another possible vendor problem

**sailortats** · 20th March 12, 04:30 PM

On March 2nd I ordered a balmoral cap from Glengarry Hats in Saskatoon Saskatchewan and a pair of hose from Dunadd Trading in Scotland. On March 6th I received a notice from Paypal that my balmoral was "expected" to mail on 3/5 and that I should expect to receive it in 4 to 10 days. On March 7th I received my hose from Chris in Scotland. Figuring that Scotland was a lot further away than Saskatoon, on 3/13 I contacted Glengarry Hats to see when I might expect my balmoral. On the 14th I heard back from Ian that I should expect to receive my balmoral "on or before 3/20" Well 3/20 has come and so has my postman and still no balmoral from Canada. I have written again today to Ian and Glengarry Hats. Hopefully I will hear back from him tomorrow. I realize 18 days is not an extremely long time but whenever I order from Scotland or the UK I receive my order usually within 10 days if the product is on hand. 18 days from Saskatoon to San Francisco seems like an inordinately long delivery time.
I know one or two people on here have ordered from Glengarry Hats in the past. Did you have to wait a long time for order also?
I shall post the reply I get from Ian as soon as it arrives.

**artificer** · 20th March 12, 04:59 PM

If it's posted out it may be a customs issue.

They can take no time at all, or can drag things out for +2 weeks.

ith:

**Macman** · 20th March 12, 05:03 PM

I've ordered from them, and they shipped part of the order and said the rest was on back order and it could be quite a while before it came in. The second part of the order eventually was sent and I was happy.

**sevenoaks** · 20th March 12, 05:11 PM

I find that anything I order from the States take a long time sitting in customs. Any products I have ordered from down there the vendors have been terrific in shipping me the order..usually informing me the next day when they ship it.
I blame the Governments on both sides for there almost obsessive border security systems.
I am sure when one ships from country to another in Europe they don't have to go through this microscopic examination of simple pieces of clothing.
I am sure they could flash it through an X-ray and ascertain it could not be a drug shipment or a weapon shipment or anything you could cobble together to make an atomic bomb! Unless they consider a kilt pin a weapon.

**CMcG** · 20th March 12, 05:45 PM

When making purchases from another country, there are many different shipping options and impediments to arrival: packing times, shipping times, customs, shipping after customs, pickup/dropoff times, etc. I generally wait a month before I start getting concerned. I also use PayPal where possible, because there is a 45 day window where you can launch a dispute and get a refund.

In many cases, it isn't the vendors fault. Some sellers insist on sending via trackable mail or courier so that they can give you a tracking number and wash their hands of it. Of course, one needs to pay for this privilege. I usually choose regular mail, unless the package is very valuable, because it is cheaper and I don't mind waiting.

Even trackable, higher speed options don't always work as intended. Jerry at Stillwater is legendary for his packing and shipping speed. But getting a kilt to Canada still took 10 days. Last year, I sent some time sensitive documents from Canada to Hong Kong, paid over $100 for overnight delivery, and it still took them 7 days to get it there... luckily was able to provide the recipient a tracking number and they were flexible about it. I also got a refund on the shipping

Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue.

**ForresterModern** · 20th March 12, 05:47 PM

Glengarry has a presence on eBay from whom I bought a Buy-it-now clearence and paid immediately and it arrived 13 days later---Canada to the US by post for an item that clearly was in stock as the auction site listed several on clearence by size. I bought onw other item from them a couple years ago, from their actual website that time, and remember it still took two weeks to arrive. Should not be any customs issues crossing the border since NAFTA from a customs standpoint, so the only issue should be security from a governmental standpoint (as long as it is not a restricted item in one country or another). I think it is a slower fulfillment of order system for Glengarry. Chris at Dunadd is notorious for being very prompt with his shipping.

**artificer** · 20th March 12, 06:19 PM

Originally Posted by ForresterModern

Glengarry has a presence on eBay from whom I bought a Buy-it-now clearence and paid immediately and it arrived 13 days later---Canada to the US by post for an item that clearly was in stock as the auction site listed several on clearence by size. I bought onw other item from them a couple years ago, from their actual website that time, and remember it still took two weeks to arrive. Should not be any customs issues crossing the border since NAFTA from a customs standpoint, so the only issue should be security from a governmental standpoint (as long as it is not a restricted item in one country or another). I think it is a slower fulfillment of order system for Glengarry. Chris at Dunadd is notorious for being very prompt with his shipping.

NAFTA provides (in theory) for tariff-free shipping across the border (for products CLEARLY labeled "MADE in USA" or "MADE in CANADA"), but customs still has the right to inspect every package for contraband/excluded items.

I do a fair bit of shipping to Canada and can say with plenty of experience that between customs on both sides of the border I've had packages take 4 days to get to BC and I've had packages take almost 3 WEEKS to get there.

Usually 6-10 days via Priority Airmail is pretty standard.

Oddly enough, the place that seems to have the speediest transition thru customs is Australia. Most of the items I've sent have taken 6-8 days to travel half the world and clear two customs ports.

Please don't get me started on UK customs. I just paid for 3-5 day Express International postage and it took 11 days to clear and be delivered!

ith:

**Panache** · 20th March 12, 06:31 PM

I have a few bonnets from Glenngarry Hats and have been pleased with their quality. They always seem to take a a while to ship and get here though. I shouldn't worry over much about it.

Cheers

Jamie

**Mark R** · 20th March 12, 07:37 PM

I ship alot of smaller items to Canada for my business. When shipped via 1st class mail it is really a crap shot.

Dont know why but I can ship the same item to 2 different addresses on the same day and get much different results. One might only take 5-7 days to arrive while it takes over 20 business days for the same item to arrive at a different address.

Have had similar results in stuff coming from Canada UNLESS the item was shipped via an expedited service (priority or express).

May not be a vendor problem at all but rather a postal problem.

**mookien** · 20th March 12, 11:04 PM

Take these anecdotal statements for what they're worth, but I have found Ian at Glengarry Hats to be independent and slow (read his Q&A page for some substantiation) and Chris at the Dunadd Trading Company to be communicative and fast.

Ian is probably slow due, at least in part, to customs, but barring some disaster, you will get you balmoral and it will be good quality.

Chris rivals Rocky for all those things that make a good businessman. A competition between the two of them would be a wonder to behold.

Enjoy your balmoral and hose.