Item on hold in destination country

[zee-chan]

I just happened to check the tracking status of a 1.5kg tracked packet I sent to Germany 12 days ago, and noticed that it has the tracking status of Item on hold since March 21... What would be the cause of this? Is the buyer not picking up the parcel?? I'm thinking about messaging the buyer to ask, but not sure how I should word my message? The tracked packet label does have the buyer's phone number on it. I'm just worried that if it doesn't get picked up soon it'd get bounced back to me, and I certainly don't want to pay $60 postage to retrieve it... Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Item on hold

Mar-21-17, 07:03 AM

Item has arrived at the delivery office in the destination country

Mar-21-17, 02:43 AM

International item is in transit to the delivery office.

Mar-20-17, 18:16 PM

Item on hold

Mar-20-17, 10:10 AM

International item is in transit to the delivery office.

Mar-20-17, 10:10 AM

Item has arrived in foreign country

Mar-17-17, 17:46 PM

Item has been sent to customs in the destination country

Mar-17-17, 17:46 PM

International shipment has arrived in a foreign country

Mar-16-17, 10:18 AM

[ricarmic]

Sometimes I think we do too much to make ourselves worry.

Too many times I've watched package updates to Germany, Russia, China, Latin American and even USA destinations and the blasted updates become very worrisome (even sometimes updates that the item is being returned to sender when in the end it is not).

Specifically to Germany, yes I've seen the same thing a few times. I don't know why it appears to "sit there" for a while, I'm not sure when we see the "translated" version of what's actually happening we're seeing what's actually happening.

For example the "in delivery office" and "out for delivery" updates we see here, may not be translated properly from the German PO so we see "on hold" as the default translation.

Anyway, for certain,  I would not contact the buyer.

Try not to worry about it as much as you can, the odds are very very very high that all will be well.....

[momcqueen]

Like us, German buyers are asked to pay import taxes and they have a relatively low de minimus.

Unlike in Canada where we can simply pay those import fees to whomever it is that brings the parcel to our door, Germans have to go to a special government Customs office which is not always conveniently located and pay their import fees only to see that package then released back to DHL for delivery. It's not like they can even take their package home with them after they might travel 50-km to another town to pay of the fees due. 

Your parcel is probably waiting on its buyer to make the time to do that.

[momcqueen]

That being said, I've never had a German buyer kick back a parcel for non-payment of customs fees. Italians, yes? Brtis? Yes. Never the Germans.

[pjcdn2005]

Did you check the German pistol dote?  The destination country is sometimes more up to date.

[femmefan1946]

What's a 'pistol dote"?

[momcqueen]

Postal site.

[ricarmic]

I've never been able to find any updates for any of my packages on the German postal site.... perhaps I don't know how to do it. It seems to me that they give it a new number when it hits their system and one would need to know that number....and not the CP number any longer....

[momcqueen]

German Post becomes DHL for parcels.

[momcqueen]

Or rather, international parcels go to DHL for delivery from Deutsche Post.

[ricarmic]

Do you know how to relate the CP number to the DHL number?

[momcqueen]

I'm afraid that I don't remember. My knowledge is based from some intense problem-solving with a Tracked Packet that went MIA in the middle of localized flooding in Germany at the time. It was four years ago, I think.

[Anonymous]

I had 2 packages shipped by XpressPost to Belgium and they were sitting at the customs dept for 3 months.  I contacted the buyers to go or contact the customs dept, both went there and received the packages.  In fact they were just "sitting" not even opened to be inspected or whatever!!  Not making senses at all but that is the way there are.  Right now I have a large package going to Germany, hope it is not "sitting" there.  I send it by XpressPost, if it is late, I will file a claim for a late delivery and get the full refund which is around $85.50.  Canada Post has to pay for it (being penalized) for Germany not moving it at a timely manner,

[zee-chan]

Tried DHL and tracking number not found (not surprising). So I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that my buyer picked up the parcel soon... it certainly does sound like a pain to have to go pay import fee and THEN wait for delivery, but if that's the way it is over there I suppose they're used to it. 

[momcqueen]

If I remember correctly (it's been years) the tracking number that shows 'not valid' just needs to be clicked a second time or something strange.

[momcqueen]

Like on the Deutsche Post page that shows the tracking number cannot be found, you need to double-click it, or right click it, and then the information appears. Whatever it was, it didn't make much sense. But I know I found tracking for mine on the German side.

[pjcdn2005]

What is the tracking number?

[ypdc_dennis]

---

@mjwl2006 wrote:
German Post becomes DHL for parcels.

---

No surprise, since they are divisions of the same company.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Post

http://www.dpdhl.com/en.html

...

another tracking site:

https://www.aftership.com/en/courier/dhl-germany

-..-

[zee-chan]

Today when I tried to check tracking info again, there is more info added (although it's still on hold since March 21) like the postal code on their end.

Item on hold

Mar-21-17, 07:03 AM, FZ99 ZB37,Germany

Item has arrived at the delivery office in the destination country

Mar-21-17, 02:43 AM, ZB7 92,Germany

I tried the link from dennis above and here is what I got. Hopefully the buyer figures it out with customs and get it soon...

[momcqueen]

This confirms what I said.