Taking a leap.. - Arrived!

[Woody Sound]

Ordered a very delicate used "guitar" from the Czech Rep to be shipped to me in the US. Seller offered free shipping, because the instrument is small and very light. Total cost ~2/3 of a new order. Seller has very little and vague feedback, but we had good b & f communication, they sent me extra detailed pictures that I requested. I have prepared myself for the worst outcome, fraud or damage or bad playing action, and claim process headaches. Comes in a soft case. So a good outcome will be a sigh of relief. We shall see, stay tuned...

[RJVB]

Is it slated to arrive at the beginning of the next month?

[Woody Sound]

Is it slated to arrive at the beginning of the next month?

Projected date is from Mar 28 to Apr 6.

[jim777]

Fingers crossed you do indeed get a guitar and not a box of guitar shaped wooden pieces!

[Hammertone]

Pix or it didn’t happen.

[2bornot2bop]

There’s nothing like a roll of the dice…

[Woody Sound]

Pix or it didn’t happen.

Will do, but they might be more appropriate for a different subforum. Think very old, but very new.

[Woody Sound]

Well it was "Accepted" at the Czechia Post on the 21st, then yesterday the 25th it was changed to "In Process, Preparing Shipment." Seems ok so far, keeping my fingers crossed.

[2bornot2bop]

So it goes from the Czech Republic to Russia? Or the Chechnya post isn’t actually in Chechnya, which is in Russia.

[Woody Sound]

So it goes from the Czech Republic to Russia? Or the Chechnya post isn’t actually in Chechnya, which is in Russia.

Sorry, some auto-correct going on there. Should have been Czechia. In any case, so far this has been a valuable learning experience about inter-continental post. (And btw, I specifically chose walnut instead of rosewood, just in case.)

From AI:

• Preparing Shipment:
  [COLOR=var(--m3c10)]This means the postal service is preparing the package for its journey, which involves tasks like:
  
  • Processing: The package is being scanned, labeled, and sorted. [COLOR=var(--rrJJUc)]
    
    
    [/COLOR]
  • Documentation: Necessary customs and shipping documents are being created. [COLOR=var(--rrJJUc)]
    
    
    [/COLOR]
  • Manifesting: The package is being added to a manifest or list of packages that will be shipped together."
  
  
  [/COLOR]
  
  
  
  

[Woody Sound]

Well this started in mid-March, and the instrument finally made it from Czechia across to Jersey. After several days of saying "Accepted" at Czechia, then from Mar 25 through Fri May 2, it continued to say "In Process - Preparing Shipment."

Then suddenly yesterday without warning, it said "Arrived at USPS Regional Facility - JERSEY CITY NJ DISTRIBUTION CENTER."

So, that's roughly 6 weeks to get out of Czech and into US.

Today it says "Moving Through Network - In Transit to Next Facility."

Finally getting excited. And feeling a bit relieved.

[va3ux]

I ordered a piece of ham radio gear from Croatia earlier this year, to be shipped by mail, and it was exactly the same process that you experienced. He provided a link and I could see where it was accepted by the local post office in Croatia for International delivery, and then nothing for 3 weeks. 3 weeks later it showed up in my mailbox.

[2bornot2bop]

Did you receive it?

[Woody Sound]

Did you receive it?

Nope, still says: "Moving Through Network - In Transit to Next Facility - May 4, 2025."

No update since then.

[Woody Sound]

I ordered a piece of ham radio gear from Croatia earlier this year, to be shipped by mail, and it was exactly the same process that you experienced. He provided a link and I could see where it was accepted by the local post office in Croatia for International delivery, and then nothing for 3 weeks. 3 weeks later it showed up in my mailbox.

Thanks for this, it's relieving to know that it's normal.

[Woody Sound]

Well it arrived today, without any early notice or warning, nearly 8 wks after posted. Pretty bad packing. Thin cardboard cut to fit around soft case, sporadic loose tape, nothing around the case but the loose cardboard. Note "Fragile" barely written in ball point. At least there were some old towels on top of the guitar in the case. Tuned to full pitch for the entire trip. As I originally posted, something completely different. Spruce, walnut, ebony. Scale 26", nut 1.75", weight <2 lbs (!). Amazing that such a delicate instrument packed the way it was arrived here from Czechia intact, and it didn't arrive "b'roke!" .

[Woody Sound]

[rtt]

Moveable/Tune-able frets. Very old school. You can get some other worldly sounds out of that. I'd be really interested in hearing anything you might be inclined to post. Its gorgeous. Glad it worked out!

[Gitterbug]

A beauty! Strange, though, to see one without 150 years of wear and tear. I'm glad it survived the sloppy packaging and extended transit time unscathed.

The accuracy of tracking varies from one carrier to another. However, there are several third-party tracking services, such as Universal Parcel Tracking and 17 Track, which provide more precise tracking info. I'm using UPS for shipping to the US (impeccable tracking except for logjams in Cologne) - 8-10 days is a fair estimate for the lowest-cost "Expedited" service. UPS or GLS for Europe and Finnish Post or UPS for Asia-Oceania. GLS and FP tracking not on par with UPS. FedEx and DHL I only know from the receiving end.

[Fear the Reaper]

Wow! Looks like someone's dirty laundry got mix in with the guitar! ??

Well it arrived today, without any early notice or warning, nearly 8 wks after posted. Pretty bad packing. Thin cardboard cut to fit around soft case, sporadic loose tape, nothing around the case but the loose cardboard. Note "Fragile" barely written in ball point. At least there were some old towels on top of the guitar in the case. Tuned to full pitch for the entire trip. As I originally posted, something completely different. Spruce, walnut, ebony. Scale 26", nut 1.75", weight <2 lbs (!). Amazing that such a delicate instrument packed the way it was arrived here from Czechia intact, and it didn't arrive "b'roke!" .

[Mick-7]

Wow! Looks like someone's dirty laundry got mix in with the guitar! ??

I think that is the free bonus: this lute player's pants.

[Cavalier]

Go for Baroque!

[Woody Sound]

I think that is the free bonus: this lute player's pants.

What lute player?

[Christian Miller]

Strong look in any case - you can tell he only reads tab, and they has his man servant tune the thing.

We're doing it all wrong.

[Christian Miller]

Well it arrived today, without any early notice or warning, nearly 8 wks after posted. Pretty bad packing. Thin cardboard cut to fit around soft case, sporadic loose tape, nothing around the case but the loose cardboard. Note "Fragile" barely written in ball point. At least there were some old towels on top of the guitar in the case. Tuned to full pitch for the entire trip. As I originally posted, something completely different. Spruce, walnut, ebony. Scale 26", nut 1.75", weight <2 lbs (!). Amazing that such a delicate instrument packed the way it was arrived here from Czechia intact, and it didn't arrive "b'roke!" .

NGL - that's a nice box. Are you going to learn all those cool strumming techniques and bust out some ribald Chaconnes?

I do want one of those. And an Oud. And a Baroque lute. And a nice classical guitar. And a neon superstrat.