"Be Advised Issues With Royal Mail" Topic

Guys,

I ordered about a kilo of miniatures from the UK for shipping to the US. The minis were shipped on 5 May, the postage label clearly indicated "Air Mail/Par Avion".

The package was received in Atlanta yesterday (13 June) emblazoned with a large sticker proclaiming:

DO NOT FLY.
THIS ITEM CONTAINS GOODS WHICH ARE NOT PERMITTED TO FLY.
SEND BY SURFACE MAIL ONLY.
ROYAL MAIL

As I say, the package had an "Air Mail" sticker clearly applied so it seems someone over at the RM had some sort of issue with the contents (or what he thought the contents were).

Since I was in the process of having the vendor reship the order, I let him know it arrived and he informed me that he had recently had a similar experience with another order.

Just wanted all y'all that order minis from the UK to be aware, if your package seems like its taking forever, it might not be the vendor.

Thanks for the warning.

Did the package have a customs sticker on it or was the description of the goods in any way confusing or unclear (to a layman, not a wargamer) ?

This is usually the problem and it seems that some senders do not realise the importance of the customs documentation that must go on goods sent outside the EU.

The most likely cause of delay to an order from the UK to US is actually US customs (though obviously not in this case) – hence the importance of accurate and clear customs documentation.

What was the HS tariff code on the CN22:

Image for the web hence the "Vape Juice" text.

--
Martin Stephenson
Vexillia: Wargames Miniatures & Accessories
Shop | Rules | eBay | Twitter

Gee, I was just about to place an order from the UK to the US. How long did your order take? Usually I've found that US Customs slows it down to about 2-3 weeks. Was it longer than that. And if so is UPS International shipping an option? By sea from the UK seems like it would take forever.

I send stuff to the US from time to time – airmail is usually 8 – 10 days door to door. I think they quote something like 6 – 10 weeks by surface mail.

I've found shipping quotes from services other than Royal Mail to be ultra expensive.

About a year ago, I had some stuff delayed for about a month, by UK Customs in Scotland.

They pretty much destroyed the original packaging, but repacked it, and included a very nice note of apology.

Stuff is getting a lot more scrutiny now, due to world events, than it used to, even small plastic items (1/144th scale tanks in plastic packaging).

I've read resin and metal items are getting it even worse, and sometimes not being permitted to be shipped at all, with a sticker saying "the items are too dense".

My strong suspicions are its the screening employees and not the items themselves that are "too dense".

Yea, surface mail takes about 8+ weeks.

I remember when I used to surface mail from the UK to NZ back in the 70s. If your order ever arrived it was about six months. Slower than when they used sailing ships.

We get odd packages to the US (and elsewhere) that mysteriously get redirected like this (maybe 1 or 2 in 100). We label all our packages the same way, with the correct HS number, so I think it's usually down to a mistake by someone along the postal line somewhere.

Sigh, just another reason to hate the times we live in.

Out of about 100 packages we received from the UK at Recreational Conflict only two took more than two weeks most we get in six days; a couple of times less than 3three days. Generally, if the Customs form says toy soldiers there is no delay. That is the way we ship everything to Europe with few problems.

I just received a package from Baccus in England today and it was mailed around May 6th as well. Same label, same delay. Never had this happen before.

Ditto the initial post. On May 5th an order was mailed to me, from the UK, by a reputable vendor with whom I've done much business. It arrived today, June 14th, clearly paid and marked as airmail, but with the same orange sticker stating the package should go surface mail only.

I guess the Royal Mail has become concerned the little metal fellows might suffocate at altitude.

Had some Warlords figures shipped last week delivered yesterday to my doorstep in Oregon. Clearly not all mail order items are being delayed.

I had two recent orders with Baccus, both of which arrived on the US east coast within a week of being mailed.

If something is paid to go airmail and ends up shipping surface mail surely they must be liable for some sort of refund?

The "By Air Mail" sticker is a red herring. Or rather a small blue sticker with no meaning.

My post mistress, and her part time replacement when she is on holiday, have both advised me to slap one of these blue stickers on for any overseas (non UK)) items so that Royal Mail staff can instantly identify them and sort them faster. How they're actually shipped is a matter of conjecture and happenstance.

They've both given me rolls of the stickers so I don't clog up the queue in our local P.O.

The customs stickers also should be used liberally, and I've also been advised to use a "From / return to" address to help convince customs that small dense metal objects aren't going to go BANG.

That said, RM took nearly 4 weeks to deliver to France from the UK one time earlier this year, yet last month delivered to NZ within a week.

So far I have lost no parcels to my overseas customers or at least none have told me they've not received something. (Famous last words)

There is a list of prohibited contents, and when I first started turning up with parcels under the new regime in our P.O. I did have to confirm, that the contents were metal/plastic/resin or paper books. Again the customs sticker if filled out correctly forestall such queries, along with staff knowing what I am shipping.

YMMV

The bad thing for those of us in the States are how many miniatures made in the UK no longer have US Distributors So, in this era of internet ordering and all things moving by air we are no longer accustomed to items taking a month or two to arrive. And even those with US Distributors may be out of stock on something for really long periods.

I suspect that somewhere behind the official scenes a wargamer with influence has decided to encourage his fellow hobbyists to reduce their lead mountains.

Had this happen to me as well with a recent order from the UK to the US. BOTH packages shipped by the manufacturer had the orange "Ship by Surface Only" stickers attached. One took six weeks, the other eight. Unfortunately the contents of both packages were pretty beat up because of it.

I order from the UK 6-10 times a year. It takes a week, occasionally ten days. I've seen no change in this pattern.

When you take a parcel to the Post Office these days the counter staff ask you what is inside. They must think terrorists are either incredibly stupid or incredibly honest!

A couple of times, for a laugh, I have replied "bomb making equipment". Confuses the hell out of them….

Well, I'm going to bite the bullet, of course since it's a very small order I don't think that it will be indicative either way.

Here in the Uk the Royal Mail are a law unto themselves

I have never had any issues with Royal Mail. Packages usually take about 10 days to the West Coast of Canada

Cedric, let us know your jail cell address when shipping minis to you. Comments like that are dangerous.