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General => General Technical Chat => Topic started by: ChrisGreece52 on March 10, 2013, 10:44:04 pm

Title: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: ChrisGreece52 on March 10, 2013, 10:44:04 pm
Hello, i have been ordering stuff from ebay and tayda from quite a while but the shipping takes too long ......
One package even arrived 1 month and 10 days after it was shipped.
After being a while in the forum i saw that many people in the blog are from Greece ... so i am asking you is it normal to take packages so long to arive?
and even for those of you who dont live in Greece what could make shipping less slow?
maybe any change in the shipping address would help or something with the info and stuff??

Or the only way is to pay more for shipping ? please answer even my question now when i am reading it is a bit silly.

Thank you.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: David_AVD on March 10, 2013, 11:13:57 pm
If it's coming from China post, expect long a wait in general.  Often the postage is free (built in to sell price) or very cheap.  Now you know why.   :)
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: Quick5pnt0 on March 11, 2013, 02:48:09 am
If it's coming from China post, expect long a wait in general.  Often the postage is free (built in to sell price) or very cheap.  Now you know why.   :)

Yep, most stuff from china takes 2-4 weeks to me in the US.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: killernat on March 11, 2013, 05:46:23 am
also look out for merchants that say the item is in the us  but still ships out of china usually they will be like item location: Unitedstates United states"
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: midasgossye on March 11, 2013, 06:29:34 am
I ordered 2 months ago a usbAsp for atmel micro's and I still didn't received it!! |O
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: Dago on March 11, 2013, 10:18:44 am
Yes shipping from china can take anything from ten days to around 1,5 months in general. I've sometimes had something take up to two months to get here. The 2-3 months before christmas are usually the worst. In the spring it picks up (excluding the chinese new year when nothing gets shipped out). I'd say stuff from china usually takes 2-4 weeks to get to here.

Can't get everything for cheap!
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: BravoV on March 11, 2013, 10:23:30 am
Can't get everything for cheap!

This ...  :-+
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: EEVblog on March 11, 2013, 10:42:13 am
Coming from China or Hong Kong used to be super quick, I'd get stuff in 2-3 days average (sometimes next day!), 4-5 tops. Now it's 2-3 weeks minimum.
The US terror paranoia won out, and they had to instigate extra security measures for all products going anywhere, it just killed the once great efficiency of the system.

Dave.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: Lotus on March 11, 2013, 11:53:03 am
I can only agree that ordering from China/Hong Kong in the past went a lot faster, but I would also expect that the growth in international trade is partly to blame why everything is delayed now.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: seth13699 on March 11, 2013, 12:20:31 pm
It has to do with China Post, Chris...

Nothing you can do about it I'm afraid.

 :(
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: Marco on March 11, 2013, 12:25:34 pm
The US terror paranoia won out, and they had to instigate extra security measures for all products going anywhere, it just killed the once great efficiency of the system.
Why can the more expensive western shippers still do it faster? I think China air was cutting into their margins too much and they found a way to abuse their leverage over governments to put a stop to it.

Either that or the Chinese air shippers figured out they could make more money by tiring their shipping options and making the lowest cost ones really piss poor.

I do not put a lot of faith in the efficient market hypothesis.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: flolic on March 11, 2013, 12:46:21 pm
From China/HK usually 3 to 4 weeks. From USA used to be up to 10 days max, now it's more like 2 weeks. From UK 1 week.
I can live with that. If I need something quick, i use EMS/TNT/DHL... (but it's too expensive).

Also, I loose few days between date that package enters Croatia and I received it (in transfer between postal hubs, customs and my local post office).

Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: ngfish on March 11, 2013, 01:01:57 pm
shipping costs are high too... I order PCBs from one company in Colorado and I live in Hawaii... which im forced into pay $50 for two day shipping at the lowest shipping rate  (it always takes 3 or more days to receive though.)
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: EEVblog on March 11, 2013, 01:12:58 pm
I can only agree that ordering from China/Hong Kong in the past went a lot faster, but I would also expect that the growth in international trade is partly to blame why everything is delayed now.

There was a deliberate announcement from the Hong Kong airport authority or some such a few years back announcing that all packages will be delayed a lot longer due to extra security screening etc.
It was a sudden and deliberate large change.

Dave.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: Marco on March 11, 2013, 01:24:54 pm
Putting them into storage for a month does nothing for security though ... also it seems well in excess of what's necessary to keep a pipeline filled for throughput smoothing.

