USPS Shipping from USA to NZ - Current Experiences

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aaristotle

145 posts

Master Geek

#288892 30-Jul-2021 11:30

I am looking at purchasing from the US and have a range of shipping options available.

The USPS options are First-Class Mail International, Priority Mail International and Priority Mail Express International, which range from 7-21 to 3-5 business days delivery and US$60 to US$87. The next options are UPS & DHL at US$100+

With the current covid freight issues do the indicated delivery time frames match what everyone here in NZ is currently experiencing? I am tending toward the USPS Priority Mail Express International but if the current experience is well outside the timeframes then I might consider paying the extra US$14 for UPS.

AxisOfBeagles

45 posts

Geek

#2752386 30-Jul-2021 12:11

As much as it pains me to say it (being an American-Kiwi hybrid) the USPS has truly fallen into disrepair. Those shipping time estimates are unreliable, and all too often actual shipping times far exceed them. When I ship from the US, I go with one of the major private carriers. UPS & DHL are good alternatives and worth the extra few $.

wlgspotter

331 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2752395 30-Jul-2021 12:23

I've recently had 2 separate purchases shipped from the USA to NZ (Auckland). They were with 2 separate retailers, and neither are purchased/shipped from Amazon.

In the 1st purchase, shipping was via UPS. According to the shipment tracking info I received, the sipping label was created on 29th June, item picked up on 2nd July (in NY, USA), and was delivered on 27th July - so it took a good 3+ weeks.

For the 2nd purchase, shipped via USPS, shipping label was created on 13th July, item picked up/accepted on 14th July, and delivered on 29th July, so it took about 2 weeks.

So from the above it looks like the shipping via USPS was faster via UPS.

I must say though I don't know what exact shipping "products" was used, however I seemed to recall for USPS it could be the "First Class Priority Mail option".

Might give you some indicative timeframes of when you can except to receive your item.

Edit: Found out my shipping via USPS was for "First Class Mail International", whereas there was not detailed information for the other order shipped via UPS other than just simply "international Shipping"...

aaristotle

145 posts

Master Geek

#2752435 30-Jul-2021 14:16

Thanks for the responses.

I think I'll go with UPS Expedited. I punched in the supplier address and my address on the UPS site and it advised delivery would be 11 August. Longer than the estimated 3-5 business days on the supplier site, but I'm assuming UPS should have a fairly good idea of their own delivery chain.

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2752559 30-Jul-2021 17:19

You can also sign up for MyUS, which ships using "the cheapest option" which in my case turned out to be DHL but not at USD100+. That gives you a US address so you can get all sorts of stuff that you'd never normally be able to get.