UPS World Expedited to Australia?

junototoro · 05-01-2012, 04:33 AM

B&H Photo is great, but I'm not very sure about UPS World Expedited...

One package got stucked in Louisville, Kentucky for 3 days.. (Usually within North America it's very fast though) And the worst problem is, as soon as the packages arrive in Botany Bay in Sydney, nothing happens anymore... No status update and no delivery for days...

It's surely very frustrating waiting for expensive gears to arrive by post.... :cry:

**Ash** · 05-01-2012, 04:44 AM

I'm not sure if you have a specific point to this post, but I have used B&H for a number of product purchases, all of which were delivered to my house in 3 business days of making the online order. Not even Australia Post can match that for interstate parcels...

junototoro · 05-01-2012, 04:46 AM

I guess I was looking to see if people had the same experiences with me. Which delivery method did you choose? I always choose the cheapest option, and delivery after it arrives in botany has been disappointing.

Coldamus · 05-01-2012, 08:34 PM

I buy reasonably often from either B & H or Adorama and reside in a small NSW country town about 5 hours by road from Sydney. I can confirm the o.p.'s experience but can also say it is not unique to UPS. Once the parcel arrives at Botany and is cleared through customs, it is handed on to the courier company contracted to perform local deliveries.

Except possibly for Sydney residents, the local courier is generally an independent company, so once the parcel is handed over to them, it is no longer trackable on the original carrier's system. In my case, the same local courier handles all three of DHL, Fedex, and UPS, so I always choose the cheapest one, UPS.

The local couriers don't generally work on weekends or public holidays, so it helps to time the placement of your order. For example, I recently ordered from Adorama but forgot about the upcoming Easter holidays. It was an anxious wait for almost a week while the parcel sat unmoving at the courier company's Botany facility. I try to order on Thursday or Friday local time so that the parcel gets to Sydney and is cleared through customs in time for the local courier to collect it on Monday.

Overwhelmingly, I am very satisfied with the service. So far, I haven't lost anything. On a couple of occasions, I have ordered on a Friday afternoon (local time) and had the parcel delivered to my door by 10am the next Tuesday morning. It takes longer to get a standard letter from Queensland. Ideally, the local courier should have a tracking system that picks up the orginal carrier's tracking number but they are not that sophisticated yet. The only tracking system seems to be the driver's mobile phone.

junototoro · 05-01-2012, 08:41 PM

I'm generally happy with their service. It just takes as long as New York to Hawaii for Botany Bay to Sydney Metro lol...

Which local courier is it? Are they contactable? where would you get the driver's mobile number from?

With my first ever B&H order, they said the driver couldn't find the entrancement to my apartment (which is very strange?!), and they didn't call me or amything.. I had to contact B&H facebook people and UPS social media people to get them change the delivery address to my post office parcel locker.

One complaint about B&H though. I wish they would allow international buyer to choose their delivery address other than having to use the billing address. We can't be home all the time.

Coldamus · 05-01-2012, 10:51 PM

Originally posted by junototoro

Which local courier is it? Are they contactable? where would you get the driver's mobile number from?

I don't know the courier company's name but I really should find out so that I can contact them if necessary. I know they are based in Tamworth. It is the same driver every time, so I will ask for his card and/or mobile number. I haven't bothered previously but it could be useful. When I was living in Sydney and needed to contact the driver, I rang UPS or DHL (I forget which one) and they called the driver on his mobile and asked him to call me. In that case, it was their own driver though, not a contractor.

Originally posted by junototoro

One complaint about B&H though. I wish they would allow international buyer to choose their delivery address other than having to use the billing address. We can't be home all the time.

That is a security measure to combat credit card fraud. The delvery address and billing address have to be the same as that on the card. Here, I don't have that problem because the courier driver knows me and leaves the parcel at the local post office if I'm not home.

Sandy Hancock · 05-01-2012, 10:55 PM

I have been delighted with the service using UPS Worldwide expedited, from both Adorama and B&H.

Last edited by Sandy Hancock; 05-02-2012 at 05:26 AM.

**Ash** · 05-02-2012, 04:43 AM

The delivery times I quoted were from their NY warehouses to Toowoomba (regional Qld). Still fast to me.

junototoro · 05-02-2012, 05:51 AM

Maybe they are just a bit slow in Sydney =\

junototoro · 05-02-2012, 06:10 PM

Today I've received a new package and this time it only took one day in Sydney, which made up for the 3 days in Kentucky.

And I looked at the guy's shirt. It says UPS. Seems that they just don't tell you "out for delivery" in Sydney.

junototoro · 05-07-2012, 11:14 PM

One of the items in my recent purchase had "7-14 days" waiting time. I requested the shipment to be separated. The item was back ordered and got in stock. They sent me the second shipment via USPS priority international mail, with no tracking reference available. On B&H website they state this delivery method takes 10-15 days. Has anyone had experiences with it? I would like to have that particular camera bag for my upcoming trip on 20 May.

