Concerned That My Pipes Are Lost In The Mail.

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Rusty Mouse

Rusty Mouse

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Or USPS is just damn confused, or maybe I am? I've got one of two orders on its way from smokingpipes.com that seems to be stuck in Miami. The package was sent on February, 6, and has been stuck at the sorting facility since the 9th, or so the tracking report says. Now smokingpipes.com has their facility in South Carolina, I'm in Ontario and with previous packages sent from them USPS has never taken that direction (according to other tracking reports), which is the complete opposite direction at that, so this, on top of the fact that it hasn't moved in 6 days is making me concerned that my pipes are either lost or being sent to the wrong place! Every other order I've placed has taken no more than a week to get here.
What do!? Have you encountered this before? I haven't. Is it normal for a package to be stuck for this long, or am I just being impatient?
Thanks in advance, sincerely
NoFaithInDeliveyServices
 
i find that the USPS tracking system is fairly unreliable at determining exactly where your package is at any one moment. i once had a package say it was a few states away "waiting to leave facility" only to have it delivered to my doorstep that same day.

don't lose hope yet!
 
nogbert":i8mvf06l said:
i find that the USPS tracking system is fairly unreliable at determining exactly where your package is at any one moment. i once had a package say it was a few states away "waiting to leave facility" only to have it delivered to my doorstep that same day.

don't lose hope yet!
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A relief, to say the least. Nonetheless, I WANT MY PIPES :bounce:
 
I know a goodly amount of people who work in customs. There are an alarming amount of bad things going about in the U.S. postal system from bombs to dangerous chemicals. We are blessed that we dont have 6 month wait times. Not what you want to hear but I think most people need a little perspective when it comes to shipping times. Hope you get them soon.
 
I have had some serious problems with USPS lately. Most recently I ordered a pipe from England on Jan 14 and it didn't arrive until Feb 9!
 
nogbert":7wk0saw5 said:
i find that the USPS tracking system is fairly unreliable at determining exactly where your package is at any one moment. i once had a package say it was a few states away "waiting to leave facility" only to have it delivered to my doorstep that same day.

don't lose hope yet!
Click to expand...
I agree with nogbert. The tracking system is only as reliable as the postman is at scanning. I've had packages that only showed acceptance and never any other movement but were delivered to the reciepient on time. Don't loose hope. MIKE
 
The USPS is confiscating all tobacco and tobacco-related items such as pipes, as part of the president's Patriotic American Obedience Act. Oh, wait...what year is this? 2012? Sorry! :oops: I thought it was 2015!

Seriously, I have found their tracking numbers to be almost worthless, except for when the package finally arrives at your local PO. But at least you do have a number for further inquiries, if needed. Good luck.
 
I've been told that USPS can't provide tracking info once an item crosses an international border once it has gone through customs. Per USPS employees. Recently sold a pipe to a guy in Germany. No tracking info once it cleared customs in Chicago. I checked tracking once he emailed me to tell me he got it, and it still said "clearing customs" in Chicago.
 
Rusty Mouse":jrchi6wt said:
Or USPS is just damn confused, or maybe I am? I've got one of two orders on its way from smokingpipes.com that seems to be stuck in Miami. The package was sent on February, 6, and has been stuck at the sorting facility since the 9th, or so the tracking report says. Now smokingpipes.com has their facility in South Carolina, I'm in Ontario and with previous packages sent from them USPS has never taken that direction (according to other tracking reports), which is the complete opposite direction at that, so this, on top of the fact that it hasn't moved in 6 days is making me concerned that my pipes are either lost or being sent to the wrong place! Every other order I've placed has taken no more than a week to get here.
What do!? Have you encountered this before? I haven't. Is it normal for a package to be stuck for this long, or am I just being impatient?
Thanks in advance, sincerely
NoFaithInDeliveyServices
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Another example of the imperfect world you are forced to live in !! USPS tracking is sadly, a JOKE ! Since your package is crossing an international border it will at times get "lost" in the system for who knows what reason! It's just the waty it is! I've experienced this with packages coming to me from Europe etc and mine going out. Relax, fill a bowl of your best calming tobacco and if nothing in a few days, call the shipper and see if they can do anything. You would have gone completely bonkers 40 years ago! I have collected fountain pens for over 40 years now and many times I ordered something from Europe which was shipped by surface (ship) mail and it could take up to 6 mo's to get to me! Relax, smoke a pipe and enjoy the day, it will get to you :p
 
They're closing sorting facilities all the time. The result of that means that many packages have to travel in the wrong direction before they're in the proper track. An example goes something like this: yesterday, you could send a vinyl LP via Media Mail to Los Angeles from Chicago, and it would go from Chicago to Denver to Los Angeles. Today, you could send a vinyl LP via Media Mail to Los Angeles from Chicago, and it would go from Chicago to New Jersey to Los Angeles.

