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Customs clearance

 

Tony,
Does any large company have 'customer service' (other than in name only) anymore???
--
73, Dan? NM3A
There are moments when everything turns out right .... Don't let them alarm you; they pass.?

-Jules Renard
 

Hi Tony
?
DHL Express is anything but, they should be called DHL Slow Boat. Zero customer service, broken promises, no one knows anything about anything, constant calls to different offices. My item shipped from China on 11/25, hit the Cincinnati hub on 12/2 and has been MIA ever since.

I think there's quite likely a difference in experiences depending which side of the Atlantic you're on. FedEx seem a lot better in US than they are in EU or Asia. And DHL Express may well be the opposite way around. Nobody is perfect but it may well be polarized like this.?

73 Hans G0UPL
 

On Thu, Dec 14, 2023 at 03:50 AM, Hans Summers wrote:
Hi Tony
?
DHL Express is anything but, they should be called DHL Slow Boat. Zero customer service, broken promises, no one knows anything about anything, constant calls to different offices. My item shipped from China on 11/25, hit the Cincinnati hub on 12/2 and has been MIA ever since.
?
I think there's quite likely a difference in experiences depending which side of the Atlantic you're on. FedEx seem a lot better in US than they are in EU or Asia. And DHL Express may well be the opposite way around. Nobody is perfect but it may well be polarized like this.?
?
73 Hans G0UPL

?

?

My experience has been, and maybe I'm just lucky, but seldom ever an issue with FedEx or DHL. But, as far as DHL goes, my experience has been they blow everyone else away for international shipments and deliveries. I get shipments from both Europe and China regularly, both for business and hobby interests, and they always far exceed expectations. My few times shipping international with DHL was an experience where, quite honestly, I was beyond pleasantly surprised by how easy they made the process.

And now I'm sure, now that I've made this statement, 2024 will be my worst year yet when it comes to shipping and delivery, lol.

?

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My package was finally delivered from FedEx today.
Much better late than never.

73 Keith Hamilton N8CEP
 

Well, DHL does answer the phone and apologize profusely but as of today, they still have no idea when it will leave the Cincinnati hub. The hub is not responding to inquiries other than to state they can¡¯t give a delivery date. Anyway, this seems to be a specific hub issue rather than a systemic one and being Christmas time isn¡¯t helping. (Un)lucky me, I could drive 600 miles round trip to pick it up - not happening.


On Wed, Dec 13, 2023 at 4:20?PM Daniel Walter via <nm3a=[email protected]> wrote:
Tony,
Does any large company have 'customer service' (other than in name only) anymore???
--
73, Dan? NM3A
There are moments when everything turns out right .... Don't let them alarm you; they pass.?

-Jules Renard
 

Yeah, US Customs can be a serious pain! If you ever have the joy of having something you ordered enter the country through California and selected by Customs, you might as well sit back and enjoy the ride. Because it can be weeks before it's released. And they don't have to have a reason.
 

It took 6 days to clear customs and now it¡¯s been an additional 7 days in storage with no end in sight. Apple contacted me this morning and is sending a second unit by express delivery (hopefully not DHL Express again). They¡¯re giving me until Dec 28th to return whichever package arrives later and they¡¯re picking up all shipping charges for the FedEx return. I wonder if I¡¯ll even have a second package to return by the 28th¡­

I can understand shipping delays this time of year but DHL can¡¯t even get an approximate shipping date from the hub facility. I suppose if it hadn¡¯t taken 6 days to clear customs, it wouldn¡¯t have been in this endless holding pattern. They seem completely disorganized and can¡¯t even locate where the package is stored. Huh?

On Thu, Dec 14, 2023 at 3:45?PM Brooks Gant <bhgant813@...> wrote:
Yeah, US Customs can be a serious pain! If you ever have the joy of having something you ordered enter the country through California and selected by Customs, you might as well sit back and enjoy the ride. Because it can be weeks before it's released. And they don't have to have a reason.

 

I got notice today that my QMX (high) has been shipped.
Surprise!? It's coming from Turkey (to Canada)!?
Really.. Turkey is the low cost bidder for electronic kits?
Jim VE3LMK

--
The pessimist complains about the wind;
The optimist expects it to change;
The realist adjusts the sails.
William A. Ward
 

On Thu, Dec 14, 2023 at 10:20 PM, Jim VE3LMK wrote:
Really.. Turkey is the low cost bidder for electronic kits?
Where do you think QRP-Labs is based? On the moon?
 

On December 14, 2023 5:49:52 p.m. EST, Ronan Cantwell <ronancantwell@...> wrote:
On Thu, Dec 14, 2023 at 10:20 PM, Jim VE3LMK wrote:
Really.. Turkey is the low cost bidder for electronic kits?
Where do you think QRP-Labs is based? On the moon?

