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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Herodotus, post: 7599430, member: 111387&quot;]For the love of all that is holy; go with Fed-Ex if it is an option.</p><p><br /></p><p>I won a large lot from a lesser-known auction house in Germany that ended on Mar. 10th.&nbsp; After taking a week to receive an invoice, and another week for the requisite export papers; the parcel was handed off to the carrier -- DHL &#039;Express&#039; Paket on Mar. 29th.</p><p><br /></p><p>Well, &#039;Express&#039; is a vast understatement.&nbsp; The carrier in reality is merely Deutsche Post.</p><p><br /></p><p>The parcel sat in limbo for a week in some mail processing center in Rodgau, DE.&nbsp; It then spent another 1-1/2 weeks sitting in Frankfurt waiting for export customs clearance before finally finding itself on a plane to the U.S.; arriving in N.Y. on April 17th.</p><p><br /></p><p>I got the usual &quot;Processed through the ISC facility/Inbound Into Customs&quot; tracking update, and then....</p><p><br /></p><p>Nothing...Another week...Nothing...Another week...Nothing...Another week...Nothing...</p><p><br /></p><p>Having already been through a similar situation this last summer waiting on a parcel of coins from Germany, I tried to stay calm.&nbsp; That parcel eventually turned up, but this time around; my patience was wearing pretty thin.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, one entire month after entering U.S. customs, I received an update that the item was now &quot;Processed through the Foreign Center facility in New Jersey&quot;, and another &quot;Inbound Into Customs&quot; notification.</p><p><br /></p><p>At least it was a sign of life.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, as of today(5/24), I received an update that the parcel is at my local post office and &quot;Out For Delivery&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>By my count; almost two months has expired from the time of being mailed from Germany to reach my doorstep.</p><p><br /></p><p>&#039;Express&#039; my arse!!!<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie20" alt=":banghead:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie20" alt=":banghead:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie20" alt=":banghead:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>If there is any solace OP, your package will show up eventually.&nbsp; Most times in my experience, it has taken no more than a week(or two) to clear customs in NYC.&nbsp; Sometimes, it&#039;s same day.&nbsp; For whatever reason; S.F. has usually been faster.</p><p><br /></p><p>Choosing Fed-Ex (if an option) is an absolute must. They employ customs brokers to expedite clearance; avoiding the cluster-fudge that is the snail-mail process.</p><p><br /></p><p>Paying an additional $30 (or whatever it is) for what in my case is 4K worth of coins is a drop in the bucket for its provision of a little more peace of mind.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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