My Notebook is in Alaska, what UPS Domestic Equivalent do they use?

Below is the tracking from my notebook. I was hoping to get it on Friday, but that's probably doubtful. Also, I'm not sure what the deal with the KY customs check is. It's time was after the arrival in AK, but that's due to the time zone difference. I'm hoping that means it cleared and then they logged the AK arrival.

I'm in Austin, TX. UPS has a huge facility in Mesquite (Dallas). From there it's one day via ground maximum. I'm not sure what class of service they use from Alaska. I'm hoping it gets to DFW tomorrow and to Austin on Friday, but is that asking too much?

ANCHORAGE,
AK, US 10/29/2008 12:45 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 10/29/2008 3:52 P.M. SHIPMENT IS HELD TO VERIFY COMMODITY DESCRIPTION WITH THE CUSTOMER FOR CORRECT CLASSIFICATION
GUANGZHOU,
CN 10/29/2008 7:34 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN

 

When did you order your laptop? Which one did you you buy?

 

Mine is was on the same flight and arrived in Anchorage at the same time. But I don't have the Louisville stuff on my tracking info. I believe that they have paperwork problems with yours. I believe Louisville is 4 hours ahead so they pick it up only 7 minutes after it arrived. What more this means or the time deal it will involve I don't know. I have seen others say it takes several days to get resolved.

 

T400, ordered 10/22/08. I got the free shipping option so I don't think it's expedited any, however, the UPS.com tracking under Product says: World Ease

Under Service it says: Expedited

 

Bummer, I've read of the customs nightmares with Lenovo.

 

Well I called UPS and they said this is normal, they have no explanation why the other guy in this thread doesn't have the same entry. If it is normal, they need to work on the verbiage.

The UPS guy said all items are held until the last Lenovo package is removed from the plane and then they all clear customs together.

He said it's due to arrive on 11/04/2008 and suggested I continue monitoring it. He said it shows no action required by shipper or receiver.

I'm kind of bummed. I almost didn't order a Lenovo because: 1) It's a Chinese company and 2) I read about the horrible customer experience with ordering direct from Lenovo (non-shipments, customs, etc.).

 

I didn't want to use the "nightmare" term but yep I'm thinking that's it. I have no personal experience here though.

I also have Expedited and World Ease on my tracking. No clue here about the meaning.

Opps crossing messages. Hope your right.

 

Please let me know if yours gets on another flight so I can compare it to mine. If mine gets held up for any reason I'm going to call UPS back. I didn't believe that guy, but I really have no other choice at this point. The verbiage is really awkward for it to be normal.

I don't understand how such a large company can have messed up docs or have so many problems. My company has ordered thousands of Dells and they've never had customs problems.

 

Gladly, as soon as I see it. It's hard not to hit reload frequently anyways.

You would think the paperwork would be about the same on the full shipment.

 

Yeah, I just saw this thread which doesn't inspire confidence:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=4027938

Can I still cancel my order? I need my laptop ASAP, I really needed it by Friday. I'll have to buy one locally if I can't get it by Monday since I leave for Japan next week.

I should've known better after reading all of the horror stories.

 

Not real encouraging is it.

Seems a little late to cancel.

 

I read that you can return it once it's been received. I may buy another one if it doesn't arrive and then just send this one back. In my opinion, it's Lenovo's fault especially since your equipment obviously didn't have the documentation problem.

This message appears to be rare. The other ones were "being held by broker" which makes sense, mine sounds like someone FUBAR'd the docs or forgot them or something.

 

You ordered it on 10/22 and want to return it if you dont get it by November 3. That is the 9th business day counting the 22d and the 3d. That is not all that bad for a custom built computer coming from the other side of the world? I guess if yours were the only order it would be different.

What was your estimated ship date when you placed your order? Hope you get it soon.

 

Guess we are on the same boat!
I ordered a W500 on 21th.
Was expecting to receive it on 30th.
Mine was shipped on 26, and has been stay in AK for few days.
I don't put any hopes to get it before next week...

LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 10/29/2008 11:57 A.M. SHIPMENT IS HELD TO VERIFY COMMODITY DESCRIPTION WITH THE CUSTOMER FOR CORRECT CLASSIFICATION
ANCHORAGE,
AK, US 10/27/2008 1:53 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
GUANGZHOU,
CN 10/27/2008 9:01 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
10/27/2008 12:01 P.M. EXPORT SCAN
SHENZHEN,
CN 10/25/2008 3:22 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN
CN 10/26/2008 12:00 A.M. BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

 

BTW, what does Louisville, KY have to do with anything if the shipment is stuck in AK.

 

I appear to have left Anchorage almost 13 hours before I got there. Hummmmm.

ANCHORAGE,
AK, US 10/29/2008 12:45 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
GUANGZHOU,
CN 10/29/2008 7:34 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
ANCHORAGE,
AK, US 10/29/2008 12:01 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
GUANGZHOU,
CN 10/28/2008 8:12 P.M. EXPORT SCAN
SHENZHEN,
CN 10/27/2008 9:32 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN
CN 10/28/2008 10:02 P.M. BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

 

That's bizarre. I still have no action on my tracking info.

