Shipping Delaying of shipping because of the coronavirus

Well, good news and bad news. The good news is my doll finally turned up after >50 days in transit; the bad news is the incredibly tight stringing combined with what I’m assuming was hanging out in various warehouses that weren’t climate controlled means that basically every single piece is warped. Summer purchases sure feel a lot more dangerous than they used to. It’s all fixable, too, just a bit of a bummer that I didn’t even get to keep him together for 24 hours after the wait.

Here’s hoping everyone else’s packages turn up safe and sound.

 

Oh no! I wonder if boiling the parts and letting them dry would at all help.

 

Yeah I do think it’s all heat fixable! Thankfully it could be a lot worse, overall I’m not particularly upset even if it put a slight damper on opening day. I would’ve needed to unstring to dye regardless so I guess I’ve been given excuse not to procrastinate on that, lol.

 

My doll has been stuck on “Origin Post is Preparing Shipment” since September 13th. My anxiety is really high and I hope it updates. I’m also waiting for two heads to be made and for a head to come back from getting a face up. I hope that when they ship that things go better.

 

@Kellyg95 best of luck with all your orders. I hope you get some good shipping news very soon!

 

So both my orders from Alice, and Legend Doll were returned. Alice has ready reshipped and my order has been reassigned to a transport. I contacted Legend Doll and they said they'll reship when they get the package. I understand long as heck wait times but I don't understand why my orders are being returned.

 

I’m in the same boat, package from Legend Doll shipped on August 25 has been in and out of customs in Beijing and Changchun, and returned multiple times to them since; it hasn’t even made it out of China once I asked them to reship using a different method, because EMS is not cutting it!!

 

Yup. I have two items stuck in Guangzhou City for two months. One is a head!

 

Oh I ordered two pairs of eyes and I'm wondering if I should just ask to cancel. This pandemic has made me reevaluate my life and IDK if dolls are worth the current effort

 

Popping into this thread because a large package of mine has been stuck at "Delivered to the carrier for transportation" in Guangzhou since September 3rd I'm going crazy about it, since I've actually sent out 2 packages since (1 EMS, 1 DHL) that have been slightly delayed but mostly normal (well... Covid normal, anyways)... I guess I should be happy that at least they showed up.

I'm afraid this package just got lost at a sorting center somwhere and isn't even in the queue... It's awful, I'm starting to wish I had just shelled out the big bucks for DHL.

 

@0bsequi0us, ask the sender for the status of the package. I had similar situation when the tracking number got stuck at a similar stage. And it happened that it was send with another carrier and got a different tracking number. When I asked, it was found laying at my local post office for a week...

 

@Mysha Thanks for the suggestion! Unfortunately I've been asking my agent about it and every time they tell me that it's in China waiting for a flight. It seems like the delay might just be that bad. Either that or my agent is just blowing me off completely...

 

Probably not your agent’s fault. I have 3 packages now stuck at the airport for months!

 

From everything I’ve been keeping up on, it really is that bad. 2021 has actually been magnitudes worse for shipping from China especially, even just compared to last year. It’s not limited to dolls either; the big brand fridge we bought in August that was supposed to arrive in two weeks showed up… this past Wednesday.

Personally I’ve started budgeting for DHL/FedEx going forward since they use private flights unlike EMS, because I’d rather spend the extra if it means months of difference + lower risk of damage due to storage conditions. EMS has also been fine from Japan and Korea, so it’s CN-specific.

I hope everyone’s things turn up soon, though, and without any issues.

 

I've had a package en route from Russia to the USA for a month now (today 12/3). It's been chilling in the Czech Republic for 3 of those weeks. I've been lucky since my last 2 shipments (different artists though) breezed through in 3 weeks or less, but now it's a waiting game. I just wish it would update!

And a shipment from Alice has been chilling with an "arrived at destination" since November 18th. Update darn it! My lady looks silly bald!


UPDATE: both of my orders updated today (12/8)! The doll is in New York, and the wig is in Los Angeles! So if all things go well, they'll be here next week. Yay!

 

Me too, they're not Russian my post through Russia! lol it's been a month since I order 3 posts from the same seller and the last post got here swiftly, the first too are stagnant..... errrrrr One's hung up in Czech too.....

 

I have a small order from AC stuck in China shipping limbo too. It’s shoes, which may or may not fit anyway, but my poor dolls are all dressed up and the shoes are the final piece. When I ordered it was a couple months ago, and I had no idea shipping has gotten this slow from China. I’ve looked and looked but there isn’t much to choose from if shopping locally, as in my country, even secondhand.

 

Yes. Almost all shoes are from China. (The exception being South Korea.)

 

Guys maybe someone have information about USPS current situation?
Waiting for doll from DDE which was sent By priority mail November, 26 and till now it’s in the LA in acceptance pending status.
Little bit nervous because it’s the first time such long delay there and package quite expensive but maybe there are some Christmas rush and nothing to worry about.

DDE sent 2 packages to me 24 and 26, first came couple of days before, but second was stuck .

 

My package was stuck in Russia over a month now it's in the states moving slowly. Another package in Russia, same seller, stuck. Last package I ordered from same seller, came at lighting speed. We just need to be patient. Hard to do in this hobby right!?!

 

Verrrrry patient. I got my shoes held captive in Guangzhou City yesterday. They left in September but my head is stuck there for only for 2 months.

 

@Mahgiep congratulations on the shoes arriving, what a long shipping wait. I hope your doll head gets on a plane soon. It seems the longer I’ve been in the hobby the more patience I’ve had to learn (over and over, lol).

I decided to check the status of my AC order and see it has reached the US and could get here next week! Only one month, I feel blessed.

