Current shipping status (Ebay, Giantoy, KGHobby, etc)

skywalkersaga wrote:

GeeWillikers wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:I hate this situation so much, for everyone's sake. Just so stressful. :[

Currently, I'm mainly worried cause I have something I need to send internationally, and I'm vacillating over whether to rush to the post office first thing Monday just to get it sent out asap, or risk having to wait possibly a couple weeks to who knows how long to send it....

It's the panic-buying that's making everything so difficult at the moment.

As for sending stuff out, it's a real dilemma. Send it now, you risk it disappearing in a landslide of mail. Send it later, it could take forever to get where its going. I think we're going to be stuck with this situation for at least a couple of months, now.

Yeah, agreed. People acting like Crazies is not helping.

And argh, that's my concern as well. I feel like regardless, I'm screwed. I'm considering just taking the risk and sending it, but with as much of an expedited and tracked service as possible. Don't know how much of a difference that would make, though.

The solution I came up with cancelling all my items for sale on every platform until things are safe. I saw the UK prob from months away back when the outbreak was just in China so was well prepared for what I'd need to do but obviously for others it feels like out of the blue things are suddenly getting weird. Just take care whatever you do.

I saw it coming too and have stopped all my selling activity on eBay for a while now (especially internationally). But this particular parcel is a personal one, which is why I’m so keen to get it sent. I guess it’s probably not worth the health risk and/or risk of it getting lost though ... :/

skywalkersaga wrote:I saw it coming too and have stopped all my selling activity on eBay for a while now (especially internationally). But this particular parcel is a personal one, which is why I’m so keen to get it sent. I guess it’s probably not worth the health risk and/or risk of it getting lost though ... :/

What about getting the parcel collected by courier? you only have contact with one person then and can take precautions, plus such options usually come with tracking and insurance. maybe worth a try

Thanks, I will look into that!

So yeah, I reckon that's the UK postal system gone up the spout for a while. I've got three packages all waiting to show, at least two of which I should have received by last week, and all I'm getting are local letters and junk mail.

The junk mail always gets through...

Yeah, things are getting crazy.... not fun times.

I did manage to send out that package in the end....but whether or not it will reach its destination, or if I shall still be around to even know if it does, is another matter.

My latest GianToy order is certainly less speedy than I've come to expect, let's put it that way.

skywalkersaga wrote:Yeah, things are getting crazy.... not fun times.

I did manage to send out that package in the end....but whether or not it will reach its destination, or if I shall still be around to even know if it does, is another matter.

Unless you're over 70 years old or in a 'vulnerable group' you should eventually be completely OK even if you do catch it. That's how I'm looking at it anyway - a massive inconvenience that we'll all have to go through for a few months, with added national hysteria thrown in.

The heads I ordered from OSK each arrived within ONE week.
But the body I ordered two weeks ago from Giantoy is still in transit. Status = "Dispatch from Sorting Center" in China since March 8.

Seems like my GianToy order has now been received by the regional depot, so I should have it in a day or so. So by my reckoning, that's 5-6 days slower than usual (and I'm confident the slowdown is at this end in the UK, rather than in China).

Not too bad, considering.

AerynDiana wrote: ... the body I ordered two weeks ago from Giantoy is still in transit. Status = "Dispatch from Sorting Center" in China since March 8.

Am I right in thinking you're in Germany?

There's a shipping info guide here if you haven't seen it (scroll down)
https://giantoy.com/blogs/news/service-recovered-we-are-shipping-as-usual-now
but unfortunately they seem to have duplicated the info for Australia in the field for Germany.

It's interesting (for me at least) to note that given the 'special arrangement' they have with UK Royal Mail, how much more detailed their shipping info is for the UK.

Best thing to do if you're actually worried about your package is to 'Ask Amelia' - quick, helpful and friendly.

GeeWillikers wrote:

AerynDiana wrote: ... the body I ordered two weeks ago from Giantoy is still in transit. Status = "Dispatch from Sorting Center" in China since March 8.