Eberbachl · 05-07-2012, 11:18 PM

I recently received a lens from B&H using the UPS Worldwide Expedited option. I think it was three or four business days... lightning fast. Very impressive!

junototoro · 05-16-2012, 06:41 AM

UPS is really fast. USPS is a no show still..... I think it's been more than 1.5 weeks

05-01-2012, 04:33 AM	#1
junototoro Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 262	UPS World Expedited to Australia? B&H Photo is great, but I'm not very sure about UPS World Expedited... One package got stucked in Louisville, Kentucky for 3 days.. (Usually within North America it's very fast though) And the worst problem is, as soon as the packages arrive in Botany Bay in Sydney, nothing happens anymore... No status update and no delivery for days... It's surely very frustrating waiting for expensive gears to arrive by post.... :cry:

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05-01-2012, 04:44 AM	#2
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	I'm not sure if you have a specific point to this post, but I have used B&H for a number of product purchases, all of which were delivered to my house in 3 business days of making the online order. Not even Australia Post can match that for interstate parcels...

05-01-2012, 04:46 AM	#3
junototoro Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 262 Original Poster	I guess I was looking to see if people had the same experiences with me. Which delivery method did you choose? I always choose the cheapest option, and delivery after it arrives in botany has been disappointing.

05-01-2012, 08:34 PM	#4
Coldamus Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Upper Hunter, NSW Posts: 6	I buy reasonably often from either B & H or Adorama and reside in a small NSW country town about 5 hours by road from Sydney. I can confirm the o.p.'s experience but can also say it is not unique to UPS. Once the parcel arrives at Botany and is cleared through customs, it is handed on to the courier company contracted to perform local deliveries. Except possibly for Sydney residents, the local courier is generally an independent company, so once the parcel is handed over to them, it is no longer trackable on the original carrier's system. In my case, the same local courier handles all three of DHL, Fedex, and UPS, so I always choose the cheapest one, UPS. The local couriers don't generally work on weekends or public holidays, so it helps to time the placement of your order. For example, I recently ordered from Adorama but forgot about the upcoming Easter holidays. It was an anxious wait for almost a week while the parcel sat unmoving at the courier company's Botany facility. I try to order on Thursday or Friday local time so that the parcel gets to Sydney and is cleared through customs in time for the local courier to collect it on Monday. Overwhelmingly, I am very satisfied with the service. So far, I haven't lost anything. On a couple of occasions, I have ordered on a Friday afternoon (local time) and had the parcel delivered to my door by 10am the next Tuesday morning. It takes longer to get a standard letter from Queensland. Ideally, the local courier should have a tracking system that picks up the orginal carrier's tracking number but they are not that sophisticated yet. The only tracking system seems to be the driver's mobile phone.

05-01-2012, 08:41 PM	#5
junototoro Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 262 Original Poster	I'm generally happy with their service. It just takes as long as New York to Hawaii for Botany Bay to Sydney Metro lol... Which local courier is it? Are they contactable? where would you get the driver's mobile number from? With my first ever B&H order, they said the driver couldn't find the entrancement to my apartment (which is very strange?!), and they didn't call me or amything.. I had to contact B&H facebook people and UPS social media people to get them change the delivery address to my post office parcel locker. One complaint about B&H though. I wish they would allow international buyer to choose their delivery address other than having to use the billing address. We can't be home all the time.

05-01-2012, 10:51 PM	#6
Coldamus Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Upper Hunter, NSW Posts: 6	Originally posted by junototoro Which local courier is it? Are they contactable? where would you get the driver's mobile number from? I don't know the courier company's name but I really should find out so that I can contact them if necessary. I know they are based in Tamworth. It is the same driver every time, so I will ask for his card and/or mobile number. I haven't bothered previously but it could be useful. When I was living in Sydney and needed to contact the driver, I rang UPS or DHL (I forget which one) and they called the driver on his mobile and asked him to call me. In that case, it was their own driver though, not a contractor. Originally posted by junototoro One complaint about B&H though. I wish they would allow international buyer to choose their delivery address other than having to use the billing address. We can't be home all the time. That is a security measure to combat credit card fraud. The delvery address and billing address have to be the same as that on the card. Here, I don't have that problem because the courier driver knows me and leaves the parcel at the local post office if I'm not home.

05-01-2012, 10:55 PM	#7
Sandy Hancock Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,272	I have been delighted with the service using UPS Worldwide expedited, from both Adorama and B&H. Last edited by Sandy Hancock; 05-02-2012 at 05:26 AM.

05-02-2012, 04:43 AM	#8
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	The delivery times I quoted were from their NY warehouses to Toowoomba (regional Qld). Still fast to me.

05-02-2012, 05:51 AM	#9
junototoro Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 262 Original Poster	Maybe they are just a bit slow in Sydney =\

05-02-2012, 06:10 PM	#10
junototoro Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 262 Original Poster	Today I've received a new package and this time it only took one day in Sydney, which made up for the 3 days in Kentucky. And I looked at the guy's shirt. It says UPS. Seems that they just don't tell you "out for delivery" in Sydney.

05-07-2012, 11:14 PM	#11
junototoro Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 262 Original Poster	One of the items in my recent purchase had "7-14 days" waiting time. I requested the shipment to be separated. The item was back ordered and got in stock. They sent me the second shipment via USPS priority international mail, with no tracking reference available. On B&H website they state this delivery method takes 10-15 days. Has anyone had experiences with it? I would like to have that particular camera bag for my upcoming trip on 20 May.

05-07-2012, 11:18 PM	#12
Eberbachl Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Doreen Posts: 111	I recently received a lens from B&H using the UPS Worldwide Expedited option. I think it was three or four business days... lightning fast. Very impressive!

05-16-2012, 06:41 AM	#13
junototoro Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 262 Original Poster	UPS is really fast. USPS is a no show still..... I think it's been more than 1.5 weeks