[justin w.]

Due to this year's 35% rate increase for USPS Global Express (EMS), it is now more economical for HeadAmp to ship international orders by FedEx.  I'm interested in feedback on receiving FedEx vs. USPS shipments from Head-Fiers in the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
 
Thanks,
Justin

 

[5aces]

HeadAmp supplied the Pico Slim amplifier to myself in Toronto,Canada.
I have ordered electronics from many parts of the globe.
Once an item from USPS/EMS clears customs it enters into the Canada Post package stream.
If you are unavailable to receive the package after a couple delivery attempts,the parcel goes to your local postal outlet based on the postal code.
From there you can pick up the item with ID and a signature at your convenience.

FedEx,along with other private parcel services are known for their atrocious "brokerage fees" on international items.
They have a large window of estimated delivery time,if you plan to be on hand for receiving.
You will play a longer game of tag with FedEx.
In order to make arrangements for outside pickup,you have to be fortunate enough to live close to a main FedEx depot,which are certainly not as extensive as sub postal outlets.
In my case,I am close to Pearson International Airport,so it is not inconvenient to pickup there.

 

[justin w.]

Thanks.  I'll look for more feedback, but a possible solution is simply to downgrade the standard shipping from USPS Global Express to USPS Global Priority.

 

[Currawong]

This is my general experience receiving parcels:
 
EMS: Fast and efficient and they ask for any customs charges at the door. Sometimes customs inspection is delayed a little, so it has taken a day or two longer than expected, though not lately. Packages are almost always opened for inspection. The postal service here is excellent otherwise.
 
FedEx: They send a bill after the fact asking for their customs brokerage fee etc. They ask for this even when, if the item had arrived via EMS, I wouldn't have been charged anything. FedEx items are processed by a major Japanese courier company (Sagawa) and not FedEx themselves. They tend to quote a conservative delivery date estimate which they always beat by a day or two.

 

[kyoshiro]

I hate Fedex sending me the bill afterwards when I was in Canada getting stuff from US. But places like Hong Kong shouldnt have any problems as we dont have the import taxes/sales taxes that Canada has. 

 

[kckc]

I'm located in Canada and this is my experience:
 
USPS/EMS: It generally takes longer for the item to arrive. Once it's cleared customs it goes through CanadaPost, which I have had good and bad experiences with, not to mention that they've also gone on strike at least twice the past couple of years. It is more convenient to go through Canada Post though and since I'm never home for delivery, the pickup location is always very close.
 
FedEx: I hate the bill they always send me afterwards and that is the big downside of FedEx, but I still prefer to use FedEx for international items. There has never been a delay and the item always arrive on time or earlier. I have also never had a problem with the item clearing customs while with USPS/Canada Post I've had my item held for over a week once. Like I've already mentioned, I'm usually never home for deliveries so I generally like to call FedEx beforehand and ask them to hold the item at a pickup location, which is definitely not as extensive as Canada Post locations. But I'm close to one as it is and this is just as convenient as Canada Post situation with an overall smoother shipment. 

 

[Dan S]

I'm located in Canada, and this is my experience:
 
USPS: Slow, and since they can't track packages or guarantee delivery, unreliable. Last year during the Canada Post strike, a package that I had ordered from the U.S. never arrived. Luckily the U.S. firm was nice about it and gave me a refund. But I will never buy through the USPS again. For expensive packages, it's not worth the risk.
 
FedEx: Fast and guaranteed, which is great. Big brokerage fees, which is the opposite of great. Far better than UPS -- more precise delivery estimates, and much better location to pick up the package if you miss the deliveries.

 

[Smeckles]

Personally, I've really only had package deliveries via private carrier such as DHL or FedEx.  I cannot remember receiving a USPS shipment made to Singapore. Additional tariff collections rendered by FedEx are erratic at best, meaning there is usually no brokerage fees per se, but local sales tax may be applied to some shipments but not others.

