SAL Shipping

[JR 500系]

SAL from HS arrived today, Tomytech trees, crushed, nearly as flat as a pancake. My clerk actually talked to me before handing me my package to explain what he thinks happened, stating he thinks the rather thing SAL package went through the DPS machine assigned for priority mail envelopes. (He said it looked like roller marks under pressure) Annoyed, as all hell, thnakfully, they were winter trees with only armatures and no plastic bag full of foliage, or would have been total loss.  :BangHead:

 

@ Shashinka - Firstly, i would like to apologise i accidentally hit the 'like' button while i was reading this on my Iphone. Apologises for the Fat fingers! It was sad to hear from your poor SAL experience..

 

Luckily for me, my SAL purchases have been coming in quite well, with all SAL parcels coming in from Plaza Japan. My final SAL parcel from HS should be arriving pretty soon, keeping my fingers crossed on this..

[The_Ghan]

Wow ... there is no "Unlike" option to reverse a "Like" ...

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

the thread poster can click unlike

 

I.e. if i like your post you can unlike it to remove my like.

[The_Ghan]

Well, I clicked "Like" for JR500's post ... and I can't "unlike" it ... am I missing something???

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

no u can't unlike but jr can

[The_Ghan]

So, JR can "unlike" my "like"?

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

So, JR can "unlike" my "like"?

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

that is correct go back to any post some one liked of yours and you will see unlike.

 

for a test i have liked your post.

[cteno4]

Did ghans lastpost get unlinked? As the thread starter it looks like I can unlike as well.

 

Jeff

[keitaro]

i liked it and now it has no like.

[cteno4]

Ok so the thrad creator can unlike things never noticed that.

 

Jeff

[The_Ghan]

No one likes me anyway ... you should see some of the PM and email I've received in recent months ... so it's a moot point for me ... 

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[The_Ghan]

keitaro ... will you be my friend ... ? 

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

keitaro ... will you be my friend ... ? 

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

for a tomix odakyu romance car 50000 vse sure  :angel9:

[Guest ___]

Aaron,

 

Bummer dude, sorry to hear this. You have the worst postal luck of anyone I know! Never had that happen to any packages here. Wonder if your regional distribution facility is different from ours or could it be happening really locally?

 

I get a lot of small padded envelope packages here from china (very similiar to sal in shipping time and usually get a USPS barcode to boot) and the little parts are rarely ever crushed at all, always amazed they survive so well when I know they go through those roller machines, but are flat and flexible enough to not be mangled I expect.

 

Cheers,

 

Jeff

 

The only luck I have worse than postal is with women.

[cteno4]

The only luck I have worse than postal is with women.

 

Ouch! hope its not that bad!

 

just curious does regular us mail have bad luck up at your place as well? are priority mail items crunched a lot? we have such different luck between our two places less than 50miles apart. perhaps your local po has nightly package soccer games!

 

maybe just start shipping it all down here and stop by every couple of weeks to pick it up and get pockey sticks at hinada!

 

jeff

[Guest ___]

Just SAL. Need a problem with first, priority, or express.

[cteno4]

Hugh maybe someone in you local has a grudge against Japan! Its gotta be somewhere in the last 100 miles.

 

Btw I wonder if there will be more tracking with sal thru customs as now many overseas companies are going to printing the customs forms on line and that creates a bar code that the USPS is tracking all the way along their system. Or postman says they have gone scan crazy lately to track at as many points as possible. Guess it was inetevatable. my 99 cent packages from china even get these.

 

Wonder if there will be pressure to do this for all shipments eventually, I don't think the hand written customs slips from Japan are getting any sort of bar code now.

 

Jeff

[Guest ___]

Can't imagine one guy has a problem with Japanese mail that he would smash all SMS over the course of five years. The track-back on that would be pretty easy. And I'm sure a postal investigator would have been on that.

 

Since all SMS from Japan to the US would funnel through all the same points for us both, I can not see a failure point. In fact, I have one stop less for my SMS to travel than you do since Tilco closed down. All SMS for us comes in to the mail stream at SFO, then would go to Baltimore. From Baltimore, it splits, mine goes straight from Baltimore to my house in Walkersville, while yours will go to Suburban then to your house.

 

The only fail point prior to 1.JAN would have been Tilco (FDK sorting facility which closed 1.JAN) Now all sorting for all of Western Maryland is done in Baltimore now much to my dismay as mail is now taking a full day longer to move throughout the stream. I had hoped with Tilco closed maybe SMS reliability would improve, but I fear that is not the case.

