Is my package stuck in German customs Now what

Bogleheads.org. Investing Advice Inspired by Jack Bogle. Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by JupiterJones » Wed Jan 27, 2016 2:28 pm. So I'm having something (a small item, worth under $200) mailed to me from Germany. It was sent over two months ago, and I still haven't received it yet. Checking my tracking number with Deutsche Post gives me this: It has said this same thing for several weeks. Under that, it confirms that it was "Processed Through Sort Facility" in Frankfurt on the same date in November Deutsche Post says, but there's no information beyond that. A.) Am I correct in assuming that my package is stuck in customs limbo? B.) How long does this usually take? C.) Is there anything I can do? Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by hicabob » Wed Jan 27, 2016 2:41 pm. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by Epsilon Delta » Wed Jan 27, 2016 2:44 pm. How was it sent? For surface mail from Europe two months is not out of line, it could still be sitting in the hold of a ship chugging across the Atlantic. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by JupiterJones » Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:03 pm. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by JupiterJones » Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:09 pm. Epsilon Delta wrote: How was it sent? For surface mail from Europe two months is not out of line, it could still be sitting in the hold of a ship chugging across the Atlantic. Not sure. I do believe it was sent registered mail, but that can be surface or air, right? So I'll just assume surface, keep waiting, and hope for the best. Surface would probably be the most efficient choice, and I am dealing with Germans here, after all. They are time-sensitive documents, basically, but I still have a good bit of wiggle room. (I do have a Plan B if they don't get here in time, but it sure would be more comforting not to have to fall back on it.) Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by likegarden » Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:30 pm. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by livesoft » Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:40 pm. I had an entire container shipment of my household (furniture, clothes, everything) show up at US customs and it was never seen again. So theft is possible even from a warehouse owned by after US customs. Update: I made a correction. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by Sachay » Wed Jan 27, 2016 7:14 pm. I ship all over the world through 'regular' mail often. 2 months is probably time to admit defeat and that you'll never see your package again. Small chance it has been returned to sender, German customs can be ridiculous. Other countries to avoid: Italy, Brazil. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by macaroon » Wed Jan 27, 2016 9:06 pm. FYI, US Customs doesn't own warehouses. Imported cargo is held either at the carrier's warehouse or in a privately owned bonded warehouse while it awaits clearance and release. Don't blame CBP for your shipment going missing! (Sorry, I'm a former Customs inspector. I hate to see bad info out there.) OP, I don't think your missing package is a Customs issue. German Customs wouldn't have anything to do with an outgoing shipment, and it doesn't sound as if it has even arrived in the US yet so US Customs isn't delaying it. Sounds like it's held up in the "International Logistics Center" in Frankfurt. Can you check with the shipper? Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by stlutz » Wed Jan 27, 2016 10:13 pm. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by dratkinson » Thu Jan 28, 2016 9:44 am. USPS package to China never arrived. FedEx and UPS packages did. Chose the cheapest each time. Each took a. week to arrive. If you mark the shipping form wrong (confusing verbiage), recipient must come to FedEx/UPS office to pay an import tax (based on declared value?). Mark the shipping form correctly and any tax due is added to your shipping invoice (credit card) so package is not delayed at office, but instead delivered to recipient. Workplace delivery address with signed delivery receipt, preferable to unattended residence. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by lthenderson » Thu Jan 28, 2016 9:46 am. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by JupiterJones » Thu Jan 28, 2016 11:16 am. Unfortunately the shipping business can't do much beyond what I'm doing myself. checking the appropriate websites with the relevant tracking number. (Well, I guess they could get on the horn with Frankfurt, but my German isn't good enough to try to talk them into doing that just yet!) I'm assuming now that they simply don't have the ability to track during that space between entering the logistics center and before getting to the US, and I'll just have to wait until it come back around from the dark side of the moon and radio contact can be reestablished. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by TravelGeek » Thu Jan 28, 2016 5:25 pm. