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USPS Shipping - How long to UK?


Roland Rock
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I've had an item sent from the States on the 17th October. The tracking number, when entered into the USPS site, comes up with the following:

Date & Time: October 19, 2013
Status of Item: Electronic Shipping Info Received
Location:

Their elaboration of this status is as follows:
"Electronic Shipping Info Received: The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on October 19, 2013 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if/when available. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later."

So it reads to me like they haven't even received the physical item! The sender assures me it has been sent.

Anyone know about this system, or how long these things usually take?

Edited by Roland Rock
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[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1383070756' post='2259870']
Depends on the service. The cheaper ones have little or no tracking. You just have to wait. Can take weeks. Be patient :)
[/quote]

I've had similar experiences too, it'll get here eventually

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Not sure if it helps but I used to get small packages from the States on a regular basis (not 'those' kinds of packages B)[size=4] [/size][size=4] ) and sometimes they'd arrive literally days after purchase yet I've known others take almost a month and I was in receipt of the same type of tracking info as you; in fact some showed as you have described even AFTER I had received them. :huh:[/size]

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[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1383066235' post='2259782']
I've had an item sent from the States on the 17th October. The tracking number, when entered into the USPS site, comes up with the following:

Date & Time: October 19, 2013
Status of Item: Electronic Shipping Info Received
Location:

Their elaboration of this status is as follows:
"Electronic Shipping Info Received: The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on October 19, 2013 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if/when available. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later."

So it reads to me like they haven't even received the physical item! The sender assures me it has been sent.

Anyone know about this system, or how long these things usually take?
[/quote]

Hi Roland, I ship stuff regulaly USPS to the U.K, so maybe I can help .

A lot depends on what service the sender has signed up for . I always use Priority Mail Express International , but I am shipping fairly large high value items that I don't want hanging about . A small package sent as cheaply as possible might go via a slower service . Does it say on the notification which service the package is coming via? USPS is by far the cheapest way to ship U.S to U.K that I have ever found and I have been at this game a long time , so if the seller in the States has been too tight to fork out a little more for air freight on a small item then that is regrettable because the airmail prices are so cheap that it doesn't seem worth even considering the alternative. .

In every instance using the Express service , I get the electronic notification you mention from the person shipping ( it's probably generated when they notify USPS that they want to ship an item and arrange collection ) , and then usually two to three days later the next notification I get is that the item is ready for international despatch . The next notification after that is usually 48-72 hours later that the item is in the U.K and then entering into Customs . All in all , one way or another , it almost always takes exactly ten days from the initial electronic notification to the item arriving at its' final destination in the U.K . There can be slight variation in that timescale depending on whereabouts in the U.S.A the item originates, but from most major urban centres, about ten to twelve days, though .

Edited by Dingus
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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1383148905' post='2260813']


Hi Roland, I ship stuff regulaly USPS to the U.K, so maybe I can help .

A lot depends on what service the sender has signed up for . I always use Priority Mail Express International , but I am shipping fairly large high value items that I don't want hanging about . A small package sent as cheaply as possible might go via a slower service . Does it say on the notification which service the package is coming via? USPS is by far the cheapest way to ship U.S to U.K that I have ever found and I have been at this game a long time , so if the seller in the States has been too tight to fork out a little more for air freight on a small item then that is regrettable because the airmail prices are so cheap that it doesn't seem worth even considering the alternative. .

In every instance using the Express service , I get the electronic notification you mention from the person shipping ( it's probably generated when they notify USPS that they want to ship an item and arrange collection ) , and then usually two to three days later the next notification I get is that the item is ready for international despatch . The next notification after that is usually 48-72 hours later that the item is in the U.K and then entering into Customs . All in all , one way or another , it almost always takes exactly ten days from the initial electronic notification to the item arriving at its' final destination in the U.K . There can be slight variation in that timescale depending on whereabouts in the U.S.A the item originates, but from most major urban centres, about ten to twelve days, though .
[/quote]

Thanks Dingus and everyone else.,
The service, ironically, is called Global Priority, and the parcel is coming from Texas

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[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1383150193' post='2260837']
Thanks Dingus and everyone else.,
The service, ironically, is called Global Priority, and the parcel is coming from Texas
[/quote]

I don't want to speak too soon or be alarmist, but Global Priority is the express airmail service , and if the item was dispatched on or around the notification date then it should be with you by now , or at least well on its' way . Global Priority items are supposed to get priority preference both in the U.S.A and on arrival in the U.K .

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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1383151348' post='2260865']


I don't want to speak too soon or be alarmist, but Global Priority is the express airmail service , and if the item was dispatched on or around the notification date then it should be with you by now , or at least well on its' way . Global Priority items are supposed to get priority preference both in the U.S.A and on arrival in the U.K .
[/quote]

I've just checked, and progress!! As of half an hour ago, it has made it to New Orleans. Texas to Louisiana in ten days. I've driven from Houston to New Orleans, and if I remember correctly, it took about six hours.

Ah well, I'm relieved to see that it exists, and has moved. Not much I can do about the time it takes I suppose.

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Definitely track it coz when it arrives at your local Parcel Force depot, they will send you a letter telling you it has arrived which will take another few days. Once the tracking says "at local depot" you can go and collect it.

I have a parcel which was sent from California via USPS Priority Express on the 24th Oct. It cleared UK customs today so should be at my local depot tomorrow or friday.

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