Scotweb may wish to seek discount from FedEx

**O'Searcaigh** · 3rd March 12, 07:42 AM

Yet another reason to buy "in country" whenever possible and if not currently possible, encourage in country manufactures to start producing the goods. E.g., I'm sure Pendleton Mills is perfectly capable of making any woolen cloth anyone else does/can. [Several years ago I bought a good amount of Frasier Hunting Weathered from them at a great price]. We already know of some really talented people right here that produce sporrans, bonnets, kilt jackets (even if by "conversion"), etc. I'm pretty sure flasks too. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not "anti-international trade" but the only way things are going to change as far as these kinds of problems are concerned is if "the market speaks" -- which seems to be the only thing people listen to anymore.

**madmacs** · 3rd March 12, 07:51 AM

Fedex saw your previous post????

**seanachie** · 3rd March 12, 02:21 PM

I think one of the realities you have to face is unpleasant but true. Ihandle shipping at my company and we receive tons of fedex, but ship with UPS. My experience is at the end of the day they are pretty apathetic. They have huge customers who pay them big bucks. Those people they care to keep happy. Your shipping costs while expenpsive to you is not to them. It may sound cynical but I have fought too many times with them to believe otherwise. (Total aside but I sent this from my Kindle Fire, easier than I thought)

**Grizzly** · 10th March 12, 02:47 PM

[QUOTE=O'Searcaigh;1071298]Yet another reason to buy "in country" QUOTE]

Sadly this works the other way round too. I would love to have goods made by XMTS craftsmen or women in the States but the disadvantages of extortionate shipping fees and nightmare tales of hold ups in customs and another dreaded tax bill for import duty really puts me off the idea. Luckily I am fortunate to live in England where I can get everything I need from over here using good old Royal Mail. Regretfully there are other things I want which I will just have to admire from afar.

**unixken** · 15th March 12, 06:03 PM

Alrighty then... Ken's FedEx Saga, Chapter 2:

First, I got the Import Duty bill for the first shipment (some shirts, 18 meters of tartan fabric, the flask, and other in stock items, totaling over $1000 USD.) The bill was $85, including the $25 brokerage fee from FedEx. I was expecting a bit more, so I was pleased with that.

Now, the next shipment from Scotland is on it's way, as of today. This is the shipment with all the made-to-order pieces (the kilt, PC and waistcoat, some skirts and sashes, and so on.) Scotweb has shipped right on schedule, and I'm looking forward to receiving everything!

The first thing I noticed with FedEx, for this shipment, is that the tracking page says it was picked up today, Mar 15th, as planned, but shows "Estimated delivery Mar 16, 2012 by 10:30 AM." I'm not sure why it shows a less than 24 hour period between pickup and delivery (not that I'm expecting that!), but we'll see just how many days this shipment sits on the dock. As before, we're coming up on a weekend, so if the box arrives in the United States on Saturday, I wouldn't expect any Customs activity until Monday, earliest.

Customs already has my information "as an importer", and there are no products in this shipment that should be of concern to the FDA or other non-Customs federal agency. So I'm curious to see if the box sits, unattended and idle again, thanks to Customs.

**unixken** · 16th March 12, 09:44 PM

Seems the new shipment is likely to sit on the dock again, through a weekend. It's been in Memphis for 24 hours without notation to explain any lack of movement. Since FedEx hadn't called me to indicate offer any explanation for the delay, I called them (as before.) They haven't heard from Customs. Though they tell me that Customs works on Saturday, something tells me I'll be calling them back again, on Monday. :/

**AKScott** · 16th March 12, 10:46 PM

Scotweb, I feel this man's pain. I do not ever again want a "free" upgarde to FedEx, for any reason at all, ever.

Please ship all future orders to me via Royal Mail until Jesus Christ shows up at your office in person and tells you He has come again.

**unixken** · 17th March 12, 07:12 AM

Originally Posted by AKScott

Scotweb, I feel this man's pain. I do not ever again want a "free" upgarde to FedEx, for any reason at all, ever.

Please ship all future orders to me via Royal Mail until Jesus Christ shows up at your office in person and tells you He has come again.

The package is 16.5 pounds. Royal Mail wont take it. It's too heavy. So mailing was just not an option. Additionally, it contains over 1200 GBP ($2000) worth of made-to-measure products that took many weeks to produce. I would NOT want it shipped uninsured and untrackable.

If there are other package couriers who service the U.S., perform better with Customs, and don't charge exorbitant brokerage fees, perhaps SW could try using them instead, or let the customer specify a different courier (UPS, etc.)

In the meantime, my experience with FedEx and the last shipment, though irritating, was not traumatic enough to adopt a different strategy. I'll just continue to hound them until the package starts moving again.

**unixken** · 17th March 12, 11:57 AM

At 2:45pm Saturday, I again called FedEx to see why this latest package still hadn't moved. They told me they needed another copy of the Form 5106 (yesterday, I told them they already had one on file.)

I asked for the email address to send a new copy to, and told them that I expect a call from them, the next time they need anything from me.

To be continued...

**unixken** · 19th March 12, 03:02 PM

The end of another business day, 2 more phone calls, and an email to FedEx from Scotweb. And the shipment still sits on the dock in Memphis, unmoved. ::sigh::