>order shoes, get shipped with DHL, get tracking only a week after because Chinese holidays
>package gets here, but without prior notice, so can't pay absurd custom fees with cash (40 euros over 45 euros worth)
>package gets to a depot, contact customer service and get the package rescheduled for today
>today, no package and it's 9 in the evening
>search DHL on Facebook, Dutch branch has a 1,4 star rating
>FML
I guess I'll call tomorrow, but I'm afraid it will get send back. also, never gonna use DHL again when I have another option (even when it's a bit more expensive, DHL fucks me over anyway)
why is it so difficult to get my shoes?
also, please share your stories of lost packages and bad customer service
>ordered a wig
>babbu's first cosplay
>a month until con
>get the tracking number
>seller says shipped
>two weeks
> tracking isn't working
>contact dad
>he works for USPS
>he tracks it
>it hasn't even been shipped
>super upset
>wig comes day before con
That was my first time ordering from eBay
let me tell you my favorite story.
To understand it better I should mention I'm a german gull.Getting hit by customs here means to either make a drive to your local costum office, open the package show them what's inside to pay your stuff or sent them the bills via (e-)mail, they open it for you to look inside and you get charged at your door.
>order a pair of shoes from Bodyline
>It's shoes, of course they got hit with costums
>last day before vacation, so decide to drive to the costum office, been there often enough
>after an hour drive and yet not reaching the office because my city loves to lock multiple roads at a time, I tell myself fuck it and drive home
> back home I mail customs all the billing stuff
> check tracking a week later, tracking says "item is in export"
> all my wat
> panic, calling the support. Lady on the phone is just as confused as my why this has happend. It should have been at the customs office and by now on the way to me, but is now on the way back to japan
> fuck
> knowing BL shitty costumer service I'm prepared to make a PP claim if the package is back at BL
> check tracking two days later "Item is in Portugal"
> WAT
> an hour later tracking says "Item was misguided", at this point I'm having my humor with that mess
> checking tracking again. Three days after that mess, it's back in germany even in my city. "Item couldn't be delivered and is now re-adressed"
> What is even happening?
> Sure as ever that the will sent it back to Japan
> I'm laughing my ass off two days later as the package sits at my door. It's full of stickers, at least 3 of them are those neat "must be delivered to custom office" and are blacked out. One of them is form the portoguese post office and marked as misguided. The package was obvouisly never opened by customs as it sholud have been. I was never charged a fee even if I should have been.
I don't know what happend, but after the initial panic attack it was funny as fuck.
>>8664599
Name and shame seller please
>>8664621
Not this shit again
>>8664621
Really? It's Ebay. This isn't uncommon.
About to make my first big jfashion order, UK gulls do you have any advice re customs?
Does marking packages as a gift and lowering their value so everything is below £20 even work at all or am I gonna get hit with some mad fees regardless.
>>8664523
>boyfriend buy me a gift for birthday
>choose EMS, just to be sure
>no tracking
>wtf?
>2 months and nothing
>shop refund us
>1 week later package appears in our front door
>a big, red 'BELGIUM' was written on it, even when is pretty clear the address is correct and says Brazil.
>USA mail really just read the "B" and tough it was Belgium?
>it was not even EMS, but USPS
>>8664659
Where are you ordering from? UK customs seem really hit and miss. I've had a bunch of friends order from Omocat, they all ordered around the same value of stuff and only half got charged for customs.
>>8664703
That.. could be worse I guess. Lorina Liddell and some stuff from Rakuten through Tenso.
>>8664659
not UK but NL, they don't care at all if it's marked as a gift, and whether you get hit or not is pretty much random
I've had more success lately by declaring the contents as "used" or "secondhand", but maybe that was also random
lowering the declared value may increase the chance they don't hit your package, but also increases the chance they'll open it and decide themselves what it's worth (usually more than the actual worth)
tldr fuck customs
>>8664523
As soon as I saw the DHL logo I knew it was a mail horror thread. Why would you ever, Anon?
>>8664703
It's very possible staffing has something to do with it. I've heard of customs offices (not UK, but next door) simply letting packages through on understaffed shifts.
>be European
Enough of a horror story on it's own.
Ordered a plush once, had to pay more then 50% the original price + shipping in fees.
>honeycolor sale
>DHL express shipping only 2 dollarydoos more
>whythefucknowlt
>Shit arrives 2 weeks later
>have to pay more than half of what I paid for my order
>only a couple dollars on duty and customs
>like 15 for DHL's pocket just for fumbling around with my package
Never again.
Obligatory
>>8664936
My favorite.
Have another nice one too.
>>8664936
Last week I found a box shoved part way through the top of the metal gate to our building resting on the door hinge so that it would fall if the door were opened incorrectly.
It was not my clothing. It was an order of out-of-print Haviland China from Replacements Ltd. Fortunately I got it and it survived.
Mind you I have a note on the door saying that I broke my ankle and it will take me a minute to get to the door but I'm almost certainly home and WILL SIGN. And I was home when that was delivered!
Hold me Gulls it's been a wild ride:
>Last Thursday be at class/hospital/whatever
>Miss delivery of dream dress
>No big deal schedule redelivery for the following Tuesday when I'll be home
>Around all day, regular mail delivered but no package
>Wtf
>Call post office three times with no answer after the phone ringing for 5+ minutes each time
>FINE
>Call USPS hotline
>Customer service lady is very nice. Tries to tell me that another carrier might have it
>What? Repeat that my regular mail has already been delivered and my regular carrier has already been here
>"Oh let me check again"
>Oh it's been more than 5 days so the package was returned to the sender. We only hold international express for 5 days no matter what
>Lady it doesn't say that anywhere on this sheet and your system let me reschedule the delivery for this date without any warning
>Too bad anon. You'll just have to have it resent
At this point I'm very upset, but decide to drive to the post office on the off chance they still have it sitting in some bin to be sent back to Japan.
>Walk up to postal counter near tears
>Clerk says "Oh we hold packages for 30 days even if they are international"
>Goes in back
>Returns 5ish minutes later with package
>"Sorry about that anon. Don't know why it wasn't redelivered or why the main line thinks it was sent back"
JESUS CHRIST
Finally own pic related though. Pretty chuffed about that.
>>8664523
DHL is the worst.
