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If buying from the states, don't use USPS...

s000m

s000m

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Joined
Apr 12, 2021
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Swindon
So I ordered back on the 5th of May and paid the princely sum of £100 to ship a Stranger Things Topper (one of the last ones in stock) from the US.
Its been 46 days and at it still hasn't even left the States...

The courier? USPS, do not use this courier they are worse than Royal Mail. The supplier has told me he's had to raise 16 parcels for a 'trace' to see where they are at in the system as they all appear to be lost. That's pretty shocking in my book.

Meanwhile I ordered my BK SOR Flail ramp from another site and they shipped via Fedex and it arrived in 4 DAYS!
 
Sounds like some barskit has swiped a UPS van..... thankfully your goodies are still in production so that's some consolation! It's when vintage treasure goes missing I start crying. :(
 
Sooom,
Who did you get the topper from? I find dhl the best from a price speed POV.

Neil


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
I regularly get stuff sent from my sister in NYC via USPS, and have never had any issues.

Just to add some clarity

USPS is United States Postal Service - roughly equivalent to our Royal Mail
UPS is United Parcel Services - a private courier.

For cost, speed and efficiency I would recommend:
US - FedEx
Europe - TNT/DHL
Far East - UPS
 
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I find DHL to be the best and try to work with them as much as I can. They are the cheapest and usually the quickest although if you time fedex right they can be very prompt.
 
I had the same issue last month. Bought some parts and was shipped via usps priority Mail .

The tracking details didn’t update for nearly 40 days. I had actually asked the seller to open a trace claim with usps as I thought it was a lost cause by then.

I had received other packages via usps that were posted after this order within a couple of weeks.
Then I thought I’d check the tracking randomly and it had finally updated and left the country. I think in all it took just under 50 days to arrive. ☹️

I also find DHL the fastest at the moment.
 
FWIW, I just bought something from Planetary Pinball last Monday, and it arrived on Thursday via USPS with no VAT or any other payments due!
 
They are truly incompetent. Was on USPS complaints and some people have been waiting since April.... Hopefully mine shows up.
 
The truth is that all delivery companies lose things from time to time - and that's bound to be the case given the huge volume of packages they handle and the half wits they employ. I have had FedEx lose an enormous parcel, and Hermes, and Royal Mail lose smaller packages to name a few. I have the utmost sympathy for anyone who has had a parcel lost as it is immensely annoying and time consuming to address. Sorry to hear about your topper, Sooom.

We all have experiences which suggest that such and such a company is rubbish and another one is great, but it's just experience based on a relatively small sample. The only way to really tell which companies are the best or the worst is to analyse some large scale data to establish loss rates, delay rates, etc. As far as I know that data is not publicly available.
 
I would agree with you somewhat based on just individual experience. However USPS is financially in the bin and have over 14,000 staff off because of Covid. FedEx is struggling to deliver on time also don't get me wrong but they are financially in profit.

See the following article.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/21/us/politics/postal-service-mail-delivery.html

I would honestly avoid using USPS at the moment.
 
@s000m I have bought from Greg before, I have had Whatsapp calls with him, they manufacture a good number of bits too. I would just say its been a bit of a pooper from the courrier, which can happen :(
 
Hi @James Hence why I said don't use USPS and not PinballPro. :D

Neil just asked who I ordered from, hence the name drop.
 
I always use FEDEX. They can be pricey, but they delivery quickly and also invoice you any customs fees, so you don’t have to wait for delivery.
 
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JAG555 said:
I always use FEDEX. They can be pricey, but they delivery quickly and also involve you any customs fees, so you don’t have to wait for delivery.
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Yeah I was amazed and also a bit gutted that my other US delivery arrived so quickly. This was via FEDEX. No fuss arrived within days. I can only hope the USPS Topper isn't lost/stolen. Pinballpro now no longer has stock...
 
s000m said:
Yeah I was amazed and also a bit gutted that my other US delivery arrived so quickly. This was via FEDEX. No fuss arrived within days. I can only hope the USPS Topper isn't lost/stolen. Pinballpro now no longer has stock...
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I think I read that Stern are doing another run of these later this year.

I have to say, the more I play Stranger Things, the more I like it. I think it’s pretty amazing. But, at first I wasn’t taken by the Topper, but I would like to hear people’s opinion if they have them on their machines?
 
I realllly wanted a Stranger Things Premium. However I hear from the forum that very few hit the UK. Maybe a blessing in disguise as long term wise the projector maintenance could be a pain. I'm loving the game and it helps i'm a big fan of the TV show.
 
JAG555 said:
The projector is cool, but I have a Pro and I am very happy with it.
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Yeah I know you threatened to part with it with me a while back remember? :D You probably did the right thing keeping onto it. Its a great game.
 
s000m said:
Yeah I know you threatened to part with it with me a while back remember? :D You probably did the right thing keeping onto it. Its a great game.
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😀 Yeah, I remember. I was very close to selling it to make way for the Mandalorian, but glad I held on to it now.

Have you got your Pro yet?
 
On average it took 3 months to get multiple items from the US to NZ using USPS. Use UPS/Fedex - costs more but gets here in approx 8 days
 
I'm a little unsure why anyone would expect the post office to be a fast delivery method?

USPS (nothing more than the US post office) IS NOT a courier company and doesn't specialise in fast delivery, particularly internationally. They don't even claim fast delivery anywhere on their website.

There are specialist companies, UPS, FEDEX, DHL, TNT, EMS etc who DO specialise in fast international delivery and if that's what you desire then you should employ them.

If you choose to use the post office, expect long delivery times and dubious tracking. That's just a fact and bleating about it won't change anything.
 
it depends on the service you take USPS Priority express - its 3-5 days- a little more dosh.
 
Homepin said:
I'm a little unsure why anyone would expect the post office to be a fast delivery method?

USPS (nothing more than the US post office) IS NOT a courier company and doesn't specialise in fast delivery, particularly internationally. They don't even claim fast delivery anywhere on their website.

There are specialist companies, UPS, FEDEX, DHL, TNT, EMS etc who DO specialise in fast international delivery and if that's what you desire then you should employ them.

If you choose to use the post office, expect long delivery times and dubious tracking. That's just a fact and bleating about it won't change anything.
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First I wasn't given a choice of courier and second who's bleating? My advice was to avoid USPS if you can given my experience.

Get off your high horse please...
 
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