Am I right in thinking you're in Germany?

There's a shipping info guide here if you haven't seen it (scroll down)
https://giantoy.com/blogs/news/service-recovered-we-are-shipping-as-usual-now
but unfortunately they seem to have duplicated the info for Australia in the field for Germany.

It's interesting (for me at least) to note that given the 'special arrangement' they have with UK Royal Mail, how much more detailed their shipping info is for the UK.

Best thing to do if you're actually worried about your package is to 'Ask Amelia' - quick, helpful and friendly.

Yes, I am in Germany and we're shutting down right now. Gastronomy has to close up at 18:00. Partially at 15:00 even.
But the status seems to be stuck in China, so I'll give it a few more days and then I'll contact her. I know her to be very helpful.

On another note: An Ebay order from March 8 arrived today (11 days). The seller was yy_store17. They sent a gift, too!

AerynDiana wrote:On another note: An Ebay order from March 8 arrived today (11 days). The seller was yy_store17. They sent a gift, too!

Good seller, if a little expensive - I get lots of little accessories from them.

I got my GianToy package this morning - a little earlier than expected! The postman knocked on the door, left it outside the door and ran away.

Went on GianToy's site to pick up a body, to see that thanks to the plummeting pound (GB£) prices have zoomed up overnight.

Also got my GianToy order yesterday! And picked up another figure from customs...i was the only person at customs lol

The last figure I bought and received took over 3 weeks from a UK seller. Well, it was basically 3 weeks to dispatch, arrived couple days after posting. Another parcel I ordered from a UK seller that arrived today took a week after posting via RM 2nd class, while another parcel that arrived today took only 2 days from Germany via DPD. As for stuff from Asia, waiting on one from China and another from Malaysia. will see how long it takes them to arrive.

My Play Toys Iron Man from China arrived a couple days ago so only took a week-ish to get here while the Stealth Ultraman and Ultra 7 kits from Malaysia arrived yesterday after 2 weeks in transit. They went through customs quick enough so post seems to be running smoothly so far, though one small item from UK seller never arrived after almost two weeks so they sent a replacement which took only a day or two to get here.

My Giantoy body finally arrived a few days ago.
A head I ordered from seller nuoya2012 in HK arrived after exactly two weeks.

Waiting on a couple of Samurai swords now, but it hasn't even been two weeks.

Ordered a head from OneSixthKit yesterday, only to be informed by him this morning that there is currently no air mail at all from Hong Kong to the UK, so unless I feel like waiting months for it to - possibly - arrive by surface mail, I should probably cancel my order and if I still want it just wait for him to let me know when Air Mail is reinstated. Nice of him to give me a heads-up rather than just send it slo-mo, but still disappointing.

Also got a head on the way from GianToy, just to test the shipping time, and unsurprisingly it's taking longer than usual...

Oh geez — I just ordered something from Hong Kong from an eBay seller and now wondering if I should cancel. I also have something that I shipped internationally over a month ago and which is stuck in limbo somewhere and, according to the tracking, hasn’t even left the UK. Don’t care if it takes months to reach the recipient, I just hope it’s not lost ....

I've been waiting for a couple of orders from Giantoy, too. They sent it off, but it's just sitting there with no movement.

My recent shipping experiences to the UK have been mixed. I have a parcel from OneSixthKit that has been stuck at Hong Kong airport since 11 March. However a later parcel from ThreeZero sent by EMS (so handled via ParcelForce in the UK rather than Royal Mail) arrived no problem. I have another parcel from Giantoy also via EMS en-route (left China a week ago) which is different to Giantoy's usual UK shipping method (although not sure if this is due to the parcel size or issues with their normal shipper).

Ordering from Quick-Toy in France using DPD Europe was super quick - even quicker than usual. Posted last Friday arrived Monday.

eBay orders from China shipped using SpeedPAK/Orangeconnex (i.e. those with long tracking number starting ES) also appear to be operating normally (so taking slightly over a week).

