Ordering directly from Japan in current climate

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DHL seems to be the way to go. I have something coming from France, opted for DHL but it was like 20€ more than la poste
DHL rocks, but its really expensive. I have a corporate account with them because I deal with them in huge volumes for work. I had actually considering shipping at my own cost but when I saw the extra "emergency" charges, it just wasn't worth it.
 
Dude who shipped my package from Australia via auspost sent me this... literally laughed out loud.

2515FE46-997D-47C9-993F-5519C7663E37.jpeg
 
I was given express for mine, but I guess, it ain't that express either 😂
 
Apparently less than .274km/hr 😂🤷‍♂️😭
I just checked their website. Is yours "economy", if it is, you're fked then 😂😂😂😂😂

International delivery information
8 May 2020

Australia Post is experiencing international delivery delays in all destinations due to limited airline capacity and government restrictions as a result of COVID-19. Australia Post is working with partner airlines and other postal operators to move items as quickly as possible and clear backlog.

Please note: Australia Post has suspended its “Economy Air” international delivery service for parcels to all countries effective 3 April and until further notice.

https://auspost.com.au/about-us/new...ronavirus-international-updates#international
 
Auspost. Not sure which shipping he picked. I'm just the first U.S. participant.
Well, the last time i went to auspost, they gave me two options for sending economy parcel, roughly equal to US$20 and $30. The guy told me $30 is like a priority, will shipped whenever possible and the cheaper option will wait till they reach enough quota to ship.
Edit: i got this information 15th April
 
I received my Tanker directly from Japan to France via DHL. Shipped on Monday, in my mail box on Friday in the middle of the hard lock down that we have in France. Note that I was charged a 10€ on the top of the custom fees for DHL work.

IMG_8772%20%281%29.jpg
 
I have no idea on the shipping. It's the Kippington passaround knife. Michi sent it to me. Hopefully it'll arrive before I start receiving Social Security.
 
It must be the cheapest option available..
@Michi ?
I took the knife to the post office on 4 April. I sent it air mail, with tracking and signature required on arrival. Normally, it takes 5-7 days for something like that to make it to its destination in the US. This wasn't the cheapest option, just normal air mail. At the time, there was no indication that it would take so long :(

Tracking shows that the parcel left Brisbane headed for the US on 14 April. (Normally, it would have left Australia within two days.) Since then, there have been no new tracking entries. I can only assume that the knife is sitting in a warehouse somewhere in the US. I will follow up with the post office, but I suspect that they will simply look at the same tracking link that I'm looking at :(

In hindsight, I could have used DHL, but only at a much higher cost.
 
I got an offer for a knife from a Japanese knife maker and he emailed me that the cost of courier would be appr. 33 euro ($35). For a 130$ knife this is way expensive.
 
around here in stockholm its all gone to hell i can tell you. i ordered some stuff from an audio store locally. and told them to send it to my job. so dhl usually delivers stuff here before lunch next day. but they only dropped off company stuff. my package was not there. 😕

TO MY SURPRISE, the package arrived at a "service point" a whole kilometer away from work!! so i had to physically go there and get the package.
and i'm like, really??? are we really going to sink this low, to the level of f-ing 1980 or so? the nerve of dhl...
 
I received my Tanker directly from Japan to France via DHL. Shipped on Monday, in my mail box on Friday in the middle of the hard lock down that we have in France. Note that I was charged a 10€ on the top of the custom fees for DHL work.

IMG_8772%20%281%29.jpg
i see the post office stamped your blade. cool.
 
I received a Bunka from Watanabe, he used DHL, took 5 days from Japan to Israel (!!!).
They'll usually overcharge handling fees but it seems the only way to go these days.
I had ordered an Asahi cutting board from Rakuten, they seem to be using EMS as the order was just cancelled.
 
Just won something on Wednesday from buyee. Paid DHL and got it today. I freakin’ love DHL. The flash of red and yellow that streaks away as a package is left at my doorstop gets me so happy and hype haha
So true.
When it comes to costs, they're sssholes, but damn are they fast.
The delivery guy called me when I was taking a walk with the kids, so he came to the playground (the closed and sad playground, at that) to hand me the package. So awesome..
Walking with a one and a 3 year old and a box containing a Wat Bunka, gotta love it ;)
 
During the height of the pandemic and lockdown in Germany I ordererd a beautiful cloudy Santoku from Misuno Tanrenjo and an old Deba from Ebay. Both arrived after about four weeks. My last orders fro Japan via Ebay were fulfilled within a few days, the last one arrived in german customs last week after been sent from Japan three days before....

All orders were shipped by Japan Post and DHL.
 
I’m using EasyShip to post my stuff now. They offer bulk rates for their shipping. I sent a knife to New York from Singapore using FedEx for SGD42 which is cheap as hell! Arrived all in a week! And at the very least it was traceable unlike postal.

If you have EasyShip supported in your country, I recommend giving it a try :)

Forgot the link
https://www.easyship.com/
 
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I’ve ordered a handful of stuff from japan since the start of the pandemic. All vendors offered DHL for anywhere from $20-30. Which has been great. 2-3 days from Japan to California, vigorously tracked.
 
I’ve ordered a handful of stuff from japan since the start of the pandemic. All vendors offered DHL for anywhere from $20-30. Which has been great. 2-3 days from Japan to California, vigorously tracked.
Yes, but you're likely to be hit with taxes and custom fees using those carriers. Worth remembering if the shipment value exceeds $800
 
Yes, but you're likely to be hit with taxes and custom fees using those carriers. Worth remembering if the shipment value exceeds $800

is that normally due upon delivery? So far haven’t had to pay anything extra.
 
is that normally due upon delivery? So far haven’t had to pay anything extra.
What was the customs value on the shipment? I had $250 of Jnats arrive from Japan via DHL with no additional fees charged on delivery. I don't think that will be true for the $3800 Ashi Honyaki I have sitting over there waiting for EMS to restart. Anything over $800 will incur charges to the best of my knowledge.
 
I don't think States got hit with crazy customs, it is so different from EU and Canada.
Depends on value. I had a $3200 espresso machine shipped from UK via DHL. The customs/brokerage fees were $175, so about 5% of declared value. And yes much higher going to Europe.
 
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