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Indefinitely Delayed NBD! [Another FedEx Gripe Thread]

#21
Round and round and round we go. International Trace has not heard back from Customs or anyone else at the Memphis Superhub and can't get the caseworker on site on the phone, and is now escalating it to their lost and found warehouse.

I realize that FedEx handles hundreds of thousands of packages a day, but it seems to me that a 4' x 2' by 8", 20lb box would be tough to misplace. Again, I've never seen anything on any guitar forum - and I have done substantial searching - that ended in a guitar being permanently lost. Closest thing I saw to this ended up being a custom acoustic going from Alabama to London and doing a four month detour in Salt Lake City - but it did get there safely and undamaged. So, between those two things, I am hopeful.

EDIT: Maybe a third bonus being that my caseworker at international trace is a guitar collector who understands my stress levels and appears to be taking things personally.
 
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#22
Obese Chess said:
Six days with no scan. FedEx is on day three of "someone will call you back today." Anyone ever go through this before?
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I went thru almost everything you're going thru on my last NBD a month ago. I bought an MTD from a dealer in South Korea, which they shipped via FedEx International Priority because that was the only carrier they trusted during these times. Said it would take about a week, and that's pretty much how long it took (8 days). Got the same call you did from someone at FedEx wanting to know what was in the box, had to fill out the same forms regarding wood info, laminates used, and an importer ID for Homeland Security, found the proper designation in the Harmonized Tariff Code schedule.

Called Mike Tobias who was kind enough to send me all the wood sourcing details, etc, while also explaining that as of last December, none of this was necessary anymore. (I also know better than to fight a process that is burned into FedEx's brain and gave them all the info.) My package got handed off to an agent who understood the concept of importing a musical instrument, but even then, my package sat for several days with an "Undetermined Delivery Date" in Indiana while it worked its way thru customs. Updates and status were very few and far between.

Ended up owing $300 in duties, even though the item was manufactured here in the US. But (and this is important) I did get the bass. I'm pretty confident that you will eventually get your bass. Things are obviously a ginormous cluster right now. I don't think they've lost it, it's just in the mass of stuff moving thru the system right now.
 
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#23
red_rhino said:
I went thru almost everything you're going thru on my last NBD a month ago. I bought an MTD from a dealer in South Korea, which they shipped via FedEx International Priority because that was the only carrier they trusted during these times. Said it would take about a week, and that's pretty much how long it took (8 days). Got the same call you did from someone at FedEx wanting to know what was in the box, had to fill out the same forms regarding wood info, laminates used, and an importer ID for Homeland Security, found the proper designation in the Harmonized Tariff Code schedule.

Called Mike Tobias who was kind enough to send me all the wood sourcing details, etc, while also explaining that as of last December, none of this was necessary anymore. (I also know better than to fight a process that is burned into FedEx's brain and gave them all the info.) My package got handed off to an agent who understood the concept of importing a musical instrument, but even then, my package sat for several days with an "Undetermined Delivery Date" in Indiana while it worked its way thru customs. Updates and status were very few and far between.

Ended up owing $300 in duties, even though the item was manufactured here in the US. But (and this is important) I did get the bass. I'm pretty confident that you will eventually get your bass. Things are obviously a ginormous cluster right now. I don't think they've lost it, it's just in the mass of stuff moving thru the system right now.
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Yeah, I am still optimistic. I have been told by FedEx Trade Networks as well as the supervisors in International Trace that all of my paperwork is in order - the HTC code is correct, the woods are correctly sourced and labeled, the sales invoice and PayPal receipt match perfectly, all of the forms have been correctly filled out, submitted, and filed, so once it finally DOES get to Customs it shouldn't be held up. But getting it to Customs seems to be the tricky part right now.

I would also like to stress again and again that Maurizio has been great to deal with through this whole process, from the day I put the deposit on the bass to it being shipped and beyond - the only reason I'm handling this at all is that I'm in the same time zone in FedEx (he's 15 hours ahead) and I have plenty of time and energy to mess around with this stuff. This was entirely my decision and I know he's been very proactive about working with FedEx on his end as well.
 
