Just tried to purchase postage for some packages to the USA on the Deutsche-Post site and was blocked. Parcel shipping to USA not available at this time due to the Covid-19 crisis. DHL packages can be sent with an additional €16 Crisis Surcharge.
What are your experiences with sending receiving packages during this time? This can be a useful thread to keep everyone in the loop.
Feel free to move this elsewhere, but I figure it's something that affects most of us and belongs to general info / discussion.
Recently in the US, one of the distribution centers had an employee test positive for COVID-19.
https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/concerns-over-possible-covid-19-cases-at-capital-region-usps-distribution-center/ (https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/concerns-over-possible-covid-19-cases-at-capital-region-usps-distribution-center/)
I can't find the link to this article (plus it was from a Facebook community post, so it's best to take it's legitimacy with a grain of salt) but many postal workers have apparently been complaining about a lack of cleaning supplies for the past two weeks, leading to some going on sick leave or flat out refusing to work. I'll update this post with the link if I can find it.
I'm not sure what this means for the future of shipping, all I know is that the USPS is remaining open for the time being. If the above info is accurate, I suppose it's possible the US could see some problems with mail, etc.
This is problematic to say the least, I just shipped about 20 parcels yesterday without problem, but given this message at the bottom of the Deutsche Post site, it's not clear if they will make it:
"Please note that shipments that are handed over to us for these destinations or have been handed over recently will be returned to the sender."
post stopped or severely limited to a great deal of other countries as well.
Quote from: totalblack on March 27, 2020, 04:05:38 PM
"Please note that shipments that are handed over to us for these destinations or have been handed over recently will be returned to the sender."
THAT sucks big time. I've sent a bunch of stuff out to the USA over the past week or so... Guy at the post office just said it will go through no problem, but didn't seem to really know what he's talking about.
Quote from: WCN on March 27, 2020, 04:26:48 PM
Quote from: totalblack on March 27, 2020, 04:05:38 PM
"Please note that shipments that are handed over to us for these destinations or have been handed over recently will be returned to the sender."
THAT sucks big time. I've sent a bunch of stuff out to the USA over the past week or so... Guy at the post office just said it will go through no problem, but didn't seem to really know what he's talking about.
Deutsche Post employees almost never seem to know what is going on. That note was below the list of countries mostly in South America \ Africa which they listed no service to, but it's unclear if all of the other countries listed above are the same. Mail to UK, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and Scandinavia seems to be operating as normal. Hopefully this won't last very long, it also seems a bit predatory to charge a 16 euro crisis fee per parcel. I guess it's just to discourage people sending parcels.
I did ship few packages to US beginning of last week too. Hope they'll ever arrive. But it's the last bunch I shipped and just stopped all mailorder activities for now. Stuff likely will be extremely delayed or get lost and no thanks dealing with shit like that esp. if I 'd just run into an inpatient discogs punk killing my seller rating.
Losing the possibility to ship internationally is probably the worst scenario for Industrial / Noise...
QuoteUSA:
Die Transportkapazitäten in die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika sind aktuell erheblich reduziert, so dass der Versand von Briefen und Paketen nur unter besonderen Maßnahmen aufrechterhalten werden kann.
Der Versand von Briefsendungen (Dokumentenversand) in die USA ist weiterhin möglich
Der Versand von Warenpost- und Päckchen-Sendungen in die USA wird bis auf Weiteres nicht mehr angeboten
Für Privatkunden: Für den Paketversand in die USA steht ab dem 01.04.2020 bis auf Weiteres nur noch der Versand von Paketen in Verbindung mit dem Service Premium zur Verfügung
Für Geschäftskunden: Der Versand von DHL Paket International-Sendungen ist bis auf Weiteres möglich. Bitte beachten Sie, dass wir für jedes Paket einen Krisenzuschlag international i.H.v. 16 € erheben
- https://www.deutschepost.de/de/c/coronavirus.html#international
Guess you could try to wrap up to 3 tapes/CDs in paper and ship it as documents.
This "crisis fee" seems excessive and only worth it for larger shipments.
Canada Post is running as normal (some domestic shipments actually arriving faster than normal). The shipping service I use to send to USA is reporting no problems and is operating as normal. Last packages I've sent have all been delivered. Spain seems to be shut down.
I had a discogs order from Sweden, currently Canada Post unable till ship to anywhere in Scandinavia.
No problems here (Netherlands) so far..
I ordered a pedal from Italy this week and had no trouble. Now that I think of it, doesn't seem like a smart move. Hope nobody died on it.
I am actually planing on making an order from the UK to the US later this weekend, but am now having some second thoughts. Any news on whether that would be disrupted?
https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/?utm_source=residential&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=res_to_intl (https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/?utm_source=residential&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=res_to_intl)
Here's a list of countries who's postal services are being affected as well as countries where priority mail express international (aka the safest way to make sure packages mailed from the US don't get lost) no longer have a guarantee. For people shipping from the US and vice versa, I'd take a look at this and decide whether the shipping risk is worth it.
EDIT: Domestic shipping seems to be fine except for parts of New York and California, as well as the area of Mississippi that got hit by a tornado recently (that's a pretty remote spot but you never know where some noise heads might be I suppose).
https://www.posti.fi/fi/asiakastuki/lahettaminen/maakohtaiset-tiedot
That is the similar page of Finnish post.
situation varies almost daily. Now you got latest update of countries done 27.3.2020. It seemed pretty good. USA and Canada still works. Rest of overseas not at this moment. Europe pretty good in general, almost every country is ok.
Problem is mostly the lack of planes. As far as I know, big part of letters and smaller packs travel in cargo of regular passagner flights. Now that there is not much of those planes flying, it means there has to be new routes, new deals made with alternative ways to get shipments where they have to go.
All mail from Finland to USA, goes to JFK airport, where it proceeds further. So if New York problems increase, it means problems to mail sent anywhere in the US.
Some may say that the past lifestyles is gone, and things will never be the same... but I would not consider non-existing postal system as option. It just adjusts itself into new ways. Drastic pace of change causes some turbulence. I would not worry much about placing orders from and to countries that are not in border of collapsing. Most of post is slower, as the alternative routing even in EU means basically trucks. If there are no planes for priority mail, they'll just use trucks instead.
Waiting for a package from Singapur since nearly 6 weeks. The sender said he was informed about problems of the German postal service.
All other stuff arrived as usual. Looks like the packages I mailed to other countries all arrived without delays.
UK Royal Mail operating as normal so far. Signed-for packages get delivered without an actual signature. 'Going to post things' is not specifically listed under the things you're permitted to leave the house for but can do so during 'exercise' or going to buy food i guess?
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on March 28, 2020, 07:41:31 AM
If there are no planes for priority mail, they'll just use trucks instead.
Quote from: Cementimental on March 28, 2020, 01:39:21 PM
Signed-for packages get delivered without an actual signature.
Canada Post has removed their guaranteed delivery times, and will also be ignoring signature requests.
From Germany you can only send letters or parcels to the USA.
Parcel shipping costs + 16 Euro Corona fee = nearly 40 Euro.
Quote from: wilst-de on April 01, 2020, 10:03:55 PM
From Germany you can only send letters or parcels to the USA.
Parcel shipping costs + 16 Euro Corona fee = nearly 40 Euro.
Seems DHL "Premium" packages are also available, but this starts at €55 for up to 5kg, so single orders seem to be out for the moment... It will be interesting to see they offer their original Warenpost prices once things get "back to normal."
Quote from: wilst-de on April 01, 2020, 10:03:55 PM
From Germany you can only send letters or parcels to the USA.
Parcel shipping costs + 16 Euro Corona fee = nearly 40 Euro.
Mail blocked for many countries, not only US:
https://www.deutschepost.de/de/c/coronavirus.html#international (https://www.deutschepost.de/de/c/coronavirus.html#international)
Canada Post reporting disruptions/lack of service to Middle East, far east, Russia, Southeast Asia, South America.
UK, Europe, Asia and USA all reporting normal (with delays).
UPS and FedEx in the US appear to be reducing operations as per a note from Canadian shipping service: "Effective immediately, we will be unable to accept any UPS or FedEx shipments due to closures with our U.S. partners."
It comes as no surprise, however I was told today that international postage from Australia will likely take longer than usual. Domestic deliveries seems to be operating close to normal.
Surprised to read about all the problems here. I've been shipping and receiving records as usual from Germany, UK and the USA over the last 2/3 weeks. Seems to be even faster than usual in some cases. Wouldn't send to or order from Italy or Spain though.
Quote from: impulse manslaughter on April 03, 2020, 02:29:46 PM
Spain
At work we had a returned package from Spain early on. It was marked as undeliverable given current situation, but Canada Post will send it again free of charge when it's over which is a surprising move.
Since then the Spain restriction seems to have been lifted.
I have a zine to post to Sweden tomorrow and I am not expecting any delays.
I sent one out to the phillipines a couple of weeks ago and it actually reached there ok.