>order package from US
>have it shipped to Japan
>after marked as shipped, three weeks pass
>check tracking number
>package has been in limbo in Germany of all places for two full weeks, for no reason
>nightmares of degenerate German DHL staff clubbing in my dress
>contact Japanese branch, wanting to know wtf kind of company they are
>package leaves Germany two days later, arrives undamaged in two more days
>get apology from Japanese branch
If not for the Japanese service spirit, my package would still be in fucking Germany. Never again buying from someone who uses DHL.
>>8665071
File a formal complaint about that phone lady, anon.
It's as if "utterly useless and incompetent" is a requirement for getting a job these days.
>>8664523
Test
>>8664523
>DHL
>the Netherlands
Gecontroleerd.
Uh oh I just had a taobao order shipped DHL because Amazon Japan uses them and they have always been great with those packages...
>>8665145
If it's remote controlled from Japan it should be ok. I get my iherb orders shipped from the US with Sagawa, always here within four days, always undamaged.
>Be in Glorious Australia.
>Zero customs fees of any kind for orders marked under $1000.
>National postal service is paid commission by delivery, so they always come to your door properly.
>DHL from Japan arrives in two business days without any issues.
The only problem right now is the fucking exchange rate. I paid $50AUS for some 200g of fabric from Japan.
>>8664614
When I read the description I was sure it would be something like a story another gull posted about a dragon dildo flopping out of the package in front of the mailman. I honestly thought they'd sent you a strapon or something to go with the shoes.
As for the customs, I imagine someone in Portugal was chill enough to help you out. Talk about a lucky escape.
>>8665133
gecondoleerd?
I ordered a cosplay from Japan with SAL August 25th, and it still isn't here. I need it for Halloween/Youmacon.
>SAL
>more like Slow And Late amirite
>>8664523
>last year
>preorder pic related's rerelease
>hyped as fuck
>order via hobby search japan
>get SAL shipping
>figure is shipped but never actually makes it to me
>to this day i still don't have it
>wasted $60 and hobby search refuses to refund lost orders sent via SAL
>i had never had a package get lost before then and haven't had any get lost since
>never uses SAL again or buys a figure from hobby search out of fear
>>8665703
Anon you should have filed a claim with whatever payment system you used. SAL comes with shipping and no matter what if it got lost you're owed your money back unless the website can prove it got delivered to you.
>>8665722
have you never bought via hobby search? they have a specific section in their FAQ that states that they won't refund you if you got SAL shipping. not much i could have done.
also they never gave me tracking either; it didn't come with that price. not all SAL comes with a tracking number.
>i was fucking stupid i know
>>8665628
I think anon is making a shitty joke, 'checked'
not cgl but USPS in combination with B&N managed to lose my book order. had it reshipped, books showed up, then a few weeks later I suddenly get a customs notice
>tfw the first parcel that arrived was the first one they sent out
>tfw got customs'd for the second set (think it was 9% from the value, including shipping, and that alone was 1/3 of the fucking price)
>>8665813
and anon was making a shitty joke back
>>8665145
I think DHL is the best, their customer service is good if your shipper is going to complain.
Generally our packages take three days to be delivered to the person via DHL Express. But sometimes there will be problems.
>>8665257
Yep, fuck that exchange rate. I also heard we were gonna have yurop like taxes on imports in the future.
Recent mail horror story that turned out good, thankfully.
>order special kickstand phone case for 15+ hour travel on train
>only a few days before I leave
>tracking says my phone case is out for delivery
>go check the mail, I've got packages
>none of packages contain my phone
>go out and check the box again, empty
>check out the road and the driveway to make sure it didn't fall somewhere
>check USPS tracking code, it says it was out for delivery
>ask my neighbors if they got it by mistake, they say no
>check the tracking code again, two hours later it says it's been delivered
>time code on all my packages say around 12:30PM delivered, this says around 2:30PM delivered
>think USPS lady delivered it to completely wrong house
>spend next 4 hours trying to get a live person on USPS call line
>phone goes dead 5 minutes before their office closes for the night
>wake up next morning, decide to wait for mail to be delivered in case it got marked as mis-delivered and returned to me
>check mail, phone case is now in there
>tracking still says it was delivered the day before
As far as I can come up with, she either forgot my phone case at the post office or it got lost in her car so she scanned it as 'delivered' when she found it two hours later at the end of her route to avoid getting in trouble and thought there'd be no harm done if she just sneaked it into my mail the next day.
>>8665082
Reading all the storys here makes me think that german DHL is pretty tame compared to other services, national as well as international. They are mostly slow and you may always get a 'you weren't at home, go grab it at the office' if your local delivery guy sucks but that's about it.
>>8664924
You don't actually have to pay those fees. Call them and tell them to remove them and they will, They honestly just try people to see who is complacent and they make money off that sort of thing, don't let them get away with it.
Well this may become a horror story soon
>pay for pic related on the 17th of september
>seller is located in the uk, i'm in america, ok it could take a while i'll just wait
>almost a month later
>no package
>i need it by the 23rd to complete my coord
i messaged the seller today because i need that damn brassard
I also bought a wefting needle from Aliexpress over a month and it hasn't arrived yet, everything else I bought from AE at that time or later has arrived, starting to worry customs seized it (is it illegal to import curved needles or something?)
>>8665663
Oh man anon, I'm almost in the same boat as you. I has a package shipped SAL from China on August 22, and it's still not here. I've never has SAL take this long...is there still hope?
>>8665813
Call the number on the customs form and tell them it's the sellers' responsibility to pay customs fees on those books, works every time
>>8665257
You're lucky. My parcels dudes have been a mixed bag of assholes. One threw a harddrive at the doorstep instead of bothering to get out of his truck and walk the ten feet needed to knock on the door. Another would mark parcels as "delivered" at 7pm on Fridays, then sneak down early Saturday morning to knock, put a slip under the door, and run. Another would cram packages too small for my post box into the slot, instead of driving up to the door; ruined multiple books and snapped a headband that was in a BOX in two.
Current guy is really nice, but Jesusfuckingchrist have the rest of the contractors I've encountered been total knobs.
>>8667381
The Australian postal system is privately owned. So each branch is a franchise owned by individuals. They then contract parcels delivery drivers.
