Are China Discount Sellers Delivery Time Possible or Impossible?

[ChinaAzzi]

As you may have notice I’ve been studying China discount resellers over the past few weeks. I know the products they are buying in Shenzhen and can say because of past experience that the quality is above average and in many cases the product and or knockoffs are so good that you would have to be an expert to tell the difference. The biggest problem they face is inexpensive delivery of the product from China to you. They need this to make their low price offer attractive to buyers in the USA, Europe, Australia etc. There are 3 types of shipping they use and they are Hong Kong Air mail without tracking, Hong Kong Registered Air mail with tracking and Swiss Post with tracking. Tracking costs a lot more money to provide than no tracking but I for one would not buy a product from China without knowing that it was shipped. Each of these companies state the time it takes for a package to go door to door and I feel these companies should be accountable for this claim and if it takes longer than the time stated on their site they should immediate make a refund at the customers request. At the same time I believe that customers should know how long it takes in real time for these delivery companies.

Tomorrow is the end of the Chinese New Year and I will start a few tests to see how long it takes Hong Kong Registered Air Mail vs Swiss Post to go to the same location and see if it is within the time that these sites claim it will take. The test is very easy because the same agent in Shenzhen accepts both packages so that each will get an equal start. I will post the tracking numbers here for you to track and I will also keep you informed. This I feel will help you in the furture in diciding if buying from these companies is worth the wait or maybe to pay a bit more and buy it locally where you know that delivery will happen within days.

 

[h1r0ll3r]

From previous experience, I've gotten items from China anywhere from within 5 days to 5 weeks. The most I've ever gotten from them was an email notification that my package had shipped and that it would take anywhere from 10-30 business days. Having ordered items so frequently from China, I just expect this as the norm since everything I've bought is so cheap. While I would prefer faster shipments as well as some tracking information, I'm not too hung up on this as I've always gotten my items eventually.

 

[ChinaAzzi]

From previous experience, I've gotten items from China anywhere from within 5 days to 5 weeks. The most I've ever gotten from them was an email notification that my package had shipped and that it would take anywhere from 10-30 business days. Having ordered items so frequently from China, I just expect this as the norm since everything I've bought is so cheap. While I would prefer faster shipments as well as some tracking information, I'm not too hung up on this as I've always gotten my items eventually.

Those that took 5 weeks did you ask for a refund or did they offer a refund?
Do you mind posting which company(s) you buy from do not offer tracking?

Tonight a 7 pm as part of my test I will send 2 packages addressed to the same address in Canada, Ontario, Newmarket. One by Hong Kong Registered Air Mail and the other by Swiss Post. I will post the tracking numbers later this evening.

 

[kiwabags]

In general, sellers are not responsible for shipping times when using standard postal service. However, if they promise on their websites that the item will get to in in x days, I agree you can ask for a refund.

Standard postal service packages to the US can take weeks (no matter if they come from China, Europe or Australia). This is partially due to increased Homeland Security safety measures. Seller forums are full of horror stories about this. And as you mentioned you have your test packages sent to Canada: it seems like even parcels from the US can take weeks to get to Canada (from what I read).

After all, you get what you pay for. If you only want to spend 3 US$ on international shipping, you should be prepared to wait up to 6 weeks.

I ship from China and didn't have problems so far, though. Most parcels got to their international destinations within 10 days even by registered air-mail. However, the tracking is mostly useless. Some packages that have long arrived still have a status like 'on the way to Norway' or whatever. Ridiculous.

Therefore, I just don't use standard postal services for shippping anymore. But I also don't sell 5$ items, so my customers are happy to pay for proper shipping.

 

[ChinaAzzi]

At about 6pm I visited the shipping office for Swiss Post and Hong Kong Registered Airmail. I sent 2 packages to the same location. Which is Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. The Hong Kong Reigister Airmail can be tracked with this number RB224575486HK and the one sent by Swiss Post can be tracked with this number RS909025335CH. The people accepting the packages said that they should be in Hong Kong by tomorrow afternoon.

I also bumped into a few resellers sending their packages overseas but more about that later.

 

[h1r0ll3r]

Those that took 5 weeks did you ask for a refund or did they offer a refund?
Do you mind posting which company(s) you buy from do not offer tracking?

Tonight a 7 pm as part of my test I will send 2 packages addressed to the same address in Canada, Ontario, Newmarket. One by Hong Kong Registered Air Mail and the other by Swiss Post. I will post the tracking numbers later this evening.

Never asked for a refund as I expected these items to have a long shipping time. I've bought quite a few things from eBay that were from sellers in China and I've also bought items from ideal-case.com, sw-box.com and one other company which I can't remember the name of unfortunately. SW-box did send me a tracking number however it was pretty useless since it never updated once. Basically they sent me the tracking number, 4-5 weeks later the package shows up

When dealing with companies in China I just automatically assume it's going to take a long time to deliver. I recently bought an item off eBay for some screen protectors back in mid January, still haven't received them. For them though, once it hits a certain amount of days without receiving the shipment then they do offer a refund.

