USPS Problem. Advice?

Hey guys, i have a sort of problem here. I ordered a laser from a member here in the Netherlands. It is a PL-445 1600 from Skylasers/laserbtb, so it has all of the laser safety features and is legal to import. It was received here in the US at their International mail center at San Fracisco on the 13th, since then, there have been NO updates

Normally, it would leave from that facility and then come here is a matter of 2-3 days, and it would leave san fran within a day.

Has this ever happened to you guys?

Here is the tracking:

https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction.action?tLabels=CC031089294NL

Thanks guys, kind of freaking out over here.

EDIT: BTW i emailed them and it has been 24 hors and no response, as usuall.... I hate the USPS
But this is the one ($180) package i CANNOT have them screw up on.

Sometimes the tracking isn't 100% accurate. If it misses a scan somewhere then it could cause a delay in the tracking system.
Beside the USPS tracking is far more less accurate than FEDEX, DHL etc.

I can't actually see the tracking from my phone

However, I can offer some relief.

The postal service has gone to hell lately. They're losing money everywhere, and as a result have to close smaller sorting facilities. This has two direct results.

1) a lot more mail coming in
2) a lot more employees overworked

This also leads to lazy mistakes and juggling the same package between sort facilities over and over again, as well as some packages simply never getting scanned for tracking.

Plus not every scan gets directly updated onto the website right away. The latest I've seen it fully updated was 3 days after I received my package.

USPS isn't doing too well right now...

Yea but if they just missed scans it should have been here by now

I will see tonight, but i doubt it will show...

Possible confiscated? I think not as they would not have updated the tracking right?

Anyone with experience here?


-Matt

BTW thanks for replying so fast guys! Helps alot.

My mother works for the post office (as a clerk, but she still knows what goes on in the sort facilities)

Like I said, they could've possibly sent it to the wrong place or it might just be backlogged.

Confiscated? Hiiighly unlikely.

Plus it also depends on delivery trucks. Those arrive pretty late often.

With USPS, give it 2 weeks tops when it hits the states. Its seriously bad.

Edit: remember, its the holiday season too. A loooot of extra mail on top of all that closing.

Great to hear, thanks. I will update you as I get info.

Btw why is unlikely that is was confiscated? Just want to get all the info

:beer:
-Matt

Considering they're too lazy to tell the difference between a 6 and a 1 in a zip code, there's no way they're checking the contents.

Plus there's way more important things to check for going through the mail than a laser. Especially knowing flashlights are popular things to buy online still. Just too much effort for the overworked sorters.

I thought it had to be below 500mw to be compliant no matter the safety features. That's what the site says. I'm sure they don't go testing them, I just remembered all the lasers over 500mw do not say fda compliant.

I have never had a package come and the tracking not be updated. Is that a likely scenario though?

I believe we are yet to hear any major confiscation from the US Customs, and the chances are the parcel is already in your nearest sorting facility by now. It does take time to update tracking as ZRaffle said, so shouldnt worry just yet.

One of mine just did. I have a driver stuck in Utah right now too. Seems the holidays are really effecting shipping for us. I've had a laser sit in custom software for almost a week.

This is quite normal. I've had more than one arrive somewhere on the west coast and just sit for days.
Right now is the worst time due to the holiday backlog. I can remember one in particular that was
declared as "gadget" that just sat and sat. Can you imagine what someone would be thinking as they
were viewing an interesting looking X-ray of something declared as such? There were probably several
"you gotta come look at this" type discussions involving my package.

Tmack said:

I thought it had to be below 500mw to be compliant no matter the safety features. That's what the site says. I'm sure they don't go testing them, I just remembered all the lasers over 500mw do not say fda compliant.

Click to expand...

a few years back i went around and around w/ SF Customs over 23 green 5mW pointers-- it took them weeks just to send the letter that my order had been seized-fighting this pretty much required me to travel to SF and put up some $$ too.
i finally got to speak with a live body--- it was quite clear that few there had a clue about lasers- the guy I spoke with was nice enough and did his best to answer my 4 or 5 Qs. Before we were done i answered about 10Qs he had--more than a month later almost half on my order was sent- the rest were deemed too powerful and over 5mW- funny part- the 12 they let thru were ALL also more than 5mW--

I felt that was a very long time until I read yobresal's thread about a bigger order of green pointers that was finally delivered two years late!!

*******************
edit / update--

looked at your tracking link- you have not waited nearly long enough to get so worried.

Shipping during Xmas has both pluses and NEGS!- due to huge volume, boxes are less likley to be opened BUT the 'WAIT' can be considerably longer- I was sent a regular letter coming from Houston (1 hr away) on Oct 1st and I sent a registered letter with a sizable bank check around the same time from here in TX to KGB in new orleans- while waiting on both a box was sent to me from China that made it here in around 72 HOURS- the letter from Houston was delivered by USPS on Oct 20- 19 DAYS to travel 60 miles and my check to New Orleans took nearly that long--as well..

here is a bad day at the PO-
I had less than one hour to get a box shipped from a local PO.

When I got there I read a note on the door saying that NO postal MOscaan be purchased or cashed nor boxes requiring to be weighed will be handled today- inside and in the PO lobby there were around 12 people and a HUGE pile of boxes ready to be shipped- HOW MANY? I was told around *2000* needed to go out asap
I could not be mad as these were ALL going out to soldiers--

SO MANY that they had to stop- close up and resume again in the morning and these were all med. Flat Rate Boxes so no weighing was needed.

Very useful info hak, I can't imagine a parcel delayed so much 2 damn years. What could have happened im just curious.

Well I mean if its laser brb their lasers should be cleared no? No problems with customs are to be expected right?

It's entirely possible that it got hidden somewhere by an employee who was planning to steal it. The
employee was then fired before taking home said package. Once found, the package was then
mistakenly sent to New York, Brownsville, TX, Duluth, MN, Fairbanks, AK, and Fort Dick, CA before
arriving at its final destination. The first thing I ever bought on eBay took a whole month to arrive. It got
sent from California to New York, and back to California again before it got to me.