It's usually about 3 weeks for me in Texas, anyways.

 

I ordered O&P springer from toybot importz on the 24th-ish of November and I haven't been notified about shipping or anything, i got an email confirming the payment but that's it. Should I be worried?

 

I hope I'm not speaking for the entire community here... But, does commenting on shipping from China not fall in line with many of the other threads surrounding this hobby?

When ordering from across the pacific pond, it seems that the package is sucked into the accretion disk of a black hole. Sometimes there is radio silence for a couple weeks. And then...

Maybe something arrives.

This doesn't happen when I order handmade Viking weaponry and jewelry from Grimmfrost in Norway. (If you ever wanted to drink out of a ram horn, that's your place to acquire one.)

This doesn't happen when I order vinyl from Japan or Europe. However sometimes the records do not include an MP3 download card.

But seriously... if there other options that involve a more local retailer wherein I can acquire the items that I am currently purchasing from China, please let me know!!

When an item is available at retailers in the States, I do purchase the item from those retailers. But the items I have been purchasing do not appear to be available by retailers in the U.S. So, if there are local options wherein I can avoid shipping from China, please clue me in!!

Having a forum wherein we can voice our concerns and see that others are experiencing a remarkably similar set of circumstances with respect to our difficult to acquire purchases is not magic. It's not alchemy.It's not particle physics or string theory. And you are exactly right... It's not going to make your item or my item arrive.

Have you heard different? Is there an incantation I can speak that will ensure the items I paid earthly money for will arrive? How much blood do I need? Do I need to dig up a grave? Should I visit a scrap yard? Will I need to travel to Vector Sigma?! Are there husks of motherboards and other machinations that I can offer to the technodeities that will grant me the items I paid for? My moniker is Necrobot after all.

Also, do you know of any way I can make a tear in the space/time continuum so I can simply make a tear between my house and the Show.Z warehouse? That would eliminate the need for anyone to ever create a thread such as this one, ever again.

Cheers!!

 

I have one with ems, 3 weeks no update

 

...what works for me is to sit tight for six weeks, and then if i still haven’t seen a tracking update, to inquire with the retailer...

...at ninety days, if i don’t yet have comfortable reassurance that delivery is pending soon, i’d consider seeking remedy, but none of my shipments from asia have ever lingered that long...

 

Other countries seem to have it together regarding shipping as opposed to China. This might be due to several reasons, including delays, logistic issues, or just how the country as a whole is ran.

For example, CNY is a nearly month long celebration that puts the entire country on literal pause. Other countries, such as France, have a mindset regarding customer service in that you should feel lucky you are shopping from them, and not the other way around.

The point is, other countries have specific ways of doing things that we're not used to. The US is a country known for demanding instant gratification. We have everything available at our fingertips, from information it ordering a pizza.

While I agree with the sentiments above in regards to having to wait, a little patience goes a long way.

I mean, I'm beyond excited and anxious to get that new toy just so it can sit on my shelf for months, untouched until I decide I need to dust the shelves.

Edit: to clarify, I'm not defending anyone. Waiting sucks, bar none. But when it comes to a place like China that has a long wait time, it becomes par for the course.

 

The only thing that hasn't hit the US that I've ordered this month is my Alcee head.

 

The Chinese have no incentive to improve. They have a customer base that will put up with absolutely anything for the promise of lower prices.

 

All of this is true. And it's not like I am never going to order from China again.

THF has a KO MP-36 under the name Dynastron that speaks with Frank Welker's voice. And where am I going to find this little gem?

China, that's where.

Patience is a hard learned virtue.

It sad when it's easier to acquire contraband than Transformers.

 

I think it's just related to this time of year - I've had probably about 10 orders from China this year (maybe less, mind is as fuzzy now as it is when I explain how much I've spent on toys this year  ) and all arrived within 3 weeks. Best being 6 days, one 7 days, and most others around or before the two week mark.

