Shopping From China

[porkchop]

Why does it take so long for a small package to come from China? Do they take the slow boat from China or do they take a long trek along the silk road? Does anyone know how many stops they take along the route? Does the package go to Australia first and then on to Singapore and then on to somewhere else. Is there a a sort of direct route, why does it take 4 to 5 weeks when i could get to China in 48 hours?

[janbee]

I ordered something off Amazon and it's coming from China and it's to take approx. 3 weeks. I know that all their goods come by container ship so maybe that's the reason for the lengthy delay

[Old_Geezer]

Maybe it's not on its way ? I don't buy anything other than cheap stuff from there these days. Bitten once or twice.

[gingejbee]

The cheap stuff bought online from China usually comes with "free carriage"..or, sometimes, a token amount. If they charged a realistic carriage fee, it would be sent by a decent carrier. (I've had items directly from Japan and Singapore...sent by Japan Post and DHL, respectively...which have arrived in 2 to 3 days. both with excellent tracking, too).

[vulcan42]

Container ship from China to UK takes nearly 33 days.

[Daffy6543]

gingejbee is spot on, as is janbee. The stuff tends to come via container ship which may have lots of drop offs around the world before it reaches the UK.