I would be a bit hesitant to send to Spain / Italy at present, although from recent history I have worst experience of zines getting "lost" domestically through the UK system.
I decided to shut down my discogs store. I had a ton of orders the first week of the pandemic, then it's slowed to a crawl this week. I quite frankly am enjoying not packing shit up and not dealing with total wads. I may or may not start it up again!
I recieved from UK, Germany, Sweden this week. All without significant delay given what's happening. But we have stopped accepting flights from many countries lately, my orders were before that, from now on i expect big delays ! Actualy, i ll avoid to order or any order to be shipped. Better my stuff to wait at someone's home than at a logistic center. Since i believe postal services will wait before they decide to use alternative ways than their usual flights.
I live in the Italian most infected zone and nothing is arriving.
I can't go to postal service, or better, i can go only for necessities (and shipping discs is not).
I m waiting for some packages from one month and I'm not sure they would arrive.
I bought a record from US. Which was shipped 27th March. After that it has been flying between Miami and Chicago airports. Currently it sits in Chicago. Looks bad, migth be a long wait before it finds it way to Finland.
Just checked the Finnish post situation. From here you cannot send anything outside Europe except China. Some countries in Europe it's not possible either, like to Portugal.
Here in Portugal, packages are sent and received without problems from must places around the world. Delayed yes, but looks like those delays have very little to do with the Portuguese postal system.
Sent a couple of packs a few days ago, both inside EU and outside, and all are on their way.
Here in Canada, other than a package from the UK received earlier this week, I haven't gotten anything in 2 weeks (as of tomorrow). I usually get packages of distro stock daily. However, the orders that I ship seem to be arriving.
in my area of italy no big problems
Norway post operating as normal. Delays should however be expected throughout the system as post transit from A to B is dependant on crossing one or more country borders in which various health sanctions are in operation.
One of my Japan contacts informed me that Japan Post have quit shipping to several countries throughout the world, but DHL still operates normally.
I've ordered a fair amount of items over the last month or so and I've noticed a major slow down in certain areas. I'm up in Washington state and items coming from the east coast seem to be arriving much faster then items shipping from California. I have a couple packages that have already been sitting in LA and Santa Clarita respectively for multiple days with no updates. It seems like southern California I being really slow at the moment. Packages still seem to be arriving but right now getting something I the mail is a pretty exciting occasion so I really wish things would get here sooner. On an unrelated note I have some items delayed by covid 19 not because of shipping but because of delays at the pressing plant. It seems like I've been waiting on the new Scatnother vinyl forever. Not anyone's fault but it is still disappointing.
I have three packages held up somewhere in the world for around a month. They are from Russia, Finland and Australia. No idea when/if they will arrive...
Quote from: Hatefukk on April 15, 2020, 08:40:18 AM
I have a couple packages that have already been sitting in LA and Santa Clarita respectively for multiple days with no updates. It seems like southern California I being really slow at the moment.
Quote from: USPSThe California Department of Food and Agriculture reports that there has been a resurgence of Virulent Newcastle Disease in Southern California. The below quarantine remains in effect. There is no end date. This quarantine is effective immediately across the following affected Districts.
San Diego
Los Angeles
Santa Ana
Sierra Coastal
This could be the reason for your delays.
just got a copy of Wolves Among Sheep from Milan, Italy to RI, USA very fast.
I may not have ordered if I noticed it was from Italy, but, it got here in 5-6 days with DHL.
Still on waiting on a package from Old Europa Cafe that shipped in February. The tracking stops on March 5th.
Tesco already said they can't ship to Canada so that's been on hold a while too, waiting for one there.
Otherwise seem to be getting packages from the US ok or with some delay.
In Finland things are almost back to normal. Still South America, Australia and bunch of overseas destinations are closed. From europe, there are odd countries like Portugal where can't send mail at the moment. Otherwise things are normalizing.
A package from the UK to Holland arrived in 2 days last week. I'm just waiting for 2 packages from the USA that were send out 4/5 weeks ago..
package from usa to canada take age to show up i still wait for a fuzz i ordered april 4
USA seems to me is drastically inconsistent right now. I don't know if it has to do with individual facilities or changes in carrier movement throughout the country or just the fact that the funding is in doldrums without help in sight from the federal government. Most packages I have had move surprisingly well. Others get stuck. I have one package from the UK that literally reached the US and was processed through customs domestically in one day. It hasn't moved since then in three weeks. It was processed through customs less than twenty miles from where I live.
I ordered that new Caustic Wound LP from Profound Lore on Thursday night and it arrived Saturday morning. I would be unlikely to take a chance ordering internationally at this point though which has been great for my finances.
My zine got to Sweden from the UK really quick, no hassle.
A package that was "shipped" to me a month ago from Japan, is still sitting in the post office it was dropped off at.
Haven't ordered international yet, but can confirm certain slowdowns or even possible lost packages? Shirt from southern IL has been lost for roughly a week from it's original estimated delivery date (I am based in WI so not too far.), and some tapes from San Francisco are now delayed indefinitely.
I've had several incoming international packages indicated as being in the country for anywhere from two to eight weeks. One of them finally showed up yesterday, which is encouraging, but I honestly have no idea when I'll see the others.
Almost three weeks for a CD from Germany to Sweden - and that's close.
All of my outstanding international packages finally arrived except one from Australia. The fact the others made it gives me hope though.
Shipping has resumed from Germany to several non EU countries (Canada, Japan) as of a few days ago, so I'm thinking optimistically that things will resume for the USA and Australia in the near future.
Quote from: totalblack on May 01, 2020, 11:42:43 AM
Shipping has resumed from Germany to several non EU countries (Canada, Japan) as of a few days ago, so I'm thinking optimistically that things will resume for the USA and Australia in the near future.
The same thought seems to be spreading to PO's here, as this was suggested to me earlier in the week when I tried to post some things.
Anyone with experience on how long letters from the U.S. to Europe are taking at the moment? Been waiting for a tape from the U.S. for 3-4 weeks now and although USPS gives a "tracking number" for international letters, they can't be tracked.
Mail service in the US continues to be extremely inconsistent, and not just with USPS but also DHL. Many domestic packages seem to be arriving in a timely manner like mentioned by others, but some are taking wild/inexplicable rides across the country. I had a package sent via USPS First Class from Massachusetts to where I live in Dayton, OH. Currently, it's journey has gone like this:
Massachusetts --> Columbus, OH
Columbus, OH --> Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati, OH --> Massachusetts
Massachusetts--> Detroit, MI
Detroit, MI --> Texas
The tracking has since stopped updating two days ago.
International seems to have ground to a halt. A package sent to Japan two weeks ago seems to have never even left the US according to tracking info. I'm also waiting on packages delivered via DHL from overseas as those haven't arrived; tracking info on one claims that it was even delivered three days ago.
So, everything is kind of fucked right now. Be patient!
Quote from: whiteheatnoise on May 08, 2020, 03:44:47 PMSo, everything is kind of fucked right now. Be patient!
That's what I figured. I've had packages arrive from the U.S. surprisingly quick during the past few weeks, but wasn't sure what the situation was with smaller, non-trackable shipments.
If it wasn't a master tape for an upcoming release project I wouldn't be this antsy, but "everything is kind of fucked right now" sums it all up perfectly.
Just to add to the pile, so far my experiences with sending and receiving have been the same as pre-pandemic. Only one very large domestic package seemed to take extra time to arrive to me. I've just placed an order from Singapore to here and sent tapes to France and the UK which seem like they're moving through, but time will tell. It seems like many domestic mail carriers just have more package traffic than usual because everyone one is home buying stuff, on top of the general pandemic clusterfuck, but I'm always impressed by the fact that international mail operates half as well as it does. I think someone posted here or maybe I was reading elsewhere warning from German post that mail package traffic in Germany, especially around Berlin was super high, so "please be patient", etc.
I'm most interested to see if two packages recently ordered from Japan will make it here anytime soon.
I'm waiting on one package from Germany that was reported to be on Frankfurt Airport on April 8... since then, nothing... It was a trade and funny enough, my part of it arrived in Germany without any delays. Can't really understand why mail goes out from Portugal without problems, but arriving seems to be problematic.
Quote from: ConcreteMascara on May 08, 2020, 05:32:23 PM
I'm most interested to see if two packages recently ordered from Japan will make it here anytime soon.
A friend that lives in Japan just told me that packages leaving the country are "blocked" for the moment, so...
Quote from: whiteheatnoise on May 09, 2020, 03:09:07 PM
Quote from: ConcreteMascara on May 08, 2020, 05:32:23 PM
I'm most interested to see if two packages recently ordered from Japan will make it here anytime soon.
A friend that lives in Japan just told me that packages leaving the country are "blocked" for the moment, so...
fuck.
