International Shipping status question

[bort]

I recently bought something from a German company and had it shipped to me. I've kept my eye on the tracking status every few days, but haven't seen any changes since the 16th. Here's what I'm seeing:

Screen Shot 2016-12-29 at 10.23.01 AM.png

When I check the tracking via Deutsche Post, it says:

The item was handed over to the International Logistics Center Frankfurt on Dec 16, 2016 to be forwarded to United States of America. Further tracking information is also provided by the website of the country of destination.

Does this means that it's waiting to clear US Customs? I have to admit, I haven't used Deutsche Post before shipping from Germany to the US. Usually DHL, TNT, or FedEx. Maybe this is just part of the fun of international shipping, but curious if anyone else knows how to decode this... apart from just being patient.

[chronolith]

If I remember correctly, "acceptance" is the final stage.

[bort]

HA!!!!

[Ulli]

Did you ask DHL https://www.dhl.de/en.html" target="_blank" target="_blank and USPS?

[roweenie]

IIRC, international Deutsche Post shipments are sent as "DHL Paket".

My experience with shipments from Germany to the US via Deutsche Post/DHL Paket is this - once the item leaves Germany, the tracking number is basically useless, and even when the item is still in Germany, the tracking number is oftentimes not up-to-date.

Once it's in the USA, the USPS takes over, and is usually delivered without a tracking number (or at least a tracking number that you can learn easily.....)

Also, under normal circumstances, if you are unlucky, the item can spend several days in Customs. Under holiday circumstances, who knows?

As a rule, unless it's a huge item, it's worth the extra money to have things sent via FedEx - the same tracking number follows the item right to your door.

Two to three weeks is not out of the ordinary.

[imperialbari]

In Denmark parcels sent by Deutsche Post or German DHL change tracking number. One would expect that the new number could be found on a web page, but that is not the case. One has to phone the Danish post, where an operator leaves her own computer to go for a different one to tell the new number. Apparently the German computersystem is not really compatible with at least the Danish one. Same type of problem might be, what you experience.

Klaus

[bort]

Thanks for the replies! I'm sure it is somewhere and it will show up soon enough. I bought something else around the same time from another European country, and it arrived today. I half expected this to arrive today after posting this.

If I had known the company was going to use Deutsche Post, I would have asked for another method. I bought something else from them in the fall, and it was shipped via TNT, and it took only 4 days to get here. I thought that would be the case again this time, but no dice.

[imperialbari]

At least some sellers are unwilling to change their shipping methods because they have bulk contracts with one or more shippers. One for small parcels and one for the bigger ones. It may not alone be a matter of rebates, but also a matter of getting the parcels fetched from the seller’s storage place.

One US seller well known on TN has to send his wife out for long miles on the small roads of his outback county every time he wants something shipped.

Klaus

[bort]

Quick update -- my package status was updated on 12/30, as it cleared customs. Should arrive out here in a day or two. Was never particularly worried that it wouldn't show up, but was curious about what the different statuses meant. Thanks again for the input!