Each type of mail has certain sorting facilities dedicated it. Priority and 1st class. Parcel Post and Media Mail. International mail between North and South America. Int. mail between Europe. Int. mail and the Pacific Rim. etc, etc. More stuff going into fewer sorting facilities with greater demand for customs creates a lot of bottlenecking.

Our mail system is a hair from being broken, yet it is still one of the best in the world.
 
Our mail system is a hair from being broken, yet it is still one of the best in the world.
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and still one of the cheapest!!! everyone should hand- write a letter today. it is a touch that has no equal.
 
jefe1037":bsmq13rr said:
and still one of the cheapest!!!
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It is, believe it or not. Just like for fuel, we got it good when it comes to postage. Still too much incompetence, though.
 
For shipping down here USPS Priority is by far the best option. Having shipped by FEDEX, DHL, and UPS, I think Priority Mail wins for tamper proof secure delivery. The tradeoff is punctuality and customs inspections (read tax). While the others get it here in a day or two, invariably there is some sort of problem. Most notable was a $60US customs tax to recieve an envelope full of family snapshots! When I finally got it had been opened and the pictures unceremoniously forced back in the envelope (thank you UPS).

This is México, after all, so the expectation of something going wrong is not unfounded. I have to hand it to the Mexican postal service however. While slow, they're very honorable and I've never lost a thing. Besides, after living here for a while one's sense of urgency about fast delivery diminishes considerably. :p

One funny story about the MPS. One time a tobacco shipment I was making to the US was inspected on the spot by the receiving postal worker. When she saw the contents she announced that it was illegal to ship tobacco. She then asked, "so what do you wanna do?" "We can ship it anyway and hope it gets through. I just cant guarantee it'll clear customs." We shipped it and it got where it was going in record time. Don't think that'd happen up in the US, lol.
 
Richard Burley":1nhvs5t2 said:
The USPS is confiscating all tobacco and tobacco-related items such as pipes, as part of the president's Patriotic American Obedience Act.
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You just scared the living sh*t out of me... GOOD ONE! :cheers:
 
The last time I had a purchase shipped usps first cleass mail it was 2 weeks before i received it. I always choose ups or usps priority mail.
 
flytyer":byjo9y88 said:
The last time I had a purchase shipped usps first cleass mail it was 2 weeks before i received it. I always choose ups or usps priority mail.
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My pipes are being shipped via priority mail, I used to ship with UPS, but I was getting real tired of paying nearly twice the shipping cost at my doorstep in brokerage fees. I've actually just received an additional bill from UPS claiming "Sorry, we goofed, so you owe us more money". It was a weight adjustment due to an audit so I called UPS and told them that it wasn't my problem and I won't be paying it. Interestingly enough, when I called and told the woman that I had already paid my bill at the UPS store in cash she claimed that the UPS doesn't take cash, even though I made the phone call to have my pipes redirected to the store and was told by the manager that it would need to be paid in cash, I'm in the process of looking for the receipt just so I can say HA! A safe and reliable company UPS is, but if all it takes is a bit longer to arrive for me to pay a third of what UPS charged then I'll wait.
 
I just got off the phone with Mark from smokingpipes.com, he assured me that I've just been lucky in the past and that it's not uncommon for their packages to reach my area within 2 - 4 weeks. That a long time :(
 
I dunno man, I just saw my mail guy takin' a break with a REALLY nice pipe--I'm pretty sure it was yours.

Maybe not. :p

:lol:

Hope it gets there soon. 8)
 
You would not have made it in the 50's :p I rememnber when we sent our boxtops from our cereal boxes in to get our "special offers" and had to wait 4 to 6 weeks to get our stuff. It's amazing we were able to make it in life having to "wait" so long for mail !! If Mr. Pease and the folks at McC's could get all this tobacco stuf into a virtual state we could get INSTANT gratification with just a phone APP . Things would be SO MUCH BETTER :p
 
My last parcel from smokingpipes.com is long overdue as well. I ordered on Jan 15, it was shipped Jan 17 and still hasn't arrived. The previous order, on Jan 12 or so, arrived in two weeks. My parcel was last reported in Miami. Smokingpipes thinks the package is probably in Canadian Customs. I doubt it. Customs doesn't hold packages. They move them through and collect the cash.

Apparently I have to wait 12 weeks before smokingpipes can initiate a trace through USPS.

That's a long wait.
 
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