SHIPPING
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I have ordered from many places around the world, most likely have most of you. UPS is by far the worst with keeping boxes in almost original shape. FedEx isn't too bad, no where near UPS. USPS does a pretty darn good job IMO, as well as fast, affordable and 98% reliable with tracking.
Of all companies, I think Japan Post/EMS is superb. Always on time, very fast for continental shipping, trackable, fair price and I never had a box badly bruised. The worst was like…a little ding in the corner and that's it. USPS delivers it once in the USA. I must also say, those Japs package/tape their boxes almost perfectly every time....thumbs up!
My normal Japan supplier, if I order Sunday night or Monday, I normally have it by Friday. Normally pay just $15 for shipping.
Giles and his crew do a phenomenal job with shipping from the UK. Normally if ordered by the right time I have it in my hands 2 days later. Can't beat that! Plus love the great return shipping cost if need be. Only $35 from the US, which is much cheaper than what I could find normally.
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… Giles and his crew do a phenomenal job with shipping from the UK. Normally if ordered by the right time I have it in my hands 2 days later. Can't beat that! ...
Agreed!
IH is an excellent 'sender' .. and I have several more reliable online shops in my list.
But - the best system fails, when you have only 1 moron, somewhere on the mailing route.
Customs, parcel agencys or the postman himself.
UPS, FedEX, DPD, DHL, Hermes, GLS, etc. … fact is - it's all the same crap.
I get about 5-10 parcels every month .. ~40% of the deliveries are in any way annoying! ::) -
I think, while @Finkster is principally right, and the prevalence of morons is a fact that can drive you to desperation at times, there are degrees of crap. Some of the named shipment companies are more, others less prone to give you problems.
Customs is my pet hate anyway, and I keep finding that the Berlin chapter of these Engulf&Devour bastards is a particularly bad breed.
Today I disbelievingly received a shipment of a magazine posted in the UK on Monday. Amazing. In this case, kudos to DPD! But it's true, total safety from mishaps, that's wishful thinking, alas. I am lucky enough to have an annoyance quota of far less than 40%.
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The delivery-quality in Berlin has strongly improved in the last time. The competition is very tough. The customs here in this booming town is now state-of-the-art, very fast and also in difficult subjects very tolerant. Many people from custums are young and were coming like many others from outside. They are proud and happy to serve here the customers. With all the foreign missions and companies customs is working directly under the strong and critical views from the Ministry of Finance as highest authority for all customs-affairs.
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Perhaps I live in a different universe, but my "state of the art" experience with Berlin customs is waiting for VERY long times in the most dreary barracks, and being treated like a criminal. I was ridiculously overcharged more than once, with them classically refusing to treat a used garment as used, and insisting that it's new.
In one case there was a legal battle over a full year, yes twelve f***ing months, to get a shipment of three used jeans from @corporalclegg released from them, including not only an attempt to charge me unjustified customs excises for "new" jeans (they were not washed, inexpertly repaired, yet "new" for these great people) in an extortionate, high three digit € amount, and to add insult to injury, they started penal proceedings against me for customs dodging. I got all cleared in the end, but only after endless correspondence, countless phone calls, and a "conversation" in their central office that called to mind the worst Nazi clichés (including psycho tricks to lead me to contradictory statements), plus threats and repeated highly provocative behavior from them, and me consulting a lawyer that I luckily enough knew privately.
That's what I dealt with as "state of the art" with those really friendly, extremely tolerant people from Berlin customs. Incidentally, when one endures these excruciating waits, one can witness plenty of other victims having the misfortune to have fallen into their hands….my case absolutely was no rare exception.
State of the art indeed....
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The Finance Authorities here, among them customs, are very friendly if you speak nicely with them. They know very well the details with denim-imports and it needs only a few minutes for them to handle with a case. Normally the deliverer will make all this paperwork for you. All this mainly young staff is not interested in complaints and disputes or to sent back at the end to a provincial office. You see, if you like to go to the customs, students or expats from all over the world with sometimes difficult deliveries. But after a short procedure they all go home with a smile and their parcels. It all depends from a relaxed relationship with the customs-officers. Legal cases are very unpopular there with all the paperworks. In such cases the can also act without great tolerance. I have never heart -probably beside big corporations?- about any legal dispute with the customs. Why somebody with little deinim-imports should make such problems? But Germans are world-champions with legal disputes at all.
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Personally I have never heard anything but the deepest level of dislike for German customs. This is from German retailers, global suppliers and German end direct customers. Their malevolence and bureaucracy is legendary world-wide. Not a good look.
It's nice to hear of one person who has had good experiences.
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Germany is one of the biggest export-import countries in the world. All these huge imports are going very smooth and the world is wondering just now how open are the borders in Germany at all. In other countires customs are much more strict. But if you dont find the friendly approach its like evrywhere. The fairy-tales about Germany are still existing but not more real in the daily life. In 99% of all little denim-imports you will get the parcel by post without seeing any customs. Germany has no own jeans production anymore and is not very interested in such little imports by end-users.
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Japan is welcoming the arriving people with a huge slogan at the airport:
"Follow the rules"
And so is customs.
Where are real big scandals with not applying the laws by customs and so "forgetting" great amounts of money?
Germany
An average German will never meet any customs-officer during his life or have any dispute with them. Germany is today a real "socialist country" -
I find it gratifying to read @Giles estimation about our just dreadful Customs …"Malevolence and Bureaucracy". That sums it up aptly.
Denimpets lecturing I can't follow at all, but it seems to be a lone dissenting opinion anyway. -
Also if it seems not popular here to see the facts the German customs is following within the EU-single market only the same rules like Sweden or Netherlands. Among about 57 import cases with a value of about 380 billion EUR only 107 mill. EUR taxes/customs duties were taken. Berlin is now one of the coolest cities for many start-ups. Thousands of young Americans, British or Scandivians are moving here without any problems with customs etc. That among 57 million cases not everybody is happy to pay his normal taxes is normal. You can see the cool and relaxed customs-officers with the young start-up entrepreneurs sitting together sitting in the trendy bars in Berlin. If you are speaking nicely with them you will never have problems. I hope the facts could be helpful.
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I'm impressed that Denimpet seems to know so many of the start-up people and seems to know galores of customs employees, who are all one happy family without the slightest problems. And they are even all cool and relaxed, without exception, how wonderful. So great.
In my view, this has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with reality. Giles and many other peoples experiences speak for themselves. I have repeatedly made the worst experiences, and never a single good one. I also have never, really never, seen anyone leaving that awful customs post office with a smile, only highly exasperated people.
Just for the record: I have no problem at all with paying "normal taxes" and dues.
In my personal view, being forced to pay for a used item at a fantasy price for a new item is NOT "normal taxes" at all, it is an outrage. As I see little sense in continuing this exchange, I don't plan to grace further lectures from Denimpet about how wonderful and cool these greedy, rude, incompetent bastards are with any further reply! -
who knew the "shipping" thread would have this much going on, hahahahahaha
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I was only mentioning my experiences in Berlin with customs which are completely different from an exotic case which was emotionally mentioned here. I hope its peossible to exchange different views with accepting others as human beings. Everybody has regarding some countries his own opinions without seeing ever the whole picture. Germany is a part of the EU-single market and all regulations are the same. The German customs has as main tasks complete different duties as to look into parcels with "used" jeans. You can see under Google etc, you will find nothing about such "problems". I wish everybody a bit more patience. There are different views and experiences. If all is so terrible here, why so many people from inside and outside the EU are coming here?
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LOVE you @Denimpet can you spread your joy & cheer to other threads on the forum?
