little distance in the home country. judging from the huge difference between aaron and myself living less than 50 miles apart. i think the rest of the club members in closer to dc have had no issues with sal as well.

 

jeff

[The_Ghan]

You going SAL again Frosty?

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

Yes. SAL appears to be reliable until it gets to the UK.

EMS is more than the package is worth.

 

Is 2 x SAL more than the package is worth?   

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[cteno4]

Is 2 x SAL more than the package is worth?   

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

problem is HS will not accept the returned postal item like this for a credit, if you say dont send it again (and pay for the second shipping costs) then you loose all your money from the purchase and first shipping costs... they look at a return like this being your fault if it was sent to the correct address.

 

jeff

[The_Ghan]

Hmmm ...

 

Perhaps their attitude is more "it's not their fault".  It might even boil down to Japanese consumer law.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[Mr Frosty]

It definitely want their fault. It travelled 6000 miles OK. It was the last mile and a half, where it went wrong. 2 x SAL postal rate is still a little under purchase price. 

[cteno4]

agreed, not their fault at all, it was the postal system for mine as well. i would have hoped they would have said we would just give you a store credit for the item (sans shipping) if i didnt want to have it sent back. ive been a good customer for a long time and it was a product that sold well, but they held very firm on their policy (their right to do so and for good reason). Just one of those little cs things that can dull your customers' loyalty some though.

 

jeff

[The_Ghan]

But isn't that part of the risk you take with SAL?  All I get is a small card inviting me to pick up a package from the P.O.  Part of the extra cost of EMS goes into the extra yards of delivering the package to your door and obtaining a signature.

 

Perhaps, and I'm guessing, some retailers like Bigman refuse to ship SAL because they have picked up on Jeff's point about dulling a customer's loyalty.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[disturbman]

I don't agree. This shouldn't be a risk but is for certain a system failure. The risk you take with SAL is for the package to get lost or damaged in transit. Not for the P.O. not to do its job correctly. I also encountered that problem with the German post. So annoying.

[cteno4]

No EMS can run the same risk here in the states of getting bounced back, in fact more if you are on vacation. There is a postal rules that express mail packages (EMS is classified as this in the US) are to be returned in 7 days if not picked up or deliverable. This is even if you have a vacation hold on your mail as express mail is not tracked or stored in the same place as the rest of the mail here in the US. Also they usually have a separate delivery early in the day to get the express stuff out if they think the regular mail delivery will be later in the day (in keeping with it being express), thus your local carrier may not know there is an express mail package is there for you. If the do see its there they know you have a vacation hold in on your mail they may try to bend the rules and hold the ems package for you longer than the 7 days. folks with very small local pos (getting rarer these days) dont have this issue as there are only a few folks doing the sorting and delivery so they know if someone is away and are more relaxed about these things.

 

I went round and round with this with our local postmaster but its a separate thing and they dont care that all the information they publish about vacation holds fails to let you know that vacation holds will not effect express mail shipments.

 

So in this case EMS can have a gotcha in the states if you have something that was on backorder or preorder get shipped EMS while you are away! This is not an issue with SAL as a vacation hold will hold SAL packages till you return.

 

its looking like issues with sal loss or damage here in the US are on the local US end, not in the main part of the trip!

 

jeff