Thanks for sharing your experiences, JYMachine. It's odd what is faster and what is slower atm....not always what one would expect. I know it mainly has to do with what kinds of flights are currently available and to where.

My main concern is to do with items that end up 'stuck' at airports for long periods of time. I'm worried these are the ones that will get lost, even if they are still ostensibly showing up via tracking. I wish there were a way to at least find some reassurance on that score. Cause honestly I don't care about parcels being slow, I only get upset and worried if I fear they are lost.

I had missing parts for the custom Lady Sif project (from a Freaks member) that started shipping in February from the Ukraine — they arrived three days ago. Nut Pizs, a custom artist who made haired Hela (Cate Blanchet) head sculpts, contacted me last week to say mine was finished, and told me his country wasn’t shipping to the US at the moment. If I wanted I could have opened an account with Fed Ex and he’d send an invoice to them to have it shipped, or I could wait for things to start shipping again normally (I opted for the latter — shipping from Asia with Fed Ex would have been ridiculously expensive). I’m really looking forward to having a Goth Cate Hela on the shelf, but I’ve waited a year and a half already, I can wait a little longer.

Stryker2011 wrote:I had missing parts for the custom Lady Sif project (from a Freaks member) that started shipping in February from the Ukraine — they arrived three days ago. Nut Pizs, a custom artist who made haired Hela (Cate Blanchet) head sculpts, contactEd me last week to say mine was finished, and told me his country wasn’t shipping to the US at the moment. If I wanted I could have opened an account with Fed Ex and he’d send an invoice to them to have it shipped, or I could wait for things to start shipping again normally (I opted for the latter — shipping from Asia with Fed Ex would have been ridiculously expensive). I’m really looking forward to having a Goth Cate Hela on the shelf, but I’ve waited a year and a half already, I can wait a little longer.

I think parts of the Ukraine were having disrupted postal service even *before* the pandemic, so I can imagine that it's only gotten worse since then.

Regarding the Hela head, it sounds like you made the smart decision to wait. In my case, I was actually sending something out *to* be customized -- probably a foolish thing to do right as the pandemic was hitting the UK. I knew there'd be a risk, but I was that desperate to get the project completed that I took it anyway. Hope it isn't lost now. :/

JYMachine wrote:I have another parcel from Giantoy also via EMS en-route (left China a week ago) which is different to Giantoy's usual UK shipping method (although not sure if this is due to the parcel size or issues with their normal shipper).

Could well just be the size - my head sculpt from GT (which tracking tells me set out last Friday) is moving through the usual channels, just more slowly than normal. Normally it would be here in my hand by now but tracking tells me it hasn't even reached the UK yet.

I also buy a lot of basic kitbashing materials (paint, glues etc) from within the UK and even those are taking much longer to reach me than usual.

I share sky's concerns - it isn't the waiting for items, it's the chance they'll be left to gather dust at an airport warehouse and get forgotten and then lost. I'm having to sit on my hands trying not to buy stuff at the moment purely because of that.

GeeWillikers wrote:

JYMachine wrote:I have another parcel from Giantoy also via EMS en-route (left China a week ago) which is different to Giantoy's usual UK shipping method (although not sure if this is due to the parcel size or issues with their normal shipper).

Could well just be the size - my head sculpt from GT (which tracking tells me set out last Friday) is moving through the usual channels, just more slowly than normal. Normally it would be here in my hand by now but tracking tells me it hasn't even reached the UK yet.

I also buy a lot of basic kitbashing materials (paint, glues etc) from within the UK and even those are taking much longer to reach me than usual.

I share sky's concerns - it isn't the waiting for items, it's the chance they'll be left to gather dust at an airport warehouse and get forgotten and then lost. I'm having to sit on my hands trying not to buy stuff at the moment purely because of that.

While I tend to be one of those that buys a LOT of stuff from Asia (due to the lower prices and free shipping), I've been buying more stuff from the US due to impatience; I guess I'm willing to pay the extra price gouging bucks per item -- mainly because I'm worried the things might sell out that -- which is good for the seller, but not so good for my bank account.

