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John Neal Books / International Shipping Experience

Teacher Man

By Teacher Man
in Fountain & Dip Pens - First Stop

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Teacher Man Mint

Teacher Man

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I am inteerested: Has anyone ordered from John Neal Books and had items shipped to locations outside the US?

 

My first order, which I placed in May, has apparently gone missing. At least, the postal carrier which supposedly took it over in Germany says the tracking number is not valid, and neither I nor the sender are able to find out where it is. Supposedly there was an attempted delivery and it is now sitting somewhere. Nobody can tell me where. Highly frustrating.

 

So the people at John Neal Books sent the whole order out again, and at this point, the tracking information says, somewhat inexplicably, that it is in Sweden somewhere.

 

Now on the one hand the people at John Neal Books have been very kind and helpful throughout this whole thing. On the other hand, I have ordered often from US sellers (Goulet, Jet Pens etc) and nothing remotely like this has ever happened. I have enquired with bmy bank about cancelling credit card payments, because this is starting to look like an elaborate scam. Apparently, though, I have missed a deadline, so my money is lost.

 

Hence my question: Has anyone ordered from John Neal Books and had items shipped to locations outside the US? What has been your experience?

Okay, I used to have the Letter Writers Alliance and The Snail Mail Exchange in here. Somehow, my browsers settings and the forum's settings work together to prevent that from being the case at the moment. Whenever I try to update my signature, the whole process breakls down. So. Whatever.

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Bo Bo Olson Ancient Artifact

Bo Bo Olson

Posted
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All I know is postal costs in the States to Germany run 4-5 times higher than from Germany to the States.

 

It would cost more than the price of the book...if bought a Barns and Noble or such, to mail it to me.

So I'm a generation behind on my reading, don't even know the Authors any more.

 

Mailing from the States....well it went to Kansas City....from Arkansas, then took a vacation in Miami for 4-5 days before returning to Kansas City.........after three other stops it landed in Lexington only two weeks after being mailed. It hung out there for a few days too.

 

I was surprised it took a week to get from Frankfurt to Heidelberg.

I do expect stuff from Germany to get to the states with in 3-4 days.....after that....the mail is delivered to the Lonely Hearts Clubs in many small to medium sized cities.

No one can read zip codes any more. :wacko:

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Teacher Man Mint

Teacher Man

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What worries me is not so much that it takes time. (Although orders from other places have reached me a lot faster.) What worries me is that the first one seems to have disappeared and vthe second one appears to have travelled to Sweden...

Okay, I used to have the Letter Writers Alliance and The Snail Mail Exchange in here. Somehow, my browsers settings and the forum's settings work together to prevent that from being the case at the moment. Whenever I try to update my signature, the whole process breakls down. So. Whatever.

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AAAndrew Antique

AAAndrew

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I can't explain the postal mix ups. I will say that I have ordered from John Neal many times, and even visited them in person in their tiny storefront (it's like Ali Baba's cave of wonders). They are good people and very conscientious. Based on my past experience with them, I don't think it's anything from their side. You may ask them what type of shipping they are using to ship overseas. Perhaps if they change shipper.

 

I'm sure they're just as tired of sending off goods only to have then not arrive, and then being out of the money.

 

Good luck.

 

“When the historians of education do equal and exact justice to all who have contributed toward educational progress, they will devote several pages to those revolutionists who invented steel pens and blackboards.” V.T. Thayer, 1928

Check out my Steel Pen Blog. 

"No one is exempt from talking nonsense; the mistake is to do it solemnly."

-Montaigne

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Bo Bo Olson Ancient Artifact

Bo Bo Olson

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Your books are at least on the same continent in Sweden, now all you have to do is advertise free beer for the Vikings to row deliver your book.

 

Could call them and ask....they all speak English.....many speak German. From Stockholm as a tourist, I took a regular bus out to some palace, and the bus driver spoke six, in they have the movies in the original....or it can be had in the original. He was just as fluent in German as he was in English, so believed him.