I sold a very expensive record (pre-pandemic in December) on discogs and the UK buyer claimed they never got it. I refunded the money ($120) and that shit stung man, AMAZINGLY it was returned to me last week as he either never got the customs slip or just didn't want to pay the customs fees. Anyway if shit is making its way back across "the pond" I have high hopes things will smooth itself out.
I've been waiting on a Media Mail package sent from San Francisco for 1 month and 3 days now. I live in NYC and it's been in transit from Jersey City since May 2nd. The wait doesn't bother me, mostly just curious where and why they decide certain things to be throttled.
I've got a friend who works at USPS and honestly, I think certain areas get slowdowns because of people being out of work due to not feeling comfortable and wanting to put themselves at risk or just straight up being sick. Some packages take a week, a couple took about a month. I think it's slowly smoothing out but I'd definitely expect long waits.
As of yesterday we can ship again to USA, Canada, Brazil, Russia and China with regular post from Belgium.
Quote from: Bruitiste on April 18, 2020, 09:43:45 PM
Still on waiting on a package from Old Europa Cafe that shipped in February. The tracking stops on March 5th.
Tesco already said they can't ship to Canada so that's been on hold a while too, waiting for one there.
Otherwise seem to be getting packages from the US ok or with some delay.
Package from OEC arrived today at last, incredibly. So there's hope for all the delayed items I'm waiting for, if that somehow made it.
Last week I received a package that was in the mail since mid February. The tracking hadn't been updated since it left the country of origin in the first week of March. There are plenty still missing, but my faith in their arrival is renewed.
I'm in the United States. I ordered two packages from a Russian friend, one has arrived after literally two months plus a few days, the other is still in limbo but within a similar timeframe. I just received a package from the Netherlands today that shipped April 24.
located in the US, waiting for 2 packages from Sweden, yesterday was exactly one month when the first one was shipped, the 2nd one a few days later
I would be weary about shipping internationally. Most of my outgoing international mail is taking upwards of two months to arrive. An impatient buyer just ripped me off by opening a Paypal claim prematurely. It doesn't matter that it has tracking if it hasn't been delivered and I only have 10 days to appeal. Here's hoping it's been delivered by then.
My coworker just received a package shipped February 3rd from Estonia...
These examples of packages arriving after months give me some hope that my package posted from Sweden to Hungary on 15 April may eventually arrive, although it was sent unregistered and the distance is far less than between the US and Europe...
On the other hand, a package sent (unregistered) 5 days ago from Germany arrived today.
Yesterday I finally received my artist copies for the Yakuza release from GIW and it took over a month. Came from the UK to the US.
Over here, still Australia, New Zealand, some of the South America etc are closed.
One can always check if their destination and Finland has working post connection from here:
https://www.posti.fi/en/customer-support/sending/country-information
I read news that USPS sent the biggest letter/package shipment of its entire history while ago. Stuff what was supposed to be airmail, but cumulated so much, eventually was loaded into shitloads of sea cargo containers and shipped to Europe. Who knows if it is still sailing over the ocean, or whether some of these containers are being processed in Europe... Anyways, most of stuff from USA sent to here, no way to track or see what is happening. I assume they're on the cruise...
Still waiting for 2 overseas packages. One is a rare record that was mailed over 2 months ago. It's making me a little nervous. Within the EU no problems so far, just a few delays.
Currently waiting on a lot of domestic and international stuff, ranging from sent about two months ago to two weeks.
The funny/frustrating thing is, while anything important gets held up, like packages or bills, the junk mail flyers and circulars still seem to come in and pile up at the same rate.
Packages within Europe basically as normal.
Two shirts from the US took about a month (from California), that's happened before though too due to customs etc
Quote from: DSOL on May 27, 2020, 03:59:24 PM
located in the US, waiting for 2 packages from Sweden, yesterday was exactly one month when the first one was shipped, the 2nd one a few days later
received one of the packages today - just a single cassette which was ordered a few days after my other which is 3 cassettes - different sellers
Quote from: acsenger on May 27, 2020, 11:21:51 PM
These examples of packages arriving after months give me some hope that my package posted from Sweden to Hungary on 15 April may eventually arrive, although it was sent unregistered and the distance is far less than between the US and Europe...
My package (with two Masonna 7"s) finally arrived today. It took 7 weeks for it to get from Sweden to Hungary. It definitely made my day.
I'm still waiting on a package from Finland to the US since March 30! I know it's not on the seller as they have a good reputation and the world is in utter chaos. Glad to see other people are getting their shit and I still have hope but it's frustrating. There are worse things happening in the world and I'll continue to be patient (*besides this post). Most things domestically have gotten here but are still taking a couple of weeks to a month. All hail the worldwide noise distribution network and I hope the USPS survives the recent attacks on their existence.
Just received a package sent from Germany in under two weeks while another from Germany remains undelivered after over five weeks.
Many others still missing from elsewhere for upwards of a month... some larger packages, some just one CD.
Just received packages shipped March 20, April 21, and April 30. The March 20 package was from Germany, other two were USA.
So IS Germany able to ship to the states now? I saw multiple German labels mention its still restricted?
Quote from: eyesofsatan on June 09, 2020, 09:11:05 PM
So IS Germany able to ship to the states now? I saw multiple German labels mention its still restricted?
Still not able to ship. I'm half expecting it to be enabled any day now, half thinking it might stay closed longer due to the unrest.
There's updates on the restrictions posted a few times a week but they have recently been about a lot of African and South American countries accepting shipments. Australia and USA are without any movement, and the packages I've sent to Canada seem to have gone by boat as they have taken over a month to get across the Atlantic.
Quote from: WCN on June 09, 2020, 09:24:51 PM
Quote from: eyesofsatan on June 09, 2020, 09:11:05 PM
So IS Germany able to ship to the states now? I saw multiple German labels mention its still restricted?
Still not able to ship. I'm half expecting it to be enabled any day now, half thinking it might stay closed longer due to the unrest.
Speaking as a Canadian who just bought that Sewer Election box you listed I have no issue waiting until "safe" to send....
Crank Sturgeon posted my parcel 10 days ago and its still sat in LA.... Its ok, i'm patient....
Quote from: totalblack on June 09, 2020, 10:27:55 PM
There's updates on the restrictions posted a few times a week but they have recently been about a lot of African and South American countries accepting shipments. Australia and USA are without any movement, and the packages I've sent to Canada seem to have gone by boat as they have taken over a month to get across the Atlantic.
I hate to say it, but I think that they are in Canada, but remain undelivered. Since the pandemic struck, I've had packages from all over the place take months to arrive, even after the tracking is updated with something along the lines of "sent to destination country". Canada Post is a shit show right now and I honestly believe that international mail is just sitting in warehouses, waiting to be processed.
I just received a package from France in about two weeks, while packages from Brazil and Germany, to name a couple, are still unaccounted for after upwards of two and one month(s), respectively... again - no rhyme or reason to how it works, from what i can tell! If it squeaks through, it squeaks through?
ABSOLIUTELY SHIT !!!!
Coming from Australia, the island at the asshole of the world, international post is almost non existant.
Australia post have cancelled all post of smaller air mail items so cassettes can no longer be posted unless you pay $25 for a fully tracked service where it is usually only $8.95
CDs must now be sent without cases in order to slip them in as "documents" only mail.
Because we have shut our boarders there is very minimal air freight leaving the country.
I have been told by my postal worker that there are warehouses of mail being stock piled.
So yeah, its grim down here.
I have so much international stuff to release on my label but im holding off on release dates so that people can actually order the stuff.
https://innercityuprising.bandcamp.com/music
I just received tracking updates for an outgoing international package that hadn't been updated in roughly seven weeks. It appears as though it was shipped surface mail to Spain due to the limitations on flights and cargo availability. I can't help but find it funny that I'm not notified until after it reaches the other side... meanwhile, some idiot already claimed on this package and forced a refund weeks ago. You would think that Paypal would adapt and prevent impatient buyers from taking action after only six weeks have elapsed.
Quote from: implementsofsacrifice on June 14, 2020, 07:21:17 PM
I just received tracking updates for an outgoing international package that hadn't been updated in roughly seven weeks. It appears as though it was shipped surface mail to Spain due to the limitations on flights and cargo availability. I can't help but find it funny that I'm not notified until after it reaches the other side... meanwhile, some idiot already claimed on this package and forced a refund weeks ago. You would think that Paypal would adapt and prevent impatient buyers from taking action after only six weeks have elapsed.
I guess once it gets delivered you can report to Paypal with the tracking confirmation and some message that proves this tracking number was that specific order, and claim your payment.
Quote from: implementsofsacrifice on June 05, 2020, 12:10:23 AM
Just received a package sent from Germany in under two weeks while another from Germany remains undelivered after over five weeks.
Many others still missing from elsewhere for upwards of a month... some larger packages, some just one CD.
That is interesting. I'm waiting on the vinyl for the new Scatmother album and I was told that Germany is not allowed to ship to the US at this point. I would really love to get that album finally, i ordered it as a pre-order last year and was excited when I heard it finally got pressed at the plant just to get saddened by the message i received saying I still wouldn't get it. Can anyone confirm that Germany is able to ship to the US?
