First Time Delcampe User

I made my first delcampe purchase in December. Two months later, it has not arrived. I get no help from delcampe except to pass along the seller's note that "it was mailed Dec. 18".

ebay, in exactly same situation, quickly refunded my money because the seller had no proof of mailing. Do I have any recourse, except not to buy from delcampe again?

Assuming you have contacted the seller? If not, you should contact the seller and ask for a refund from them - it's been 10 weeks so you've been more than patient. Reputable sellers will provide that, regardless of store they sell on and whether it was tracked or not. If they don't provide it, then negative feedback and blacklist the seller.

Nothing unusual. It will most likely be late. I just received an item from England, mailed in the last week of November and one from Italy 15 December. But I would take the advise above and contact the seller.
By the way, I have been a Delcampe buyer for a long time and have no problems


Peter

I've had 2 occassions now to where I've mailed stamps to someone in New York State and took more than a month to arrive, 1st class mail. The delay can be in the other country, and could also very well be here with USPS.

I'm assuming COVID, and not enough USPS manpower could easily cause abnormally-longer-than-normal delays.

I've explained to the buyer, and have asked for another week or 2, and it's arrived both times.

Good luck, Ray

A lot of things that were mailed just before Christmas seem to have vanished into a black hole somewhere. I bought a stamp from an ebay seller in New Hampshire on December 21st, and it still hasn't reached me in California.

A friendly swap from member SCF
Took 71 days from New Jersey to Australia

bring back the clipper ships and pony express.

Let's reinstate the use of alien multi armed sorting machines. Also replace the new super expensive postal vehicles with drones.

If you paid by Paypal, seek redress there.
I had a Delcampe order for a topical order last spring, multi-nation and somewhat laboriously compiled, which I placed and paid for by Paypal, then the trail went cold. Vendor silent. I suspect he died of COVID, cause this was about the time that all heck was breaking loose in the EU. Paypal refunded my funds.

Still placing orders with various vendors to get the things I was to get all in one fell swoop.

As to delays in shipment from the EU, during February I rec'd business envelopes from France and the Netherlands within two weeks of Delcampe orders. Then again, I am still waiting for a January 8 order coming from upstate New York through Hip. I am throwing in the towel on that one. Pity.

Overseas deliveries are taking months instead of weeks lately. Reasons include the pandemic, the incompetently bad timing of the USPS reorganization effort last year, and others. What I do is to contact the seller after I've waited a good long time - at least a month -- and in the very nicest way inquire if they remember when they sent the item(s). I never say "Did you send" the item or try to otherwise make any accusation since I'm assuming they're a responsible person who is doing their best. I make no accusations and use no insults -- ever. I've had good luck with that in that i've gotten some voluntary refunds a few times, had the stamps eventually arrive other times, and once I contacted my credit card company and they refunded my money (but that was after about 5 months). Paying with a credit card allows you to do this, but I'd always contact the seller first and give them a great deal of time for the problem to get resolved first. It's just the way things are lately, I guess.

Yes it is true. I got beat up for the first time from a seller on ebay from England today. The stamp took two months to arrive which I thought was excessive. I have purchased quite a bit from GB (0ver the past year) with the latest ones arriving a month or so late. I did not give a negative review - but a Neutral one. Well they took offense. I am going to be more sensitive as it seems that it is hit or miss and a lot of this is out of people's control.

Nora - postal services within the UK, let alone those to the US, were severely disrupted during December and January. I had items take six weeks to reach me after being posted fifty miles away. In the current circumstances, as long as something arrives, I'm happy, and I certainly wouldn't be giving adverse feedback.

All;

Mailed 6 wks ago out to Poland, told by my local po that Poland had a lockdown on incoming flights and had to go to ups, which had to wait for the usps to pick up? Now no info other than stating 'waiting for usps' on the tracking.

Mailed out 39 days ago to Hawaii they received today.

Beyond all human controls.

Much of this has to do with a lack of commercial air assets availability still. Most or probably all of the international mail relies upon contracting with carriers such as Delta and the like and the number of flights has been cut back dramatically. Some of this mail was diverted to sea travel and you will not readily know that. Once it hits land it is another matter but suffice it to say that the mail still has to go through a random screening and inspection process by Customs and, in the case of the United States, the Department of Homeland Security and they get buried by the sporadic large dumps of mail.

Also, I can only assume that the Postal Unions are engaged in activities similar to the Teachers Unions in leveraging COVID to their advantage and that hurts things as well.

In all fairness, I would have been irate as well. If I shipped the item within my stated handling period, everything else is beyond my control. You can be upset that it took so long to arrive, but you need to be angry at the postal authorities, governments, etc... not the seller.

If buyers are not willing to rein in their expectations and desires for immediate gratification, then they need to be willing to pay up $60-100 per shipment for Priority or Express Mail, not just pay the normal 1st class rates and expect pre-COVID delivery windows.

I say this as both a buyer and a seller on ebay. I've sold items overseas that took 2 months to arrive and have waited 2 months for items to arrive.

Just the other day I called ebay and had neutral feedback removed from an unhappy international buyer because "it took too long" when I had shipped the day after I received payment.

ebay sellers should not have to bear the brunt of frustrated buyers' ire (compounded by all of the other societal ills contributing to their crankiness).

Patience is a lost commodity.

Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod.
—William Shakespeare