Stryker2011 wrote:

GeeWillikers wrote:

JYMachine wrote:I have another parcel from Giantoy also via EMS en-route (left China a week ago) which is different to Giantoy's usual UK shipping method (although not sure if this is due to the parcel size or issues with their normal shipper).

Could well just be the size - my head sculpt from GT (which tracking tells me set out last Friday) is moving through the usual channels, just more slowly than normal. Normally it would be here in my hand by now but tracking tells me it hasn't even reached the UK yet.

I also buy a lot of basic kitbashing materials (paint, glues etc) from within the UK and even those are taking much longer to reach me than usual.

I share sky's concerns - it isn't the waiting for items, it's the chance they'll be left to gather dust at an airport warehouse and get forgotten and then lost. I'm having to sit on my hands trying not to buy stuff at the moment purely because of that.

While I tend to be one of those that buys a LOT of stuff from Asia (due to the lower prices and free shipping), I've been buying more stuff from the US due to impatience; I guess I'm willing to pay the extra price gouging bucks per item -- mainly because I'm worried the things might sell out that -- which is good for the seller, but not so good for my bank account.

I'd love to buy more stuff from the US and even with snail mail it's quicker than most Asian sellers, but the shipping charges between the US and UK are just ridiculous now - up to three times the cost of the item you're buying, sometimes. In fact Monkey Depot are the only US seller I'll deal with these days, as well as being very reasonable on their item prices they're the only US seller I've found who offers low cost international shipping.

The US to UK shipping costs are indeed the worst. And then you get hit with the customs charges on top of it.... ugh. There’s currently something that costs about 35 gbp that I was eyeing up, but with shipping and customs the total would have been three times that!

I hope everyone is staying well, safe and healthy in these difficult times.  I know that some of our number have been laid off, and I hope you are not facing too many difficulties as a result.

I suppose I'm lucky in saying that the biggest complaint I have is that it's now two straight weeks I've received no mail at all.  Normally, this is something that pleases me. No mail, no bills to pay. This being said, I have no less than seven (7) separate parts orders I've been waiting for from Monkey Depot, the oldest of which is a month old today. This fact reveals another problem: to wit, that I have become a 1/6th scale addict who checks the Monkey Depot site religiously every night around 7-8pm when they post their daily stock updates and that I have been buying stuff nearly twice a week.  But that's another problem entirely.

I live in Canada and Arizona is pretty damned far away, but normally, it takes only about two weeks to get my stuff. I'm told that the COVID situation is making it take longer for stuff to cross the border and, perhaps more importantly, that Canada Post is experiencing Christmas time parcel shipments as people are doing all their shopping online during the crisis.  So I'm just curious if anyone else has had a problem and if so, please feel free to vent your frustration and or horror stories here.  I'd like to read them an know I'm not alone.  

The spring has been usually cold here and my plans to shoot outdoors have been thwarted again and again by the cold weather. That, plus a lot of parks are closed because of the pandemic.  Tomorrow however promises to be sunny and marginally warm; 12 deg Celsius : about 54 Fahrenheit to those living in America.  Not great, but acceptable, so barring the unforeseen, I'm going to try take several of my figures to the place in this picture and try to shoot photos for a story I've had in my head a few days.

The firefight05 by Gary Menten, on Flickr

I'd really hoped to have at least half of the parts I've ordered since Mar 24 as these would come in handy for this shoot, but I'll just work my way around it.  

Good luck and good health to you all.

Some of the stuff I ordered from China in January is just arriving now.

As for outgoing parcels, it typically takes 3-4 weeks to reach a destination in the US. However, Australia Post advises that because of flight restrictions, there are delays of 2-3 weeks. On top of that, staff shortages and the current high workload in Postal and Customs services are causing delays of an additional week or so.

Keep in mind that the vast majority of air mail is sent via passenger planes. 96% of passenger flights have been suspended so couriers have to wait for a flight to become available before they can send anything.