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Coin bought in Japan, shipping to Hawaii
kuwegg57
Posts: 105 ✭✭✭
I bought and paid for it in late March. It's still stuck in Tokyo. Is it because there are no direct flights anymore?
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kuwegg57
Posts: 105 ✭✭✭
kuwegg57
Posts: 105 ✭✭✭
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There are definitely direct flights, but far fewer flights all around. Not many contrails in the skies these days.
I've noticed a lag of 1-2 weeks for any parcel shipping around the world. Constant worry about items getting waylaid in the pipeline. It's a concern. Peace Roy
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I've been hearing about lots of delays in general, which is not surprising.
I'm curious to see what happens with a recent Japanese auction purchase. Turns out my rando bid on a Katanga cross of all things was way too high (when I checked Heritage after the fact like a dummy) so I won it. Fortunately I got something else a little more reasonable so it's not a huge deal. But, I am very curious to see where it gets hung up in the shipping. Customs? It wasn't a very expensive package comparatively speaking. BUT, it's coming by Fedex, so perhaps won't be as big an issue.
I also have something coming from Estonia via regular mail so the tracking will be scant. I'll be happy to see it by June. It's def not a pricey medal and from a seller I've bought from before, so I will not get anxious about it.
But, if something is stuck in Tokyo for a month I might send a very polite note to the seller asking if perhaps they can look into it. It could be one of the rare times there is an issue.
Won two lots from a Baldwin's auction on 3/25. I had submitted early bids, before realizing how serious things were going to turn out. Paid for the lots on 3/30. They were mailed from London, on 4/14. Arrived in New York, on 4/18 (probably within 20 miles from where I live). Arrived in Maine, on 4/23. Who knows when they will see the light of day, or my residence.
DPOTD
International shipping is very, very slow since the COVID19 crisis began.
I'm waiting for some wooden Russian house kits for my model railroad, here are a couple I built last year:
Expected delivery sometime in June - has to come from Russia of course.
I have a piece coming from Estonia as well... after being posted, it didn't move for 3 or 4 weeks. Finally popped up in a Chicago facility a few days back (which, curiously, USPS won't display b/c of postal disagreements... but somehow eBay has access to that tracking).
Had several other international parcels not move for similar amounts of time (China, Austria)... both finally woke up early this week.
And now for a shocker. I hit the BIN (or maybe a make offer, I don't remember) on April 16th. A tracking number was uploaded (in Estonia) on April 22nd. Three locations noted (in Estonia) and now scanned in Philadelphia on the 24th. Usuallystuff comes in New York, so this is even weirder.
And back to the OP, my auction winnings from Japan--allowances for time zones--but won on the 20th. Paid on the 21st. Payment noted as received on the 22nd. And, Fedex gave me a notification today that it will be delivered Monday. This may be the difference between Fedex vs. regular post. This particular company much prefers Fedex for international shipment and I usually go along with it unless it costs more than what I bought
There is not much more reliable than the Japan Post.
Well, mystery solved at the quick delivery from Estonia. Slowish to ship, but now shipped it's been speedy. Could NOT figure out why it went to Philadelphia, then Louisville on the way here--not my typical European tracking. Then I got this:
And my one from Japan is arriving today via fedex (couldn't keep the whole email in the screenshot while keeping the shipping/delivery dates 24/27):
That said, both had high shipping fees.
I am honestly shocked at how fast these went. I love normal post, and in general is much more cost effective. The Fedex fees were truly huge in relation to what I bought (I missed out on the big want coin which would have made it more reasonable). The UPS shipped one was also big. I wonder if the Estonians (and other Eastern to Central European places that have much higher fees) are hesitant to use their own official post. Or, maybe they switched to UPS as they were able to get the planes in the air? My prior purchases from this seller did not involve UPS as I recall.
And, in trying desperately hard to not totally derail the OP's question, I would never extrapolate the Estonian post concerns to Japan Post. Any updates on your package @kuwegg57 ?
I have gotten extremely fast shipments from Estonia, Finland and Netherlands. In contrast Germany, United Kingdom and Italy you might wait months sometimes. I recall getting a 17th century tile from Amsterdam in two days door to door. The UK stuff can really get complicated if as in a couple of instances you have to get an export license from the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
I guess it depends on where you live in the US. When I lived in London I regularly got mail from the US in two days, presumably because it was being mailed near a city with direct flights.
Of course, with C19, all bets are off.
My packet from Southern Russia seems to be travelling right along, but my face masks from Los Angeles are lost in tracking at the moment. Go figure.