So if you're in an area that's managed well, you get good drivers. Bad drivers who are reported get the boot. In my area, the post office changed hands about two years ago, and the people running it have no idea wtf they're doing. I reported all of the above parcels contractors and still see them in the area on occasion. It's pure blind luck that the guy who does my route now isn't a dick.
>not enough fabric to finish costume
>none in stock in-store
>none that remotely match it in stock in any other stores
>order more from joanns website over a week ago
>3 days later get confirmation email that my order has shipped
>no tracking #
>today i suddenly get an email saying that the fabric i ordered is out of stock and joanns has cancelled my order
GREAT. Thanks for keeping it marked as shipped for a week before letting me know you bungled it.
I'm freaking out i dont know what I'm going to do now except a) shorten the length of my skirt in order to make the sleeves for my dress or b) settle for a similar-but-not-the-same fabric. I only have 2 more weeks til the con...
Holy fuck reading these posts is making me scared.
I ordered some stuff and it's being shipped by DHL. They started shipping it on Tuesday from China, and it's already scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
I already got the text for it that I need to be present to sign.
I'm hoping it arrives tomorrow, it's my main costume pieces, temporary tattoo isn't as important, even though it would be nice.
Perfect timing as I have a costume party this weekend.
I'm in the middle of one right now.
>Order dress
>accidentally put "United Arab Emirates" instead of United States
>Site says "we already sent it out, contact your post office"
Week later
>Tracking says it was in the US, now is available for Pick-up at UAE?
>heard nothing from USPS Consumer Affairs
I'm not even sure what to do here.
>>8667933
Sit on your porch and stare at your mailbox until it arrives. It's the only way to be sure.
>>8667697
Get the item number and call other stores in the area to see if they have it. It may be a farther drive but it beats compromising your costume.
>>8668055
Well, I live in an apartment complex. I'm going to talk to my office tomorrow so they can sign for it, if DHL asks them. And I'm going to put a sign on my door to knock or leave it there, the text message said that was acceptable.
>>8668062
Good luck, anon. May you not end up like us.
>>8668070
Thank you. I will post back tomorrow to update y'all.
>>8664523
>live in Germany
That's the story, ok guys.
I have to put up with DHL on the regular since it's our main delivery service. Lately tracking simply doesn't work, nothing I buy ever hits the german tracking, it just ends up at my house at some point. And when it works it says my stuff got "delivered successfully" just because the customs office received it.
German customs are a horror story of it's own. I'm already looking forward to my Holy Lantern JSK. It will come from the US, which means it WILL end up in customs and I will have to pay 100 euro in custom fees. If I knew about the MTO I would've bought it in Japan instead, would save me a lot of cash.
>>8668353
>>live in Germany
>That's the story, ok guys.
Fuck Germany's customs.
>almost every custom office is located a 30min drive away from any populated part of town
>Most people at the custom office will treat you like you're a criminal who just smuggled drugs and tons of bootlegged Nike shoes into the country
>You'll pay for everything that's over 21€, and once you cross the 150€ line you'll be paying almost 30% or the parcels worth, SHIPPING PRICE INCLUDED
>Seriously, they'll include the shipping rate into the value or your goods even if you can prove them that you didn't try to scam them
>parcels get stuck there for up to two weeks, without any pssibility to pick them up because you need to wait for their notification first
Fucking customs. I don't even get why I have to pay them. I already paid the taxes in the country I ordered the item from, and I'm not a company trying to make a profit with imported goods. I even heard that you can get your custom fees back (because you already paid the taxes in the original country) but I heard it is a long and tiresome precess, and I sadl ydon't know more details.
>>8664523
according to the tracking, the package is with the delivery guy. finally
Can I just say that Amazon subscription service is awful? My shit gets lost or comes in damaged frequently, it ships late 50% of the time, and the savings aren't great.
>>8668498
You forgot something anon.
>customs are only open during typical work hours
>you need to wait at least 1-2 hours because it's almost always overcrowded as fuck
>>8668536
>customs worker will always treat you like an idiot who need everything explained although you've been there often enough and they should recignize you by now.
>They won't listen for a second if you try to explain something and just continue with their spiel.
>Hey, what is thisstrange money symbol on these bills?
>searches through some lists for 10 minutes even if you tell them 1000 times it stands for Japanese Yen
>spends another 10 minutes to convert the value into Euro with their ancient computer, a calculator and pen&paper
>>8668723
I fucking hate German customs, it's so backwards and useless. Other countries can do it more efficient, why can't it be like that here?
>>8668875
So you're discouraged from buying internationally and buy in Germany instead. That was literally the response once: "Just buy in Germany instead.".
>>8668723
>forced to open parcel, show everything inside
>"OH IS THIS FROM A BRAND???"
>shoes are Bodyline, obviously not fake Nike sneakers
>"IS THIS FROM A BRAND?"
>tote bag with IW logo, no it's not a counterfeit item
>glares at me like I'm the most evil criminal ever
>"WELL OKAY THEN"
All caps to give you a sense of the yelling and underlying tones the nice lady had during our conversation. I feel so good everytime something slips through customs, serves them right.
>>8668536
>customs are only open during typical work hours
Over here the local post offices are too, even the depots, and they'll only deliver during working hours. Couriers (DHL, UPS) are fine, but if it's sent via anything else (USPS etc.) they'll just hand it over to the local post service.
>parcel sent via USPS
>tried to deliver during working hours, obviously not at home
>ask a friend to pop by the depot to collect it for me
>depot almost won't hand it over because he can't show my ID, even though he has the bloody failed delivery notice they put through my door
>"If he's at work, why doesn't he get it delivered to him there?" *snark*
>because security at work gets enough dangerous work-related shipments sent to them that they don't want to have to deal with everyone's personal post?
>>8667313
It's not the seller's responsibility though, the buyer is the one importing the item and this is liable for any charges
Brazil's mail service is a pain in the ass.
It's not uncommon for the packages to be stolen or lost. Like, here in the pic (official tracking service) it says "the postman was robbed so your package is lost, please contact us."
I got a package stolen once but at least they refunded it.
Don't even get me started on buying things from overseas. Boyfriend got me a cute $15 necklace and had to pay in taxes 80% of the value PLUS the shipping price. And the dollar is like 4x the brazilian currency at the moment. So expensive.
