Tracking queastion

[nailhead8]

Having an item shipped to Canada - why would it end up in Chicago after passing through customs at Erlanger KY?

Usually after the Erlanger tracking update, I'll see the item get transferred to a Canadian carrier, usually Canada Post.

However, this is what I'm seeing:

In Transit with Destination Carrier

Sep-07-17, 23:13 PM, ISC CHICAGO IL (USPS) 60688

Shipped from the Global Shipping Center to International Destination

Sep-07-17, 12:51 PM, Erlanger, Kentucky 41025-2501

Customs Documentation and Labeling

Sep-06-17, 15:54 PM, Erlanger, Kentucky 41025-2501

Processing at Global Shipping Center

Sep-06-17, 14:39 PM, Erlanger, Kentucky 41025-2501

Arrived at Global Shipping Center

Sep-04-17, 02:00 AM, ERLANGER, KY 41025

Did it get mis-shipped perhaps? 

[thestuffofchris]

This just means that your shipment is passing through Chicago before arriving in Canada. Since that happened very late Thursday night, I would expect it to arrive in Canada and be in the hands of Canada Post soon.

[nailhead8]

Thanks for the response.

It does say this in the tracking window - "This shipment has been transferred to USPS CeP for delivery to the final destination # LD007406779US"

Reason I'm confused it because it usually says it's been transferred to CP or CanPar for delivery to the final destination, not another U.S. city. 

[thestuffofchris]

I remember reading in another topic that another user's shipments also started being transferred through Chicago. I don't know if it's a recent change, or if it's always happened but only started getting posted as an update on tracking, but either way I don't think there's anything to worry about.

[reallynicestamps]

bobenis will be delighted that his is not the only shipment getting this treatment.

I fear he thought we doubted him

However, the main point is that tracking is a Seller Protection and the GSP (and USPS and Canada Post) are very good at getting your purchase to you in a reasonable time.

If you are not home when it arrives, the carrier will leave you a Notice telling you where and when it can be picked up.

[marnotom!]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

bobenis will be delighted that his is not the only shipment getting this treatment.

I fear he thought we doubted him

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Yup.  I thought of him immediately after reading this thread.

However, I still hold to my hypothesis that this is likely occurring because Pitney Bowes is dealing with a subcontractor that doesn't understand that customs inspection and pre-clearance has been done at the Erlanger depot.

I suppose there's also the possibility that due to the many complaints from Canadian buyers about the cost of the GSP, there are experiments being done to see if shipping smaller items through mail consolidators is any less expensive.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@marnotom! wrote:
However, I still hold to my hypothesis that this is likely occurring because Pitney Bowes is dealing with a subcontractor that doesn't understand that customs inspection and pre-clearance has been done at the Erlanger depot.

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Except that the subcontractor in this case is the US Postal Service -- the original poster's tracking number (before it got edited out) showed that. The USPS consolidation of shipping hubs over the last few years has reduced the number of exit points to Canada.

-..-

[momcqueen]

Chicago is the USPS location from which all mid-west postal mail is transferred from the USA into Canada. Incoming mail must go through Customs and there are only two spots that come to mind for import from the USA: the Chicago/Mississauga corridor and the California/Richmond one. (If I'm not mistaken on the latter.) Incoming mail from Asia also hits Richmond. Outgoing mail may leave via Richmond, Mississaugua or Montreal, depends on whether it's going west to Asia or Australia, south to The States or east to Europe. I'm sharing this based on my own memory of watching incoming and outgoing tracking so my answer may not be completely accurate. There is probably a Canada Post webpage which explains it definitely but I don't have it on-hand.

[thestuffofchris]

Those all seem accurate to me, based on my personal experiences. Of course, there are times when tracking will show a package going a different route or making an unexpected stop somewhere, but things generally work out in the end.

[marnotom!]

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@ypdc_dennis wrote:

Except that the subcontractor in this case is the US Postal Service -- the original poster's tracking number (before it got edited out) showed that.

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Well, yes and no.  What's likely being used here is a subcontractor that gets a wholesale rate on shipping from USPS and who would pass some of the savings to those using their services.  The mail they handle is consolidated and transported to Chicago in a manner similar to how packages are consolidated as freight with other GSP-contracted carriers.

Consider that it's less expensive to mail one 10 kg package than it is to mail 40 250 gram packages to the same destination.  Similar principle.

The shipping service that showed up in the tracking information was "Small Packets" and not USPS's descriptor of "First Class International" for oversized international letter mail.

[afantiques]

The most interesting question is how the USPS and Canadian customs would deal with a batch of mail with no customs forms. Freight clearance would be by manifest prepared at Erlanger. The manifest would provide an overall value for customs. But could USPS process the shipment this way?

[marnotom!]

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@afantiques wrote:

The most interesting question is how the USPS and Canadian customs would deal with a batch of mail with no customs forms. Freight clearance would be by manifest prepared at Erlanger. The manifest would provide an overall value for customs. But could USPS process the shipment this way?

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A while back my wife received an item she purchased online that had been obviously sent through a mail consolidator.  My recollection is that it had a customs form on it.

I think the question is, how would Canada Border Services know that Pitney Bowes would be on record as having paid the taxes and duty owing on a GSP item forwarded this way?