Opinions on shipping from USA to Italy

gigadeth · Post by **gigadeth** » Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:22 am

isn't it related with where the area is in italy? it is so fast to ship to such areas as like Milano, but it is so slow to south italy.

Warepire · Post by **Warepire** » Wed Sep 04, 2013 12:36 pm

Avenger wrote:I sent a package to Italy on July 10th (Airmail) and it arrived today (Sept 3rd). Nearly 2 months.

Sometimes packages from USA/Canada take 2 months to arrive to Sweden too.

Khnud · Post by **Khnud** » Wed Sep 04, 2013 2:15 pm

Canada to Europe is sometimes very slow as some Canadian sellers/traders don't know how to avoid shipping with Surface Post to Europe. This means the package travels by boat and it usually takes 8 weeks or more to arrive.

When US items take a long time to arrive, it's almost always because they get stuck in customs.

Avenger · Post by **Avenger** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 1:15 am

The sellers shipping by ground to Europe are trying to cheap out on shipping costs. I can understand why with the way Canada Post rates are but it's not rocket science that when you are at the post office and telling the clerk how to ship the package to say "Airmail" instead of ground when they give you the list of options you have.

I sent 3 packages to Germany in August by Airmail and they all arrived in 5-8 days. I don't see why it's different for say Sweden.

Khnud · Post by **Khnud** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 6:02 am

It's not different. It only takes a long time when items get shipped by boat. I have no idea why some people insist on using Surface Mail instead of airmail, even when you ask them not to.

jnfernal · Post by **jnfernal** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 12:04 pm

Asd far as I know there is no more difference between air mail, boat shipping or ground mail in Italy...everything should be delivered by air mail for what I know

And as for fees, it depends on weight, you can easily see fees here:

Registered mail:
http://poste.it/postali/estero/raccoman ... mati.shtml

Priority mail:
http://poste.it/postali/estero/priorita ... mati.shtml

In the last 2 years I reached 600+ received/sent parcels and I lost none of them. It only happened once I badly sealed one parcel and part of the content just slipped away and two times that the parcel returned back for writting wrong address....but I never had any kind of problem and my customers either.

So I guess this is just another typical stereotype against Italy....I am going to see some niggers dancing and singing today. I know they do it 24/7, then I'll land some gold to the nearest jewish shop.

But I think it's very difficult to erase a prejudice.
It may take 2 months from Italy to America...but if it happens from Spain (let's say) to America is ok. If it happens from italy to America, then it means italian post suck.

For your knowledge, mongolian posts are voted among experts and international postal commission as to be the safest, fastest and most reliable postal service in the world. And it's true and proven, I can really confirm it as I lived 2 months in Mongolia and I delivered at least 70-80 parcels from there.
Would have you ever guessed it? It's a 4th world country, the 15th poorest country in the world, the 7th most corrupted and in the top-5 for xenophobic aggressions towards foreigners. But...strangely enough they have the most efficient postal service in the world. Just to explain that sometimes rumors are rumors, prejudices are prejudices and facts are facts.

Avenger · Post by **Avenger** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 1:00 pm

Khnud wrote:It's not different. It only takes a long time when items get shipped by boat. I have no idea why some people insist on using Surface Mail instead of airmail, even when you ask them not to.

It's due to price. I haven't shipped an LP in at least 3-4 years but when I did the last time Surface and Air was a difference of around $12.00 and that's not including registration.

Khnud · Post by **Khnud** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:53 pm

Avenger wrote:
Khnud wrote:It's not different. It only takes a long time when items get shipped by boat. I have no idea why some people insist on using Surface Mail instead of airmail, even when you ask them not to.
It's due to price. I haven't shipped an LP in at least 3-4 years but when I did the last time Surface and Air was a difference of around $12.00 and that's not including registration.

That's weird. I've been in contact with a few Canadians who say that it's only a matter of "doing it the correct way", and that the price is the same. Perhaps it differs depending on province?

Since Canada is a huge country I wouldn't be surprised if it was cheaper to ship from Nova Scotia to Europe than from British Columbia to the same destination.

Nightcrawler · Post by **Nightcrawler** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 5:52 pm

jnfernal wrote:Asd far as I know there is no more difference between air mail, boat shipping or ground mail in Italy...everything should be delivered by air mail for what I know

And as for fees, it depends on weight, you can easily see fees here:

Registered mail:
http://poste.it/postali/estero/raccoman ... mati.shtml

Priority mail:
http://poste.it/postali/estero/priorita ... mati.shtml

Thanks for the rates!
Indeed surprising to hear about Mongolian post....

Nightcrawler · Post by **Nightcrawler** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 5:59 pm

Avenger wrote: I sent 3 packages to Germany in August by Airmail and they all arrived in 5-8 days. I don't see why it's different for say Sweden.

