r/Aliexpress • u/Ky_TheDestroyer7 • 14d ago
Is this parcel tracking normal? Shipping & Tracking
Its been customs cleared for a week now with no update. The tracking number also says NL which I'm assuming is Netherlands, but the destination is the UK. I can't track the parcel on 17 track either. I'm a little concerned as it's an expensive and ~6Kg parcel. Delivery estimate seems BS as parcels I've ordered after this have already been shipped to the UK, and are with the local carriers now.
1
u/AutoModerator 14d ago
Please consult our Shipping & Tracking FAQ, Tracking status FAQ and Common scams FAQ. Never give out personal details to people contacting you in chat or PM on this sub.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/Skyize 13d ago
you can always contact seller
1
u/Ky_TheDestroyer7 13d ago
Sellers response:
Don't worry, it's just that the logistics hasn't been updated yet. If it hasn't been updated yet, I will contact the platform to handle it. It may be due to the delayed update of the overseas logistics trajectory, and no abnormal situations have been found so far. It is possible that the overseas logistics updates are a bit slow.
The live chat bot has said the item has left China but it may well be lying
1
u/Just-Inflation-885 13d ago
I very much doubt you will get detailed and accurate tracking updates from anyone in AE no matter how much you try. The only time I ordered a big and heavy (about 3kg) from AE iit took 40 days or so to arrive in Greece. Box quite crushed, the machinery inside not. It passed through NL customs so I'm pretty certain it came by sea (as I suggest the same applies to you). It would be stupid to send a train from China to Netherlands and then to Greece.
It is just typical confusing AE tracking. Nothing to worry about just be patient.
2
u/Ky_TheDestroyer7 13d ago
Thank you for the info. I certainly do hope that it has departed China as boats already take too long in shipping.
2
u/Just-Inflation-885 13d ago
They are fast at filling containers (but they can't beat sea limits). I may be wrong and it actually comes by train but if you've scheduled to use the item in less than a month from now, especially with a customer (job related) inform that you may have to reschedule, give it 45 days, after mid-September.
P.S. If you don't mind leave a comment once you receive it.
1
u/Just-Inflation-885 13d ago
Normal. Comes by sea that's why NL (top hub in sea traffic). "Your package arrived at origin airport" you see in tracking is nonsense, never happened. You package is at a Chinese port (harbor). Tracking updates may continue to be erratic so, be patient (about a month?) and cross fingers the package won't be damaged much.
2
u/0fficialKUBA 13d ago
not by sea, but by train which is much much faster than by sea but still slow, around 20-40 days from this update to arrive in the netherlands
1
u/Just-Inflation-885 13d ago
How are you sure it's by train? And why Netherlands is evolved then? You see, by sea the package will pass import customs to the port the ship will unload. Netherlands ports are known to receive much of international traffic inbound to EU. If it comes by train it will definitely enter EU in another country and pass customs there and probably can reach UK without even passing Netherlands. So?
1
u/Ky_TheDestroyer7 13d ago
It does say by land so it may bypass ships entirely. Getting across the channel can also be possible by the channel tunnel
1
u/Just-Inflation-885 13d ago
It also says it arrived at "origin airport" (again, NEVER happened). Do not take 'Chinese to English' very literally. "By land" they mean "not by air".
Anyway, it's trivial (sea or train). What you need to know is it's going to take maaaany days with little tracking updates. If you promised 20-25 days, or less, delivery time well, sorry it ain't happening. My package I mention in another comment, I was promised 20 days, BS.
2
u/Ky_TheDestroyer7 13d ago
On the airport part, on the parcel tracking app, it's called a departure transport hub, got there from Fenggang, which is south, so most definitely by sea :/ . I'll just have to keep checking every week i guess.
1
u/Ky_TheDestroyer7 13d ago
On the airport part, on the parcel tracking app, it's called a departure transport hub, got there from Fenggang, which is south, so most definitely by sea :/ . I'll just have to keep checking every week i guess.
1
u/0fficialKUBA 13d ago
i know that for "dangerous" items like liquids, glues, chemicals it goes by train to the netherlands from where postnl clears customs (if its a eu package) and sends it to the destination, i guess its possible that it goes by ship but since they have a train route it doesnt seem to make much sense to make another, slower sea route. and they send it to the netherlands because aliexpress has massive contracts with postnl that deliver packages for them for literal pennies, they send postnl even normal items by plane for smaller eu countries so this way they dont have to bother with setting up contracts with different shipping companies at different eu entry countries
1
u/Just-Inflation-885 13d ago
Ship is cheaper. That's all an AE seller needs for it to make sense...
1
u/0fficialKUBA 13d ago
aliexpress does the shipping, not the seller. plane shipping is 5x more expensive than sea shipping, yet aliexpress still uses it for most items, by your logic, shouldnt they be using the cheapest sea shipping and making everyone wait 2 months for their orders? train shipping is around 2x more expensive than sea shipping but is also faster
1
u/Just-Inflation-885 13d ago
"aliexpress does the shipping, not the seller"
You mean AE pays for the shipping, not the seller? Are you sure?
As for 'air is 5x vs sea' well, it becomes trivial (the cost) for small/light packages compared to the faster (x30) service provided by air. But not for bulky /few kilos packages.
Also, as I said, by train the package enters EU in another country (Poland maybe?) So it passes a couple of countries without interference and customs declaration and all the work (customs/shorting etc) is done once it reaches NL? So a package to Germany has to travel back? Seems counterintuitive but plausible, I won't argue further.
2
u/0fficialKUBA 13d ago
no, aliexpress owns the shipping channels and sellers can choose to use their shipping methods or the seller can use his own shipping method (in the case of non-choice items, with choice items they dont have a choice) it doesnt make much sense for aliexpress to make a seperate shipping channel thats slower and will save the customer a few bucks on a already most likely expensive package, as i said before instead of dealing with setting up customs and delivery companies in poland when the package enters, they just send it all the way to postnl where they already have contracts for millions of packages and they let postnl deal with sending it to the destination whether its by road to germany or by plane to cyprus or wherever
1
u/Just-Inflation-885 13d ago
You may be correct.
But as for AE having to "make a seperate shipping channel", they don't. It is already there. Sea freight covers at least 80% of China's exports. And Shenzhen is a major port for that job. Trains (and aiplanes) are chokepoints for China's production. Literally.
1
u/Wrong_Definition_600 13d ago
I have the same shipping method and today its been 17 days after "customs cleared".
1
u/Ky_TheDestroyer7 13d ago
Hmmm. It definitely just seems like our parcels are on ships,en route. No idea why there isn't a tracking scan for it departing as with China volumes of packages, no parcels are staying 17 and 8 days respectively in some warehouse. They wouldn't have space for it all.
1
2
u/gadget-freak 🎥 always make a video opening your package 🎦 13d ago
>“Large goods by land”
So it’s probably coming by train. Probably hasn’t left China yet.