One time, I ordered a Demonia shoes, and they got in customs: plus I had to pay an extra tax. The reason? Custom opened the package, see the shoes, and mark them as a "motorcycle pieces"
Lolwut
I opened a lot of disputes but nothing worked, so I had to pay almost the double amount of the shoes price
>>8669391
>"the postman was robbed so your package is lost, please contact us."
Jesus christ. I'll never complain about USPS again.
>>8664914
ikr WHY are custom taxes so absurdly EXPENSIVE here once i had to pay almost what i fucking paid already.
For a goddamn skirt and blouse.
36euros of custom taxes. Fuck you.
I live in belgium. Fuck belgium really. The custom taxes are RIDICULOUS why should we even pay taxes for that shit. I am so glad my chinese sellers on ebay always make me avoid them.
Ily so much chinese sellers that mark my packaging as gift you are beautiful angels sent from heaven to save me from this custom bullshit hell
>custom taxes are there to discourage buying internationally
Welp that's even more retarded. Not as if Germany and Belgium were SO poor. (even if muslims and such are sucking us hard and invading there)
>>8669256
W-what do Germans do if they DO buy sex toys?
>>8667381
don't get me started on aus post. our local postie doesn't even bother to drop off parcels, he just shoves the card in the mailbox and leaves. there have been times where i've been visibly on the property when the post arrived and he's just left the collection card and speeds off before i can stop him.
Just recently I noticed an email from AE saying a seller extended my purchase protection so I went to look at what hadn't arrived yet.
A week and a half earlier my postal assholes attempted to deliver some cheapo earrings and because I wasn't home they marked it "notice left" (they didn't leave any notice) and never attempted to redeliver.
I tried to fill out the online redelivery thing so they could just drop the packet in my mailbox. The USPS website wouldn't let me complete the form though because they already returned the package to sender. Tracking said I should have had 2.5 weeks to pick it up before they returned it.
Yesterday I had to mail something so I went into the post office and checked. Yep, they didn't have it and returned it after only a week.
I'm moving in a month and I can't wait to get the fuck away from this post office.
>>8669469
Better buy them from Germany or another EU country.
>>8669450
Chinese sellers tend to be more clever about this than others and they'll usuall mark it down and/or label it as gift.
>>8669469
Buy them in Germany of course. I wouldn't use a cheapo chinese dildo anyway, way too risky.
>>8669450
I can kinda understand that they want you to buy skinny jeans and Nike shoes and such in your own country so you support your local sellers. But when it comes to things that are not available in your country (like AP dresses) it's getting ridiculous.
>>8668875
>>8668886
Okay, time for German customs horror story!
>Brother is going to a trip to Japan for two weeks
>comes back, airport security takes him aside
>"We found something suspicious in your luggage, please proceed to the customs"
>What.jpeg
>turns out they found a throwing star (Shuriken) in his luggage
>It's very obviously cheaply made from plastic, just some tourist crap he bought for the lulz
>"Sorry, this is illegal, you are violating weapon laws"
>brother tries to explain that this is just obviously plastic crap for children, cheap Halloween costume-tier
>"No, this is a dangerous weapon!"
>They have to call my mom because brother is underage
>Mom and brother have to spend 2 1/2 hours at the custom office
>plastic star gets confiscated
>brother gets a legal complaint because he violated weapon law
Bonus story:
>Brother had an extra bag with him just filled with animu stuff
>custom offiver looks inside, hopes to find more dangerous stuff
>sees half naked figurines, plastic merchandise, weeaboo food, more naked figurines and lewd posters
>immediately closes bag and pretends it doesn't exist
Thank God, or else my brother would have ended up with hundreds of Euros of customs as well.
>>8664914
>>8669450
I run a muh heritage online store and I get so jealous of yanks when I fill in their orders. We usually jew them out of their money with ridiculous shipping fees (blame An Post) but even then they get the VAT marked down so it ends up cheaper than selling within Europe anyway.
One thing that does my head in is that they say they encourage buying from the EU yet refuse to 1)advertise EU products outside of their country of origin or domestic products in general, 2)lower the postage fees for EU customers 3)import popular products without extortionate markups or at least find an equally good alternative for the same price. Because I'm not going to fucking pay €15 for Crystal deodorant, fuck you.
One good thing about the customs officers where I live is that they don't give a solitary fuck about what's in your parcel as long as you give them money, but if they actually want us to buy EU products, I shouldn't be hearing about them from my aunt's cousin's wife's sister's nephew twice removed and paying double what I'd pay to order them from overseas.
>>8668353
Tracking on the DP website doesn't work half the time, what is up with that?
This. This fucking thing.
>order on September 20th
>pay extra ten dollars for EMS so it will get to me by the tenth
>no tracking number
>the tenth comes and goes
>email seller, "has this been shipped yet?"
>seller: "oh anon-san! we accidentally shipped it to Europe, even though your paypal has an American address! We will ship another one out using EMS ASAP"
>no tracking number
>checking mailbox every day
>still not here
I know I have a few more days to wait before I should bug them again.. but I just really want my damn $40 Rilakkuma headband. (I've had some bad mail experiences lately so maybe I'm just bitter af.)
Not mail but cargo.
>Used to sell wigs.
>Boss would always put in big orders. Usually about 20 or so pallets of stuff. Each pallet usually had 10 or so boxes on it. So a lot of shit to move for just two people.
>customs always opened up a box or two.
>always without fail at least one wig is missing or trashed. Customs like to slice open the wig packaging even though they came in Ziploc style bags.
Ahh the stuff you deal with trying to make a profit.
>>8670041
Forming a prayer circle for you, anon.
>>8664677
Hey Anon, Got similar story -
>bought bag from BtSSB webstore
>Shipped by EMS, no worries, it should be in EU with few days
>Check the tracking
>Package is in Ethiopia, whut?
>Contact with BtSSB and local post service
>Package arrives week later back to Japan and is shipped out again
>Bag is here with 2 days
>They had mistaken Estonia with Ethiopia...
>getting items sent to USA from Vienna
>know of the horrors of their post
>do it anyway, no other options
>Austrian Post marks box as shipped
>nothing updates for weeks
>contact USPS asking where it is
>idk they never shipped it sorry
>sender contacts AP post asking the same
>idk that's USPS fault not ours ask them
>a month goes by of finger pointing
>eventually find out AP never shipped the box and lost it, but marked it shipped to avoid trouble
>they find it, ship it out
>gets to my city finally
>address not correct, send it back with no warning
We ended up opening a claim and getting the shipping money back after another huge fight, but fuck USPS and AP.