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by ZumZabo » Sat Jan 30, 2016 10:41 am. I send and receive letters and packages to and from Germany a few times a year (have done so for decades) and it can take anywhere from 4 days to 5 weeks with no logical explanation as to why. The German workers are pretty pampered and work at their own pace. Also they strike very often and as recently as a few weeks ago. Possibly more more recently. No one is waiting for anything from me currently so I haven't heard of any strikes. That may be a factor. Time is usually not of the essence for us other than a birthday or holiday card arriving late. In your case you may have to resort to plan B but I suspect it will eventually arrive. I just ordered an iPad mini bumper case from Amazon that shipped from Asia. It was supposed to take up to 5 weeks. I received it in 5 or 6 days. Just luck of the draw. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by Vivelapais » Mon Jan 02, 2017 11:05 am. Did you ever get the package from Germany? How long did it take in the end? I am having the exact same problem. Since November 28th it's been "processing" in Frankfurt's customs but I do not understand what is taking so long. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by JupiterJones » Tue Jan 03, 2017 11:20 am. Nope, never got it. They were concert tickets. Luckily, the folks at SAP Arena in Mannheim were sehr freundlich und hilfreich . I showed printouts of my email receipts at the Will Call window, and they had a security guy personally escort us past the ticket takers and right to our seats! Really outstanding customer service. There were several other people in line with us who had the same problem. I'm not sure if the problem was German customs or the shipper. Are you using DHL? Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by alpenglow » Tue Jan 03, 2017 11:37 am. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by lynnseyp » Wed Jan 25, 2017 2:33 pm. Vivelapais wrote: Hi Jupiterjones, Did you ever get the package from Germany? How long did it take in the end? I am having the exact same problem. Since November 28th it's been "processing" in Frankfurt's customs but I do not understand what is taking so long. Hey! I'm so glad I found this thread. I sent a package to the US from Berlin on the same date as you and am getting the same message. "We have received notice that the originating post is preparing to dispatch this mail piece.". Maybe it's a wider issue since both of us are experiencing this for packages sent at the same time? Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by ericb614 » Wed Jan 25, 2017 4:50 pm. Vivelapais wrote: Hi Jupiterjones, Did you ever get the package from Germany? How long did it take in the end? I am having the exact same problem. Since November 28th it's been "processing" in Frankfurt's customs but I do not understand what is taking so long. Hey! I'm so glad I found this thread. I sent a package to the US from Berlin on the same date as you and am getting the same message. "We have received notice that the originating post is preparing to dispatch this mail piece.". Maybe it's a wider issue since both of us are experiencing this for packages sent at the same time? Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by mouses » Wed Jan 25, 2017 5:12 pm. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by Ampannell » Wed Jan 25, 2017 7:06 pm. Awesome. So I mailed a package from Berlin to the US on January 2nd. On the 9th is said it was in Frankfurt. Then nothing. And now I'm hearing you guys have been waiting months with the same issue.. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by Lenakk » Wed Feb 01, 2017 3:41 pm. I am happy I fought this thread so I can share my experience about the Deutch Post. It will take me awhile to tell about this nightmare. First of all, please if somebody already receive the package sent in November 2016 to USA, let me know!! Here is what happened to me. I bought very expensive handbag and it was shipped from Germany. On November 28, 2016 the tracking info has stuck! On DHL it says that the package will be transported to the destination country and on the USPS it says that they received the notice that DHL preparing to dispatch the package. There was no update for more than 2. Months. About one month ago I filled international search request ( needless to say that my husband and I have called both -and USPS and DHL many many times, sometimes we had to stay up till 3-4 am so we could get a hold of somebody in Germany , also had to get translator ) , I got the official letter from Deutch Post about 1 week ago saying that due to Lufthansa strikes there delays and that I should wait till February 28. And if by then the package will not appear anywhere I should contact them again. It was my first time using Deutch post and obviously -the last. Please let me know if some of you got their packages! I'm so worried and hope that the package will arrive adventually. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by TravelGeek » Wed Feb 01, 2017 9:38 pm. Hmmm. I ordered a few items on Amazon.com for our Miele vacuum and dishwasher that were shipped from Germany. No problems. Checking my order history, that was in late 2015. Those that ordered something and presumably paid via credit card, have you asked the seller to research the issue? They are the customer of DHL in this case. If they are not responsive, I would dispute the charges with the credit card company. The tracking information should show that you never received the goods you paid for. