SAL Shipping

[Rod.H]

According to the Japan Post tracking page they're supposed to be delivered today, however unlike previous times the Australia Post tracking page has no record of them. So I'm just presuming that they made it to the local processing centre & then to the depot for end delivery with no issues. As some of our parcel thieves decided following the delivery vehicle, so they could hijack it, was too much effort & instead raid the depot.

[tossedman]

I'm waiting on a package that was shipped on November 14. I think it must be on a slow boat going around Cape Horn. This is the longest wait I've had for a SAL package.

[Rod.H]

The main one I was waiting on from Hobby Search, departed the day after yours. I received a bunch of parcels today with a mix of November  & December shipping dates and almost countries as a non-train one from the Seatle area turned up too. 

 

My suspicions on why one was pulled for a customs check was the packing paper inside had a faint odor of something, so the dog must've tripped on it.

[keiichi77]

I'm waiting on a package that was shipped on November 14. I think it must be on a slow boat going around Cape Horn. This is the longest wait I've had for a SAL package.

I am also waiting for a SAL package shipped mid November, according to tracking it is still sitting in Tokyo. This is also the longest I have had to wait foe a SAL shipment.

[bill937ca]

I am also waiting for a SAL package shipped mid November, according to tracking it is still sitting in Tokyo. This is also the longest I have had to wait foe a SAL shipment.

 

That's why I avoid SAL shipping now.  SAL only gets available space on planes and if the number of flights is down (as it was after 2010) and the volume is up it sits.  My experience is that it will sit again once it gets to Vancouver.  My experience has been 5-6 weeks without any peak loads and Winter holidays in Japan.

 

I did have one Registered Air Small Packet parcel from a Rakuten dealer arrive almost as fast as EMS when it was shipped in late November. It might be the way to go.

Edited January 7, 2017 by bill937ca

[Oz_Paul]

Agreed. I just received a registered air packet from ModelTrainPlus which arrived almost as quickly as an EMS. This is inspite of the Xmas rush.

[Takahama Trainwatcher]

Had one sent 23rd December small packet SAL, and got it in a week and a half.

[bill937ca]

At 800g, per the Hobby Search chart.    http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/ems

 

1,290 Yen for Registered SAL

880 Yen for SAL,

2540 Yen for EMS 

2700 Yen for SAL Parcel

 

I think I will try Registered SAL for a while.

Edited January 9, 2017 by bill937ca

[tossedman]

Finally got my package that was shipped on Nov. 14 today. Got one on Monday that came via DHL. It was ordered on Thursday of last week. DHL was about ¥1000 cheaper than EMS as well. 

 

Cheers eh,

 

Todd

[katoftw]

David aka L1H sent me a Kiha 72 by SAl on the 31st of December.  Arrive today, the 13th of January.  Pretty good considering the normal time is 3 weeks and their is a major holiday period in between.

[nah00]

Finally got my package that was shipped on Nov. 14 today. Got one on Monday that came via DHL. It was ordered on Thursday of last week. DHL was about ¥1000 cheaper than EMS as well. 

 

Cheers eh,

 

Todd

 

DHL is awesome when you can use it, Mandarake has it as an option and most of the time it ends up being less expensive than even SAL. 

[cteno4]

Yes DHL has been cheaper and even faster than EMS for me in DC these days, but few offer it and I still default to Sal to save money for more trains, I'm patient...

 

Jeff

[brill27mcb]

DHL seems to be prohibitively expensive from Germany to the U.S., often $40 or more to ship a single piece of rolling stock on many commercial vendors' Ebay listings.

 

Rich K.

[velotrain]

DHL seems to be prohibitively expensive from Germany to the U.S., often $40 or more to ship a single piece of rolling stock on many commercial vendors' Ebay listings.

 

Rich K.

 

I haven't looked for a while, but thought I'd seen individual sellers listing under $20, but then that may not have tracking.

 

This is my favorite shop there, and I recall their shipping being under $40 - they use a box in a box, which has never seemed necessary.

 

http://www.modellbahnshop-lippe.com/index.asp?l=gb&gclid=CL7Ria7G3NECFYGLswodZdEHTA

[nah00]

One thing about Mandarake and DHL is that they seem to cut you a break if you're making a large purchase or a regular customer. It's also depends on the store, Sapporo seems to always give me the best prices. 

 

Fedex used to be great and less than EMS but now is more and seems to take longer. 

[Sir Madog]

DHL seems to be prohibitively expensive from Germany to the U.S., often $40 or more to ship a single piece of rolling stock on many commercial vendors' Ebay listings.

 

Rich K.

 

These vendors are ripping you off! DHL charges are not more than $17!

[cteno4]

Many ebay sellers and even many shops here in the us now will jack up international shipping as there is an increasing amount of paperwork to deal with and thus time and hassle for them. I know unless it's a small and cheap item I'm sending overseas the post now want the long form filled out and then most of the info has to be retyped into the system at the post (even though I filled it out online at the usps site and printed it out) and it can take quite a while!

 

Jeff

[Suica]

These vendors are ripping you off! DHL charges are not more than $17!

Commercial vendors are usually very cautious about damage and theft, so they choose a proper shipping method with actual insurance and tracking. A standard package to the US starts at 37,99€

The $17 you mention is a small parcel completely without tracking and insurance.

 

In general you can say without a doubt that DHL charges in/from Germany are overpriced.

[Sascha]

After 11 day at the Post Office in Japan, my EVA is on its way. I wonder what happened.

[Suica]

After 11 day at the Post Office in Japan, my EVA is on its way. I wonder what happened.

The people at that post office must've had a good time~

[velotrain]

Has there recently been a hefty increase in the price of Registered SAL?

 

I had often used it when I wanted some assurance / insurance, but was in no rush for the order.

 

I know Jeff says he has no problems with regular SAL, but perhaps I'm less of a risk taker.

 

I ordered something at L1H and was shocked at what David wanted for Registered SAL.

 

Then tonight I placed an order with Bandai and was amazed to see that EMS was actually listed as a bit cheaper than Registered SAL.

 

Until this I had the impression that Registered SAL was roughly half the cost of EMS.

[cteno4]

Charles,

 

You were probably ordering something heavier as sal price approaches email at around 2kg. Registered sal use to be 400 yen added cost to regular sal. Check with David as also some of the postage calculators go wonky with some combos in orders.

 

It's basic self insurance. If you are willing to risk A few boxes at sal the savings vs ems is enough to pay for any box lost in the future. After that point you are just saving money. Hundreds of sal packages over the last 15 years and none have gone poof!

 

Jeff

[velotrain]

He wrote "at 1.2kg it`s 3700 yen for sal where small packet sal would be about 1980 yen."

 

which seems quite expensive in general - this is for the Sunrise Express set.

[cteno4]

Sal small packet is the cheap method but has some dimension limits and tops out at 2kg. With the increase of ems, ems is twice as much! Never sure what good sal parcel is, it's gone up some it looks like as in some ranges it use to be the good deal over ems, but now it's not a whole lot different.

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/ems

 

Jeff

[nah00]

I can also be the physical size of the parcel. Outsize items really increase the price for RSAL. 

 

Personally I use EMS/DHL whenever I have a locomotive shipped. My local post office seems to place great joy in making sure my SAL/RSAL packages go through the wringer.