>>8669973
That's more flight security than customs. Yeah they were overreacting, but flight security is always like that.
I was flying out of the UK after a con when part of our group was searched by security, who insisted on emptying all their luggage in front of the queue. They had bought some reaaaaaaaaally dodgy manga, I'm pretty sure it violated uk cp laws. Security insisted on pulling them out one by one....
>>8669973
>immediately closes bag and pretends it doesn't exist
Well that's what he gets for being suspicious
>>8664659
I usually mark down & as gift but as they take the shipping into account too so I usually get hit anyway. Also try and get cheap shipping, avoid EMS as it'll end up in parcelforce's clutches and you'll have to pay a £13.50 handling fee. (Royal Mail is slightly cheaper at £8)
>>8669391
Is it true that something like 10% of packages get stolen in Brazil? I mean that's ridiculous
Once I received a bodyline package with crumbs and a dead ant in it. Pretty grossed out
Semi-related:
>live in georgia
>legal to buy and own switchblades
>legal to buy guns from other people, off the record, with no ID checks or anything
>sale of sex toys is illegal
>places that sell toys won't ship to georgia addresses because of this
>>8671193
Is it really that surprising anon? I'm sure Georgia is full of conservative hicks.
>huge taobao haul, like $350
>check tracking one day
>package is out for delivery in Atlanta
>I live in California
>check invoice, I typed my address correctly
>contact taobaospree, they insist they wrote my address correctly
>contact USPS about package, which was "undeliverable as addressed"
>they say they'll look for it
>2 months later and I've heard from neither USPS nor taobaospree
I was too dumb to buy insurance, so it's kinda my fault, but I'm never buying from taobao again.
>>8667933
>>8668055
>>8668070
>>8668071
Well, DHL came by around noon, and delivered my package to the front office. I was actually just leaving the office when he pulled up, so I just waited for him.
That was pretty speedy shipping, 2 days from Chine to US.
It came right on time, now I'm mostly ready for a costume party tonight.
Please go easy on me seagulls.
>>8672083
I'm glad you got it on time!
The wig style is pretty good for getting the drill shape without being actual drills, I would just brush out base wig and style the bangs a bit
>>8672098
Thank you, can you give any advice? I'm really really new to cosplay and this is the first wig I've ever worn/bought. I have grooming cream and hair wax.
>>8672083
here's a good tutorial where the end result kind of looks like her bangs.
good luck anon!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjB1ydjQBsk
>>8672105
Thank you!! I'll try to follow along this once I get back from a few errands.
>>8665071
So this was me. Today I had another postal fuck up. I really need to figure out how to call and complain about my mail carrier.
>Expecting wig I need for this weekend
>Supposed to be delivered today
>Tracking says "Delivered to Front desk" then immediately after that "Undeliverable as Addressed-Returned to Sender"
We don't have a front desk. We have mail boxes, package lockers, or if something needs to be signed for (this one didn't) they have to come to our door. I was even home when it says they tried to deliver it. What do I do gulls?
>>8670041
It's been a month, gulls. For EMS shipping. No tracking number. And no fucking RIilakkuma.
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
>>8671193
the fuck are you talking about anon? multiple friends of mine have bought sex toys and we all live in georgia. i've done it too and there's no problem with shipping.
I want to buy an electronic dictionary for college on denshijisho.com but reading these stories worry me a lot. Especially because most stories are from Europeans and I live in France.
As for me, I never had problems except that one time when I ordered a bunch of video games on amazon and I got them all except for my copy of Okami. It has been years and I never got it, I have no idea if they even shipped it or if they took my money because I was underage and my mother didn't want me to check my bank account for some reason.
>>8676401
Call the local post office asap and then say you're going down there to pick it up.
>orders a shitty handbag from china
>only has DHL shipping
>neat
>never got any tracking or conformation email
>whatever it was only $20
>forgets about it completely
>two months later it's delivered
>DHL guy said I needed to pay $20 to receive the package
>the package is somewhat moist
>pays the DHL driver
>opened package
>it smelt like rotten fish
>the "leather" was pealing off all over the bag
>I ended up tossing it in the trash because it was beyond help. At least I learned my lesson to not buy handbags from china.
>>8677454
Fellow french anon, I'll be willing to sell you mine since I graduated. What is your price range? Which university are you from?
>>8677454
Keep in mind, this *is* the horror stories thread. The worst of the worst. Most of the time, people's experiences are fine. Just remember to shell out a bit of extra on the insurance to be safe, and you're pretty much golden.
>>8665257
can confirm it's also nice to have the option of picking up from the local office, get sent a text message so you dont have to be at home ever
>tiny CardCaptor Sakura dust plug is bought
>reaches New York customs the 14th
>it's now the 22nd
>hasn't left customs
Another item I bought that hit the same customs on the 16th is now out for delivery so I'm really think they lost it. I just want my CCS merch..
>>8677454
I can sell you mine as I don't use it anymore. I decorated it with some rhinestones but overall it's in great condition. Won it in a contest some years ago.
>>8669450
Fuck Belgium.
Just bought an OP and cutsew from a girl in Belgium on LM. She said shipping to NA would be $15. Paid the invoice. Later, she messages saying she shipped it out.
"O-okay. Was the package tracked?"
"Oh sorry, tracking would cost $70. I assumed that would be too high."
Damn right that's too high. jfc what's wrong with Belgium
>germanfag
>order from Etude
>package arrived in Frankfurt over a week ago
>still not at my customs office
why does it take so long to ship it to my customs office? what is wrong with post in germany? why does it suck so much? post nazis
>>8668875
There is a few very nice people working at my customs office, I love them. And then there once was this one bitch who was so rude, got kicked out I guess.
>>8676452
Name and shame, anon.
>last 5 things I've bought from eBay haven't turned up
>can't believe this many sellers are fucking up
>none of it is expensive enough to get caught on customs
>is the fucking postie stealing my thigh highs and boob tape? my wigs? my cute stationery?
