China Parts- Shipping time

I too got two refunds recently from overseas orders. One from China and the other from Serbia. A third refund was related to an order to a US based seller that was having some problems with her Taiwan based supplier. 

The 2N384 Germanium transistors that didn't make it from Serbia were missed more than the 5W, 20k Ohm wirewound resistors I had ordered from China. The China based seller wouldn't refund until the full 2 months estimated shipping date had come and gone. I think if I had paid the extra (at the time) $2.39 for the Speedpak shipping service I would have them now (resistors). Neither package has since arrived and I don't expect them to. In addition, the China based seller told me when a problem came up in shipping, the item would get sent back and then their postal service would try to send it out a again. Doesn't sound like a good system to me. 

I have noticed also that items from overseas can get to US shores relatively quickly (7 days as an example) and then sit in one of the clearing houses for international mail for a long period of time. The one in San Francisco comes to mind-very slow and sluggish. More recently, some of this type of mail has been going to a facility in Sparks, Nevada. Not sure why but it has been moving along at a good clip since then which is an improvement. I don't pretend to understand it all or how the system currently works. Good luck with your buying efforts.

73, Rod WB6FBF

Just received a refund for two orders from China that never arrived. The orders were made on April 22. Most of my orders eventually arrive, but they are slower than ever. The orders seem to make it out of the country fairly quickly, then they just seem to be in limbo for weeks and weeks. Not sure whats going on with that.

Just as a reminder: I mentioned in another post that the "SpeedPak" delivery service from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan is still good as the name implies. When offered as an upgrade shipping service, I have noticed that the cost for it has gone up a bit with some sellers in the last 2-3 months. I guess that is a reflection of current market conditions. Still it is worth it as being much faster and efficient a shipping service. Avoid using China Post till things get sorted out over there.
73, Rod  WB6FBF

Wonder just how accurate those costs are, or is this just a way to take advantage of the current situation to get a few more $$$ out of us. I realize there are delays, but this amount of added time? Really?

I was on AliExpress & Amazon last night (6/12/20), and noticed all the shipping times I looked at for parts from their "Shipped directly from China" listers were 30-50 days delivery time now, unless you want to pay for the "Expidited" shipping costs. (The "Expidited " shipping was often more than the parts cost, sometimes up to 2+ times!).

 This is a much longer time than it used to be on almost everything.

 I wanted to place an order, but getting the parts I need now, and having to wait until "Estimated arrival time:September" is unacceptable.

EDIT:
 Up to 70 DAYS- to get your goodies now. Just found that last night.
I won't deal with a wait that long, especially if I need something to repair equipment with. Will order from U.S. company.