 

I just checked and nothing new. I'll believe it left Alaska when it arrives somewhere. Friday is not looking good for me at this time.

 

Well I called UPS again and got a more helpful agent this time. He says it is being held for brokerage review. He said he put an expedite flag on it and will have the brokerage inspectors call me to resolve it or to give me an updated time table.

He said their computer still shows it due in November 4th which is only a 1 day delay from the original estimated date.

To the person who asked when the original ship date was, it was the 28th I think, may have been 27th, I can't remember. I debated ordering the laptop and ordered it knowing I'd cancel if it wouldn't make it in time. Right after ordering it, I got the ship date of like 1 week later. I called Lenovo the next day and they said I could cancel up until it's shipped. I let her know if it doesn't ship by the 27th or 28th (or whatever the date was) that I'd cancel it and go another route. She said she didn't expect any problems. I'm not trying to be difficult or whiny, but I needed the laptop in 14 days and if they botched customs paperwork then shame on them. I've ordered many custom built Dells and the longest I've ever waited is 8 days (regular shipping), and I've never had to call. Clearly Lenovo needs to inspect their practices.

The only difference between Dell and Lenovo that I can tell is that Dell charters its own plane from Malaysia to Memphis (I think they used to do one to Reno as well). Their process may be better staffed and equipped to handle customs. It sounds like Lenovo may be using UPS. Dell doesn't introduce FedEX until it's already in the states and already cleared customs, so perhaps it's a UPS/Lenovo problem, but needless to say, Dell has it figured out. I work for a Japanese company and we source a lot of our equipment from China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. We've never had customs related issues. As long as the documentation is there and you're not fibbing the values, it shoots right through customs in no longer than 1 day. Sorry, just ranting as it seems a company as large as Lenovo and one that has a US based office would get this sort of stuff resolved.

Needless to say, I was thrilled it shipped on time, but now getting it is in jeopardy. As long as I get it by November 5th all will be ok as that'll give me a day and a half to get my work crap on it for my trip. I told the UPS guy that and he was sounded concerned despite the computer still saying it's due on Nov 4th.

We'll see....

 

Did you purchase expedited shipping? Unless you live in Alaska I'd say you're into next week unless all of a sudden you get tracking info that it's arrived at your nearest hub by this evening.

Good luck!

 

Well UPS called me back and said everything is normal. They clear all the notebooks together, but again there's no explanation why your tracking looks better than mine. She said it should clear today and I should have it on Monday (the computer moved the shipment up a day).

Who knows....

 

Well I just got home and now have a eta of Nov 3 but also the following:
LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 10/30/2008 1:20 P.M. SHIPMENT IS HELD TO VERIFY COMMODITY DESCRIPTION WITH THE CUSTOMER FOR CORRECT CLASSIFICATION
ANCHORAGE,
AK, US 10/29/2008 12:45 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
GUANGZHOU,
CN 10/29/2008 7:34 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
ANCHORAGE,
AK, US 10/29/2008 12:01 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN

 

Welcome to the club! At least it makes me trust the info I got from UPS a little bit more (the entire shipment thing). They aren't concerned about it so I'm not either, but if it doesn't get on another plane today, I think we should become concerned.

 

LOUISVILLE, KY, US
10/30/2008 1:20 P.M.
SHIPMENT IS HELD TO VERIFY COMMODITY DESCRIPTION WITH THE CUSTOMER FOR CORRECT CLASSIFICATION

10/30/2008 1:01 A.M. ARRIVAL SCAN


Applying for membership.

 

well, I ordered mine on Oct 21st and the expect shipping date was Oct 23, I got a shipping email on the 24th ,but I haven't been charged for the laptop yet and also haven't received any tracking numbers and the status on my shipment on the lenovo site is still saying processing.

I have no idea what's going on. T400 btw.

 

At least I'm not leaving the country. I just want my toy. I don't have a day off to play until next Wednesday.

 

I have my eeePC, but two weeks on a work trip with that PC would be very frustrating.

 

I hope your laptop didn't end up on the bridge to nowhere...

 

Governor Palin is holding it hostage until November 4th, that's the latest rumor I heard.

 

I hope your system will arrive on time, but I think that everyone should take into consideration the problems that can happen in international shipping, and prepare accordingly.

 

Yes that's true, but it seems it happens to Lenovo more than anyone else. Clearly their process has issues.

 

In my experience Lenovo uses a very fast domestic shipper. My x200 tablet landed in Alaska at 1325 local time (1725 Ohio time) yesterday. It left Alaska two hours later and arrived in Louisville, KY last night. It was on a truck overnight and in Ohio at 0613, it was then put on a new truck and "out for delivery by 0632. I should receive it today (it left Shanghai at 2149 on 30 Oct 2008 [local time]). This is the same path, and a similar time frame that my x200 took as well. I'm very impressed, although I may have been a bit lucky that I wasn't held up in customs.