I myself can do three, American, English, and German. B)

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Teacher Man Mint

Teacher Man

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Good to hear they are usually reliable and conscientious people. So I'll wait patiently and see what happens.

Okay, I used to have the Letter Writers Alliance and The Snail Mail Exchange in here. Somehow, my browsers settings and the forum's settings work together to prevent that from being the case at the moment. Whenever I try to update my signature, the whole process breakls down. So. Whatever.

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Teacher Man Mint

Teacher Man

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Okay, not making this up: After 20 days in Sweden (doing what exactly?) my parcel is back on the road, re-entering Germany. This is fascinating stuff...

Okay, I used to have the Letter Writers Alliance and The Snail Mail Exchange in here. Somehow, my browsers settings and the forum's settings work together to prevent that from being the case at the moment. Whenever I try to update my signature, the whole process breakls down. So. Whatever.

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AAAndrew Antique

AAAndrew

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Hey, can you blame it? It wants to take a little summer holiday. It will get there eventually. Sweden, Germany, what's the difference? :D

 

“When the historians of education do equal and exact justice to all who have contributed toward educational progress, they will devote several pages to those revolutionists who invented steel pens and blackboards.” V.T. Thayer, 1928

Check out my Steel Pen Blog. 

"No one is exempt from talking nonsense; the mistake is to do it solemnly."

-Montaigne

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Bo Bo Olson Ancient Artifact

Bo Bo Olson

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All the Swedes speak English. Just like all the Dutch do.

It is more expensive. They have lousy expensive beer.....bring your own duty free bottle. Can with luck get moose or reindeer. More into odd fish meals, than the Germans. There are more Swedish restaurants than the Germans have German restaurants. The Geramns are now, more multi-culty; needing family slaves to make a go of it.

 

The Swedes are a very friendly folk, the Germans depends on the days mood, and how good their English is for tourists. They are still splintered by the Sie formal you, and the drank brothershaft/friends for life Du, the informal You. The Swedes are up to date with a regular you....so don't have that built in distance keeper of Sie. Having 6 -10 phrases of German will make most Germans very happy.

 

Some Germans will speak English....they are more shy about making a mistake in English.

The Germans are catching up to the American Craft beer finally.....most big companies have Beer of the Month, or Beer of the Year now. There are many more ruined castles to visit.

 

They do drive faster than the Americans......but unfortunately not as fast as before; when we flew low on the Autobahn.

They have a silly law, on the Autobahn, make your pass and get the hell out of the way. Do not hog the passing lane.....in it is not a 'fast' lane, where one hangs out blocking traffic by poking along at the speed limit.

The cops will pull you over and give you a ticket for blocking traffic at the speed limit in the wrong lane. Curves you do at 25mph, we do at 45-50mph+, the cars are built for it, stiffer suspension.

(After some 10 days of poking along at 55 in the States, I had enough. Pedal to the Medal, and got up to 85mph, where I suddenly relaxed.....driving normal....the stress of poking along, was gone. Of course that was only a mile or so before I had to worry about Stealth Cops. But still it was so relaxing driving normal.)

 

Before going to Any EU or even England, get a tax relief form.....get a few of them, and get back the 19/20% tax you pay on everything..............good medical care, so get a good travelers insurance.

 

Germany is more into Mammon than the Swedes. I've read here, they look down their nose at MB users, for being high status un-Swedish. They take more social responsibility; after all they are as socialist as they can afford. :thumbup: My god, old folks with good pensions :headsmack: :doh: how un-American....un German too, come down to it. . Better streets than the Germans out side of the ex-DDR.

I'm a Swedish expert, spent a whole week in Stockholm. :) A good place to get a German made Stetson. :lticaptd:

You can not use the Duty Free shop if flying into the EU...so fly to Norway. :P Or home to the States. :crybaby:They wouldn't sell me a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue....because I was flying to the EU. ...And they wanted to see my ticket, so I couldn't lie about flying to Norway.

