westform Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 So, my last two OA deals with Europe. 1st one shipped from Germany (dhl then via usps) lost! 2nd one shipped by me to Belgium (usps then via fedex) lost! 2 for 2 lost! I have never before had a package lost to or from overseas in 30 years of collecting. What gives? Are others experiencing a breakdown of these systems? tth2, onlyweaknesskryptonite, Ecclectica and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceHole Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 Within the last 3 months...I have mailed a page to and received one from Belgium. Both without a problem. The one that came to me from Belgium was with DHL, every package that comes into the country from DHL is opened and checked by DHL in transit and repackaged...it'll be covered in their yellow tape. They removed the art from the board and taped it back on. A toploader is always needed. 6 months ago I mailed a page to Paris using USPS and it came back to me deliverable...switched it out to FedEx with same address and had no problem. All in all...it all sucks with the international shipping. grapeape and Ecclectica 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twanj Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 UPS delivered my last shipment from the UK to my neighbor 10 houses down. Had to knock on most doors on the street to get it back luckily! grapeape, Ecclectica, delekkerste and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapeape Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 On 3/11/2024 at 9:43 AM, westform said: So, my last two OA deals with Europe. 1st one shipped from Germany (dhl then via usps) lost! 2nd one shipped by me to Belgium (usps then via fedex) lost! 2 for 2 lost! I have never before had a package lost to or from overseas in 30 years of collecting. What gives? Are others experiencing a breakdown of these systems? I heard that Overseas thiefs have figured out our packaging. They are lifting the art, probably with inside help. I don't mean to disparage in totality the overseas shipping professionals. I'm so not confident that I won't ship art overseas for private sales or auctions like ebay. Its different with people I know, but I can't take the stress of holding my breath and hoping nothing goes wrong. I hope this is not the case with your art. Hopefully this is clerical and be tracked down and set on course. Best of luck, I'm rooting for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-m Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 I have had multiple shipments from Italy, France, Spain, UK and Germany without issue. I prefer FedEx or DHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xatari Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 (edited) Apparently there is a situation with the large USPS hub in Atlanta due to a remodel. Most of my packages coming through there are getting delayed. Edited March 12 by Xatari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pemart1966 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 On 3/11/2024 at 1:36 PM, Twanj said: UPS delivered my last shipment from the UK to my neighbor 10 houses down. Had to knock on most doors on the street to get it back luckily! UPS is atrocious. Twanj and MAR1979 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post westform Posted March 30 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 30 Well after I put in a claim, the package has been found and has made it’s way to Belgium. Fingers crossed for delivery next week! batman_fan, Will_K, mlansdown and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlansdown Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Hi Dan - I'm currently waiting on a package of Dennis the Menace art from Germany. DHL tracking looks good so far. Fingers crossed for your package and mine! westform and batman_fan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westform Posted April 1 Author Share Posted April 1 On 3/31/2024 at 3:12 PM, mlansdown said: Hi Dan - I'm currently waiting on a package of Dennis the Menace art from Germany. DHL tracking looks good so far. Fingers crossed for your package and mine! Hi Mark, good luck and I will have fingers crossed for you. And, hope to see what you get in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unca Ben Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 On 3/11/2024 at 9:43 AM, westform said: So, my last two OA deals with Europe. 1st one shipped from Germany (dhl then via usps) lost! 2nd one shipped by me to Belgium (usps then via fedex) lost! 2 for 2 lost! I have never before had a package lost to or from overseas in 30 years of collecting. What gives? Are others experiencing a breakdown of these systems? I had a package hit customs in SF and then sit there for about a month (I guess it sat there) I did the usual reports and inquiries. finally it broke loose and made it to Europe in less than a week. This was USPS. had a couple other packages get delayed 2-3-4 weeks with no tracking updates but they did finally make it to their European destinations. I think one was going on 5-6 weeks. USPS. Now I use FedEx International 2 day shipping. costs more but worth the piece of mind. Nothing delayed or lost, so far (knock wood) . Twanj and Andahaion 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyNameIsLegion Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 (edited) I've said it before, and I"ll say it again, I don't ship to the IFS, (Italy, France, Spain) because it's iffy if it gets there. I'm willing to add Belgium to the list, and call it the BIFS, but "biffy" isn't as pithy as "iffy" Edited April 19 by MyNameIsLegion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unca Ben Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 I think one of the things is that when I ship using USPS, it gets handed off to a different carrier when it gets to the destination country and the different carrier depends on which country. I believe FedEx handles it all the way thru. So FedEx is solely responsible for the entire delivery where the other way 'round can become a game of hot potato if something goes wrong. Also, FedEx has it's own customs (?) which simplifies things. If any of this is wrong, please let me know. Twanj 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobster Janson Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 (edited) I'm in Belgium and have shipped and received over 200 packages with art abroad. My major takeaway: be careful when using national postal services (usps etc) as they work together with other national postal services and that's where problems usually begin. I've had packages being held for over a year and none of the postal services having any idea where the package is. And then having the package arrive out of the blue. When I want art shipped that is expensive or very dear to me, I always ask to use FedEx or UPS as, so far, this has never led to any issues and they are much, much faster than any national service. Yes, they are more expensive, but peace of mind is worth it. Edited April 22 by Lobster Janson Unca Ben, Will_K and tth2 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyflow33 Posted Monday at 02:33 PM Share Posted Monday at 02:33 PM On 4/22/2024 at 3:32 AM, Lobster Janson said: I'm in Belgium and have shipped and received over 200 packages with art abroad. My major takeaway: be careful when using national postal services (usps etc) as they work together with other national postal services and that's where problems usually begin. I've had packages being held for over a year and none of the postal services having any idea where the package is. And then having the package arrive out of the blue. When I want art shipped that is expensive or very dear to me, I always ask to use FedEx or UPS as, so far, this has never led to any issues and they are much, much faster than any national service. Yes, they are more expensive, but peace of mind is worth it. I've found out that if you find a helpful USPS worker at the store they have an enhanced tracking system that allows them to see way more detail than what customers see on tracking sites. I've had items in customs limbo before and my local USPS has been able to help track down the package and get it moving again. Finding a helpful postal employee is not easy though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain ShipWreck Posted Monday at 02:49 PM Share Posted Monday at 02:49 PM On 4/22/2024 at 10:33 AM, Hockeyflow33 said: I've found out that if you find a helpful USPS worker at the store they have an enhanced tracking system that allows them to see way more detail than what customers see on tracking sites. I've had items in customs limbo before and my local USPS has been able to help track down the package and get it moving again. Finding a helpful postal employee is not easy though! It's their "Intranet" system. If a package seems lost or hasn't moved in 3-5 days call and ask if there is any movement on that end and they can check. You still need to find a non lazy employee to look but if you request it there's a better chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
