Shipping Woes

[Caflyt]

Ever feel like the world is just out to kick you in the shins?
I finally finished paying off the throttle quadrant I set up to get from Arif at FLYAB in Indonesia after scraping up the money for the past 8 months or so. Arif prepared my unit for shipping to me and all was going well. That is until it arrived here in the USA!
Tracking showed it arriving in San Francisco California on 7/19 and into customs. It then showed it coming out of customs on the 20th. Yay!
Then the next update:
"July 24, 2019
In Transit to Next Facility
Your package is moving within the USPS network and is on track to be delivered to its final destination. It is currently in transit to the next facility. "
All good!!! My baby is coming home !!
Then......NOTHING!!!!!!
FOR 2 weeks, no updates!!   LOST!!!!!
I've contacted USPS and opened a case but the post master here in my area says "without insurance" I'm probably screwed. Arif assured me he has shipped using this method in the past with no issues, but of course it is MY SHIPMENT that fails.
I'm beside myself and out quite a bit of money if it's not found.
#grievingtheloss

[Jason L]

I ordered some electronics for my sim from a fellow in indonesia and it took about a month for it to actually clear all of customs.  My tracking looked similar to yours.  When I was about to really freak out it finally showed up.  Considering the size of your package it might take a bit longer.

[bernard S]

this is really easy fix   and this is how i deal with shipping.. get the dims and weight .send pre paid label with you as shipper

all ways insure   but insure for replacement from alternative

always declare value

always declare what it is    not hobby parts if its a tq  then stare it as such
if customs apply suck it up

then yiu dont have this drama

[Caflyt]

Good advice Bernard.
I didn't get involved at all with the shipping aspect of it but WILL FROM NOW ON!

[FredK]

Craig

That is really unfortunate!

A question to ask Airf is..... exactly what was the shipping method?

For example, you mention USPS.  Who actually was the originating shipper?  It would appear to be the postal service in Indonesia???  In that case was the shipment consigned to a local shipping receiver in the US upon arrival, who then forwarded it to you via USPS?  Or perhaps that consignee elected to do a drop shipment via a trucking company being that it is a heavy item?  In that case it could take awhile..those types of shippers sometimes wait until there is enough of a payload etc.

That is, how is the USPS exactly involved in this chain of events?  They certainly do not have an Indonesian presence. I assume there is a tracking number? Whose number is it?  It should show the last exact last known location specifically.  Has your local postmaster actually called that location? If not, can he give you that number to call? 

Just trying to think out loud here.

In any event I would think that Arif has at least a 50:50 responsibility in keeping you whole....unless you specifically declined insurance of course.  I would press him on that since word travels efficiently within this community regarding such matters.

Also, I would not trust the USPS with anything.  They even lose my regular mail around here.  I have had numerous head-to-heads with my local postmaster here over the years.  But that is useless after-the-fact advice of course.

Fred K

[Caflyt]

Fred,
All good questions of which I only have answers to a couple. It was shipped via POS Indonesia which appears to be their national post.
Insurance was not offered to me and therefore not accepted nor declined. With distractions on an hourly basis I sometimes leave certain jobs to those who have experience and I did not account for his shipping method in my thinking. As per the tracking updates it did arrive in San Fran and was in then out of customs. After that scan there was only the before mentioned update which my post master here said was likely auto-generated. Arif has told me he was going to begin inquiries with his shipper. I however am thinking I am just screwed.
Time will tell.

[blueskydriver]

Hi Craig,

Contact the POS Indonesia International, give them the shipping/tracking number here:

sent in PM

Look at this:

https://track.aftership.com

Enter the tracking number, then "Click Contact Us".

Ask them for more info...

John

[blueskydriver]

Of course it could still be in Customs...and it likely could take another 30 days.

John

[mickc]

Agree with John, Customs take their own sweet time.

I have imported 2 OEM TQs, one went through in a couple of days, the other was almost 3 weeks.

Also, considering it is coming from South East Asia, it will likely be closely inspected due to the recent spate of concealed drug finds.  Here we had 2 tonnes of meth welded inside the boom of an excavator, in boxes of machine parts etc.

That being said, i have bought things with no problems at all from Arif before, and customs was a fairly long wait.

[Caflyt]

Yeah guys,
I'm just going to keep pushing for answers and hope it shows up one day.

[bernard S]

how did yiu pay ?

[Caflyt]

Bernard,
It was through PayPal but multiple payments over 8 months or so.
Total of about $3,500

I'm just hoping it's stuck in customs or the dysfunctional system in the San Francisco distribution center.

It's not small so it isn't like it fell between somebody's seats 😬

[bernard S]

you can get that back from paypal    did you use amex 

[blueskydriver]

Here is some info for you Craig, sorry I tried hyperlinking it, but CB is hiccuping today...lol...

John

[Caflyt]

Thanks John,
I think I'm going to have to just wait it out.
I am sort of a worrier sometimes and I always make up the worst case scenario in my head.
(Especially when money is involved)
Tick Tock

[Ed]

Hi,

Just to reiterate on Fred's point above. I've often had to wait long periods of time for something that tracking says should have been delivered..or is out for delivery etc. Most often packages are delivered from the big carrier and handed off to small private delivery services who wait until they have a truckload before they head out on the road to make deliveries. Hopefully this is the case in your situation. I know it can be very worrisome though.

[Caflyt]

 So as of today the throttle is still MIA!
But I want to say that Arif  is a real standup guy. This is the last message he sent to me...

"Craig, if finally i got reported from post office here and declared as lost, i will give you another throttle as replacement and you will only pay the shipping cost again,..this is what i can help."

Although I have run into many brick walls trying to find this giant box, he is still watching my back and will step up like a real gentleman. Arif , thank you.

If you need anything for your Sim that is real parts, you should really contact him.

[Caflyt]

Well today I finally got some much-needed good news.
After several divisions of the post office were supposedly searching high and low for my throttle with no success, I got a phone call from the local post office asking me to come and pick up a package that has been sitting there for over a month.  The lady told me they were about to send it back to the original sender because it had been sitting there for so long. Amazing how so many people, supposedly high up in management, were red flagged and looking for this missing package and it's been sitting in the local post office for more than 30 days. I guess I should not be surprised at the level of incompetence that this episode represents. So going forward I will never, ever  trust the United States Postal Service with anything.

 I will be  posting pictures once I retrieve the package and open it up.

[Trevor Hale]

Congrats Craig,

Dude you must be sooo happy.  I am glad everything worked out in the end.   Big Round of applause for the gentleman that sent it too.  He is a trooper and was also willing to help you out.

Great News Indeed.

Trev

[Caflyt]

 Absolutely right Trevor, Arif has been an absolute standup guy. If  I need anything at all 0EM going forward I will be reaching out to him first. I'm thankful that we had not arranged to ship the new throttle yet because I would have paid shipping of $600 on it. I sent him a message today telling him to stop the presses, the eagle has landed.

[jskibo]

That's a happy outcome!

Congrats

[Caflyt]

Here are some pics of the new arrival.

[Caflyt]

Sorry, I haven't had a ground school on uploading pictures in this new format yet 😬

[jskibo]

Looks Awesome

[Trevor Hale]

Sorry, I haven't had a ground school on uploading pictures in this new format yet 😬

LOL  Don't worry.  I think somehow they were attached as well as included in the post.  Strange.  I kind of lined them up in the post, but trying to figure out why they appear twice.

We are all learning.

I do like the way they appear under the post now.