I believe shipping from germany thats not DHL is still restricted.
Sending seems to be fine from Belgium, even to the US i got no issues whatsoever. Except sending to Italy still seems to be unreliable.
Receiving within Europe seems to be fine, takes way longer than usual though.
Receiving from the States is pretty shitty. Waiting on packages which seem to be forever in transit.
My crank surgeon parcel finally left LA and got to the UK after 3 weeks, cleared pretty quickly and I've now got it.
Been waiting 6 weeks for a record from Sweden yet I sent an untracked package of tapeS from Canada to Slovakia and it took like 6 days.
Quote from: DSOL on May 28, 2020, 08:12:59 PM
Quote from: DSOL on May 27, 2020, 03:59:24 PM
located in the US, waiting for 2 packages from Sweden, yesterday was exactly one month when the first one was shipped, the 2nd one a few days later
received one of the packages today - just a single cassette which was ordered a few days after my other which is 3 cassettes - different sellers
received the 3 tapes today, they were mailed on 4/27/20 so they took about a month and half to arrive to me
Just received packages shipped from Germany on April 30th, and another shipped from Germany May 3rd.
Despite the border closure between US and Canada, I got a package through to its destination within 2 weeks just the other day.
When it comes to packages from Europe to North America, I feel that this has always been hit and miss. I get packages from Germany frequently and I've seen them take anywhere between 3 and 12 weeks - and that's with and without Covid issues.
An LP arrived today from Sweden to Canada, ordered first week of May, shipped airmail so..... 48 days total? It's a huge relief to see these things trickling in.
Glad to hear shippings from Sweden to the US and Canada are not lost, but just taking aeons to arrive. Been getting worried messages from discogs customers over there.
Portugal to UK 11 days... seems pretty reasonable to me that
From Italy and within Europe it seems pretty ok so far.
I'm still waiting for a feedback on a couple of packages that flew to U.S.A. and Australia, but that took forever even before all this shit started.
Quote from: Baglady on June 19, 2020, 10:06:51 AM
Glad to hear shippings from Sweden to the US and Canada are not lost, but just taking aeons to arrive. Been getting worried messages from discogs customers over there.
Same here. They seems to arrive now and everyone is happy.
It seems for me sending packages to the US is taking the longest. I think that's the only country i've been getting emails from asking where their items are.
Quote from: Major Carew on June 21, 2020, 12:21:53 PM
It seems for me sending packages to the US is taking the longest. I think that's the only country i've been getting emails from asking where their items are.
my tape just arrived! other USA folks should be receiving soon.
It took nine weeks, but a package from Sweden arrived today.
I also received a single CD from Russia that was in the mail for ten weeks.
I received a package from the UK a few days ago that arrived in less than two weeks.
Still waiting on a package from Sweden shipped March 24th. Tracking says it hasn't reached Canada yet.
Otherwise, things seem to be showing up alright. US to Canada has improved significantly.
Package from Total Black from Germany to Canada arrived in 8 days. Outstanding!!
Deliveris from/to Italy from most countries is ok. The problem is that offices in most towns are reduced time
This means it may take 2/3 hours to enter the office.
I resumed mail order and go once a week but a couple of times office closed while I was waiting.
Took just over a week for a package from France to Canada. Last one arrived in 3-4 days. The French / Canadian connection seems to be the most efficient of all at the moment.
not related to C-19, but still a little sobering for USPS. *posted elsewhere, but I thought it was interesting about our mail service.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/z3ezx4/post-office-delivery-trucks-keep-catching-on-fire
The record which was shipped 27th March from the US. Arrived to Finland and I got it from my local post office yesterday (7th July). Some corner bend, but overall in very good shape (keeping it mind it was probably shipped with a cargo ship and was at sea for a month). Will listen the record on weekend, but probably it will be fine.
Edit: Also sold some stuff to US and shipped them at the end of May and now they have arrived.
Package received this morning that was shipped April 24th. Sweden to Canada. Now all that remains from my much-delayed packages is another from Sweden, shipped at the end of March...
Haven't found packages from the UK to be taking really any longer than anywhere else this whole time, and orders have been ultra-busy since lockdown. Fuck going to the Post Office though and dealing with the queues of zombies, online postage all the way.
Sweden -> Canada: 70 days (and opened by customs - still waiting on the one shipped a month prior)
Germany -> Canada: 6 days.
LA, USA -> Canada: 37 days (meanwhile last LA -> Canada package only took 9 days)
Recently received a couple of packages from the States (to Belgium) - ranging between 2 and 3 months of delivery.
Every package also came with a nice hefty customs fine as a surprise.
Netherlands - USA is still ultra-slow. To/from most other countries things seem to work as before.
Just after i typed the above a record mailed on the 25th of march in the USA arrived. Longest it ever took for a record I bought. Luckely in great condition.
Quote from: impulse manslaughter on July 10, 2020, 02:22:18 PM
Netherlands - USA is still ultra-slow. To/from most other countries things seem to work as before.
My Package, sent on 4/24 has been sitting in US customs since June 9th and even says "cleared and forwarded to addressee" Kind of starting to doubt I'll ever get it.
I posted a zine to the Philippines on Feb 24th and it was received today! So glad it finally made it
Germany -> Canada: 5 days, including a weekend. Incredible.
Finland -> Canada: 53 days and warped LPs.
20+ days for two packages from Finland and UK (I'm in italy)
After the lockdown things seemed better for the first two weeks.
Now are worse than ever.
Sent a package to Ukraine, left Portugal on the 30 of March... still nothing arrived to it's destination.
Everything else is working fine without much delays at this point.
Quote from: theotherjohn on July 25, 2020, 07:28:39 PM
Hadn't realised that Royal Mail in the UK had updated their postage prices yet again this year on July 1st until I saw the recent post by Harbinger Sound on their RJF reissue thread (http://www.special-interests.net/forum/index.php?topic=10585.msg88561#msg88561). Normally it's an annual occurence (last one was on March 23rd (https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalmail.com/files/2020-02/royal-mail-our-prices-valid-from-23-march-2020.pdf)) but now they've adjusted postage to factor in an substantial increase in price for Small Parcel* orders sent specifically to the USA, or 'World Zone 3' (the new third world?). Not sure if courier services will be any cheaper in comparison, but it's certainly worth looking into as an alternative to Royal Mail for UK sellers now, even for orders under 2kg...
Zones: https://www.royalmail.com/international-zones
New prices: https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalmail.com/files/2020-06/royal-mail-our-prices-01-july-2020.pdf
*Orders larger in size than 25 x 35.3 x 2.5cm. Carry on as normal if you're sending, say, 2 CDs or 9 cassettes side by side, or a small stack of 7" singles. But if you're sending one or multiple 12"s/LPs/large box sets, then postage gets costly...
I read the same info a couple of days ago on the RM website. Thought I had misunderstood something. But this basically means the end of shipping LPs/parcels to USA via Royal Mail. (£15.18 for one LP!) Strangely, large letters are still pretty cheap to send to USA.
As for the current postage situation things seem more or less back to normal regarding both inbound and outbound mail. Been waiting a few months for something from Japan but that's the only nuisance at the moment.
Deutsche-Post is still not shipping to the USA from Germany in what seems to be carrying on indefinitely, so as a workaround the honorable Luke Tandy at Skeleton Dust Records in Dayton, OH is helping out. WCN can now ship to the USA! Orders couriered in bulk to Skeleton Dust and from there forwarded via media mail. Still no shipping to Australia/New Zealand but hopefully that changes soon.
DHL from Germany to Canada working just fine.... received packaged from WCN and Total Black very quickly evening by pre-COVID standards.
Got a package from Hospital as well which arrived in under a week which surprised the ever lovin' shit out of me.....
Has anyone else within the US experienced MASSIVE slowdowns with Media Mail in the last couple of weeks? It felt like everything was getting back on track domestically a month or so ago, but I have two packages I sent out that have been sitting in sorting centers for 2-3 weeks each... I have one I mailed on July 16th that is still supposedly sitting at the original post office!
I've been following the news about changes at the USPS and wondering if others have had similar experiences. This could massively impact the operations of labels and small businesses.
Quote from: Fistfuck Masonanie on August 08, 2020, 11:39:17 PM
Has anyone else within the US experienced MASSIVE slowdowns with Media Mail in the last couple of weeks? It felt like everything was getting back on track domestically a month or so ago, but I have two packages I sent out that have been sitting in sorting centers for 2-3 weeks each... I have one I mailed on July 16th that is still supposedly sitting at the original post office!
I've been following the news about changes at the USPS and wondering if others have had similar experiences. This could massively impact the operations of labels and small businesses.