 

Don't rub it in

My tracking now says:

LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 10/31/2008 7:04 A.M. SHIPMENT IS HELD TO VERIFY COMMODITY DESCRIPTION WITH THE CUSTOMER FOR CORRECT CLASSIFICATION / BROKERAGE RELEASED SHIPMENT. SHIPMENT IS SUBMITTED TO CLEARING AGENCY FOR FURTHER CLEARANCE
ANCHORAGE,
AK, US 10/29/2008 12:45 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 10/29/2008 3:52 P.M. SHIPMENT IS HELD TO VERIFY COMMODITY DESCRIPTION WITH THE CUSTOMER FOR CORRECT CLASSIFICATION
GUANGZHOU,
CN 10/29/2008 7:34 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN

 

I think mine was stuck in a similar situation a few months ago when I ordered my T61, but it was out of it again within a day. Your worst situation is if you had a mistake on your address or something and it get shipped back overseas without you having a shot at getting it.

Hang tight, you'll have it soon!

 

I (probably we) have cleared customs!
LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 10/31/2008 11:53 A.M. IMPORT SCAN

 

Yes I have too, just after you. I wonder if the packages are in Louisville now or still in Alaska. It's possible they sent them to Louisville even though they hadn't cleared.:

LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 10/31/2008 12:04 P.M. IMPORT SCAN

 

I was assuming Louisville but I don't know for sure. They have the whole weekend to get them moving if we are still in Alaska.

Looks like we're on track for Monday

 

Yup, crosses fingers. It's my bday weekend and I'm kinda of glad it's not coming today. If it did, I'd kiss my entire weekend goodbye. I've already paved most of Monday and Tuesday free to get things configured.

My Seagate Momentus 7200.3 HDD also arrived in the mail today so I'll have both pieces to get it hooked up.

 

I could be wrong about this, but it is my understanding that they are actually in Alaska, but there is some customs office in Louisville that actually clears the shipment for importation. If anyone knows different feel free to speak up.

 

I believe it's the other way around.

 

Below is my tracking info. Looks to me like it was in Louisville and left there this afternoon after the "import scan". But I could be wrong.

LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 10/31/2008 1:56 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
10/31/2008 11:53 A.M. IMPORT SCAN
10/31/2008 7:04 A.M. SHIPMENT IS HELD TO VERIFY COMMODITY DESCRIPTION WITH THE CUSTOMER FOR CORRECT CLASSIFICATION / BROKERAGE RELEASED SHIPMENT. SHIPMENT IS SUBMITTED TO CLEARING AGENCY FOR FURTHER CLEARANCE
LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 10/30/2008 1:20 P.M. SHIPMENT IS HELD TO VERIFY COMMODITY DESCRIPTION WITH THE CUSTOMER FOR CORRECT CLASSIFICATION
ANCHORAGE,
AK, US 10/29/2008 12:45 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
GUANGZHOU,
CN 10/29/2008 7:34 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
ANCHORAGE,
AK, US 10/29/2008 12:01 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
GUANGZHOU,
CN 10/28/2008 8:12 P.M. EXPORT SCAN
SHENZHEN,
CN 10/27/2008 9:32 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN
CN 10/28/2008 10:02 P.M. BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

 

Mine is still at Import scan from around noon.

 

DrDan, what does your tracking look like. I'm concerned about tomorrow as mine still just says
LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 11/01/2008 6:05 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN

 

WYOMING,
MI, US 11/01/2008 5:00 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
WYOMING,
MI, US 10/31/2008 10:31 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 10/31/2008 1:56 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN

Wyoming MI is 35 miles away and I'm sure it is setting at the local terminal about 10 miles away waiting to be scanned in tonight and out in the AM.

 

Ugg, sounds like mine is screwed. Did you select air or ground for shipping? I'm ground, but even then, it doesn't take that long to drive from Louisville to Dallas.

Generally things from Dallas leave around midnight, and arrive around 5am and then go out for ground delivery, but I have no idea where my laptop is. UPS still says 11/03/2008 on the tracking page.

 

I just had the standard "free shipping". You can see in my signature that I had "issues". They did "expedited" the production after 2 false starts. I don't think this really did much seeing that others seem to order/ship in about the same time but may have saved time vs me canceling and reordering.

I don't know that they did anything to my shipping but I did sign up on UPS web site for Exception notification. In the notification I got about the customs hang up on Thursday, it did say 2nd day air. That is the only place I have seen that.

Mine still hasn't been scanned in locally but that was only 25 miles in 40 hours. Still listed as on schedule for Nov 3 delivery

 

Mine says:

Product: WORLD EASE
Service: EXPEDITED

No reference to 2-day or to Ground. UPS is closed on Sundays so I was unable to call. I'd like to know if it's coming tomorrow or not so I know whether I should stay home.

 

Arrived locally at 4:52 AM and out for delivery at 4:53am

 

Well despite my UPS saying today, the lady at the call center says it'll most likely be tomorrow. I'm a tad bit concerned because last time I used UPS my package went from California, to Maryland, to Colorado, back to California, and then finally to Texas. It took 12 business days and I lost a lot of faith with UPS. Being that my package hasn't been scanned in 3 days has me a tad bit concerned.

 

I have never had significant UPS issues. USPS yes, but not UPS. I sounds like they don't really know where yours is at the moment.