Longest shipping time for FS delivery to US?

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Longest shipping time for FS delivery to US?

1punkzip
feb. 13, 2022, 9:41 am

I spent quite a bit on FS books in December and these were shipped to me on December 29. There were a free shipping offer at that time which I used - I think this is equivalent to the cheapest FS shipping option. As of today I do not have the books (approaching 7 weeks). Tracking shows that it cleared customs on January 30 (it was in customs for a long time). However, I have received no further tracking updates from FedEx since the package cleared customs on January 30, which is unusual because for prior shipments I received updates soon after customs was cleared. Has anyone in the US here experienced anything like this before?

2PartTimeBookAddict
feb. 13, 2022, 2:05 pm

I’m in a similar situation in Canada. 5 weeks since Sale order. Shipping has been really slow from the UK these days.

I’ll give it one more week before contacting customer service to see if they can help track the parcel.

3Atheistic
feb. 13, 2022, 4:19 pm

I placed a sale order also (Canada) and when a month had elapsed I sent them an email. They advised me to wait till March and if I still had not received it to let them know. Fortunately it arrived this past week.

4Lady19thC
feb. 13, 2022, 4:52 pm

So many people are sick with Omicron that there are some clusters of major delays and that could be highly affecting your order. I would give it another week and if it doesn't show, or you don't see any movement, then I would contact Folio Society. This is why I have still be spewing out the extra funds for expedited delivery to the US. Expensive, and I hate it, but my packages move very fast and ever since I started I've not had any problems with bumped up boxes or damaged books. Wishing you the best!

5Son.of.York
feb. 13, 2022, 5:26 pm

>3 Atheistic: Ditto for me, except mine still has not arrived.

6elladan0891
feb. 14, 2022, 9:50 am

>1 punkzip: So if you pull FedEx tracking the last entry is "CUSTOMS CLEARED"? Is there anything after that? If not, the package is still with customs, they just haven't passed it to FedEx/USPS after clearing. Lately customs have been nothing but nightmare. I had some Vikingur Olafsson-signed limited edition LPs shipped from Germany recently, and they were stuck in US customs for almost a month.

7punkzip
feb. 14, 2022, 10:01 am

>6 elladan0891: Yes it is exactly in that situation. Customs cleared on Jan 30 - no further updates after that.

8abysswalker
feb. 14, 2022, 12:54 pm

>4 Lady19thC:
This is why I have still be spewing out the extra funds for expedited delivery to the US. Expensive, and I hate it, but my packages move very fast and ever since I started I've not had any problems with bumped up boxes or damaged books.

Same here, though I am in Canada. I don't think it has ever taken more than a week to arrive in Ontario with expedited for me.

I did finally place an order using standard shipping mid-January for a single book, since I had a birthday voucher to use which almost covered the shipping charge and I was in no hurry. It is a few days past the far end of the delivery time window (21 days according to the website), and still no book, but I plan to give it at least another week due to the clogged shipping channels before bothering customer service.

9elladan0891
feb. 15, 2022, 4:16 pm

>7 punkzip: I'd probably wait till the end of this week, and if still no movement - contact FS customer service. Unless your order includes any books about to go OOP - then I'd contact them right now to secure replacement copies.

10punkzip
feb. 18, 2022, 11:19 am

Just an update. It looks like my shipment, which left FS on December 29, has been lost. In particular, it cleared US customs on Jan 30, and nothing further has been heard since then. FS was unable to locate the package and is shipping replacements - over $800 of books. Fortunately everything in the order is still in print, but this might be a warning if you are buying something that is about to go OOP, not to use the cheapest shipping method.

11Son.of.York
feb. 28, 2022, 3:36 pm

Update: Ordered in the sale, shipped on Jan 12th, arrived in Toronto today, Feb 28th.

12English-bookseller
feb. 28, 2022, 5:13 pm

This evening I booked using Interparcel a Fedex Priority order to collect a book order near London for delivery to Austin, Texas on this Wednesday. I will report back if Fedex manage this early date.

Using Interparcel it looks as though courier prices for delivery from the UK to USA are starting to fall - after the recent increase in prices, which was mainly due to Covid knocking out so many passenger flights (which flights carry many commercial courier orders).

13Inceptic
març 7, 2022, 3:15 pm

Hmm... mine says it cleared customs on March 2, but no update since. Should I be concerned?