Yes. During the height of COVID shutdown it took a media mail package over 2 months to reach me. Now it's not at that level, but still noticeably longer than usual. On bigger orders I've just been putting up the extra couple bucks for priority. I've also heard some fellow record buyers in the U.S. say they've had similar issues. Suprisingly I haven't had anything lost during all of this. But I did wait 3 months for a package from Japan that I purchased prior to things locking down officially in a lot of the US.
I heard media mail is being filed as the lowest priority as the usps pushes through a backlog of first class mail. Shit is dire. I am only getting mail delivered two days a week and media mail stuff is taking 3-4 weeks on average. I had a record sit at the original post office a week, sit at my regional po a few more days, then it went to new jersey for some reason, now its en route back to the regional po.
I sent a package from Germany to Canada and it arrived within two weeks! I was really surprised as the Deutsche Post website claims it will take a lot longer than usual.
Shipping to USA it still not possible at all unless one pays for a 5kg parcel with some extra Corona fees on top, leading to shipping costs around 50€ for a stupid tape or whatever you throw in.
As far as i know shipping from Japan to EU is only possible via a registered surface mail option which costs little less than 20EUR. Guy thought simple surface mail is working but nah, they told him only with registered surface. I think this apply to every EU country since they have common policy towards third countries. Or not ?
Anyway, please anyone in EU recieves from Japan with standard airmail or surface, or from Japan sends to EU, update us, so i know it's open again. I have a tape i was looking for years waiting, i cant pay 20EUR shipping, so patience is all i can do.
Ordered a tape from Japan and it took around 2,5 months to arrive here in Sweden. Packages I've sent to Japan lately seems to arrive like normal. Most packages I sent lately actually seems to arrive as usual post Covid except a few to some of the states in USA that may has taken a few weeks longer than usual.
Starting 15.9. Deutsche Post is shipping to USA again!
Quote from: CannibalRitual on September 12, 2020, 12:46:29 PM
Starting 15.9. Deutsche Post is shipping to USA again!
Just heard this too!! Finally get to have my copy of the new Scatmother special edition vinyl. It feels like i've been waiting for fucking ever for that thing to finally ship! I'm sure the distro is going to be backed up for quite a while shipping out all of the held orders so it will still take a bit but at least it's on it's way!
I just FINALLY received a CD I ordered from Finland back in March. The postal stamp shows it shipped as of March 30th and I never thought the guy was trying to screw me. I'm guessing it was stuck in the very bottom of some large sorting pile and the postal workers just NOW got caught up six months later. Crazy, so if anyone is still waiting on something there is still hope!
I m waiting a pedal from us from 5th of August.
Nothing yet.
I m in Italy?
Someone in the same situation (us-eu or eu-us)?
Last month I issued a new batch of shirts after months I didn't send anything.
I posted mostly in priority.
Italy got the bags in 5/7 days, instead of 1/2. Sardinia and Sicily got them in 15 days, that is insane.
Europe got the shirt mostly within 10 days, which is slightly above average (5/6 days)
With the states a complete disaster. Lucky ones got them within two weeks (instead of one) and other up to 1 month.
Considering how much postage cost these days it's a scandal.
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on March 28, 2020, 07:41:31 AM
https://www.posti.fi/fi/asiakastuki/lahettaminen/maakohtaiset-tiedot
Rather annoying to have for example Australia and NZ closed since march... Not much that can be done, but luckily most of mail works out just fine.
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on November 25, 2020, 09:49:26 AM
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on March 28, 2020, 07:41:31 AM
https://www.posti.fi/fi/asiakastuki/lahettaminen/maakohtaiset-tiedot
Rather annoying to have for example Australia and NZ closed since march... Not much that can be done, but luckily most of mail works out just fine.
For some reason Germany is able to ship to Australia. They are shipping to Asia via airmail, and from there it continues by sea.
I didn't send any stuff to Australia recently, but received a package from there in reasonable time.
Not Covid related, but I think related. Safe to say shipping to UK may get little complex in couple weeks. Not sure how strictly is enforced all the new regulations, but I would assume that if you are "merchant" and required to have UK VAT ID to get shipments to customers, it may be bye bye UK customers. Simply might be too much hassle to make it possible to take orders from UK.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-vat-treatment-of-overseas-goods-sold-to-customers-from-1-january-2021/changes-to-vat-treatment-of-overseas-goods-sold-to-customers-from-1-january-2021
Some american friends were amazed when I told some weeks ago, that one can no longer send letters to US (or other non EU countries) without custom registering shipment online. No cost, just little extra work. Even just one tape in envelope, and if CN22 code is not registered in online database, letter can be returned. This applies also private persons. Not just "companies".
So "postage situation", who knows... This electronic handling may speed up and automatize a lot of things, but also it may make things complicated. Finnish post introduced new weight limits abroad. They boasted that prices increase only moderatly, but in reality, the 500g envelopes changed into 250g envelopes. So half less stuff inside for higher price than it used to be. Thanks!
Freak Animal will keep my shipping rates the same as usual for now on. Things have been taken care of to level one can, and prepare, but I guess the 5 euro international shipping for 1-4 CDs/1-5 tapes is a deal that will end in upcoming years.
So I guess 2021 might be the year I suggest to start hoarding noise, so you got the soundtrack for the apocalypse stacked in shelves!
Just sell stuff on discogs and they are handling all the VAT shit. I heard they got new improved shipping policies too ;)
Quote from: Fistfuck Masonanie on September 29, 2020, 11:36:27 PM
I just FINALLY received a CD I ordered from Finland back in March. The postal stamp shows it shipped as of March 30th and I never thought the guy was trying to screw me. I'm guessing it was stuck in the very bottom of some large sorting pile and the postal workers just NOW got caught up six months later. Crazy, so if anyone is still waiting on something there is still hope!
I had some tapes travel for up to 7 months, sent in march and received them in october. Lemme tell you, the worst time possible to release a tape and make trades overseas!
The few things I've sent to Finland in the past months have taken unusually long to get there, like 3 to 5 weeks, whereas it took like 5 days before.
I don't even want to think about the package I sent to the US 2 months ago filled with LPs and tapes...
From my experience in the US:
I believe it's been several years now, at least 2, since every international package must be processed at the counter for USPS. Everything gets the "big" customs for now and if your teller is a slow typist it can take for-fucking-ever. Base international price is basically $14 for anything that's not a letter, anywhere. If I'm wrong someone one please correct me and save me some fucking money.
As for shipping times, most things I've sent to Finland have taken months and detoured through Japan.
Stuff I've sent to Japan arrives in a week, to the UK is almost as quick, and to Canada takes a couple of weeks.
As for arrivals, Japan now isn't too bad, usually 2 weeks. Germany takes a month at least, sometimes even more for a single 12". My last package from France took a week. Canada is a couple of weeks.
Looking at my orders since the pandemic started I've basically just bought stuff from shippers in the US to ignore all of this headache.
Quote from: ConcreteMascara on December 17, 2020, 10:29:08 PM
From my experience in the US:
I believe it's been several years now, at least 2, since every international package must be processed at the counter for USPS. Everything gets the "big" customs for now and if your teller is a slow typist it can take for-fucking-ever. Base international price is basically $14 for anything that's not a letter, anywhere. If I'm wrong someone one please correct me and save me some fucking money.
As for shipping times, most things I've sent to Finland have taken months and detoured through Japan.
Stuff I've sent to Japan arrives in a week, to the UK is almost as quick, and to Canada takes a couple of weeks.
As for arrivals, Japan now isn't too bad, usually 2 weeks. Germany takes a month at least, sometimes even more for a single 12". My last package from France took a week. Canada is a couple of weeks.
Looking at my orders since the pandemic started I've basically just bought stuff from shippers in the US to ignore all of this headache.
Nothing worse than mailing a stack of international packages, waiting in line, and having a postal worker who types 10 words a minute handle your customs info. There has to be a better way, but USPS is increasingly becoming a joke. With the holiday backlog currently, I wouldn't even bother ordering anything from outside the US. Even then I barely want to order anything inside the US either. Just hoping everything I've mailed overseas lately doesn't take months. I don't mind waiting for packages because I'm an adult and understand the current situation, but it's not uncommon for people to expect Amazon-esque speed and service from one man/little profit operations.
It also seems like the quality of the postal service in the US over the past year has become increasingly disparate based on where you live and exasperated by covid. In Chicago, domestic packages took ages to arrive and would often get sent back and forth through distribution centers in the area for a week or two before even arriving at the local post office. Since moving to Seattle in August, I've had no major issues with package delays.
As for sending abroad, it's a joke that it costs $14 to even send a tape now that they don't qualify for letter post as "documents." Doing a bunch of international trading over the last year has been rewarding when you can't go anywhere, but a bit disheartening watching packages arrive sent for only a couple of bucks from elsewhere when it cost $14+ to send my portion.
Quote from: deviated_septum on December 18, 2020, 02:28:31 AM
It also seems like the quality of the postal service in the US over the past year has become increasingly disparate based on where you live and exasperated by covid. In Chicago, domestic packages took ages to arrive and would often get sent back and forth through distribution centers in the area for a week or two before even arriving at the local post office. Since moving to Seattle in August, I've had no major issues with package delays.