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#24
Just got a call from David in International Trace - sure enough, the packing slip and shipping label had somehow become dislodged in transit and it was sitting in lost and found. Still in its box and still in its case, not a scratch on it, per David (obviously they had to open the box and case to confirm that it was the right bass but until then it was sealed and otherwise pristine). He's not sure if it's been through Customs yet, so he's saying worst case scenario is it will be in my hands this time next Friday but that he will do what he can to expedite it.

Thank GOODNESS.
 
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#25
the bass is being shipped from the "Overgoods" (lost and found) warehouse in Mississippi. It has apparently been re-packaged, and had an estimated delivery date of today by EOD. It is currently still at "shipping label created" and is being shipped Economy Ground. They also lost track of all the customs and CITES paperwork and Maurizio and I each had to send it to them a second time.

Absolutely astonishing stuff here.
 
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#26
Just got a call that there are "significant delays" to Economy Ground coming out of that region and as such it may be a few more weeks before the bass arrives.

I will personally fly across the ocean to hand deliver an item before I ever trust FedEx with anything again.
 
#27
Obese Chess said:
I would also like to stress again and again that Maurizio has been great to deal with through this whole process, from the day I put the deposit on the bass to it being shipped and beyond
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I am sorry for your situation, but this is great to hear. They seem to do amazing work, at very reasonable prices,and highly customizable.

I hope you get it soon!
 
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#29
Obese Chess said:
Just got a call that there are "significant delays" to Economy Ground coming out of that region and as such it may be a few more weeks before the bass arrives.

I will personally fly across the ocean to hand deliver an item before I ever trust FedEx with anything again.
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I personally like USPS. Cheap, reliable and quick enough. I have shipped hundreds of items, and I can't recall any major issues over the last 10 years.
 
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#30
BassFishingInAmerica said:
I personally like USPS. Cheap, reliable and quick enough. I have shipped hundreds of items, and I can't recall any major issues over the last 10 years.
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Yeah, USPS wasn't an option coming from Malaysia, it was either FedEx or DHL, though DHL was more than twice as expensive. Generally though USPS is my go-to! I ordered some parts via Royal Mail/USPS handoff on Friday and they're already at my local post office to be delivered tomorrow.
 
#31
Obese Chess said:
Yeah, USPS wasn't an option coming from Malaysia, it was either FedEx or DHL, though DHL was more than twice as expensive. Generally though USPS is my go-to! I ordered some parts via Royal Mail/USPS handoff on Friday and they're already at my local post office to be delivered tomorrow.
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Yes. That's always a problem with international purchases. I bought a bass from Japan and used DHL. It was super fast, but shipping was $150. Then when it was delivered, I got an additional bill from DHL for $47.
 
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#33
oh, dear - so fedex is shipping it the rest of the way via their slowest option, even though they lost the paperwork for the bass and have had it sitting in lost and found. that's extremely unimpressive. i've mostly had good luck with fedex - most of my issues have been with UPS, and some of those were doozies.

i was considering ordering a bass from a store in germany. i'm feeling a lot less confident about doing that after reading this thread...
 
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#34
pcake said:
oh, dear - so fedex is shipping it the rest of the way via their slowest option, even though they lost the paperwork for the bass and have had it sitting in lost and found. that's extremely unimpressive. i've mostly had good luck with fedex - most of my issues have been with UPS, and some of those were doozies.
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That's correct - and it also hasn't moved from that warehouse in four days and counting and could be delayed for "up to a few weeks."
 
#37
FenderP said:
Not that this will make you feel better, but I've received multiple packages from Japan in 2 - 3 days via DHL.
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BassFishingInAmerica said:
That’s how long it took to receive my bass from Japan, through DHL. I suppose that is the reason it cost me nearly $200 just for shipping.
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