Was this always that fast?
I used to order many packages from Canada and the USA through the years, and they always arrived in about 3-4 weeks...It was also this August that I ordered a LP from the USA and it arrived in just 8 days, though the postage rate was 20$, as always...

jnfernal · Post by **jnfernal** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 6:07 pm

Well, you see prejudices: I want to order a lot of CDs as there's the option of free delivery. But as I apparently live in a 3rd world country (Italy) I must pay a hell of money...

Really pity...but we'll be always the country of mafia, crappish postal service, pizza and mandolini to the eyes of the self-proclamed 1st world.
When I see a list of unsafe places that includes whole continents, whole geographical areas and almost 4/5 of the whole world I doubt if things are really so bad or there's a bit of paranoia in those who live in that heaven called 1st world. Let's say it clearly.

600+ successfully delivered/received parcels (that means a full 100% in total number of operation) with no complains by counterparts mean nothing. Italy will be and will always be a shit country to the eyes of the self proclaimed 1st world.

I remember I was in Malaysia talking with a local metalhead who was so proud of his english education: "To be italian your english not bad lah"..yeah to be italian me good, but of course you english more better lah. We third world lah, you right lah. We bad people lah.

I fight my whole life against prejudices, ethnocentris, culturcentrism, every stupid -ism and I think I'm really sick of how people really need them to feel better than others. We third world lah. Italian posts sluggish crap lah.

jnfernal · Post by **jnfernal** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 3:49 am

GandALF wrote:4500 listings in music category alone, wow! I knew there is a problem, but I never realized how global it is... So its me AND 100+ different sellers from eBay alone having problems shipping to Italy. That proves my point quite nicely, thank you sir!

Probably it's just "I heard that" or simply prejudices or just an easy copy and paste.
Global problem? I guess none of them have really sent to Italy....but it's just a "Yeah, Italy is crap even if I have no proofs...but I know it for sure, because I heard it from many people"

1 missing parcel may prove sellers are nicely right.
600+ successfully delivered parcels prove nothing.

I heard by thousand of people that jewish rule the world economy so I assume it's true.
I heard by hundred and hundred of people that nazi concentration camps did not exist, so I believe they didn't exist
I heard that chinese people traffic in opium so I ask for opium to every chinese I meet
I read that there are slaughters in american high school quite often, so I assume I will never go to an american school because I'm feared to be killed in any moment
I heard that many people saw UFO's in the sky, so I assume that I've seen it too even if I can't remember that

we hear a lot of things and we just spread bullshit with just a copy and paste.
That's why I travel to see the world: because I want to check with my eyes, on my skin, through my personal experience how many bullshit come from western medias and how different reality is in the so called 3rd world compared to what we hear, we write, we just cut and paste from others just because if many say/spread that, so it must be right and I have full right to copy, paste and spread.

Disappointed by how many people feel happy and comfortable in sharing prejudices

jnfernal · Post by **jnfernal** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 4:03 am

LaGouille wrote:I've always heard people complain that many packages shipped to Italy never arrive to the point that it's almost common fact and that many dealers simply refuse to ship there, even registered.
I've never had any problems but except for a one record order I always ship there via registered mail.

I've heard....so it's almost common fact....I've never had any problem

Those who heard never sent because they heard it's bad: dramaticaly bad, almost a catastrophe, never seen such terrible situation before, almost unbelievable. Even if they try and they success, they heard it's anyway shit. Can't be otherwise even if your personal experience proved the contrary.
Those who sent (and they're the majority in this topic) prove there are more success than failures.

I traded with France and Ireland around 100 times between September 2012-2013 and everything was so smooth and fast but I never realized that irish and french people experienced (or know somebody who experienced) so many disasters and catastrophes with Italy. I feel lucky, I guess. I won over grandeur and stealing potatoes, maybe: or being italian (so belonging to mafia, with any shadow of doubt) I have special connections. And I was proved that my parcels didn't contain anthrax for Mr. Obama, I suppose.
When one becomes the norm and the meter for measurement. So I should not send to USA anymore because in 1998 one parcel was lost.

Sorry but I really don't believe in these experiences. I guess one became many...like catching a fish: it was half a kg but when I told my friends it became 5 kgs.