As for sending abroad, it's a joke that it costs $14 to even send a tape now that they don't qualify for letter post as "documents." Doing a bunch of international trading over the last year has been rewarding when you can't go anywhere, but a bit disheartening watching packages arrive sent for only a couple of bucks from elsewhere when it cost $14+ to send my portion.
Happily the USPS service where I live doesn't seem to be affected as far as local delivery. But speed of service seems to vary by region/city/etc.
And yeah, I typically lose money on every international order, or break even if I'm lucky, because I can't in good conscience charge full shipping prices.
Quote from: tiny_tove on September 30, 2020, 04:26:47 PM
Italy got the bags in 5/7 days, instead of 1/2. Sardinia and Sicily got them in 15 days, that is insane.
Sardinia is barely Italy, and postage services are barely postal services there ahahah (I´m sardinian - just joking, but not too much actually, and unfortunately).
Here in Germany post services seem to be still working more or less properly (although german post delivery sometimes sucks a lot), and I hope it keeps on going like that. Considering that is probably the less expensive postal service in Europe, I can´t complain that much so far.
I was planning to ship out few things to UK prior to the new Brexit shit in January but unfortunately Deutsche Post doesn't ship to UK anymore due to the Corona situation. It's such a mess.....
Quote from: CannibalRitual on December 22, 2020, 08:26:06 PM
I was planning to ship out few things to UK prior to the new Brexit shit in January but unfortunately Deutsche Post doesn't ship to UK anymore due to the Corona situation. It's such a mess.....
don´t ship and don´t deliver any post from UK, according to the Royal Mail website. I´m also waiting a shipment from there and I´m terribly pissed off from the whole situation. But that´s it...
Guess who sent a shitload of food to the UK, but you can't send a wicked noise tape. Talk about priorities here....
Quote from: CannibalRitual on December 24, 2020, 12:12:44 PM
Guess who sent a shitload of food to the UK, but you can't send a wicked noise tape. Talk about priorities here....
Let them eat tape.
Quote from: absurdexposition on December 24, 2020, 04:14:08 PM
Quote from: CannibalRitual on December 24, 2020, 12:12:44 PM
Guess who sent a shitload of food to the UK, but you can't send a wicked noise tape. Talk about priorities here....
Let them eat tape.
Eat them and choke on it.
at least they agreed to a trade deal now, hard brexit would have devastated their whole economy. not to mention how lame it would have been to pay basically the same postage and taxes as when ordering from the states for us. glad to see they had some sense in their heads at least. postage rates however will rise, we'll see how much.
Quote from: host body on December 25, 2020, 08:20:50 PM
at least they agreed to a trade deal now, hard brexit would have devastated their whole economy. not to mention how lame it would have been to pay basically the same postage and taxes as when ordering from the states for us. glad to see they had some sense in their heads at least. postage rates however will rise, we'll see how much.
Yeah seems Mini Trump still likes his fish.
i sent 8 tapes to EU last week and paid $12-15 a tape. people are telling me its significantly cheaper to just print my own labels.
I get the sense most people know about it already, but a super essential tool for getting packages from Germany to the USA in a reasonable amount of time during the pandemic has been Transglobal Express: https://www.transglobalexpress.de/paketversand/
They have a connection with USPS which takes 7-10 days to deliver to the final destination once the package reaches their shipping point in Frankfurt and costs only a few € more than standard international post/DHL, even for small packages. You can ship your post marked package to the shipping point within Germany for a few €, and they forward it seamlessly. You can even send them multiple packages in one box. Definitely mandatory for getting stuff to distros, or to make sure your artists aren't waiting months to get their artist copies by boat.
Quote from: WCN on January 09, 2021, 04:11:32 AM
I get the sense most people know about it already, but a super essential tool for getting packages from Germany to the USA in a reasonable amount of time during the pandemic has been Transglobal Express: https://www.transglobalexpress.de/paketversand/
They have a connection with USPS which takes 7-10 days to deliver to the final destination once the package reaches their shipping point in Frankfurt and costs only a few € more than standard international post/DHL, even for small packages. You can ship your post marked package to the shipping point within Germany for a few €, and they forward it seamlessly. You can even send them multiple packages in one box. Definitely mandatory for getting stuff to distros, or to make sure your artists aren't waiting months to get their artist copies by boat.
I've used the USPS through T.G.E. service a few times, and it's certainly quicker but the rates and options are a bit all over the place. I'm not sure exactly where the problem with DHL \ Deutsche Post is currently, if it's on the German side, or if the acceptance on the US side is completely backed up. The statement that business \ contract DHL customers would have parcels sent VIA airmail priority is certainly not true, since all of the premium larger shipments I've sent are getting held up for 8 weeks or longer. Some small mail arrives in a week, some in 90 days. Hoping that things will improve in 2021.
TGE's "chargeable weight" calculator is a bit harder to estimate and factors in the volume of the package, which usually affects the price more than the weight, but for example, I sent a package of 20 tapes to the USA and it costed €18.68 and arrived in 11 days, tracked and all. That's only a few € more than standard DHL and significantly cheaper than "Premium," which seems to be just standard DHL anyway, they just charge an extra €16 at it still goes by boat - a crock of shit.
TGE may not be practical for every individual order, but for time sensitive/high priority packages it's definitely worth it. 90 days is fuckin intense...
Anyone knows what is finally the deal between UK and EU ? I just heard there was an agreement but i have no idea what exactly. Will packages from UK go through the customs now with possible fees applied -like from US for example- ? If / when someone in EU recieves from UK let us know what's happening please.
Quote from: Theodore on January 09, 2021, 06:36:26 PM
Anyone knows what is finally the deal between UK and EU ? I just heard there was an agreement but i have no idea what exactly. Will packages from UK go through the customs now with possible fees applied -like from US for example- ? If / when someone in EU recieves from UK let us know what's happening please.
Still not 100% sure how it will play out, but now you do need to ship with a customs form. Had some people ask that I make sure the value claimed is below a certain threshold, but I can't say exactly what that is. So far however it doesn't seem much more complicated than shipping to any other non-EU country, but we'll see how things go on the receiving end.
Below is some, perhaps, useful info regarding shipping to and receiving from the UK from now on. This primarily applies to GIFTS. Shipping something as GOODS is more complicated. But yes, a customs declaration needs to added when sending FROM the UK to another country and also TO the UK for GIFTS as well.
---
Regarding receiving something from EU/abroad if you are based in the UK.
"When receiving goods from abroad, recipients may have to pay VAT and duties. The VAT and duties will be applied depending on the type and value of the goods. For gifts over £39 and goods over £135, Royal Mail may collect the VAT and customs duties on behalf of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). from the recipient prior to delivery. Letters, postcards and documents are usually exempt."
https://www.royalmail.com/brexit
So, mark it with less than £39 when sending to the UK.
---
I suppose every EU country has slightly different rules when it comes to non-EU imports so here are just 3 different examples.
UK to Ireland:
"Customs charges will not apply if the item is a gift with a value of under €45."
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/brexit-to-hit-parcel-post-to-and-from-britain-1.4447643
Non-EU (which UK now is) to Denmark:
"If as a private individual you receive a gift from another private individual in a country outside the EU, you must pay VAT and customs duty if the gift has a value of more than DKK 360."
https://skat.dk/skat.aspx?oid=2244328
UK to Sweden:
"This means that when you receive or shop online from the UK, you must pay VAT and any customs duties before the goods can be delivered."
https://www.postnord.se/en/sending/preparations/customs-information/customs-information-regarding-brexit
Basically, shipping a few items to Ireland and Denmark should be fine - albeit with some minor delays for customs processing - while it seems to mean that someone based in Sweden may want to avoid buying from the UK unless they want to pay extra fees.
Considering that these are only 3 EU countries out of 27 I think it may be worthwhile to check your national postal service/customs service. I'd imagine that Sweden is in the minority regarding this.
Canada Post is slow as fuck right here now ... they say it because of holiday period .....
RE: UK shipping : Hm, so it seems it's probably the same as US etc. now. Thresholds for gifts and purchases that if above them you have to pay. For Greece these are 21EUR for purchases / 40+ EUR for gifts. Incl. shipping cost. If they stop it you have to pay 15EUR+VAT. If they doubt about the declaration you are at their mercy. Probably they will charge you and you will have to proove them wrong. And it's that 15EUR standard fee that hurts ...
From what i have seen, small packets of 2-4 tapes / CDs pass free of charge, given the sender uses his name, not company / store. It is sent as gift and declared value is low but reasonable [~4EUR a tape] . For vinyls, i dont know, i guess will be more difficult, will catch more attention cause of size [?] .
Quote from: Bleak Existence on January 09, 2021, 10:00:03 PM
Canada Post is slow as fuck right here now ... they say it because of holiday period .....
