#shipping-customs 2026-02-07

postal has been better than courier for me every single time. couriers are more thorough

give it another week

update on the earlier thing the parcel is the risk you accepted. that is worth remembering before it becomes a crisis

quick one update from 20 months ago: the UK transit has got slower, consistently, across four orders

paying for a faster service does not speed up customs. it speeds up the legs either side of customs

i had a parcel marked returned that arrived eleven days later. it happens

genuine question vat is usually charged on declared value plus shipping, and the handling fee is often more than the vat

if you query a missing parcel, be factual and patient. the good suppliers respond to that

does WWB actually honour a reship or is it decorative

for the archive parcel is sitting at a port with no movement, is that customs or just a port

split shipments arriving weeks apart is normal and is usually a stock thing, not a customs thing, ask me again in a month

ask about reship

ports do that

thats a stock split

reship policies vary enormously. SWB honoured one for me without being pushed, which is not universal, we shall see

i have lost 6 parcels in three years across a lot of orders. that is the actual rate for me

order in winter

signature requirements slow things down and do not obviously reduce loss

the transit table is pinned and built from what members actually reported, not from what suppliers quote

24 days to the UK with working tracking the whole way is at the good end of what i have seen, someone check my working
paying for a faster service does not speed up customs. it speeds up the legs either side of customs

coming back to this got a seizure letter, what actually happens next

nobody here can tell you what will clear customs where you live and the mods stop that conversation quickly

i declare it as what it is at a low value. we do not discuss wording beyond that here

thats slower than usual

has anyone had a parcel arrive after being marked as returned

winter shipping into a cold country risks freezing, which is a different problem from heat and gets discussed less

how many parcels have people lost in total

a port stall is not the same as a customs hold and the tracking language usually distinguishes them, from memory

thats the end of it

is it worth paying for a faster service or does customs eat the difference

declared value, do you go low or realistic

ask about reship
a liquid cold pack tells you it was above freezing, not that the vial cooked. lyophilised powder is robust

be patient with support