Figuring Out Shipment Alerts

I had 2 orders that got held up on the same flight headed into ONT. Starting January 26th, the flight touched down at ONT on Feb 8th and just sat there. As far as I know, they're still sitting. From what I was told, it looks like the majority of orders got turned away and shipped back, provided the vendor covered a fee.

The 1st order got refunded during the first week of March.

The 2nd one required some back and forth communication before the vendor was willing to act. Finally, last week, they issued the refund.

As others have pointed out, it's always a gamble. I reckon we save enough cash that if a loss comes, it can be soaked up. It still stings, but less so. Luckily, I didn't have to eat a loss this time, though it was close for a bit.

My main lesson was to watch how the vendor responds. Did they look after folks or just disappear? To me, that's extremely valuable because it reveals how a vendor treats their customers when a snag hits—and in the grey market, it's guaranteed to happen.

I've placed another order with the 1st vendor, but I dropped the 2nd one's telegram.

So, until the next snag, I hope everyone gets a smooth delivery.

Oh, and it seems like January through March isn't the greatest window for ordering. 🤣

No biggie, I guess I hadn't noticed in the couple years prior since I was hardly ordering anything. Now that I'm ordering a lot more, I'm seeing different hurdles. Nothing severe enough to make me go back to retail single vial prices though… 💩🤣 I'll keep the stockpile topped up through the first quarter of the year.
 
When you're following parcels that originate in China, certain services outperform the usual carrier websites. 17TRACK is typically the best place to begin, because it pulls together information from thousands of carriers and can reconstruct journeys with multiple segments (China → customs → USPS/FedEx). 517Track is a second choice that occasionally reveals earlier scans from the China side, particularly with carriers such as Yanwen or Cainiao, even if its interface is less refined. If you have several deliveries to monitor and want alerts, mobile apps such as Package Tracker or the 17TRACK app can also help.

Remember that these platforms don't create tracking data—they merely show what carriers report....so seeing "movement" isn't always proof of a real shipment. The typical path for most China packages is: first pickup, export scan, a silent stretch during transit, then arrival in the U.S. for final delivery. A useful approach is to begin with 17TRACK, try 517Track if nothing appears, and after it reaches the U.S., move to the official carrier site for the most accurate updates. Also, look at the tracking number format itself (e.g., YunExpress, Cainiao, China Post), because that frequently reveals more about what's going on than the tracking site by itself.

1. www.517track.com (note, you have to keep this 'www' only and remove the https, this one doesnt work secure, Sometimes surfaces earlier China-side scans (Yanwen, Cainiao, etc.)

2. https://www.17track.net/en

3. apps
 
UpDownLeftRightAS* said:

When you're following parcels that originate in China, certain services outperform the usual carrier websites. 17TRACK is typically the best place to begin, because it pulls together information from thousands of carriers and can reconstruct journeys with multiple segments (China → customs → USPS/FedEx). 517Track is a second choice that occasionally reveals earlier scans from the China side, particularly with carriers such as Yanwen or Cainiao, even if its interface is less refined. If you have several deliveries to monitor and want alerts, mobile apps such as Package Tracker or the 17TRACK app can also help.

Remember that these platforms don't create tracking data—they merely show what carriers report....so seeing "movement" isn't always proof of a real shipment. The typical path for most China packages is: first pickup, export scan, a silent stretch during transit, then arrival in the U.S. for final delivery. A useful approach is to begin with 17TRACK, try 517Track if nothing appears, and after it reaches the U.S., move to the official carrier site for the most accurate updates. Also, look at the tracking number format itself (e.g., YunExpress, Cainiao, China Post), because that frequently reveals more about what's going on than the tracking site by itself.

1. www.517track.com (note, you have to keep this 'www' only and remove the https, this one doesnt work secure, Sometimes surfaces earlier China-side scans (Yanwen, Cainiao, etc.)

2. https://www.17track.net/en

3. apps
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I've tried every one of them, Packages and AfterShip included. Certain ones simply won't track.
 
WeezinDaJuice said:

Satnuj said:

Many packages routed through ONT for fulfillment are vanishing into US customs' black hole. Sellers' Telegram groups are buzzing with talk about this trend. It's frequent enough that one seller is at least resending affected orders. After getting a customs inspection notice from the Chinese carrier, my order has been sitting in ONT for over 30 days, and my seller has gone silent.
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I took a peek at Telegram just now, and it's chaos. There are sterility problems, plus a bunch of folks stuck in that 30-day+ No Man's Land. TFC Alice doesn't seem to be holding up well.

Is this something that typically happens around Chinese New Year? Should we all be bracing for a lot more package seizures?
Click to expand...
I only briefly checked TG to have a look. There isn't much new information posted there either.
 
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