 

[obyte]

UPS Saver is really the only way to reliably get stuff from China wholesalers. I refuse to deal with air-mail service. It's a waste of time and offers no value for the time it takes. Waiting 3 weeks for something when I could have just spent $20 to get it shipped UPS is not worth it to me.

Although I am ordering in big quantities so that makes a difference

 

[ChinaAzzi]

UPS Saver is really the only way to reliably get stuff from China wholesalers. I refuse to deal with air-mail service. It's a waste of time and offers no value for the time it takes. Waiting 3 weeks for something when I could have just spent $20 to get it shipped UPS is not worth it to me.

Although I am ordering in big quantities so that makes a difference

If you are in the USA you should take a look at DHL, they are less expensive than UPS. The only thing is you have to buy that service from an agent in China because the rate direct from DHL is much more expensive. There are agents that buy $3,000,000 dollars of DHL service every month so they get a very good rate that they use to give competitive rates to their Chinese customers. UPS has good rates to Europe but again through an agent. I was involved in a deal where UPS did everything possible to beat DHL so that they could pick up their volume but they were about 25% higher and lost out

UPS Saver is really the only way to reliably get stuff from China wholesalers. I refuse to deal with air-mail service. It's a waste of time and offers no value for the time it takes. Waiting 3 weeks for something when I could have just spent $20 to get it shipped UPS is not worth it to me.

Although I am ordering in big quantities so that makes a difference

How many cases can you ship by UPS for $20 from China to the USA?

They Told me that the packages should be in Hong Kong the next day which would be Friday. I expected to see the first tracking information but is Saturday and still no tracking. I keep on watchin the bouncing ball and see what happens in real life with Hong Kong Register Air Mail and Swiss Post

We have a bit of tracking action. Just to refresh your memory these packages were sent to the same address in Canada, Ontario. Both were sent on Thursday night which was Feb 10. From the tacking information it seem they are nose to nose. It will be interesting to see what tracking information Hong Kong Registered Air Mail and Swiss Post will give us.

Below is the tracking information.

Hong Kong Register Air Mail tracking info
Destination - Canada

The item (RB224575486HK) was posted on 12-Feb-2011 and is being processed for delivery to the addressee.

Swiss Post tracking info
Sat 12.02.2011 15:15 Mailed Swiss Post SINGAPORE
Sat 12.02.2011 15:15 Arrival at border point of country of mailing Swiss Post SINGAPORE

There is some movement again but not with Hong Kong Registered Air Mail. It is still in Hong Kong as I last reported. Swiss Post is now in the lead but that may change.


Swiss Post Tracking Info

Sat 12.02.2011 15:15 Mailed Swiss Post SINGAPORE
Sat 12.02.2011 15:15 Arrival at border point of country of mailing Swiss Post SINGAPORE
Mon 14.02.2011 15:35 Departed transit country Swiss Post SINGAPORE
Mon 14.02.2011 15:35 Departure from border point of country of mailing Swiss Post SINGAPORE

 

[ChinaAzzi]

If you are buying anything for a China discount reseller you should know this. Even though this is a small sampling it gives you some idea of how long it takes for a package to arrive. Both packages are sent to the same address. This is today's report. Now you can click the link to see for yourself.

Hong Kong Register Air Mail tracking infoDestination - Canada

1 The item (RB224575486HK) was posted on 12-Feb-2011 and is being processed for delivery to the addressee.
2 Sun nothing
3 Mon nothing
4 Tues nothing
5 Wed nothing
6 Thurs nothing
7 Fri nothing
8 Sat nothing
9 Sun The item (RB224575486HK) was posted on 12-Feb-2011
10 Mon nothing
11 Tues nothing

Swiss Post tracking info for RS909025335CH

1 Sat 12.02.2011 15:15 Mailed Swiss Post SINGAPORE
1 Sat 12.02.2011 15:15 Arrival at border point of country of mailing Swiss Post SINGAPORE
2 Sun nothing
3 Mon 14.02.2011 15:35 Departed transit country Swiss Post SINGAPORE
3 Mon 14.02.2011 15:35 Departure from border point of country of mailing
4 Tues nothing
5 Wed nothing
6 Thurs nothing
7 Fri nothing
8 Sat nothing
9 Sun nothing
10 Mon nothing
11 Tue 22.02.2011 12:00 Mailed 8059 Zürich 59 Ausland

So far Swiss Post is the better of the 2 shipping methods.