>orders dream dress set off lm
>$1000.jpg
>pay as a gift through paypal
>no tracking number
>being sent from germany
>fuck
>>8684705
>$1000
>pay as gift
Geez anon, you were asking for it.
>>8684705
>pay as gift
You were fucked from moment one, anon. I'm so sorry.
>>8684705
Anon, why did you pay as a gift? Especially for something worth that much...
>con on friday
>sintra hasnt arrived yet
>wig hasnt arrived yet even tho i paid for 3 day shipping
i guess arda is backed up lol? idk what to do about the sintra tho.
>>8684719
Go to stores that make custom signs. Some of them will let you just buy a roll of sintra since that's what a lot of plastic signs are made from.
>Buy jacket that is last in stock
>get free EMS
>tracking shows it leaving Japan, should be here in a couple of days
>No package
>shipping finally updates
>departing inward office exchange in Chicago
>I live in the UK
I want to know how these things happen,
If parcelforce pick this up when it finally gets here, I will eat my own face
>live in NY
>paranoid already about everything so all orders on taobao/eBay/bodyline are EMS if I can help it.
>bodyline order of two skirts and some socks
>customs sorting is across the river so no worries
>3 weeks have passed and I'm livid. I don't like waiting.
>call the fucking airport and get transferred to the customs line
>white lady doesn't have the time of day to answer a question
>she puts me on hold
>"you wet cunt licking motherfucker-"
>nicest hood sounding black guy picks up
>"it's just a couple socks and some skirts!!"
>he checks the tracking number
>"this was cleared two weeks ago anon. Idk why this is still here. I got you."
>two days later it's on my doorstep
>thank you random black guy
Fuck like...45% of JFKs customs department.
>>8684712
I had no clue how dodgy it would be, and now I've read all these horror stories...Im so fucked
>>8684885
Yeah white people should all be gassed tbh. I don't think I've ever met one who isn't a cunt.
>>8681087
I had the same problem a few months ago.
Shipping my package took less than a week from Tokyo to Frankfurt, but almost 4 weeks from Frankfurt to my local custom office..
>>8684885
>implying ypu know how someone looks over the phone
>bait.jpg
>>8684885
So you're blaming this on white staff and not the fact that JFK is one of the biggest and busiest import hubs in the states?
>>8684993
I'm blaming this on it was obviously simple enough to just look this up on the company computer rather than give attitude because I'm asking about something I paid for to not be lost in the busiest fucking airport in the tristate.
I work in retail. People are fucking stupid but if it's something so simple as "tracking number? Oh its leaving tomorrow. " no one needs to be transferred to the next department so someone else can tell me the same info the first person could have if they deserved the 11.50 an hour they make being a shitlord on the phone.
>>8685001
I have worked retail too but I think you're being a little too butthurt about lazy retailer stereotypes by mentioning the difference between uptight whitey and ghetto blackie. What does their race even matter?
>>8664523
Not really hell, but still infuriating since I don't have a lot of money and how I can't read.
>buy red baseball cap
>gets shipped in the mail, arrives 2 days later
>open up, wear it
>it's so small and it doesn't fit
>I go back to the website
>I bought a kid's size baseball cap
>tfw I skipped over the part of the description that said it was kids size
>>8685018
Omg anon, this has happened to me a couple times. Bought a t-shirt folder thingy and accidentally bought a kid size's one. Then bought a child's backpack. Then bought kid sized bracelets.
I should stop buying stuff without thinking properly first.
>>8667267
the fucking armband isnt here yet
should i open a dispute?
>>8692943
If it's by airmail, no. Just message the seller again.
USPS plz... They finally agreed to open an investigation but this is just insane, especially since I don't even live in Charlottesville
>eating dinner at home right now instead of being at the con because DHL scheduled delivery was today at "end of day"
I wish I knew...
>>8693149
wtf? this is the second time something like that and shown up in this thread
get your shit together usps
>>8681016
Haha that's was me, I really wish there would be better ways to ship from belgium...
>>8664523
>live in Germany
>DHL delivers package
>either gets to a neighbor who happily hands it over in the evening
>gets put into my mailbox if small enough
>or they leave a leaflet for me to pick my packet up the next day
You silly kaaskopjes, why don't you use the NHL?
>>8669469
What the fuck are you even talking about? Don't tell me you're using cheap Chinese fleshlights or hard-plastic dildos dyed with lead-based colors. Jesus Christ.
Germany has sex toy companies.
>>8693149
ffs now they're sending it back to Japan! Fucking usps
>>8669469
Every country has places to buy sex toys from anon, no need to buy them overseas.
>>8681016
>$70
JFC. German post charges like 3€ extra for tracking.
>>8688813
This anon >>8667295 here. I ended up having my package delivered last week, so it took 2 months. There's a stamp on the customs form area that says "surface" on it, I wonder if that's just to say that it traveled by surface before it went on a plane (thus SAL), or if it was shipped surface instead?
>>8693149
Wow, jesus. Is it even in remotely the right area (as in you're not in Cville but close) or did they get the area completely wrong in addition to all the fuckery going on there?
>>8694708
Nah, it's close. I'm an hour away, in fact, I get my mail from the Sandston post office. They've been actively turning it away for whatever reason and now i'm afraid I might be fucked because it's getting shipped back to Japan
>>8694711
Jeez. I hope the investigation works out and you get your package! That's ridiculous. I'm also in CenVa and our post office here is pretty good, although we've got a few new carriers that misdeliver packages more than I'd like now.
>>8694717
It finally was delivered today! What I learned from all of this, is if the USPS ever fucks up your order, don't call their customer service. Instead try the "Consumer Affairs" line, which has reps that are so much more helpful
>>8697447
Yay! Congratulations!
I tried to call their customer service line once. Jesus it was the worst help line experience I've EVER had. Thanks for the tip!
>>8697447
>>8697711
>called their customer service line before
>spent 30 minutes trying to bypass the automated system
>wait time for a rep is an hour
>spent two hours listening to that damn infomercial message on loop
>phone died before I ever got to a service rep
>>8697746
Yeah that was pretty much my experience. I couldn't get past the automated system to save my life, and when I finally did, I was on hold so long that the line closed for the evening before I ever spoke to someone.
>>8698123
That was my experience too. It was two hours before their line closed for the night and my phone died about five minutes before close time. I kept hitting 0 because that got me past the automated system the last time I had a problem but this time it kept giving me errors saying it couldn't connect me with anyone without having my tracking code (which just repeated me back into the tracking update system hell).
