As the forecast said, it has been sunny since this morning, and it looks like it will be warm today. I am planning to go to the workshop later this afternoon. I will clean around the workshop and take care of some small repairs. On weekends, I often prepare shipments for the orders I received during the week. This time as well, I have several packages to send, but since I will be away for a while during the day tomorrow (Monday), I will ship them on Tuesday. To those who have placed an order, please wait a little longer 🙏
Those who have purchased from me may already know that in recent years I have been using DHL for shipping. Before that, I mainly used the post office’s international parcel service, especially EMS. I started using DHL more often because the global spread of COVID-19 made the postal transportation network unstable. The effects of that situation are still continuing. Last year, some international air mail services that were even cheaper than EMS were permanently discontinued. The reason given was that there was no clear plan to fully rebuild the transportation network. In some countries, EMS service has already resumed and delivery times are back to what they were before. However, since there are still some unstable parts in the system, I continue to use DHL for shipping.
In many countries, postal services are government-run. Compared to private air carriers like DHL, they often take more time and the procedures can be more complicated. In some cases, customers must submit various documents to receive their package, or even go in person to the local delivery office. In recent years, customs regulations have become stricter, and this may be one of the reasons for these procedures. In the past, packages sent by post often passed through customs without strict inspection, and in many cases customs duties were not charged. Because of that, many people preferred to use postal services. However, that situation has changed, and it is no longer like before. Because of that, the receiving process can take more time, and there is also a higher chance of packages being lost or returned.
On the other hand, private courier services such as DHL are usually fast and smooth. They have their own system for handling customs clearance within their service centers. In many cases, the necessary procedures can be completed online. Because of this, they work almost like an agent for the country’s customs process. As a result, a small handling fee is added to the original customs duty, so the total customs cost may be slightly higher. I hope you can kindly understand this in exchange for the faster delivery service.
Before the pandemic, it was rare to see DHL’s yellow trucks in Japan, but now they are everywhere. I have heard that they come every day to pick up packages at the large Amazon warehouse in the same city as my workshop. They also come to my workshop for pickups. However, the nearest DHL service center is about 30 kilometers away from my workshop. Maybe that is not so far, but it is not close enough for me to bring packages there myself. DHL is still the closest option for me, since other international courier companies such as FedEx and UPS are even farther away. That is why most people in my area use DHL. If there is no DHL service center near your home or in your town, a subcontracted delivery company may handle the final delivery. Even in that case, the package is originally shipped from a DHL service center. For now, I plan to continue using this service in the future.