 

[NickZac]

It all depends on carrier; if you want it to be fast, safely transported, and insured, you need to spend a few more bucks. I've had packages reach and come from China within 2 days; USPS Global Express Guaranteed, which outside the US is done by Fed-Ex has guarantees to China between 1-3 business days and allows insurance. GXG will get packages to anywhere in the world within a few days, max. Many 'bargain' services do not offer international shipping insurance for numerous reasons and because of the distance and questions regarding who 'controls' the shipping, you want insurance. Some really cheap international services do not even offer a tracking number; you want real time tracking as well. The high end services arrive faster, clear customs faster (IF your item is legal and forms are filled correctly), is handled better, and if something happens they have your back.

On the other side, you can wait over a month with cheap services and if it is lost, stolen or damaged you are SOL. Certain countries tend to destroy packages more frequently than others; from my experience, China is not one of them.

So you are so right as this is a major issue to selling items internationally, as often your shipping negates the money saved and shipping costs may even cost more than the actual product being shipped!!! GXG can cost upwards of $100USD to send a 13oz envelope to China!

 

[ChinaAzzi]

It all depends on carrier; if you want it to be fast, safely transported, and insured, you need to spend a few more bucks. I've had packages reach and come from China within 2 days; USPS Global Express Guaranteed, which outside the US is done by Fed-Ex has guarantees to China between 1-3 business days and allows insurance. GXG will get packages to anywhere in the world within a few days, max. Many 'bargain' services do not offer international shipping insurance for numerous reasons and because of the distance and questions regarding who 'controls' the shipping, you want insurance. Some really cheap international services do not even offer a tracking number; you want real time tracking as well. The high end services arrive faster, clear customs faster (IF your item is legal and forms are filled correctly), is handled better, and if something happens they have your back.

On the other side, you can wait over a month with cheap services and if it is lost, stolen or damaged you are SOL. Certain countries tend to destroy packages more frequently than others; from my experience, China is not one of them.

So you are so right as this is a major issue to selling items internationally, as often your shipping negates the money saved and shipping costs may even cost more than the actual product being shipped!!! GXG can cost upwards of $100USD to send a 13oz envelope to China!

Thank you for posting the information. It and the log will help people decide which method to use and what to expect.

 

[PaulChowHK]

If you are buying anything for a China discount reseller you should know this. Even though this is a small sampling it gives you some idea of how long it takes for a package to arrive. Both packages are sent to the same address. This is today's report. Now you can click the link to see for yourself.

Hong Kong Register Air Mail tracking infoDestination - Canada

1 The item (RB224575486HK) was posted on 12-Feb-2011 and is being processed for delivery to the addressee.
2 Sun nothing
3 Mon nothing
4 Tues nothing
5 Wed nothing
6 Thurs nothing
7 Fri nothing
8 Sat nothing
9 Sun The item (RB224575486HK) was posted on 12-Feb-2011

Swiss Post tracking info for RS909025335CH

1 Sat 12.02.2011 15:15 Mailed Swiss Post SINGAPORE
1 Sat 12.02.2011 15:15 Arrival at border point of country of mailing Swiss Post SINGAPORE
2 Sun nothing
3 Mon 14.02.2011 15:35 Departed transit country Swiss Post SINGAPORE
3 Mon 14.02.2011 15:35 Departure from border point of country of mailing
4 Tues nothing
5 Wed nothing
6 Thurs nothing
7 Fri nothing
8 Sat nothing
9 Sun nothing

So far Swiss Post is the better of the 2 shipping methods.

Cannot believing Hong Kong so slow.

 

[kiwabags]

It looks like the OP is gone. But because it's a somewhat interesting experimant, I just checked the tracking info and here are the results:

OP posted 2 items to Canada on February 10 (9?), with HK Post and Swiss Post.

Status on the HK Post website is:

The item (RB224575486HK) left Hong Kong for its destination on 25-Feb-2011

Status for Swiss Post:

22.02.2011 22:39, Abgang Grenzstelle Aufgabeland, CH-8010 Zurich 1
(which means it got to Zurich and went on from there on 22 Feb)

This is where the tracking ends on those two websites. But it goes on on the Canada Post website (which is not the case for most countries, I believe):

HK Post parcel:
2011/03/04 Item successfully delivered

Swiss Post parcel:
2011/02/25 Item successfully delivered

---

I'm not sure what the experiment was supposed to show. Both parcels got to their destination within 2 / 3 weeks, which is not too bad. And even the tracking worked more or less, which is rather unusual.

I think it's slightly terrifying to see that HK Post just let the parcel sit there for 2 weeks before they bothered to send it out. But they got it to their destination in the end.

 

[Tradebidz]

Its impossible to get your stuff within the timeframe said buy sellers

I have recently bought a number of electronic products from China to sell on our website. I was told the parcel has been posted and you should receive the items in 5-7working days, unfortunately it's been a month now since waiting for 7days. It's not the first time this has happened to me, I tried a year ago when the seller advices had posted with china post and I should recieve the products in 3 working days and I got the products after exactly 33days.

Anyway it's a well known fact that if you buy stuff from China despite the postage services you choose be rest assured timeframe to receive your products will disappoint you.

Regards
CEO
Tradebidz.com.au