>>8697746
Whenever I need something, I just read off my tracking number super quickly so the automated machine is confused. After a few repetitions it'll put me on hold for a representative.
>>8699452
I'm going to keep this in mind in case it happens again. That's genius.
>>8698412
I swear to god, the usps customer service line is a layer in Hell
>>8699572
Especially since it's super dependent on who you talk to. I've have reps tell me completely contradictory things, even though I gave them the same information. It can really suck.
>order very first JSK from LM after weighing the pros and cons of getting into lolita for like 3 months
>seller is in France so her and I message back and forth to make sure shipping will go okay
>decide it's reasonable to expect I'll have it in time for Halloween (ordered beginning of Oct)
>It stays in france for about a week and I'm nervously biting my nails, but then it finally makes it to America
>Meanwhile I'm tracking other items I ordered from LM for my first coord
>Realize they are all getting sent to my parents house because I haven't updated my paypal info in years.....
>Call parents and tell them I'll pay for shipping to get everything from them to me
>Shoes, petti and everything else makes it to parents and then to me no problem way before Halloween
>Wed, Oct 28 jsk finally gets to parents and they send it out with Priority, usps tells them it should get to me by Halloween at the latest
>Check mail on Halloween, not there
>Call USPS, it hasn't even made it to my city or out of my parents city
>Wear shitty costume instead of the coord i've been so excited about for weeks
>Today is 11/4 and tracking still hasn't updated
>Idek how long it takes I just want confirmation that it isn't lost
>Oh and mom only insured it for up to $50 because I never explicitly told her that I bought a $100+ dress
>mfw this dress made it from France to So Fl no problem but betting it from So Fl to N. Fl is a nightmare
>mfw i should have just given up on getting it in time for ahlloween and told my parents to keep it and picked it up myself when I go home for the holidays
>mfw I never confirmed I had the correct address on my paypal despite being so anal about planning everything else out
>>8700492
Shit anon, that's terrible. Call USPS again and bug the fuck out of them about your package.
>>8684719
so a week later but wig arrived on time
sintra arrived the day after the con of course. :' )
I shipped out a baby dress 2 months ago and the seller only told me now that she hasn't received anything and the tracking number isn't working. Turns out the parcel has been lying around at the airport this whole time. She opened a dispute and it looks like I'm going to lose the money since it was a gift payment.
>>8664523
>parcel stuck in customs because they wrote clay man on it
>my other package with hemp written on it was not stuck in customs
Weird ass cunts.
>>8700699
>gift payment
How can you lose money then? This shouldn't be covered by buyer protection
>>8700711
It's not covered by seller's protection either. It happened to me last year I accepted gift payment for a blouse, but as soon as the buyer received it they cancelled the payment through their creditcard company and my paypal balance became -40 (I already transferred the money to my bank account). Since then my account has been frozen and I make do without paypal.
This fucking thread. Sometimes I realize that being a burger isn't that bad.
>Live on east coast
>Buying solar panels.
>Panels with the specs I want are $1.25/watt on amazon.
>Punch it into alibaba out of curiosity
>$0.45/watt
>Figure fuck it. Get a sample panel airmailed to me for like 250 dollars (1 dollar/watt)+25 dollar customs fee.
>From china it takes 7 business days to arrive after taking 2 to get shipped.
>Fresh snow
>UPS driver comes up my 900 foot driveway and does his usual donut on the ice that forms in my turnaround zone
>Panel works exactly as advertised.
>Order 53 more panels (need 52 total for 4x13 but at this price, fuck it I'll grab a pair of spares
>Takes 7 weeks slow shipping by boat, but it's winter, so fucks not given.
>Customs is still like 25 dollars, might have gone over the minimum by a few cents.
>UPS calls me and I just meet an 18 wheeler at the end of the driveway with a yard tractor and cart.
>3 trips later I'm done.
>TL;DR Ordered over 500 kilos of shit from China, had full tracking, and dealt with customs remotely.
Murica.
I feel bad for you Euros. I really do. I can't even imagine going through the kind of shit I'm reading about to order something from a country that's 2 hour's drive away from me.
>>8701656
Bit off topic but fellow east coaster here and how's the whole solar panel thing work anyway? A few miles from here we've got a massive solar panel field and there's a solar panel company about 30 minutes away but I've never seen any household ones so I've got no idea how easy it is to get started on them and how much money you'd save.
>>8701678
My town offered a subsidy for them, and there are other circumstances involved in my setup, so my stats are hopelessly skewed compared to other people. My state also lets me sell 100% of generated power back at the exact rate the electric company charges me (up to several megawatts, which nobody is going to hit on residential) If your bill is negative, you get to collect the money every so often.
Covered my barn in panels. Thing is, we already had existing 100 amp service to the barn from the house, and the house also has 200 amp service so we skipped out on tons of potential wiring problems. 100 amps @ 240 is 24 kilowatts. The array maxes out at around ~15kw. Electric bill was negative throughout the summer.
ETA on total repayment, even factoring in interest on the loan for it, is looking to be just over 3 years given the average solarity in my location. Might be less because these polycrystaline panels seem to have a much more forgiving efficiency curve so we get the full power from them for longer periods of time. Bear in mind, we had enormous amounts of already existing cable runs, and I did most of the labor personally. Additionally our array is fucking gigantic compared to what's typical around here. I bought very large inverters instead of the dinky ass ones people typically use. Most people have 1-2.5kw of panels, we are rated for 13, and it tops off at about 15. Economies of scale become a thing cause a big inverter that handles 10 times as much power costs 3 times as much, and the cost of running a cable that can handle 100 amps is not 5 times the price of running one that can handle 20 amps.
Actually contemplated some ground mounts so we can get up to about 22kw, because we already have the 100 amp cables in the ground, but 15kw is only ~62 amps. Might even go above 22kw so that we are producing a full 100 amps for more hours, but that's diminishing returns calculations that need more data before I make the purchase.
$270 customs charge on Vampire Requiem
>>8700609
It came in! I actually called to check up on it and they told me it has come in about 10min before I called. Phew.
>>8701726
Thanks for the info, anon! I'm not sure if our town or even the solar company has some kind of incentive for putting up panels but I always thought they were pretty neat and worth the money in the long run.