 

As for tracking, I suspect as FCM goes the way as the of the dodo, and USPS's future is in parcel delivery, I'd expect everything to be traceable. It costs nothing and with parcel post going away as well, I suspect it is only a matter of time.

[cteno4]

Sorry I was joking about someone specially crunching Japanese boxes, should have emoted.

 

I'm always been quizzled by the difference between your experience and the rest of the gang inside the beltway. Just weird. One of the reasons I started this thread.

 

I think you are spot on with the future of USPS. Once tracking is set up and integrated it is über cheap and can bring back a lot of useful information to better the system.

 

Cheers,

 

Jeff

[JR 500系]

Continuing this SAL thread with a parcel that came in about 3 weeks ago, but apologises for not having time to post up some pictures...

 

Here's the SAL parcel that came in from Hobby Search:

 

Some damages to the box...

 

On the top left...

 

& the bottom right. I think EMS handles boxes WAY better...

 

Opening Ceromony. I ordered newpapaers from Japan, yes i did.

 

Not really... It's the building that will take up alot of rare property space, a multiple storey carpark from Aoishima!

 

Rode in the parcel together were the newly-released subway entrance from Tomytec, and 2 packs of Tomytec working people for trains.

 

I LOVE this!

 

Yummy!

 

Some hobby-ing to do this weekend.

 

Look at the details on this model! The carpak lots are printed in with car stoppers even!

 

Absoluately adore this! As i am making my own roads, the arrows fit perfectly! Wish i could order more sheets of this!

 

Conclusion for this post: seems like SAL is working pretty good for me so far! Have another HS shipment coming in soon alwso from SAL. Hope all goes well! Thanks for viewing!

[cteno4]

thanks for the info jr. glad sal is working out for you. this is the kind of digs i get maybe every third box sal or ems. I get about the same level of damage for each as they pretty much go through the same process i think. the worst crunched japan box was an ems, but everything inside was fine!

 

hobbysearch uses pretty tough boxes and almost always has a good layer of packing paper around the sides to take the corner and end crunches w/o damaging the insides. never had anything come broken so far. knock on wood.

 

the parking structure is great! i want to get going on mine. decided i want to mount a bunch of cool white or warm amber white smd leds through it for that awful fluorescent or sodium lighting in structures like that! i was going to roll my own until that kit came out, detail is just terrific and will save gobs of time. may still scratch build one in the future that has an interesting shape or position (like the ones that are the top half of buildings or a round one).

 

cheers

 

jeff

[JR 500系]

Hi Jeff:

 

Yes i'm glad SAL is good for Sillypore. It saves me quite some money especially if i order from HS. As for Plaza Japan, it seems their SAL rate isn't as fantastic, and it would be better to use EMS insetad since they cost about the same and you get the items 3x faster.

 

I think the main issue with SAL by far for me is the time. It does take quite sometime, say about 1-2 weeks for the parcel to arrive. As for EMS, it takes only 2 days! Besides, some pricing for EMS and SAL is pretty near, hence doesn't make much of a difference and might as well use EMS instead..

 

Yes the carpark is a beauty! Haven't got time to build it though.. I spent almost 5.5 hours yesterday alone on the Aoshima Housing kit which i had also placed some lighting inside.

 

* Here's what i meant *

 

Will be posting some more pictures of it in a while ~

[Mix0r]

Hello everyone!

 

I've ordered four items from Hobby Search, all of them will be shipped with SAL I assume.

 

 

We'll see how these packages will arrive! :D

[minijapan]

Ive never had anything lost but I'm starting to use FedEx for my auction items very quick, as quick as 3 days from Tokyo to the UK!, unlike parcel force you get a bill about a week later for your Tax and this is simple to pay online. On another note I had 3 sets by FedEx and had the tax bill the following consignment didn't get a tax bill,,only difference was the second box on the customs deceleration it said "USED" model trains, it seems the term "used" doesn't attract VAT, any one verify this?

 

Simon

[cteno4]

im sooo glad we dont have an import tax from japan, i can just think of the mess it would make here.

 

fedex really worked well sending parts from canada to the us to clear customs (go figure it usually tougher to get stuff from canada, our next door free trade partner, than from japan!). they were always good as a customs agent and getting all the paperwork. just expensive, but when we needed parts in a couple of days they could do it.

 

jeff