You can say that again! I think it's a new inevitability, and believe me, I am a STAUNCH advocate of Canada Post - I've had ONE package go missing in 25 years of frequently ordering records and that was clearly a case of me getting ripped off given the label (who eventually made it right two years later).
I'm used to a package from Scream and Writhe typically taking 24 hours from Montreal to Toronto, and 8-12 days from the US. I ordered from Skeleton Dust before the holidays and it hasn't even left the US! (Obviously no shade to Skeleton Dust and S&W - they are of course obviously excellent!!).
With Canada I find it's often the direction a package is going that seems to make a difference. Vancouver to Montreal has been arriving in exactly a week as of late, but Montreal to Vancouver can take almost 2 weeks. Going west has had longer delivery times for at least the past 3 years, though. Must be something to do with Quebec distribution hubs.
I got a package from Sam/The Rita in two days last week where usually it's a week or two from Vancouver to Toronto. It's bizarre!
Tried ordering some records from Finland the other day and was informed that there currently is no shipping from Finland to Canada. Apparently US is still cool but not north of there...
oh damn! Australia and NZ seems to be open today, 14.1.2021! Got a lot of shipping to do...
Quote from: Potier on January 11, 2021, 08:39:11 AM
Tried ordering some records from Finland the other day and was informed that there currently is no shipping from Finland to Canada. Apparently US is still cool but not north of there...
Apparently the issue has now been resolved - shipping from Finland to Canada back on - let's see how long it'll take to get here.
Quote from: Potier on January 18, 2021, 11:24:59 PM
Quote from: Potier on January 11, 2021, 08:39:11 AM
Tried ordering some records from Finland the other day and was informed that there currently is no shipping from Finland to Canada. Apparently US is still cool but not north of there...
Apparently the issue has now been resolved - shipping from Finland to Canada back on - let's see how long it'll take to get here.
I'm located in US right below you, order shipped 12/16, still waiting patient. Reminds me of ordering pre-internet, waiting waiting waiting... then one day randomly, your mailbox brings the !!!!!
And Arrival. 35 days, not bad, all things considered. Now to dig in ✊
Just heard that a parcel shipped from Germany on the 4th January arrived in New York on the 23rd via regular Deutsche Post goods mail. Several other tracked parcels sent via DHL haven't had any update since the start of November however. It seems that the delivery for smaller parcels is becoming normalized and quick again, but things from before the holidays and US election are still backlogged.
182 positive cases reported at the Canada Post sorting plant in Mississauga, Ontario. Delays are happening but damn Canadian people please be careful handling your mail!
I'm a frontline healthcare worker so I am now fully vaccinated as of last week and even then it doesn't feel any different after a full year of being so overtly cautious.....
Also speaking of shipping I ordered a few records from Japan recently and they're all using DHL Express to ship packages out. 3 days in total from records being dropped off to being delivered. Pretty amazing for $30 USD. I pay on average $18-25 from the US for an LP and that takes 3 weeks pandemic, 2 weeks regular. Even DHL from the US takes at least 3-4 weeks (although that's significantly cheaper and well worth it!).
Does someone knows what the situation with mail from Europe to the US?
A package I sent in December arrived in USJFKA in the 30 of December and it is still to be delivered to the destination. No changes in the tracking after that and now I have a dude asking me about it... As if I'm not in the other side of the damn Atlantic.
Quote from: Urban Noise on January 29, 2021, 11:08:33 AM
Does someone knows what the situation with mail from Europe to the US?
A package I sent in December arrived in USJFKA in the 30 of December and it is still to be delivered to the destination. No changes in the tracking after that and now I have a dude asking me about it... As if I'm not in the other side of the damn Atlantic.
What control do you have over it at this point? You're looking at the same tracking information as he is presumably?
If he's even looking at the tracking, yes, same tracking number as the pack left from Portugal.
My control over the pack is zero at this point, it arrived in the US so, basically, I can't do shit.
This is very common situation.
It says in Finnish post site that "for example, custom clearance in the United States may delay. Due to the aforementioned reasons the shipments may de delayed for weeks".
Also, this is nothing new. For couple of years, there has been cases where cargo arrives to JFK, whole container remains unprocessed for weeks, even month(s). Then one day someone opens it and mail goes forward. Meanwhile, shipment done day before or after had no delays at all.
At the moment I have successfully sent most orders and then again, couple items bending 2 months - probably at JFK. Not scanned at USA yet.
Quote from: Urban Noise on January 29, 2021, 11:08:33 AM
Does someone knows what the situation with mail from Europe to the US?
A package I sent in December arrived in USJFKA in the 30 of December and it is still to be delivered to the destination. No changes in the tracking after that and now I have a dude asking me about it... As if I'm not in the other side of the damn Atlantic.
I think it's very possible that the package left JFK and hasn't been re-scanned but is in route. That happens to me with tracked international stuff I am receiving and sending fairly regularly. Once a package crosses the ocean the tracking used by one country isn't always used by the receiving one.
My latest international experiences have been: 1) a huge box of records from France arrived in 6 days much to my surprise and the seller's surprise; 2) I've been waiting for 20 days for 2 12"s from Germany; 3) one 12" took two and half months from Germany; 4) and media mail here in the US remains around the 1 week mark for arrival.
I'm still surprised by how slow post from Germany has been since they started shipping to the US again. I guess I should pay more attention to which carriers are faster but I can say stuff from Hardwax takes forever where stuff from Void Vinyl shows up in two weeks or less. The shipping costs are normally similar but there must be a carrier difference. Shit I've bought over discogs from Germany is always a toss-up.
Quote from: ConcreteMascara on January 29, 2021, 04:50:51 PM
Quote from: Urban Noise on January 29, 2021, 11:08:33 AM
Does someone knows what the situation with mail from Europe to the US?
A package I sent in December arrived in USJFKA in the 30 of December and it is still to be delivered to the destination. No changes in the tracking after that and now I have a dude asking me about it... As if I'm not in the other side of the damn Atlantic.
I think it's very possible that the package left JFK and hasn't been re-scanned but is in route. That happens to me with tracked international stuff I am receiving and sending fairly regularly. Once a package crosses the ocean the tracking used by one country isn't always used by the receiving one.
This is very possible, especially for small registered packages. Recently had a single-tape trade package coming from Slovenia arrive at the international exchange office in NYC on Dec 17 (after leaving Slovenia on Nov 17) that didn't update tracking until it was in my mailbox in Seattle on January 23. I think there was a short time where all non-express/priority mail was still coming on boat if it was routed through Germany, which always seems to take far more time to process stateside than if it had arrived by air.
Quote from: ConcreteMascara on January 29, 2021, 04:50:51 PM
Quote from: Urban Noise on January 29, 2021, 11:08:33 AM
Does someone knows what the situation with mail from Europe to the US?
A package I sent in December arrived in USJFKA in the 30 of December and it is still to be delivered to the destination. No changes in the tracking after that and now I have a dude asking me about it... As if I'm not in the other side of the damn Atlantic.
I think it's very possible that the package left JFK and hasn't been re-scanned but is in route. That happens to me with tracked international stuff I am receiving and sending fairly regularly. Once a package crosses the ocean the tracking used by one country isn't always used by the receiving one.
My latest international experiences have been: 1) a huge box of records from France arrived in 6 days much to my surprise and the seller's surprise; 2) I've been waiting for 20 days for 2 12"s from Germany; 3) one 12" took two and half months from Germany; 4) and media mail here in the US remains around the 1 week mark for arrival.
I'm still surprised by how slow post from Germany has been since they started shipping to the US again. I guess I should pay more attention to which carriers are faster but I can say stuff from Hardwax takes forever where stuff from Void Vinyl shows up in two weeks or less. The shipping costs are normally similar but there must be a carrier difference. Shit I've bought over discogs from Germany is always a toss-up.
Lucky you've been getting media mail in a week. Seems like it usually takes about 2 weeks or more for me. I'm not complaining as I have plenty of new releases piling up. But does seem like as far as USPS domestic mail is concerned Media Mail is the most affected. Guess it makes sense given the price. If I buy anything remotely pricey these days I always shell out for priority. Not worth the stress. Especially when there's always the odd chance Media Mail takes a month or so. Which I believe I stated in previous posts has happened to me a few times.
Recently purchased some stuff from Sweden. First international purchase since maybe April. We will see how it works out. Happy to wait as long as it shows up.
My covid recommendations based on own experiences and what I am being asked most at Where frost reign.
The logistics and transport system is heavily burdened worldwide and in some places it has collapsed. From Norway today, there are 22 countries that it is impossible to send registered packages to. Out of 196 countries in the world, I can send mail to 86. In addition to strained delivery options, the online retail business has experienced phenomenal increase. I haven't checked the numbers in a while, but last I made a dig we were talking about 25% in Norway alone. I expect it to be the same in other countries. Furthermore, the pandemic has caused plane cancellations and forced mail to be redirected by wheels across countries and continents. The exploding market and continuing alterations of cross-country travel restrictions has again caused a shortage of delivery vehicles. This is the reality of the current shipping situation now.