AFAICS there are two likely reasons for warehousing the packages for so long, government incompetence or deliberately and unnecessarily delaying part of the shipments so you can sell expedited services.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: flolic on March 11, 2013, 01:40:26 pm
"Item insert into bag" and holding that for days is my favorite tracking status, so typical for HK airport  ;D
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: ChrisGreece52 on March 11, 2013, 02:35:51 pm
I ordered 2 months ago a usbAsp for atmel micro's and I still didn't received it!! |O
Thank you i now feel good about my 30 day shipping. :)
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: ChrisGreece52 on March 11, 2013, 02:38:10 pm
Coming from China or Hong Kong used to be super quick, I'd get stuff in 2-3 days average (sometimes next day!), 4-5 tops. Now it's 2-3 weeks minimum.
The US terror paranoia won out, and they had to instigate extra security measures for all products going anywhere, it just killed the once great efficiency of the system.

Dave.
How long ago that happened?
Also if the master is  terrorist phobia in USA then in Greece (where i live) or Romania takes so long ?
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: G7PSK on March 11, 2013, 04:22:24 pm
Items from Hong Kong usually get to me in about 2 weeks but from china it's 5 weeks, I guess the idea of storing packages for a while is if a timer is used it will run out or the battery will go flat before shipping. I cannot understand the paranoia of the politicians, after all who would wish harm to such lovable characters.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/smiley_laughing.gif (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/smiley_laughing.gif)
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: snowl on March 11, 2013, 06:44:42 pm
My orders from China tend to take 3-4 weeks to get to Germany.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: saigai on March 11, 2013, 07:27:56 pm
For cheap components on ebay, I recommend checking shops in Thailand or even .co.uk. UK in particular seems to have insanely quick shipping to where I live.

Lately I've also been completely missing some orders from China...
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: David_AVD on March 11, 2013, 09:30:40 pm
You can get stuff from China quickly, but using China post is not the way these days.  Faster freight (FedEx, DHL, EMS, etc) cost a lot more.

When they can ship a small item (like a cable) for $2 including postage, you can understand why the postage is a low priority service.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: vis1-0n on March 12, 2013, 06:00:38 am
I ordered 2 months ago a usbAsp for atmel micro's and I still didn't received it!! |O

I waited 2 months as well. Then I complained to the seller and the day after they agreed to send a replacement the original package arrived. The replacement took 2 weeks, I squared it with them of course.

My DX RTLSDR dongle took 91 days (complained to them after 70+ days), similar story... lucky I could do with having 2 off these items. In this case it seems it was the local postal authorities who were at fault.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: rdl on March 12, 2013, 12:49:04 pm
A couple of years ago I was getting around 1 to 2 weeks shipping time to America from China but recently that seems to have increased by about a week. I've noticed that a lot of the cheap Chinese electronics stuff sold on eBay is now being stocked in the U.S. The price is usually only slightly higher but you can get the item in just a few days via USPS.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: Thor-Arne on March 12, 2013, 01:54:05 pm
I addressed this issue with one supplier in china after they stopped shipping with China Post, here's the reply dated Nov 20,2012.

Quote
Due to some political reasons recently( Chinese 18th congress of party representatives) , all the China Post Air mails will be serious checked and arranged shipping space, which will cause big delay, so we closed the China Post Air Mail.

Sorry for the inconvenience. once we can send by China Post , we will recover it.
Anyway, you can tell us your requirements, we will try our best to help you.

After the China Post shipping was resumed I noticed that the shipment had a lot of tracking marked as "Opening".
I suspect that they changed the checking of outgoing packages for reasons I don't know about. (Perhaps someone else on the forum knows.)
One reason could be to stop illegal export of antiques.....
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: AlphZeta on March 12, 2013, 02:40:06 pm
tayda is in Thailand and the shipping time is pretty long, last time when I ordered something, it took a good 4 weeks.

Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: Thor-Arne on March 12, 2013, 02:44:50 pm
tayda is in Thailand and the shipping time is pretty long, last time when I ordered something, it took a good 4 weeks.