14shmuntik
Editat: març 7, 2022, 3:25 pm

S'ha suprimit aquest usuari en ser considerat brossa.

15folio_books
març 7, 2022, 3:29 pm

>14 shmuntik:

I'll save you all some trouble. If you click on his username you'll see this: "This member has been provisionally suspended for unusual activity."

Bye, shmuntik.

16AnnieMod
març 7, 2022, 3:31 pm

>13 Inceptic: Give it a few days - cleared customs may mean anything between "marked as cleared but not released yet" and "out for delivery" :)

17shmuntikjr
Editat: març 7, 2022, 3:58 pm

S'ha suprimit aquest usuari en ser considerat brossa.

18PartTimeBookAddict
març 8, 2022, 12:00 am

Finally received my books today after two months!
They arrived in perfect condition.

Montaigne’s essays is such a handsome production. I was on the fence for a while, but am really glad I ordered it.

Interestingly enough, I just finished reading “A Gentleman in Moscow” in which the Essays feature prominently.

19punkzip
març 8, 2022, 9:44 am

Regarding the original post, I received a replacement from FS for all the 9 books in the shipment mentioned in the OP. There has been no tracking update since the package cleared customs on Jan. 30 (and it was shipped on Dec. 29), so I think it is safe to say the original package was lost - looks like it was never transferred to the carrier after clearing customs.

20Kainzow
març 8, 2022, 10:46 am

>18 PartTimeBookAddict: Nice!!
I have both books. So would it be preferable to read Montaigne's Essays before?

21ambyrglow
març 8, 2022, 11:44 am

>19 punkzip: I'm just curious--did Folio declare the value on the package as over $800? Because if so, I wonder if the problem is less "the package is lost" and more "the paperwork instructing you on how to pay the duty and processing fee was lost," $800 being the threshold at which CBP reserves the right to give things more scrutiny. https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/internet-purchases is a useful page in general.

22punkzip
març 8, 2022, 11:46 am

>21 ambyrglow: The cost of the 9 books was over $800 yes. However, I've made purchases for more than this amount from FS and never had to pay any fees. I'm in the US.

23ambyrglow
Editat: març 8, 2022, 11:50 am

>22 punkzip: Yes, the page I linked is for the US Customs and Border Patrol. They don't always assess fees, but $800 is the value at which they have the right to do so. It's a good threshold to be aware of--several people in one of my other hobby groups have run afoul of it. (If the value is over $2000, it gets more complicated.)

24English-bookseller
març 8, 2022, 11:50 am

In a post above I noted that Fedex picked up from outside London a US bound delivery on Tuesday 1 March and that they were due to deliver the order of a FS book on the following day to an address in Austin, TX.

They did so deliver on Wednesday 2 March at 17:18.

In my experience over some 10 years selling books, Fedex and UPS have a 100% perfect track record.

25AnnieMod
març 8, 2022, 12:33 pm

>22 punkzip: Sometimes they let it slide. Sometimes they insist on following the law :) Just because it never happened before does not mean it cannot happen.

26mr.philistine
març 8, 2022, 1:04 pm

>24 English-bookseller: ...a 100% perfect track record.

Speaking of track records, I recall news reports of LA train tracks littered with empty parcels from Amazon, UPS, Fedex, etc.. In light of this, perhaps it is not impossible to assume that some Christmas orders not shipped via the Express route and taking the LA route might have met a similar fate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_HthCCRF2U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhGrHlPGmng

“When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” ― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

27PartTimeBookAddict
març 8, 2022, 2:26 pm

>20 Kainzow: I don’t know. I haven’t read Montaigne before. Ha ha!

I ordered it to read for the first time and it just so happens that it featured in the last book I read. A little serendipity!

You definitely don’t need to know it at all to enjoy “A Gentleman in Moscow”. It is just the main character’s father’s favourite book and he dips into it over the course of 30 years.

28Inceptic
març 8, 2022, 2:41 pm

>16 AnnieMod: Thanks! Indeed there was movement on the 5th and 7th, just not displayed on the tracking system till today.

29elladan0891
març 13, 2022, 4:58 pm

>21 ambyrglow: >25 AnnieMod:
No duties on import of books into the US. It doesn't matter if you import books worth of $80, $800 or $8,000.

30AnnieMod
març 13, 2022, 5:15 pm

>29 elladan0891: Great :) I know that they take a second look at anything over $800 -- but if there is no import duties, that's great :)