If you are concerned about secure delivery of your mail I recommend taking the extra cost and opt for registered and insured mail.
In cases where you do not have registered and is expecting standard letters that cannot be tracked, I recommend contacting your domicile post agent or check their web page re updates on the post and corona situation, delays, etc. Every agent have this information displayed and is updating as the situation progress. In some situations you might have to search a bit to locate information. If it is not readily displayed in your post agents web page - use an online search engine. In instances like this, seller/sender cannot provide you with any information as the letter was not shipped as registered letter or package. A little research will save you time and a lot questions. For sellers/senders in these instances I recommend to keep all your postal receipts. You might need to document orders are shipped at a later date.
Delays are to be expected. In worst cases I see across the line that post estimated to have a transit of a week, may take a month. So be patient and do your research re your local delivery situation. Some countries are blocked on the receiver end and shipping list. Sender should have the overview here, but it if you are ordering online it is also your own responsibility at the moment to know if you can receive goods. Should you be unlucky the order is not lost, but it will be heavily delayed until borders re-open.
Quote from: online prowler on January 30, 2021, 01:19:20 AM
If you are concerned about secure delivery of your mail I recommend taking the extra cost and opt for registered and insured mail.
This is pretty much what it comes down to. And understanding that stress on postal systems is massive and causing delays. Most people here seem to be mature and understanding of this. Had a domestic order from someone recently who was very distraught that their order had taken nearly two weeks to arrive. No insurance. Wasn't shipped priority. I believe first class or media. Sure that's out of the ordinary based on pre-Covid conditions, but an understandable amount of time to wait given the circumstances. Not an emergency or cause to do anything except wait and be patient.
Thank you guys for all the input!
Quote from: deviated_septum on January 29, 2021, 07:32:36 PM
Quote from: ConcreteMascara on January 29, 2021, 04:50:51 PM
Quote from: Urban Noise on January 29, 2021, 11:08:33 AM
Does someone knows what the situation with mail from Europe to the US?
A package I sent in December arrived in USJFKA in the 30 of December and it is still to be delivered to the destination. No changes in the tracking after that and now I have a dude asking me about it... As if I'm not in the other side of the damn Atlantic.
I think it's very possible that the package left JFK and hasn't been re-scanned but is in route. That happens to me with tracked international stuff I am receiving and sending fairly regularly. Once a package crosses the ocean the tracking used by one country isn't always used by the receiving one.
This is very possible, especially for small registered packages. Recently had a single-tape trade package coming from Slovenia arrive at the international exchange office in NYC on Dec 17 (after leaving Slovenia on Nov 17) that didn't update tracking until it was in my mailbox in Seattle on January 23. I think there was a short time where all non-express/priority mail was still coming on boat if it was routed through Germany, which always seems to take far more time to process stateside than if it had arrived by air.
Basically it can take a lot of time since it arrived in the US to being delivered. That's my experience with sending mail to the US, but looks like some people still think it must arrive in two weeks these days.
The package left Portugal on 7 of December, was scanned in the US on 30 December. Nothing that unusual for what I get from your feedback.
Sent a normal, unregistered pack the same day, to the US, arrived on 14 January, no problem what so ever.
Things improved a bit now in Italy at level of offices. We can book again dates to send which was the main reason while I suspended any activities.
There are issues with delivery services (especially TNT) but the post is quite ok,
Last bathc of shirts I sent arrived to the states in 5 days!
Problem now is that for every non UE country we have to fill lots of paperwork and the post clerks have to ebeter everything by hand, this includes uk, scandinavia, etc.
prices went up again
Quote from: accidental on January 25, 2022, 12:26:44 PM
Not due to Covid but i guess many of you have seen this:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/us/la-train-tracks-cargo-thieves.html
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-16/rail-theft-soars-los-angeles-pilfered-packages-littering-tracks
I have a package processed through LA with no update for a week. Who knows if it's delayed because of this or if the box is on the tracks. Anyone else with packages stuck or lost in LA?
That's fucking crazy. Didn't know this was happening but it seems so obvious this would be a target for crimes. I suppose this would just count as "normal" theft as opposed to the exaggerated penalties that come with robbing USPS carriers.
I had one package from Spain to The Netherlands that got lost (now in transit for 3 months so I consider it a lost cause). Otherwise no problems over the last year.
Quote from: accidental on January 25, 2022, 12:26:44 PM
Not due to Covid but i guess many of you have seen this:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/us/la-train-tracks-cargo-thieves.html
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-16/rail-theft-soars-los-angeles-pilfered-packages-littering-tracks
I have a package processed through LA with no update for a week. Who knows if it's delayed because of this or if the box is on the tracks. Anyone else with packages stuck or lost in LA?
Have two packages coming from LA area currently funnily enough. Most notable on the shipping front is a package I have that has gone all the way from Massachusetts to Seattle only to (eventually) head back to the East coast. Just a few thousand miles in the wrong direction haha! With all of that said, I feel like some people (not sure if on this forum although I haven't gone back and read the whole thread) are going a little overboard with the postal doomsday scenarios. Maybe it's worse than I think behind the scenes, but aside from a few ridiculous delays like the one detailed above, it's been mostly business as usual.
This can be good to know if you live in Sweden and send packages outside EU. If it's no sender address, tariff number, social security number, weight etc the package will be sent back to you or bot will be sent.
It has never happened me before but circa 10 packages came back to me in November and December.
Maybe it's new EU rules?
Packages sent outside EU need to be registered online first with all the info from the sender. And some countries outside EU will not accept the packages if that's not done. And that's a reality for some time now.
On a side note, sending a package without the senders address it fucking dumb. If something goes wrong, postal services need an address to return the package or get in contact with the sender.
Quote from: accidental on January 27, 2022, 05:30:01 PM
"The IOSS number was written at the wrong place on the parcel".
Probably the seller wrote it by hand ? I did some reading recently cause i needed to buy a back-tension torque meter cassette from China [Ebay] and fuck this thing is expensive -if you find it- , so i wanted to ensure they wont ask me to pay VAT again, plus fees. What i understood is that IOSS works only if seller has shipped it using internet electronic form to fill the details / payment. If you just write it down on the package, it's like never happened, they dont accept it. So i told the seller -he knew already- and thankfuly it came without any charges.
Quote from: accidental on January 27, 2022, 05:30:01 PM
Some months ago i bought a couple of CDs on eBay (outside of the EU). Had not used eBay in ages. eBay charges VAT upon purchase just like Discogs. When the parcel arrived to my country the national postal service forced me to pay again in order to receive the parcel. "The IOSS number was written at the wrong place on the parcel".
I had a package returned to me from Denmark because the required invoice with the IOSS number was affixed to the back of the package (just a tape in a bubble envelope, so no room on the front alongside the label). They claimed there was no invoice w/ IOSS attached. Seems like they really couldn't be arsed to look a little more closely.
I think maybe noteworthy to mention is another "current mail" or upcoming mail situation that remains interesting to see how it effects upcoming plans of many labels.
There was news that the times of cheap vinyl records shipping from germany will be over. DHL will change the maximum size for "warenpost" packages down to 25cm, starting from 1.7.2022. At this point no prices are yet to known, but I would not be surprised it german follows what has happened pretty much everywhere else.
As I am no expert in what other options are available, and what the price range will be, I can only trust that friends speculating that this will be serious hit for things like people selling stuff at discogs or small hobby labels & distros trying to operate at reasonable costs.
In Finland, unless you have contract with post or some delivery companies, it is pretty much pointless to sell vinyl records anymore. I can't imagine why would someone buy regular vinyl slab. It would have to be big pile at once, or rarities.
Last summer, with couple days notice, they doubled the package weight price for companies. It was good, that I don't do any pre-orders and such. It would have been embarressing to start ask more money for already paid orders when postage suddenly jumps up, hah..
I am curious if German labels/distros have noticed this and had thoughts how it will effect their plans?
If you ship inside the EU the price for shipping 12" vinyl via DHL, with insurance and tracking-#, is about 12,- EUR for non-business accounts.
Rest of the world is about 20,- EUR.
I put some albums up for sale on discogs. Hardly ever had a buyer from outside the EU, probably due to the ridiculous shipping.
On the other hand, around here DHL is the only carrier I really trust and I never lost a parcel with them.
Aside from pre-orders generally being a bad idea in most cases, this is yet another reason not to do them. Pay for a record and wait 7-12 months for the record to be pressed only to find out postage has increased? Sounds like a bad deal. Simply selling something when you physically possess the product solves this. This is becoming somewhat of a novel idea with certain folks, though. Thankfully most labels/bands I pay attention to avoid this preorder way of doing things.
On another note, Germany's shipping rates going up is unfortunate. Could always count on getting stuff for a reasonable price for the longest time.