Reading China Postage Date Stamp

[servo789]

Every time I order something from China it seems to be sent out in a day or two. Some items arrive in 2 weeks, some in 6 weeks, and I've been waiting 3 months for some. The last 5 months have been very slow.  When the packages arrive, I try to verify the date stamp when post-marked - with the date I was told that it was mailed on, but there is no date-stamp that I can find on any package.... unless it's written in Chinese somewhere.  Does anyone out there know how to read the date-stamp on China mail packaging? I just got another package today from Hong Kong.... Form CN22.... written on top of shipping label. The very last line says "Date and senders signature," the senders name is there but just a bunch of Chinese characters where the Date should be. The problem is, I can't determine if the problem is on the China side or the Canadian side unless I can read the Date-stamp. I wonder if a translator machine could read the Date-stamp?

[reallynicestamps · Accepted solution]

The problem is really threefold.

Your seller probably did ship promptly. No fault there.

• The seller used low cost Surface shipping. This has been the practice for years and keeps your purchase price down. But it means that the purchase took a month or more to get to Canada.
• CBSA is cooperating with the RCMP to stop the flow of fentanyl from China into Canada. Nearly one thousand Canadians died from this horrible drug in BC last year.
• Canada Post, along with most Western nations in the UPU, is quarreling with China over low Chinese international shipping costs. Because the the costs of delivering packages are actually being borne by Canada Post, USPS, Royal Mail, DeutschPost, etc.  The low value Surface shipped packages from China are given no priority at all and are stacked up in a warehouse, possibly in Richmond BC.

So on both sides.

But it would not be fair to penalize the seller. He shipped quickly if only because more orders keep coming in every day.

The problem is on the delivery end.

[girlytoo]

You think that's bad I have thing still trickling in from Last Oct. I live in BC. I think it's ridiculous having to wait 6 months to get here. Canada Post is always whining about something. We paid the highest in the world. You would think they could be a little nicer to China's mail. I thought there should be law against what they are doing? Matter of fact I think there is. Start making a log on when it left China and when you get it. If enough people complain then they have to do something about it.

[servo789]

I took your advice and started a log. There is still the problem of no date stamp on the China package so I don't really know when it was actually shipped from a China post office. Usually I don't ask for or get a tracking number so I only have the sellers word that it was mailed on a given date.

What bothers me is that on the bottom of the China package label (form C-22) written in English, are the exact words "Date and Senders Signature". The senders name is filled out in English but the Date is in Chinese characters. Why is something as vital as the Date not in BOTH English and Chinese? Especially since on the same Form C-22 label, just above the "Date and senders Signature" part, is the section containing the legalese stuff of (I the undersigned....etc, etc) and is written in BOTH English and Chinese. In fact most sections of the Chinese shipping label Form C-22 on my parcels are filled out in BOTH Chinese and English... even the weight is in both English and Chinese.... but the Date is only in Chinese.

[tonmar_qoxofrz]

Bull**bleep** customs nor China sellers are not to blame
CANADA POST is sitting on thousands of containers and trailers are piled up at every major CPC processing plant. They say they make no money from delivering the tiny packets and parcels they get from China.
Some parcels do trickle in the regular mail stream and you can receive in 3 weeks but I have seen first had parcels that are dated Nov/Dec 2016 sitting in the plant lineup. So stop making excuses and call your MP. It is illegal what Canada Post is doing and heads should roll.

[girlytoo]

Well I think Canada Post is speeding up things. I bought a item on Jan 12 2017 and I received it April 11 2017. I am getting these from 2017 and I still haven't received all from 2016. Go figure. Well to think Canada Post sped things up to 3 months is supposed to make us all Happy. A couple of years ago when I bought stuff it took about 6 weeks. Then to 6 months and now down to 3 months. Hmm... Time to revamp Canada Post and get rid of the free loaders. Obviously they can't afford them anymore. But we know they won't. Heaven forbid to actually get a full days work from government employee's. It's unheard of it's unconstitutional!! One man works while 4 watch.

[servo789]

I received a parcel today from Singapore, indicated as shipped out on Feb 4/2917-- Post marked Feb 5/2017 on package-- and arrived in my mailbox on April 12/2017. (9 weeks) Now have some proof that the problem is indeed with Canada Post. Another problem this brings up is that I cannot leave Positive Feedback for the seller who did everything right, because it has taken so long that I am no longer able to leave any feedback for this item.