SAL Shipping

[disturbman]

Hello, I was wondering who uses SAL here and what was your experience with it. I also wonder if someone ever tried SAL shipping from Japan to Europe.  

[Guest ___]

Your experience may differ just as everyone's will. Personally, everything I have ever ordered SAL has either been lost, broken or both. So, I have no issue with buying a 12 dollar part and paying 15 for EMS just as so I never use SAL ever again.

[to2leo]

I used SAL for HW Japan.  The first order came out fine.  I am waiting for the second one coming.

[cteno4]

I have probably had 100 or more SAL boxes sent to the wash dc area in the usa. all came, most w/in 2 weeks, a few less than a week and a couple 3 weeks, all with no problems. a few have had dents or crushed ends, but nothing has ever been broken.

 

Aaron lives like 40 miles a way and has had bad luck using SAL, so go figure. I think everyone else in jrm in the dc area has not had any sal packages go poof or have major damage either.

 

at least aaron's bad SAL mojo does not wear off, i ordered a pro hobby figure set for him on my last Plazajapan order that shipped SAL!

 

I really like SAL since many packages from HW ship for less than what a similar package in the US would ship for (shipping boxes has gone up quite a bit recently w/in the USA)! many times a few smaller items ship for $5-6. recently ordered the new tomytec festival tower, few figure sets, tunnel portal and some poles and all shipped for $6. I really like not knowing quite when they will get here and have a little surprise for the day when one shows up! I get tired of waiting till enough has built up (and potentially missing something) to justify spending $20-30 for EMS shipping and knowing when it comes seems to take a little of the fun out of the package coming!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[alpineaustralia]

I have also used SAL from PlazaJapan and HW Japan and each time it arrived to Australia slightly later than EMS but with no problems at all. 

[lbriand_fr]

The first time I buy from Plaza, I use SAL. Items never arrived. After 8 weeks of patience (fortunately, it was in summer, so with my holidays and Plaza holidays, it was not so long), he refund me.

Since I only use EMS except once (generrally posted in japan on monday, arrived in France on tuseday night, and for the last 20 kms, it takes 2 or 3 days...).

 

So, the exception was 3 month ago, and the shipment arrived in one week, in perfect conditions.

[GrahamH]

I nearly always use Sal for the UK. It arrives in about 10to 14 days and I have have never had a problem . Mostly I use Rainbowten. I have used EMS twice which is great fun for tracking online, both of these took 2 days. One day Sal will let me down but I have saved over the years. I would not use EMS for track.

Graham H

[cteno4]

I nearly always use Sal for the UK. It arrives in about 10to 14 days and I have have never had a problem . Mostly I use Rainbowten. I have used EMS twice which is great fun for tracking online, both of these took 2 days. One day Sal will let me down but I have saved over the years. I would not use EMS for track.

Graham H

 

I take the same tack as i have saved sooo much with SAL over the years i have more than made up if one eventually goes stray! basically self insurance. figure 100 orders and probably at least $5-15 savings per order, works out to quite a bit of money saved!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[to2leo]

Just an update.  Got my second order from HW Japan via SAL in exactly two weeks again.

[GrahamH]

One thing I discovered about SAL is that it is space available shipping. So that the item is put on the next plane that has space. This is why it varies in time. Around Christmas I found it much slower. I would expect the general economic downturn has affected the amount of cargo being sent but would also expect less flights etc. But for a busy route such as Tokyo to London  (for me) items really shouldn't be hanging around.

 

Graham H

[cteno4]

also with the SAL the smaller the package usually the faster it comes, guess there is always room for a small box on a plane! trams usually show up in about a week if just bubble wrapped and shipped small. medium boxes 2 weeks, and the larger boxes i have had up to 2-4 week waits for...

 

jeff

[Guest ___]

also with the SAL the smaller the package usually the faster it comes, guess there is always room for a small box on a plane! trams usually show up in about a week if just bubble wrapped and shipped small. medium boxes 2 weeks, and the larger boxes i have had up to 2-4 week waits for...

 

jeff

 

Jeff, what was the ship time on the Plaza order that you piggy-backed on for me?

[cteno4]

think it was like 10-12 days. it was a medium box like 6x6x10.

 

jeff

[bill937ca]

Slow but fine.

[bc6]

Speaking of SAL Im expecting my first package delivery from them, I guess there no tracking like EMS.