 

Does anyone else more familiar with super delayed shipping know anything about expired tracking numbers? Multiple shipping websites are telling me that my tracking is expired and will not update further. Is this just nonsense or am I totally in the dark from now on??? (not that I ever had any updates at all since September 3 anyways...)

I admit I'm sort of freaking out. To me 3 months with no updates at all feels like a "point of no return". I'm wondering if maybe my agent can ask for a refund and have the package returned to them... then I'd at least know where it is.

 

Finally my first order of three from Russia came yesterday! Took well over a month and seemed to be hung up then boom my doll is home. Still waiting for my second order from same seller, last order arrived first and fast, odd for different delays same seller.

 

@0bsequi0us I didn’t have experience like that but sounds creepy. You definitely should ask your seller, because it looks like they registered the number in the post system and didn’t send package. If it’s not so, ask them to help you to investigate with post office on their side. By the way which country the seller (agent) from?

 

@0bsequi0us I have had this experience with a package that took over 3 months to arrive and the tracking updated again just fine. I too had no updates for quite a while and in that time it expired. It isn’t a bad idea to contact who you purchased from, that way they know what’s going on just in case.

 

@Eva Brown It's from China... I've been communicating with the agent and they told me they've opened a claim, I guess I hope that does something But since the package had a few "package processed through facility" updates before going radio silent so I'm confident it's somewhere in the system.

@ArcaneKnight That's reassuring to hear, I kind of suspected that it might eventually update. Thanks for the input!

 

Read the thread and now a little bit nervous for how long I need to wait for the dolls right now Especially that Christmas and New year are coming

 

Lol, I have a bunch of accessories on the way. Don't really expect to get meaningful updates until sometime next year.

 

Late, but yes, I’d definitely ask for a refund if you haven’t yet if the tracking is outright expired. During 2021 I’ve actually seen many situations of expired packages still turning up, sometimes after even more months (!), but in almost all cases the people had gotten a refund first and repaid upon receipt, or on their agent receiving the returned package and confirming they still want it. Alternatively if it does get scanned again or found, the tracking number should show valid activity again, but I’d still err on the side of refunding regardless.

Even when it works out it’s a very unpleasant situation and I hope it turns out the best for you.

 

I have noticed that my Yanwen and Orange Connex orders seem to move and track from China to the US, but China Post does not. Is this true of others? If so, maybe we can request these two shipping companies vs. China Post when we order from China.

 

It mostly comes down to how the company secures its flight space... China Post traditionally piggybacked off standard passenger flights, which obviously have way less traffic right now. Services that charter their own flights (ex. FedEx) are subject to far less delays. I'm not sure how Yanwen specifically does it since pre-pandemic DHL was honestly usually my most economical option, for whatever reason, but it might be worth checking up on to compare.

I know Christina at least specifically calls out Yanwen or EMS for her free shipping options, so you might be able to request them from other dealers as well though.

 

Update: my eyes from Legend Doll arrived!
However my order from ACBJD was last updated Dec 7 as "outbound flight departed". I contacted ACBJD and they believe my order is either about to leave China or is already in the USA. I'm worried I'll have to ask for refund before PayPal's six months are up.

Update: the tracking for my ACBJD order has expired. I've requested a refund.

 

Back in shipping limbo I go! I have one doll package sent via China EMS that appears to have reached the choking point of the process - chatching flights. Another has been sent via Yanwen, which seems decently fast but has really vague tracking. I will hope for the best. Small stuff has made it to me just fine, we'll see.

 

Anything that goes through China post is really backed up. This is a message I got from an Etsy seller on January 3rd.
“Thanks for your order.
I'm sorry that I just received the notice from the Post office.
They stop the airmail to US now due to omicron break out in Hong Kong.
The government announced that crew members need to be isolated now, so that so many flight are canceled.
But I can send it by registered surface mail by boat.
It takes about 44 - 67 working days to be arrival.
And the price is cheaper than a half of airmail.
Would you like to change to use surface mail? I would refund the overage of shiping fee.
I'm really sorry about for bring you inconvenience.”

 

The Yanwen doll is scheduled for delivery tomorrow! The EMS doll is still stuck. So I add my anectotal evidence that Yanwen is the way to go for shipping right now.

 

Yanwen is amazing, it feels like luxury shipping after dealing with EMS for the last half a year but it seems very affordable.

I'm popping back into this thread to say that ANOTHER of my packages is stuck/lost. So now I have a package that hasn't moved in 5 months and a package that hasn't moved in about 2. Yikes, this has scared me off of ever shipping with EMS again.

 

Same boat as everyone else here. China packages have fallen into the lost void. I have one that's been in the "handed over to airline" status since November 30th. Not sure if I should assume it's lost. Any international orders since then I have gone with FedEx or DHL. I'm not confident mail will ever go back to normal so private carriers are the safest route now to ensure delivery post COVID.

 

So, guys. Have you seen the news?

Shenzhen is in lockdown for an undefined time.
China places 17 million residents of Shenzhen under Covid lockdown - Times of India

 

Yikes... and I just sent out a package that was processed through a Shenzhen sorting facility today. My package luck is abysmal lmao

That's just sort of scary in general though. Being an American has warped my perception of the pandemic big time, so it's sort of shocking to see such a huge lockdown after everyone here is pretending it's "over". I hope it isn't as bad as it sounds for folks over there...

 

Oh no! Probably not the best time to order a doll right now. How sad.

 

My Gem of Doll order from Alice's Collections is currently held up because of the lockdowns. Can't be shipped right now, but as soon as things open up she'll be sent via express. I don't mind, it is what it is. Hopefully everyone stays healthy or at least recovers quickly