Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

Has anyone else not realised they’ve ordered gifts being shipped from China?

36 replies

Snoopsnoggysnog · 22/12/2021 22:57

Argh - not sure how I didn’t realise this but I ordered silk pillowcases as a gift for MIL and SIL. Went on the tracking thing today and saw that they have just cleared customs at Shanghai airport Blush they’re not going to get here on time are they? How could I not have noticed this?

OP posts:
Original poster
Snoopsnoggysnog · 22/12/2021 22:58

I’ve had to Amazon Prime them some alternative gifts instead. And I’ve been trying to avoid so much reliance on prime.

OP posts:
Pinkchocolate · 22/12/2021 23:00

I’ve had the same issue with an item from a company I didn’t realise was American. Prime has saved me too.

user19916049 · 23/12/2021 10:55

Yes I ordered a special personalised gift and it was dispatched on the 10th December but still not here!

I had no idea it would take so long or I would have ordered from some where else :(

MrsPnut · 23/12/2021 11:03

Me, ordered 23rd November from a Ltd company registered in England. Only realised when I got the dispatch notice that they were coming from China.
They have sat in Heathrow for almost 2 weeks before clearing customs on Tuesday but no movement since so I don't think they will get here on time. Thankfully DD has got lots of other gifts and she will understand them being late but the company have been really useless and keep blaming Royal Mail when they haven't even received the parcel yet.

I

Fevertree · 23/12/2021 11:07

I bought some snacks for my daughter that I didn't realise were coming from abroad 😔 ordered at beginning of Dec and only just arrived in the UK, gutted because they were the bulk of her stocking gifts. X

KatherineofGaunt · 23/12/2021 11:16

I ordered biodegradable stickers from a UK company recently. Lots of emails about them being on their way etc. and how they were planting a tree for me and all that. I was impressed until 3 weeks later I hadn't received them. When I contacted them they said similar as pp, that they were clearing customs from China. They were going to be another 2 weeks or so, which was too late for what I ordered them for. I told the company that I'd chosen them because they were environmentally friendly and the sockets biodegradable. They said the tree planted was to offset the flight from China Hmm

inheritancetrack · 23/12/2021 11:24

I stick to Amazon, as they are so clear on arrival dates. Also ordered a silk pillowcase for £15.99 which is arriving today. It's always a clue if the price is significantly lower.

Ordered sandals on Facebook before I realised they came from China. Took 3 months to arrive and they were a size too small... or maybe just for little Chinese feet? Lesson learned

Summer15coming · 23/12/2021 11:30

🙋‍♀️

Just a couple of stocking fillers, but really annoying. There was nothing about the website that suggested China, but it's my fault for not checking it properly.

Leftbutcameback · 23/12/2021 11:40

One of my gifts is late, but only from Southampton, so my own fault! I don’t think getting a few late presents is that bad given how rubbish January can be!!

Youngatheart00 · 23/12/2021 11:44

Yes I ordered a personalised gift I saw advertised on Facebook for a friend 3 weeks ago and no sign of it. Tracking info shows it’s likely stuck at Heathrow now too.

Things like this make me miss doing my shopping in actual shops

TwinkleTwinkleLittleStarFightr · 23/12/2021 11:49

Same here.

One from Amazon which showed a 1 week delivery date back in November, but tracking shows it dispatched from China and has not yet left the country.

Another from a .co.uk website with a U.K. postal address, but shipping from Poland and there is no way it will get here.

And a comic book store in Leeds, who for some reason are sending my order from Italy.

Crossfitwidow · 23/12/2021 12:08

Big issues with shipping from China at the moment. I did eventually get something this week that I’d ordered 1st November but I still have 5 outstanding orders from October. I’ve since read that if you’re ordering for Christmas you need to do it around Aug/Sept from China.

Ohmych · 23/12/2021 12:16

Ds sent me a link to a beauty box he wanted to get his girlfriend. I just clicked buy and thought no more of it until the other day when I realised it hadn't arrived. I checked the company and they're in Shanghai. He's going to have to get her something else until it comes.

alloalloallo · 23/12/2021 12:32

Yes, I’ve got one from eBay that had a delivery date of the 16th December. I specifically checked it was a uk seller.

Still hasn’t arrived, message the seller for tracking - turns out it was dispatched from China and the tracking hasn’t been updated for a while.

Not a massive deal, but annoying when I specifically checked it was a UK seller

Original poster
Snoopsnoggysnog · 23/12/2021 13:04

It’s fine if it’s an active choice but some of these companies are really disingenuous about it.
Makes me want to order everything online from John Lewis - next day click and collect at Waitrose!

OP posts:
DockOTheBay · 23/12/2021 13:12

@Snoopsnoggysnog

It’s fine if it’s an active choice but some of these companies are really disingenuous about it. Makes me want to order everything online from John Lewis - next day click and collect at Waitrose!
Why not do that? Better to support a UK company and better for the environment, better for you as the gifts actually arrive and are almost certainly better quality. Plus you can return them if not suitable or if faulty. There aren't really any benefits to buying dirt cheap items from China, apart from the price obviously.
Original poster
Snoopsnoggysnog · 23/12/2021 13:20

Well - I do order a heck of a lot from JL, M&S and other UK retailers. But like everyone I do shop around as well. I’ll just be more careful about doing so.

OP posts:
Angel2702 · 23/12/2021 13:27

Yes two of my daughter’s main stocking presents from Father Christmas were cancelled, managed to steer her to asking for something else, ordered from Amazon and was due for delivery yesterday. Checked tracker and it’s from china, won’t be here now either.

spiderlight · 23/12/2021 13:52

I had the same with a company that gave an address in London, didn't respond to messages for two weeks after I'd ordered on 2nd December, and then sent me tracking details from China Poat last Friday. I was fully resigned to the item not coming (which was a nightmare, as it was personalised and had been quite expensive), bought an alternative gift, and then it turned up yesterday! I hope yours does, OP, but it's a complete pain and I'll be more careful in future.

Loveisthere · 23/12/2021 13:55

Oh yes I have also been caught out, had to do a mad dash to the shops

Magnited · 23/12/2021 14:35

I ordered something from the USA seven days ago, not expecting it to arrive before Christmas but it arrived this morning. I have also received another shipping reference saying the same thing will arrive tomorrow. Looks like I may end up receiving two.

BertieBotts · 23/12/2021 14:55

It's bloody annoying when they aren't upfront about it. I'm really careful about it because I don't want to buy "grey imports" where they ship it directly to you bypassing the need for it to meet local safety and quality standards. And I don't want to pay customs charges either. Sometimes you can tell but some of the sellers are getting more sneaky about it.

stingofthebutterfly · 23/12/2021 15:09

I ordered something for myself, not realising it shipped from Europe. Took over a month to get to me. Fortunately it wasn't expensive, or particularly important. Currently waiting on something I won to be shipped from America. I'm expecting it to take years....

DiamondBright · 23/12/2021 16:02

I'm still waiting for one thing, ordered from the US on 5th December, thought it might make it, looking less likely by the hour. It's not a main present but it's festive so I really wanted it for Christmas Eve.

Spinachtastegud · 23/12/2021 16:11

Guys why don't next year make a special effort to support UK businesses instead of the tat from beyond. Most of what you'd buy would likely be more durable too.