[cteno4]

no sal has no tracking or insurance. this scares some folks, but i have had over 100 of them come and none lost. realized that with the money saved not doing ems on most of these i can now self insure myself for a lot of potential loss in the future!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[disturbman]

At the end I understood that I allready used SAL to import things (books, T-shirts and DVDs) from the states. It got lsot sometimes but the seller allways replaced the items.

 

So now I'm waiting for two packages from Japan. One is gone since 10 or so days. The other one like 5 days ago. I hope the first one will arrive this week.

[bill937ca]

At the end I understood that I allready used SAL to import things (books, T-shirts and DVDs) from the states. It got lsot sometimes but the seller allways replaced the items.

 

So now I'm waiting for two packages from Japan. One is gone since 10 or so days. The other one like 5 days ago. I hope the first one will arrive this week.

 

Remember for the last week Japan has been shutdown for Obon national holidays.  All dealers were closed and even if they were open I suspect they would be unable to ship, i.e. because the post office would be closed.

 

Funny things can happen.  I had a long reserved train arrive by EMS before the shipping notice.

[Guest ___]

no sal has no tracking or insurance. this scares some folks, but i have had over 100 of them come and none lost. realized that with the money saved not doing ems on most of these i can now self insure myself for a lot of potential loss in the future!

 

cheers

 

jeff

 

Partly correct, if an SAL shipment enters the USPS over a pound, it will go directly to Parcel Post or Priority mail usually at the receiving stations discretion. If it enters the mail stream as priority mail, it is tracked. Sadly if SAL does not transmit email contact information it does not go in to the system. However shippers can tracks SAL shipments that enter the mail stream if it goes in to the 1+ st class mail.

 

Even is SAL fails to provide the recipient's contact email info, the mail stream data system can track the mail from the shipper so the shipper can contact USPS assuming they do not ship much. It's a royal pain in the ass and USPS doesn't want to do it and will say as much, but a shipper can track it once it enters the mail stream. (USPS records the shipper and recipient information for internal tracking as Priority mail is handled in a similar manner as certified mail in the system, despite using differential tracking data.)

 

So, a shipper can not track a lost package within SAL, they can track it if it goes priority mail. If it goes Parcel Post or media mail, you're boned until their systems are updated to accept tracking. Long term, USPS plans to phase out book rate, and parcel posts as they are both obsolete and redundant. they're also overly complicated systems that rely heavily on clerks to sort and are compatible with either LFM and DPS sorting systems in the automation.

 

Expect to see global priority mail flat rates soon as well. Not much help unless you need to return something.

[disturbman]

So after three different SAL deliveries I can say that, for the moment, the service is really reliable between Japan and Germany. Packages take around three weeks to arrive to me.

 

Two times I received them through DHL and the my last package arrived to me through the normal mail circuit. I had to fetch it at the nearest post office.

 

For the moment I'm 120% satisfied with this delivery service. I think I will try to avoid EMS from now on.

[harukablue]

With EMS here in the UK 99.9% of the time you will always have full tax duty to pay, however its always a nice suprise when a SAL shipped item arrives as a "gift", i have had to pay tax and import duty (the law does state this :() even on an EMS shipped gift.

[cteno4]

Thats a bummer, but a plus for SAL.

 

SAL has been slow this summer with packages taking around 3 weeks instead of 2 here to the USA for me. it seems to cycle, not sure if its a backup from summer festival vacations or just some seasonal thing with room on planes or what. always seems to snap back then to about 2 weeks...

 

im finally getting my vacation hold bounced ems package reshipped. ended up costing $68 in shipping for the $64 of stuff... would have been $10 sal. grrr. certainly put me off using ems. i got greedy on a pre-order, patience grasshopper, patience...

 

cheers

 

jeff

[cteno4]

just a cross post here. SAL rates revert to ems levels at 2kg, so beware! more info in this post:

 

http://www.jnsforum.com/index.php/topic,2067.0.html

 

cheers

 

jeff

[bill937ca]

Well, Jeff, HS will start doing SAL in January 2010.  No more no EMS only excuses!!

 

"HOBBY SEARCH starts SAL Small Packet in January 2010 to help cut down

your shipping costs for packages under 2kg.

Please wait a little while until the service goes into effect. Thank you!"

[Guest ___]

I like the idea of cheaper shipping, bu hate the idea of waiting three weeks for it.