I thought they were based in the USA given attendance at Hamvention etc. I hadn't checked! My bad.
Great products and service too from all I have seen.
 

Hi Jim,

I'm British. In 2007 I met the first Turk I had ever spoken to in my life. Which clearly made a great impression because long story short, 18 months later we exchanged rings and vows. We continued living in London UK for some years. Then Tokyo Japan from Feb 2011. By mid 2016, QRP Labs kits had already become unexpectedly popular, it felt like 22 years in bank IT more then sufficed, and I began making efforts to persuade XYL to let me play with radios all day not just evenings/weekends. One of her two conditions was moving to her hometown where the cost of living is much less than Tokyo so at least we'd starve more slowly.?

Kit prices are determined primarily by the cost of components and are the same as when we were living in Japan. It's actually a little more expensive to do it here than Japan (or US) would be, due to the high import customs costs. The real lowest cost place to make kits would be China, since 90% of electronic parts are made there anyway originally, and you wouldn't have to pay import customs, distributors, or ship anything as it'd all be right there on your doorstep. But I don't have any reason to want to live in China particularly.?

Anyway that's how come QRP Labs kits are shipped from Turkey.?

73 Hans G0UPL


On Fri, Dec 15, 2023, 7:06?AM Jim VE3LMK <jim@...> wrote:
On December 14, 2023 5:49:52 p.m. EST, Ronan Cantwell <ronancantwell@...> wrote:
On Thu, Dec 14, 2023 at 10:20 PM, Jim VE3LMK wrote:
Really.. Turkey is the low cost bidder for electronic kits?
Where do you think QRP-Labs is based? On the moon?

I thought they were based in the USA given attendance at Hamvention etc. I hadn't checked! My bad.
Great products and service too from all I have seen.
 

It¡¯s interesting to learn your story, Hans. ?I love the way our hobby is truly globalised in so many ways. There¡¯s expertise and passion distributed everywhere. ?I live on the edge of this earth - my knuckles are white - and I wanted to add that I¡¯ve had half a dozen packages shipped to me from Hans by DHL over the past couple of years. ?Service has always been super-speedy. ?Once package made it from Turkey to my front door in Hobart, Tasmania in 5 days. ?It takes longer to send a letter by our regular postal service to Melbourne in Victoria, only a few hundred km and a 1 hour plane ride North of me. ?

73,
John VK7JB
 

Well, Christmas is coming sooner than expected, DHL picked up my QMX yesterday, Dec. 14 , This morning Dec.15 06:16 it was cleared by custom ( DHL has that service in Sweden) and is out for delivery :) so about 24h from Turkey to Sweden.
I do a lot of import from Thailand with DHL, it normally takes 72h from Bangkok, including local delivery.

73,
Lars SM5PNP / HS0ZQI
 

My QMX High Band Kit just arrived.
It was accepted by DHL in Ismir on Weds 14th at 12:46 local and in my hands here in NW England UK at 10:40 GMT.
That gives a transit time of a little under 43 hours¡­?
I had a similar experience with some spare parts from Hans a couple of weeks ago, also DHL.
 

Correction - I meant Weds 13th.
Fat fingers typo¡­
 

I ordered a QMX high band on December 11th, hopefully they have caught up on the QMX backlog from last month and will be shipping soon. Can¡¯t wait to start building.?
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Ordered a high band Nov 29.

Got a notice Thursday?that the label has been created. ?Waiting for Fedex pickup. Going to Alabama US.

John KY4WW

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Corey KC9RAV <kc9rav@...>
Sent: Friday, December 15, 2023 10:13:27 AM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL]Re: [QRPLabs] Customs clearance
?

This email originated from outside of Samford University. Please consider carefully whether you should click on any links, open any attachments, or provide any information.

I ordered a QMX high band on December 11th, hopefully they have caught up on the QMX backlog from last month and will be shipping soon. Can¡¯t wait to start building.?

 

John,
Thanks for the info. I¡¯m in the same boat as you, just a few states away. Looks like there¡¯s a two week wait on high band QMX¡¯s. Based on that, mine will ship December 25th, so probably after Christmas.?
 

1100 DHL workers at the primary air hub in Cincinnati (members of the Teamsters union) went on strike December 8. DHL has said that they won't resume bargaining with the union until January. This probably explains some of the delays.
 

Thanks for this info Mark! DHL lied through their teeth telling me they couldn¡¯t find my package. Four different calls over two weeks, and they lied every single time. Now I have to get Apple to not use DHL for the replacement unit. Thanks again.

Tony - AC9QY

On Sun, Dec 17, 2023 at 5:49?PM Mark Volstad - AI4BJ <mvolstad@...> wrote:
1100 DHL workers at the primary air hub in Cincinnati (members of the Teamsters union) went on strike December 8. DHL has said that they won't resume bargaining with the union until January. This probably explains some of the delays.

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