 

[Landis]

I've had really bad experiences with FedEx and UPS. Brokerage fees can kill deals and most of the time when I've encountered a retailer that only offers international shipping via FedEx or UPS, I look elsewhere for a retailer with USPS, EMS or DHL options. I recall one of my first experiences from US to Canada via FedEx, I had bought a pair of vintage headphones on eBay for $50 and after the initial shipping quote, I ended up paying an extra $30 or so in brokerage-- similar experiences with UPS.

I'd rather pay $30 for flat shipping (USPS) rather than $15 with a surprise $30+ brokerage fee (FedEx / UPS).

 

[SHAHZADA123]

Hi,
I live in Dubai, UAE and have had extensive experience with both USPS & FedEx.
 
USPS : Packages have arrived in perfect condition. But arrival date is quite unpredictable.
75% of the times I have received on time. 20%, delayed by a day or two. 5% delayed by a few weeks. 
USPS packages come to me only via the local postal authority, whom, I consider to be not as professional as expected. Therefore, I really can't blame USPS entirely. 
 
Fedex : Absolutely on time, every time. Delivered home and in perfect condition with Custums prepaid.  BUT very expensive compared with USPS.
 
All in my personal experience.
Regards
Shehzad

 

[elnero]

FedEx into Canada is horrible, the rates seem relatively reasonable until a month later you get a bill in the mail for outrageous amounts in "brokerage fees" that are typically only $5 when coming in via USPS/Canada Post. As an example, my wife bought me one of the iPure docks for Christmas, a $100 purchase with around $10 shipping, a few weeks after it arrived we get a bill for almost $50 most of which was brokerage fees. If that had been USPS it would have been $10 ($5 brokerage, $5 GST), paid up front at the post office.
 
On another note, if I get something shipped via FedEx or USPS and I'm not home to get it I then have to arrange to go out to their depot both of which are out by the airport and FedEx only has a window of about an hour a day that you can pick up, alternatively, I can pick up Canada Post packages at my local postal outlet anytime between 8 and 8 Mon. - Sat.
 
I've been shipping via USPS/Canada Post for almost 10 years now, occasionally packages take longer than expected but generally I've been very pleased with the service. I'll typically avoid buying from a company if they won't ship via USPS/Canada Post, it's just not worth the cost and hassle in dealing with them.

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

FedEx into Canada is horrible, the rates seem relatively reasonable until a month later you get a bill in the mail for outrageous amounts in "brokerage fees" that are typically only $5 when coming in via USPS/Canada Post. As an example, my wife bought me one of the iPure docks for Christmas, a $100 purchase with around $10 shipping, a few weeks after it arrived we get a bill for almost $50 most of which was brokerage fees. If that had been USPS it would have been $10 ($5 brokerage, $5 GST), paid up front at the post office.
 
On another note, if I get something shipped via FedEx or USPS and I'm not home to get it I then have to arrange to go out to their depot both of which are out by the airport and FedEx only has a window of about an hour a day that you can pick up, alternatively, I can pick up Canada Post packages at my local postal outlet anytime between 8 and 8 Mon. - Sat.
 
I've been shipping via USPS/Canada Post for almost 10 years now, occasionally packages take longer than expected but generally I've been very pleased with the service. I'll typically avoid buying from a company if they won't ship via USPS/Canada Post, it's just not worth the cost and hassle in dealing with them.

if it's FedEx Ground into Canada, does that change anything?

 

[CandYL]

...

 

[Rayzee]

I've got packages from FedEx and USPS to the UK. This is my own personal experience.
 
USPS by far is the superior service in my opinion, times are shorter then FedEx and if delivery isn't made, they deliver it to the local Royal Mail Branch so I can pick it up within walking distance
 
FedEx is much slower, and I mean much slower then USPS, took 2 weeks if I recall correctly compared to USPS which delivers within a week. And if failed delivery, it's back to their depot making things quite inconvenient compared to USPS or redelivery.
 
I would pick USPS / EMS any day.

 

[elnero]

Quote:

if it's FedEx Ground into Canada, does that change anything?

Not that I'm are of, I think that's how the Pure dock came. To be honest though I'm not that familiar with the different services on offer as I avoid FedEx whenever possible. USPS at least has a few services where the fees are taken care of but those are generally quite expensive and it's still a hassle to deal with the pick up.