>>8701656
Do you have a vendor recommendation?
>>8701678
>>8701726
As to how to get started. Ask around if anyone knows a good electrician. It's not very economical to have a general contractor come in and install that kind of stuff, and the companies like solar city take a gargantuan cut out of your stuff, and try to nickel and dime you for bullshit reasons, but most decent electricians are willing to come out and at least talk with you about it when they get some spare time. Toss the guy his usual service charge in cash and he'll be happy. He doesn't report it in taxes, and doesn't do any "work".
I contacted solar city, and they came out to my place to give me an estimate. They didn't want to put more than 5kw worth of panels up. Insisted that they had to run a separate set of cables to the barn, and were just general asshats. That's when I did some research and ordered the sample panel.
Didn't do anything really brilliant. Just had my jimmies rustled hard enough that I got stubborn and decided to smash the brick wall down rather than working around it.
>>8701743
Not really. Stuff changes constantly on there, and new tech is always coming out.
Besides the usual, ONLY go with gold rated suppliers, and strongly consider buying from one that offers trade assurances. You will probably pay a bit more, but you are already undercutting amazon prices by as much as a factor of 2.5. Oh, and don't be afraid to pitch 500 bucks down the drain on defective stuff. NEVER commit to a large purchase without a sample in hand. Again, you are massively undercutting amazon prices, even with Customs fees and shipping. Don't get greedy. Sample in hand before you buy in bulk. No exceptions. Even if you've bought from that seller before. Even if it's a similar product. Doesn't matter.
No real stand out horror stories. Just a periodically getting completely torn apart boxes and envelopes in the mail to the point I have to wonder what the postman was thinking when they decided "Sure this is something I should deliver to represent a glowing example of how competent my company is."
Except I don't know what they can really do about it except put that giant "sorry we fucked up" sticker on it.
has anyone ever had their circle lenses feast seized by US customs? my tracking says 'shipment has been given a release by customs' but also 'please contact DHL' and hasn't moved since saturday.
>>8701862
Hasn't happened to me but I know it got mentioned in the old circle lenses topics a lot that DHL was cracking down on lenses.
>>8701862
The same happened to me. I emailed them and they sent me this.
Is this happening with all circle lenses or just ones sent by DHL?
>>8692958
i did. seller says that some of his packages arrived in america recently and to keep checking. i'm really frustrated at this point, i paid for it mid September thinking it would arrive by Halloween, and as of today it is still not here
>>8701862
Mine got seized by EU customs last Friday. I made a large order of over $500 worth for me and some friends. They apparently released only half of my order from customs and still charged me 40 bucks. I don't think the carrier was DHL but I don't remember, honestly. I ordered from Pinky Paradise.
The joys of having an address in a state dhl doesn't have anyone in. It's with a delivery courier two states away.
>>8702544
I just had an order of circle lenses sent by DHL to the US just before Halloween, no problems. I ordered from Honey Color. Maybe they recognize Pinky Paradise's return address or something?
>>8702787
I ordered from Honey Color too so that couldn't be it. I guess I'm just unlucky.
Repost. Still butthurt
There's a horror story attached to almost everything I've bought this year.
Had to wait weeks after everyone else to receive my first order from brand. Got a customs letter three days after the package was due- two days before I went away for a two weeks. They usually deliver the day after you pay, so paid immediately hoping it would arrive before I left. Of course it didn't, with Parcelforce recording an attempted delivery despite me being home the whole time. I organized a redelivery so it would arrive at my boyfriend's parents' before we went onward to a national park. Didn't receive confirmation after 3 days and tracking said 'awaiting delivery instruction' so paid £5.50 to get the package delivered to the house we were staying instead, though I knew the trip to the delivery office would be long if I missed the doorbell. Again nothing happened after 3 days, so decided to just get it delivered to my home address and wait.
A week later, I go home and the package wasn't there. Checked tracking and it said the recipient was advised to pick up the parcel. So I rush to the main post office before it closes and they don't have it. Wasted bus fare. I phoned around until someone at Parcelforce told me the package was at a random newsagent that also served as a delivery office. SO I get my ass down there the next day and guy behind the counter tells me they don't do ParcelForce items.
>There is a ParcelForce sticker right next to his fucking head
He checks my tracking number then tells me again: they do not have my package. NO FUCKING WAY IS MY SKIRT GETTING RETURNED TO META AFTER THE CUSTOMS I PAID FOR IT. This time I get my phone out and manage to look up the tracking with 3% battery and show him the screen before it dies. He looks at it, puzzled, goes around the back and 5-10 minutes later he emerges with my motherfucking skirt
I'm usually bad at being persistent with complaints and stuff so I'm glad I didn't let him turn me away.
>>8703804
That's such a nightmare but at least you got your item in the end.
>>8667697
Joann.com shipping is the absolute fucking worst - it took 4-5 fucking weeks for a sample to arrive, and when it got there we had to go down to the post office to pay extra because they hadn't put the right amount of postage on it.
Not sure if you figured this out, but one thing I had to do once was get a friend in a different state to buy it at their location, and then mail it to me.
Joanns is the worst. I ordered several fabrics from them and waited and waited. One cancelled due to being out of stock, the others apparently shipped according to their site. When I get the package the one that cancelled is in the package and none of the several other types and yards are there (amounting to around $60 worth of fabric, but I'm being refunded for 2 yards that I received, amounting to about $14). After several calls progressively angrier, nothing is done and I call my credit card company to get them involved.
Refunded after almost 2 months of arguing.
On a separate occasion, I ordered an Ottlite on sale (super awesome light for my sewing and study areas). I never got that, either. After a little over a week they cancelled the order due to out of stock. The item was still in stock on their website.
Never ordering from them again.
>fairly large package from Japan
>gets seized by customs
>wait for my notice
>3 weeks later, still doesn't come
>fuck it, I'll just storm in
>get there
>expects the worst (customs in my country is notoriously bad and I once had to pay 60% the cost of one of my packages)
>everyone is really friendly
>process takes up less than 10 minutes
>only had to pay what amounted to 2 dollars
>...huh
tl;dr I thought I was going to have a mail horror story but everything came out better than expected
>>8706128
I'm so happy for you anon, especially considering the past 60% horror.
