e-bay seller” autocar4u (not flashlights) has compiled a table of delivery times from Hong Kong (scroll down to SHIPPING).
That’s not the only table of it’s kind I’ve seen, and when you really think about it, what does it really tell you? That you should consider yourself lucky if you get your parcel quickly, that most parcels will take a minimum of 2 weeks to arrive, and that a significant percentage will take close to a month.
In the end I don’t really feel like I’ve gained a better handle on when my parcel will arrive.
Those are the standard figures almost every seller uses
Want to find out about a seller ? Look at tracking numbers
How long it takes between payment and acceptance at post tells all…
It’s understood that the sellers have no control over what happens after post gets the order. But they do have control over how long it takes to get it there…
I have a order that the seller took 9 days between payment and
the item being accepted at post. On my next purchase, I will remember this.
And he’s very likely not to be the one I buy from…
It is indeed very common. For a while now I’ve been requesting registered post from eBay sellers who don’t offer it by default (but offer it as an option), and almost without fail it has been 4-7 days or so before the parcel was actually sent. It is also common practice for these same sellers to mark the item as “sent” on same day you make the purchase, which is effectively an outright lie.
Exactly Right !
I can understand 3-4 days before it shows on tracking.
2 days for seller handling & 2 days to get into the system , at the max.
More than 5 is inexcusable to me…
If I get my items from China in 10 days I’m satisfied. If I don’t I’m not.
What I’ve discovered in my fairly short time of ordering from Chinese distributors, is that those companies that sell more than just flashlights and accessories take WAY more time to get to my door than a smaller, more specialized company (SolarForce) that only needs to worry about a more specific product line. If they sell knives, LED lights, iPad bling, and tire irons and pet accessories, chances are that warehouse our distribution center is GIGANTIC, and I can expect some “processing” time before it even hits post. In contrast, my SF orders show up in sometimes less than half the time my Manafont orders do because they actually ship often the same day I order, because they have much less product to deal with. That being said, and on a side-note, I’ve STILL been impressed with how personal the Manafont customer service is for how big they must be. I expect that from SF, and get it. But yeah, when I’ve had an issue with anything from Manafont, I get responses from one person (sometimes a different person per issue), and they follow up pretty well. All in all - the weird part is that I actually dig ordering a few things one month and then having stuff I forgot I ordered showing up a month later when maybe I can’t spend any extra cash - little gifts in the mail every day is kinda fun. And I really don’t like having to take a special trip to the post office for my SolarForce package… until I get there. Then it’s just plain awesome. Relativity. 
getting it in 10 days without registered or courier service would be damn good…never happened to me…
only DHL does that from USA to singapore in 5 days, and i didnt choose the expedited service, just the slower service…
and china is nearer to singapore than the states…
right on about specialist shops, rather buy from those which specialise rather than those shops which sell a gazillion items, they tend to get lost on customer service as well…
I see some ebay sellers which sell torchlights and batts along with dresses and dolls…and they tend to have more negative feedbacks…too much inventory to provide tip top service…
Some of the distributors don’t stock much. They can get the item from the manufacturer within 24-48 hours, then another 24-48 hours to send it out too you.
Most of the sellers are tied into a “Trading Company”.
For HK to New Zealand it normally takes around 2 weeks from shipment to item in the letterbox, I think the longest I have waited (from HK) is around 3 weeks, best has been 8 days from LEDDNA and Solarforce.
What about Chinese post? I have heard they are worse then HK post? I ordered a C8 ($7) a little over 1 month ago and it was marked as shipped the day after (or was it the day after that?) still no sign of it.
Another local NZer ordered one the same day and his has not yet arrived either. Tracking number they gave is bogus.
Agreed…
From my recent purchases from China and HK, China post was significantly longer by an average of 5-8 days.
My recent ‘China’ purchase was placed on 08/13. Delivery is expected within the next 2-3 days!! That is LOOOONG.
Those tables don’t mean a thing. Sometimes I get things from SF sales in as little as five days. Orders from the bigger dealers are all over the map from ten days to over a month. I just got some chargers from an eBay seller in seven days. EBay sellers are usually faster.