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Advice on international trading...

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Advice on international trading...
wyllieam

wyllieam

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Alright so I'm having a little dilemma with an international trade. Since I shipped using USPS there is no delivery confirmation option. I know sometimes customs can hang up deliveries for quite awhile but a trade I have going now has taken the cake. I mailed a trade on 9/25 and my trade was mailed from 9/26 from europe. I have yet to receive anything and the other party says they have not received anything either. I wouldn't be stressing about it if it was just one pin but it was about a $100 multi pin trade.

Does anyone have any advice on international trading? Do you use UPS and pay extra or just use USPS? How do you know if it actually was delivered or not? What is the longest your international shipment has taken? I've had one take 4 weeks so that gives me a little hope but...

Alright just curious :)
 
I use USPS Flat Rate Small Package for mutliple pins or high dollar pins. Usually $10-$15 per box. It is trackable to most countries, plus carries some insurance with it.
 
I use Priority Mail with tracking so that I have confirmation of receipt and can track the shipment. Right now, you are at the mercy of the post offices here and abroad. Good luck on your pins.
 
Hi Amy
I am sorry to hear about your trade, its always nerve racking when a trade takes longer to arrive. I am waiting for one that was posted in the USA on 5th October and hasnt arrived here yet in the UK, so I am starting to worry about that one. Having said that, the post seems really slow of late, even for local post within the UK.

I have personally found that packages that are tracked or signed for take far longer to arrive than just normal air mail. The other thing that really slows a package down is when the value declared on the customs form is fairly high. I had a package sit in customs for three weeks before they got round to asking me to pay import taxes - I know because the package had date stamps all over it, showing the date it was at each location. I hope that's the reason there's a delay on your package Amy, and I hope it turns up soon!
 
That's why I don't like to do expensive trades internationally. The delivery confirmation simply is not worth it. I wish you the best of luck :(
 
These are some good ideas . i usually send the customs number , this way they can trace it to the country of origin, I've never had a problem, but reading these ideas , I will definitely take the PM flat rate route from now on . Thanks for the idea, thats why I enjoy reading these threads, I learn more .
 
International trades can take a bit, because of the respective postal services. Have some patience. I'm sure it will show up. If this was through pinpics, I would send them a quick note, and have the emails available if they request copies of them (just a precaution). :)
 
I just got my pins from Europe on 10/28...they were post marked on 9/22. Hang in there.
 
halloweenfiend said:
International trades can take a bit, because of the respective postal services. Have some patience. I'm sure it will show up. If this was through pinpics, I would send them a quick note, and have the emails available if they request copies of them (just a precaution). :)
Click to expand...

This. Shipping internationally always takes a really long time, and I have found that just when I have given up on my stuff, it arrives. Hope you both get your pins soon!
 
sometimes international trades can arrive as soon as 4-5 days for me but can take sometimes 3 weeks so it does vary every time you make a trade. A good example is I traded with a good friend of mine and sent her a pin and she recieved it and I didnt recieve hers after 4 weeks and we worked something out cause it didnt show up and out of the blue after about another 3 weeks it turned up. And the funny think is it was going to Ireland from UK so goes to show can take a little longer no matter where you are sending a pin to.
 
It can take up to six weeks sometimes. Howeer from the other side of the pond if I was doing a trade of this size it would go signed for and insured something to remember in the future. Also if you or the other party put $100 on it it cer4tainly becmes liable for customs in the uk I dont know about the us. Just a remind anything over $25 does even if its marked as a gift Also remember that since there was the incident with suspect packages and airmail they do scan apckages both sides of the pond and this now can also hold it up. Its a bit the luck of the draw like the rpevious poster I have had packages turn up in three days or in six weeks
Hope this helps just hang in there.
Jacqui
 
Its probably stuck at Customs as its $100 worth of pins. Did you declare $100 on the package? If so, then it is most likely to be there - it will then get delivered to the trader's nearest post office for a fine to be paid as its over the boundary. Also, its only been 4 or 5 days, it'll probably turn up this week. Normally things from the USA to me take 1 week and from teh UK to the USA take a little longer, sometimes upto 2 weeks.
 
Well I have had this experience. Earlier this month I had a package take 3 weeks to come but this week I had one arrive in 5 days. I Amin the uk. I thinkin has something to do with the price declared. The three week package had a $ 50 declared on it while e one I got this week only had $ 10 on it! Hang In there it will hopefully arrive soon. Oh just something I sort of do myself - take out the weekends. Import people don't work on sat or sun so only take the 5 week days in to account and st a lot less days. I'm sure they will all arrive soon just wait and hope for the best!
 
My delayed package just arrived today, I trekked to the local sorting office to make enquiries, and when I got home it was on the mat! It was stamped Mis-sent to Jamaica!!

The sorting office did tell me though that there is a backlog of overseas mail at the moment and that overseas mail is sorted by hand rather than by machine. They also said that the backlog for items with a custom fee to pay is far longer.

It may be worth having a chat with your local sorting office, in case it is sitting their by mistake, that has happened to me twice.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your trade mishap. I get very nervous when doing International trades as the mail services in other countries can be less the great and it is very expensive to get tracking. I have a friend who also is in the middle of a international trade issue, the person clams that they did not get the pin my friend sent but also admits that she never sent the pin to my friend either. They were to send at the same time. The upsetting part is the international trader has the pin my friend sent now listed as part of their collection. Very sad that people would be dishonest.

I hope your pin is just lost in the mail and will show up soon.
 
I am having almost the exact same issue...I know she received my pins because she added them to her collection on pinpics. I shipped 9/22 and she said she originally shipped the same day. This was also a multi trade. Original package still hasn't arrived, nor has the "replacement" one that was supposed to have shipped 11/1. Wondering if this may be the same person....
 
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