Even the title of this topic looks so rude and forcedly painted with racism, somehow....and it comes out it was just a single experience at the base of this "sluggish crap" voiced with a good dose of self-enjoyment. Yes, the title is a total lack of style and respect and it seems there are people who fill their life with pre-constructed prejudices. You can express the same question in thousand better ways, but why not pushing on the pedal of sensational offense? Italy is 3rd world, they don't have a conscience...we can easily form a question using not appropriate terms, nobody will feel offended. It's not USA where you can be sent to a court if you try to say such thingsin the same way. 3rd world countries do not have a self conscience and enlightment by god. It's like saying: "are niggers really lazy?" Niggers can't be offended if you call them so, because they don't have a developed self conscience.
I learnt this in the topic about Northwind and No Remorse and I feel that - yes - respect and good use of words and expression is due to everybody. Ubermenschen and Untermenschen.
And I'm having a good mail trade with Andreas of No Remorse that led me to think that we must always measure our words and our expressions even if we know inside ourselves that we hate such miserable retarded cultures of the 3rd world that can not compete with the greatness of the self-proclaimed 1st world where we fortunately live in. I learnt it on the Northwind topic, I learnt it travelling in the real 3rd world, I learnt it talking with wonderful pakistani and iranians, I learnt it through many travels to Turkey and among lot of other nice people...and I even learnt it from a recent misadventure with a guy from Peru. I decided not to offend him in public and it's another lesson learnt. And I feel sorry if one can be the meter to measure a whole country or a whole continent.
Through not only one but many and repeated experiences - good and bad - I realized that most of times I felt like I was jusy carrying a whole bag of stupid capitalistic prejudices built by our free western media propaganda.
I proved myself with 600+ delivery in the last 2 years (I sell everything from movies to music to comic books to stamps to clothing and handcrafts) that italian post is not so shit as many claim to blindly know for sure only because of a single experience or because of heared voices. And I'm happy for that. I proved myself and my customers that we went beyond a prejudice with facts. One, two, tens, dozens, hundreds of facts that told of a normal - maybe not the best but not even a sluggish crap or a total desaster postal service as pictured by few names. The same names from the same countries that always talk shit about Italy. What can we do? Nothing...just let facts spek for themselves and see if there are more "+" than "-"...
and it seems plus are more but minus are voiced louder. Voiced, reported or just heard from somebody else. That's where one becomes the norm. Expecially if we have to label somebody else.

I can start a topic titled "Is american post service so paranoid?" because the incredibly expensive american postal fees should let me think that the growing paranoia inside USA against terrorist attack would rise up costs, control, checks, inspections...that would be an evidence for my theory and a bit more seriously based. It's true that I lost dozens of parcels sent/received from USA after 02.09.2001...so I can easily spread voices that american post system is becoming ridicolously expensive because of american paranoias. But I won't do that because there's way and way to express feelings and I don't know what happens in USA. And customs seem to be not that heavenly efficient as pictured by many americans. At the same time I can even imagine that growing fees can be originated by massive employments of immigrants from 3rd world countries: so more controls on their reliability, more concerns about their honesty...but it would be so childish and squallid. Even because until now I ordered and sent from/to many american distros for much cheaper prices, with less negative propaganda against Italy and I never had any kind of screaming complains. Everything went fine on both sides and nobody doubted of it in advance. Except for that fucking september 2001 when I lost hundred of euros and I never received not even any official excuse or investigation by the american post system. Yes, I realize now that I think just like those that I want to condemn. Shame on me.

Of course I met also people built and brainwashed by muslim or communist propaganda. So propaganda is dangerous in general, expecially when we blindly stick to it and we don't even accept reality and facts. But it seems that it's easier to carry and spread prejudices instead of spoiling them and confront ourselves with facts. Italy will always be mafia everywhere, corruption, 3rd world...fortunately I live in a better world, fortunately my reality is much better than other's. I know it for sure because I was told and grown up hearing that mine is always better and cleaner than yours. And my mother told me that I must talk with my similar only and avoid those who look inferior to me.

But hearing is enough: even your personal successful experience can't deny a voice heard from somebody else. I know many niggers being successful managers, skilled businessmen and good politicians. But I heard since I was child that black people love to dance, eat people and do nothing 24/7. For me hearing is enough, won't change my opinion even if my neighbor who's from Sudan runs a computer shop. He's and he'll always be a lazy dancer nigger. Never seen him eating humans but I know for sure he does. Can't be otherwise. Thinking carefully, I am now even convinced I heard somebody saying it. He won't get offended anyway as it's a common point.

Stormspell · Post by **Stormspell** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:50 am

jnfernal: this very thread is a result of a package to Italy gone MIA.

I let myself being talked into shipping a regular airmail package to Italy. Well, as you see the package went limbo land, and you see the result...

You may have a pristine record with Italian posts, but as far as I am concerned, packages shipped from here to there are prone to issues. Hence my shipping policy.

I understand your frustration, but there is nothing personal towards you. I merely follow paypal requirements to avoid charge backs when people get frustrated at me for their packages not showing up in time.

As much as it pisses you off to be singled out, it also pisses me off when people blame me for late/lost packages for which I have no control whatsoever. I'd rather limit my sales, than deal with such issues.

As I said in the e-mail; send me the payment not through paypal and you can have any shipping method you like.

Stormspell · Post by **Stormspell** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:17 am

And yes, the subject of the original post is not very appropriate. Apologies about that. I was too frustrated and angry when I posted it. It is misleading too, as this topic is strictly about packages sent from USA to Italy. This is what I'm having an issues with.

Otherwise, I have no experience and cannot judge Italian postal services. They may be wonderful, but when it comes sending from USA to Italy, there is a definite problem.