This really is a practice in patience this last order though. Sucky, because it's my first foray into better quality bots (THF soundwave and family, and an mp21 KO). So much so I bought MP10 and MP36 (genuine) off these boards this week xD

 

The package I ordered from Robotoybase just showed up on my porch yesterday. No updates anywhere from "Origin post Hong Kong is preparing your package" to "Delivered, left on front porch".

I had gone to USPS and asked for them and it just didn't happen at all. Odd.

 

And soon we'll see posts complaining about retailers saying it's their fault. Refund for slow shipping season is coming

 

When did you place your order? I'm waiting on 2 from 11/11 (processed 11/18)?

 

I shouldn't have done it... but I checked my CNE shipping status. still no movement since the November 21 status of "Posting"... whatever that means.

Now I am not sure if I will ever receive the THF Sonic Wave I ordered.

Is there a Chinese shipping glossary? What does "posting" mean, and how can I box be "posting" for 18 days?!

The KBB Thrust and YM Ramjet I ordered in September were listed with a status of "posting". But that status lasted ONE DAY.

Although I do not keep a log of delivery time-frames specific to China, a review of my shipment emails tells alot.

Last year around this time, China became very inconsistent with respect to my orders. I thought it was the retailer... I feel terrible about that because I now believe it was always the Chinese courier/shipping services.

How did I come to this revelation?

After a review of my order and purchase history and their associated shipping emails, I began to put together a trend...

I ordered a KO Prowl from the Amazon Best Grey retailer page on October 16, 2016 and received it on November 3, 2016. Not bad!!

I ordered a KO Wheeljack on November 9, 2016 from the same Amazon Best Grey page, and never received it. I contacted Amazon in January of 2017 and eventually got my refund.

I would still receive Best Grey's emails about different KO Transformers he was selling...

So in April of 2017, I figured I would risk the hassle (the 2 pack was only $20.00) and ordered the KO Ravage and Rumble(Frenzy) from Best Grey. Sure enough, I received them without issue. Then I reordered the KO Wheeljack in mid May and received that in June.

I ordered the KBB Starburst in August and received that as well in about three weeks.

The trend I am seeing is that ordering Transformers from our preferred Chinese retailers can be reliable... until the month of November occurs.

After November, and until about March... the reliability of China's shipping services is a mixed bag.

I think that from now on, I will only order stuff from China between the months of March through October.

Umm... Cheers?

 

Yeah that's when I ordered mine and I ordered it with Airmail too so I paid more for faster post.

 

Well I feel for you guys that paid for shipping, I typically only order ridiculously cheap stuff with free shipping. So slow is kind of expected on my part. But seriously it's china, just the sheer volume of stuff coming out of the country especially around Christmas and other holidays. Dirt cheap stuff, with free shipping, sometimes I feel like there are container ships leaving the port and anything they can throw from the shore that makes it is fair game. And that's how eBay epackets are born kids.

 

My Big Yellow Bee I ordered hasn't updated since posting. EMS must be absolutely slammed.

 

I've got two different orders that are taking their sweet time as well. As bith are respected sellers (and both are in the tracking system now) I'm not strongly worried. But I have a feeling this will be one of those times where it takes over a month for sir toys to arrive (that's happened a few times).

Of course sometimes there is virtually no update and then it's just suddenly on your porch one day. That's happened more than once as well.

I agree with the sentiments of others. I do try to avoid ordering from China, but sometimes (especially with KO's) their is either no choice or the next best option is much, much more expensive. I'll definitely pay a bit more to avoid China when it's a realistic option.

 

I don't how it happened, but my GF ordered Phoenix for my Xmas on the 22nd. No updates about shipping, even acceptance, until the 1st (when it was accepted) and made it all the way here (again, without any updates) on the 8th.

Tracking was only updated after delivery. Super lucky, meanwhile my yesmodel Sunstorm I ordered the same day is lost at processing thru whatever warehouse.

It truly is, "your mileage will vary" when it comes to China post.

 

On a related topic, I had something sent via HK post that was posted, crossed the Pacific, and cleared Customs in TWO DAYS. I'm looking at a delivery within five days of it being dropped off at the postal outlet, apparently.