Feedback wanted - DHL international shipping

**ripstopbytheroll** · 03-12-2016, 21:25

For international shipments, we currently use USPS first-class or priority international. Most other vendors use this too, so it's par for the course. That being said, I've never been thrilled with their service. Between minimal to non-existent tracking, long shipping times, and a recent rate hike across the board, I've been looking for a better solution.

I've gotten good feedback in the past from international customers, so I'll throw this out there. Can anyone comment on their shipment experience with DHL vs USPS? With everything I have worked out, the high points are as follows:

- MUCH faster shipping time (2-3 days DHL vs 6-10 days USPS). For Canada, it's 1-2 days.

- Similar pricing in most cases. In the test cases I ran, if DHL was ever higher, it wasn't by more than a couple bucks, outside of small shipments under a lb to some locations. We could always keep USPS as an option for these cases.

- Significant savings to Canada and most other locations I checked once USPS Priority is the only option (> 4 lbs).

So all said, DHL looks to be a better overall solution. It's much faster and the price is either similar or lower than USPS. Would love to hear your thoughts. Maybe there are some horror stories out there and I'm just oblivious. All said and done, I just want the shipping to be as fast, cheap, and reliable as possible for you guys.

Thanks

**Squid In The Woods** · 03-12-2016, 21:31

DHL seems to be the standard (in Europe anyways). I'm currently in Romania and DHL hasn't given us any problems yet. FedEx on the other hand hasn't been reliable and we won't use them any longer. Can't say anything about USPS overseas though since anything I get via USPS is handled through the military mail system.

**ripstopbytheroll** · 03-12-2016, 21:59

Originally Posted by Squid In The Woods

DHL seems to be the standard (in Europe anyways). I'm currently in Romania and DHL hasn't given us any problems yet. FedEx on the other hand hasn't been reliable and we won't use them any longer. Can't say anything about USPS overseas though since anything I get via USPS is handled through the military mail system.

Thanks I've always had excellent service with DHL, but want to make sure there are no "gotchas" before putting in all the time and effort to transition. I appreciate the feedback!

**BrRabbit** · 03-12-2016, 22:20

My experience with them is from 90s, and then DHL was first-class service.

**packeteer** · 03-12-2016, 23:54

DHL is better ime

**SilvrSurfr** · 03-13-2016, 01:14

No experience with DHL the company - I just know they dropped out of the US domestic market entirely back in 2009, leaving only UPS, FedEx, and the USPS to service the US. They're owned by Deutsche Post, the privatized German mail authority.

**Sailor** · 03-13-2016, 02:48

I spent quite a few years in this biz. DHL was the pioneer on international shipments and probably still has better political connections because of its long roots in the biz. USPS uses international mail agreements to get things delivered out of country, so its the locals that make the deliveries. UPS and FEX have bought their ways into international markets, and usually they make their own pick ups and deliveries. No matter what personal stories you hear from individuals, statistically they all achieve pretty much the same results, but the USPS, since they don't own the local service, probably varies the most. The price each charges, the pick up time and the average shipping time is what to look at...

**Kerpenen** · 03-13-2016, 04:15

Hi, in Finland DHL has always worked better than UPS. USPS has worked ok, but has been a bit slow. Personally, I'd go with DHL if it was my choice.

**hutzelbein** · 03-13-2016, 05:48

For private shipping I have had mostly good experiences with DHL and wouldn't hesitate to use them. But on Black Friday I made pretty big group order with Warbonnet. Previously all WB parcels were sent with USPS, so I was surprised that this one was sent with DHL. Unfortunately it was nothing but trouble. The shipping time was about the same as with USPS, if I remember correctly, but instead of going straight to my local customs office where I pick up my deliveries with the payment receipts in order to pay the customs fees, the parcel was held by DHL at the airport. After a couple of days I got a call. A DHL guy asked me to send him a detailed statement of the content WITH PICTURES! I asked him why they wouldn't send the parcel to my customs office, where I could open it and show the content. He said that they don't do this. Instead they provide this mandatory "service". He wasn't even able to tell me what they charge for the "service" - just that they have a very "reasonable" rate. It turned out much later that the rate is something like 2% of the order value, but at least 10 EUR plus VAT. In contrast I don't pay anything when I pick up stuff from customs directly...

Since I didn't have a choice, I sat down and translated the invoice. I added detailed descriptions and links to the pictures on the WB website. I don't know how I could have provided pictures of stuff that I don't have, yet, otherwise... After having sent the description to DHL, the parcel was sent on its way to me. A couple of days later, it was delivered to my doorstep and I had to pay there and then. I got a skimpy customs invoice (not from customs but DHL) that was missing all kinds of information - e.g. like the rate of duty or the exchange rate they used. I paid and later did the math. It didn't add up. Not only had they used only the highest rate (12.5% -- a considerable part of the order would have only been 3.7%, which makes a huge difference), but they also had used a very unfavorable exchange rate. I assume that they added a couple of percent as hidden fees - but neither the invoice nor their website shows any information on this. And of course I paid 11.90 EUR for this "service".

Of course I contacted DHL and complained. Why did I have to spend 1 hour writing a detailed description with pictures if they clearly didn't read it? I asked for a partial refund. They asked me to write a second description and add the rate of duty for each item (since I had told them that customs had charged me differently in the past). I wasted another hour. After sending my second description, I only got a "thanks" and no more information. When I asked two weeks later when I could expect an answer and possibly a refund, I was told that they couldn't do anything for me themselves; they had forwarded the case to customs, and it would take at least 9 months (!!!) until I could expect any answer.

So in summary, I spend a lot of time doing work that I had to pay for, got overcharged, spent more time trying to get back my money, and I'm still waiting for an answer.

I have never had problems with orders sent via USPS. Tracking mostly works fine. In the last year or so the average shipping time was about 10 days (although there were one or two exceptions). The parcels usually go to my customs office, which doesn't charge me extra and I have never been overcharged. Sometimes Deutsche Post even does the customs work at the airport, so I get the parcel delivered to my doorstep and pay there -- free of extra charges.

After my experience, I would avoid ordering with a shop that only offers DHL. If you decide to offer shipping with DHL, PLEASE continue to offer USPS as a choice.

**Snowball** · 03-13-2016, 06:50

I never got shipments with DHL from outside EU.

USPS
I live in Denmark ( I assume it’s the same for other EU countries) so all shipments has to go through customs.
In my experience it causes delays two times. First at USPS sorting facility. It can take up to 4 days before its airborne but it also on depends the weekday its shipped from Durham. Then it has to go through customs in Denmark. My worst experience is 12 days from the time it landed in DK to it cleared customs (average is about 5 days). I am not sure what causes these delays. I assume all relevant information (costs) is available on the shipping papers. Then there is the costs. The Danish postal service charge 160dkr ($22.8) in fee alone for customs handling + the variable tax fee for the goods. When the Danish postal service finally have handled the customs papers they send a letter (snail mail) and then we have to accept the shipping and pay all the costs before the parcel is released and it takes 24 hours at best. They do not ship the parcel from the handling location before we pay.

The variable tax fee for the goods is what it is we can’t change that but I am NOT happy with the time it takes to handle a shipment + the fee they take fore it.
For me the average delivery time is 2 weeks + with USPS.

I am not sure how it works with DHL and how much they charge for customs handling but for me it’s not always about the money (if it’s a fair price) but the time.
I would love to have an alternative to USPS if the price is fair.