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by meurer44 » Fri Feb 03, 2017 2:43 pm. I am German, but living in California. I was in early December in Germany and sent 10 parcels with Christmas goodies to California and none of them arrived. The parcels in Germany are handled by DHL, owned by the German Post Office. Like everybody else, the tracking ends at Frankfurt with the notation "Origin Post preparing shipment". So all the parcels never left Germany. I checked German websites, similar to this, where there are hundreds of complaints about parcels sent in November and December to the US, which never arrived. DHL stated that all parcels have been sent by sea, due to a strike by Lufthansa. Ever heard of other airlines? A vessel from Bremen to New York takes ten days, that still does not explain delays of several months. I suggest filing a theft claim with the US Post Office may help. Here is the website: https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/cont . laint.aspx If everybody does it and they get thousands, may they will finally act and issue a press release, stating what is going on and what they will do about it. Tens of thousands of parcels, may be more have vanished and nobody gives a damn. I think eventually we will get the parcels, but it may take another few months. When I hear the stories of the on-line companies, it is just awful. A lot of them sent high value items, they never arrived and customers are claiming their money back through Pay-Pal. A lot of these small outfits lost tens of thousand of Euros each. Some even went bankrupt. Again nobody cares and DHL loughs all the way to the bank. They received the postage and delivered nothing. Hang in there! Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by ericb614 » Mon Feb 06, 2017 4:43 pm. meurer44 wrote: Hi Guys, I am German, but living in California. I was in early December in Germany and sent 10 parcels with Christmas goodies to California and none of them arrived. The parcels in Germany are handled by DHL, owned by the German Post Office. Like everybody else, the tracking ends at Frankfurt with the notation "Origin Post preparing shipment". So all the parcels never left Germany. I checked German websites, similar to this, where there are hundreds of complaints about parcels sent in November and December to the US, which never arrived. DHL stated that all parcels have been sent by sea, due to a strike by Lufthansa. Ever heard of other airlines? A vessel from Bremen to New York takes ten days, that still does not explain delays of several months. I suggest filing a theft claim with the US Post Office may help. Here is the website: https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/cont . laint.aspx If everybody does it and they get thousands, may they will finally act and issue a press release, stating what is going on and what they will do about it. Tens of thousands of parcels, may be more have vanished and nobody gives a damn. I think eventually we will get the parcels, but it may take another few months. When I hear the stories of the on-line companies, it is just awful. A lot of them sent high value items, they never arrived and customers are claiming their money back through Pay-Pal. A lot of these small outfits lost tens of thousand of Euros each. Some even went bankrupt. Again nobody cares and DHL loughs all the way to the bank. They received the postage and delivered nothing. Hang in there! Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by dougal98 » Mon Feb 06, 2017 5:43 pm. Hello, I am so glad I found this thread! I ordered some items off of ebay germany in early december, I have yet to receive them in the mail! They were sent via Deutsch Post (DHL subsidiary). My item was accepted December 8, then on December 27 was processed through the facility at Frankfurt/Flughafen. When I check on USPS, the latest tracking info I get is "Origin Post is Preparing Shipment". I like everyone else am wondering when my stuff will arrive. Not a very good first experience from DHL. Hopefully my stuff arrives later this month. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by meurer44 » Mon Feb 06, 2017 7:51 pm. All my 10 parcels arrived late last week in Jersey City. This is the first entry point in the US. They were immediately forwarded to California. I guess US Customs, knowing about the delay, didn't spend too much time examining them. Two arrived this morning, one actually from France, where there was no tracking trough USPS. Both of them were soaking wet. The French one was in such bad shape they placed it in a heavy plastic bag. So, you will eventually get them, but in what shape that's a different story. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by amorgvida » Thu Mar 09, 2017 11:14 am. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by Dieda » Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:28 am. Re: Is my package stuck in German customs? Now what? Post by myleaf » Thu Dec 07, 2017 10:13 am.