 

( booze only costs some $3.00 a gallon in US import fees, so declare it, and not pay a big fine and become an International Smuggler the rest of your life, being searched at every airport or border crossing. Might as well be the good stuff.....why take the local cheap stuff with you. That is quick buzz junk, not worth packing. )

Do have complete sales tickets for what every you buy,..first for your tax relief you do before leaving that country....and in case you are over the customs limit. (Do know your custom limit.....do declare...its so much cheaper and you don't get your (smuggled if over the limit) goods stolen by any greedy Government.

 

(There is no US tax relief, as far as I know. the sales taxes are minimal.)

I have more trouble with that, flying in from the States with cheap Wrangler clothing, than buying the Expensive Wrangler clothing in Germany. A $17 Wrangler shirt...(well 10 years ago, don't know what Stateside prices for a Wrangler shirt is now.), costs E70 in Germany. So the once a decade I land in the States, with an empty suit case and two full ones coming back. :happyberet: Twenty years worth of cloths, if one is into jeans. I do have and had marked all my sales slips.....I think I had to pay E150 for all the cloths and stuff I was over the custom's limit. That's cheap on two snuffed big suitcases. Beats ending up with one suitcase and a record.

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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  • 3 months later...
Teacher Man Mint

Teacher Man

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Mh. Paid over $ 200 for an order in May which still has not reached me. Meanwhile, my order from Jetpens, which I placed on Monday, arrived today. The problem cannot be the Atlantic ocean, then...

Okay, I used to have the Letter Writers Alliance and The Snail Mail Exchange in here. Somehow, my browsers settings and the forum's settings work together to prevent that from being the case at the moment. Whenever I try to update my signature, the whole process breakls down. So. Whatever.

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Teacher Man Mint

Teacher Man

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...and finally my order got to me. Very pleased with it, but no idea what the mail people got up to...

Okay, I used to have the Letter Writers Alliance and The Snail Mail Exchange in here. Somehow, my browsers settings and the forum's settings work together to prevent that from being the case at the moment. Whenever I try to update my signature, the whole process breakls down. So. Whatever.

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Barkingpig Collectors Item

Barkingpig

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I am happy your order was finally delivered & happy to know you are pleased with it.

 

I recently had a package from Spain travel to the US by UPS & spent a very frustrating time with the "UPS Holding Center" while the tracking showed delivery was "that day" & subsequently "the next day" & only after speaking to an Agent @ the facility (after being "on hold" in excess of an hours time) found out that they were waiting for a Toxic Substance Control Act Declaration. I then spoke to a helpful Customs Agent who agreed that I could sign the same form & e-mail it to the Agent, in charge of release. I did & the Agent then released my package.

 

Interestingly, the Holding Center claimed they had e-mailed the Seller, 5 times to send the form & until they did, my package would remain "in holding." (Since this was my first order from the Company, I was perturbed they hadn't sent the form & wouldn't respond when asked to do so after the package made it to the States.)

 

The next day when my package arrived, I was shocked to find a SIGNED & DATED TSCA Declaration within the UPS plastic overwrap of the package! I can only hope my pen arrives back to me with it's exchanged nib & I won't be chasing it down for delivery.

The EXACT form they were looking for was available to them the entire time & they didn't even know it? Besides my frustration, the Agent who kept e-mailing the Seller to send what they HAD included & the time of the Customs Agent to sign off from MY declaration, UPS looked foolish, inept & held delivery of a package for 3 days when it was 90 miles from delivery. I can only wonder what would have happened to my package if I had not intervened to question its status, perhaps it would have been returned to the Seller?

 

My Postmaster told me almost 3 years ago, "The system is broken & there is nothing to be done." I know he was speaking about USPS, but I question the UPS system after my recent experience. And yet I sent a newly purchased fountain pen to France for a nib exchange, only yesterday, using their supplied UPS mailing label!

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