I get goods from Tayda in 1 to 2 weeks, when it's not a holiday.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: StubbornGreek on March 12, 2013, 03:48:27 pm
The longest wait I've experienced was a pci-e ribbon cable (should have just made one but I waited for so long, I'd forgotten that I'd ordered it and forgotten about the project itself even) from Shenzen - took 4 months...
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: peterthenovice on March 12, 2013, 04:10:27 pm
It takes about a month from china in Mississippi.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: ChrisGreece52 on March 12, 2013, 08:33:00 pm
For cheap components on ebay, I recommend checking shops in Thailand or even .co.uk. UK in particular seems to have insanely quick shipping to where I live.

Lately I've also been completely missing some orders from China...
Yeah i buy from tayda electronics (their website and ebay store) and i am so pleased with the shipping time (usually 2 weeks)
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: ChrisGreece52 on March 12, 2013, 08:35:23 pm
tayda is in Thailand and the shipping time is pretty long, last time when I ordered something, it took a good 4 weeks.
Really that long ???
From tayda (Thailand ---> Greece) it takes about 2 weeks
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: ChrisGreece52 on March 12, 2013, 08:36:42 pm
tayda is in Thailand and the shipping time is pretty long, last time when I ordered something, it took a good 4 weeks.

I get goods from Tayda in 1 to 2 weeks, when it's not a holiday.
Right especially in February it takes forever for a package to arrive if it is sent from China the rest of the world just delays at Christmas.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: ChrisGreece52 on March 12, 2013, 08:37:42 pm
The longest wait I've experienced was a pci-e ribbon cable (should have just made one but I waited for so long, I'd forgotten that I'd ordered it and forgotten about the project itself even) from Shenzen - took 4 months...

Well you are a hero :)
I would have asked for refund 2 times.
Title: Google Spread Sheet Survey
Post by: dimlow on March 13, 2013, 01:06:07 am
It would be interesting to collect some data on these shipping times. Its quite hard to go through the forum posts and get an idea of how long it takes to ship from one place to another.

So i have created shared Google docs spread sheet that anyone can enter data and evaluate. Inside is a pivot table that will show average times from one country to another.

The only field that you are required to complete are shipping dates and countries, but the other fields can be filled in if you want to share more information. Anybody can edit the sheet. It is located here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ag6_4nmlYl3AdGhJbzVNbkF0Sy1uVTJMWXd4Wk5pWkE&usp=sharing) if you feel like sharing some data.

I have started it off with a few orders i placed on eBay, some have still not arrived from china, i will complete the entries when they arrive. I was also from time to time collect the trash and tidy the sheet. may add some charts etc.

Not sure if this is a good idea, but anyway its there for you. Even if you just want to look at the data.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: Zeta on March 13, 2013, 01:37:24 am
I once received 2 usbasp in 110days, at day 60 I complained to the seller and bought from other seller. Second package got here before the first.

I found that I get packaged from HK post and singapore Post (2-3 weeks) faster than from china post (4-6 weeks).
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: ChrisGreece52 on March 13, 2013, 06:08:30 am
I once received 2 usbasp in 110days, at day 60 I complained to the seller and bought from other seller. Second package got here before the first.

I found that I get packaged from HK post and singapore Post (2-3 weeks) faster than from china post (4-6 weeks).
Right and having read all the posts here i can say with ensurance that shipping time is the same for China post and Hong Kong worldwide.
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: StubbornGreek on March 13, 2013, 01:32:23 pm
Chris, consider that the post system in Greece is a major contributing factor. When I send things to relatives (in Greece) it takes a long time for them to receive. Especially for those living on the islands. Last time I was there, I ordered a psu from eshop.gr (local to Athens I believe) in order to fix my mother's PC. It didn't show up until two days before I was due to leave (I was there 21 days). Luckily there were no strikes at the time.  ::)
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: dimlow on March 16, 2013, 06:56:27 am
I updated the spead sheet with my data

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ag6_4nmlYl3AdGhJbzVNbkF0Sy1uVTJMWXd4Wk5pWkE#gid=0
Title: Re: Package shipping takes for ever
Post by: MacAttak on March 16, 2013, 05:32:25 pm
I ordered 2 months ago a usbAsp for atmel micro's and I still didn't received it!! |O

On the flip side of that, when I ordered a JTAGEICE3 direct from Atmel (Malaysia I think is where it shipped from), it was in my hands in Atlanta after only two days. This was just normal shipping too - not expedited or anything.

But anything from China is ridiculously long. The sellers always ship out nearly instantly but "Origin Post is Preparing Shipment" almost always lasts for 4 to 6 weeks. I have yet to get anything via China Post in under six weeks.