International Shipping issue

Was not quite sure where to post this on the forum.

I bought a lens off of FM Buy and sell last week from a reputable seller and he shipped it. I am in the US and he is in Canada.

USPS tracking is saying "Processed Through Sort Facility" in Chicago under the tracking information but its been that way since the end of last week.

Has anyone had any experience with equipment from Canada getting "stuck" in customs? Its only been 5 days there but my research has led me to believe it may be stuck for a lot longer.

Michael

I buy/sell cross-border a lot (I'm Canadian) and your scenario is fairly typical. Sometimes you'll get different info for the same tracking # from the Canada Post and the USPS tracking tools. Try them both. The longest I've had a package sit in customs was 11 days but delays like that are rare, especially going from Canada to the US. More often than not the package movements don't show up in the system. I've had buyers in the U.S thank me for items received days before they show up as delivered in the system.

nqjudo wrote in post #17480917
I buy/sell cross-border a lot (I'm Canadian) and your scenario is fairly typical. Sometimes you'll get different info for the same tracking # from the Canada Post and the USPS tracking tools. Try them both. The longest I've had a package sit in customs was 11 days but delays like that are rare, especially going from Canada to the US. More often than not the package movements don't show up in the system. I've had buyers in the U.S thank me for items received days before they show up as delivered in the system.

Ok great to hear, the internet has lots of horror stories about customs.

Something to consider for the next time I order internationally i suppose. Allow 4-6 weeks for shipping makes a lot more sense now.

I'll second nqjudo on this one.

I've shipped out and in by CanPost / USPS and have seen nothing too unusual from them for delivery times. The site updates do lag once they cross the border in either direction.

4-6 weeks is really out there, I've not seen anything near that, worst was two weeks from Florida to Ontario.

I use this combo to ship as much as possible for both camera and jeep equipment; lowest costs, least border issues and lowest broker charges.

I've ordered something on January 2nd from a US seller, who shipped it on January 16th, and it arrived a few days ago on March 16.
I know Canada isn't as far as Japan, still it makes me wonder why it took so extremely long.
Whenever I send something to Canada,shipping is usually okay. Usps on the other hand is rather unpredictable. And they have a tendency to not copy the tracking number so the parcel can't be tracked locally...

mikeassk wrote in post #17480901
Was not quite sure where to post this on the forum.

I bought a lens off of FM Buy and sell last week from a reputable seller and he shipped it. I am in the US and he is in Canada.

USPS tracking is saying "Processed Through Sort Facility" in Chicago under the tracking information but its been that way since the end of last week.

Has anyone had any experience with equipment from Canada getting "stuck" in customs? Its only been 5 days there but my research has led me to believe it may be stuck for a lot longer.

Michael

Customs will take as long as they damn well please I find. I've had item go through in hours and I've had items sit there for weeks.

ChibiM wrote in post #17481007
I've ordered something on January 2nd from a US seller, who shipped it on January 16th, and it arrived a few days ago on March 16.
I know Canada isn't as far as Japan, still it makes me wonder why it took so extremely long.
Whenever I send something to Canada,shipping is usually okay. Usps on the other hand is rather unpredictable. And they have a tendency to not copy the tracking number so the parcel can't be tracked locally...

Dealing with Fedex or UPS is worse by far than USPS as a Canadian. Then you have DHL. Not sure how they stay in business. I ordered an item that ended up getting lost 3 times before I made the seller ship with a different courier. Arrived in 3 days after that.