In early to mid-December, I won several UK ebay auctions for single cards. Each one came in 2 weeks time

On Dec 1, I won a Blakes 7 base set from a big UK dealer. It came with a Royal Mail tracking number. When I click on the tracking, all it says is that on Dec 3, it was "waiting to be shipped overseas" to me here in the USA

Perhaps because it is a base set and not a single card that it is taking so long ? Anyone know how long this should take to get to me ? 1 month seems long

under normal circumstances I would say there was something wrong here but Christmas and new year got in the way and your package ( like the one I'm waiting for ) could well be anywhere.

I am still waiting on a single card to arrive mailed on the 27th Nov from an Ebay seller in the US.

Annoyingly the tracking number has no information on it's last whereabouts since it was mailed. Knowing USPS no tracking entries is no bad thing as I have tracked items arrive anyway even though it was still in the US sorting facility according to USPS.

I am giving the postal system the benefit of the doubt due to the time of the year however I have had items mailed as late as 18th Dec arrive in the last week so who knows whats going on.

That said I have already contacted my seller who is extremely reputable and great to deal with so I am not worried. The card only has $6 value so no great loss if it does not turn up.

In my experience larger packets and boxes can take a bit longer (but not always). Just one of the mysteries of the international postage system

I had encountered this many times before, even with usps. Their tracking service has a tendency of not being updated. I already received the items but the status were still in their first or second stage.

Another possibility is that it's been intercepted by customs which could add a few weeks to it's journey as it sits in a customs clearing house for a short vacation. This has happened to me a few times and the tracking status never seems to get updated while it's in customs and it leaves you wondering what the heck is going on until it finally clears.

So if it was shipped on Dec 3, how much longer do you think I should give it ? 2 weeks ?

You could ask the seller to verify the status by calling his local PO. You can also try asking your own local PO if your tracking number has arrived.

You can wait until around 2 days before the EBay protection expires so you can still file your case.

Spoke to the UK seller today. He said that he was on the phone for 2 hours this morning with the UK post office. They told him that my package is sitting in customs at Heathrow Airport as of Dec 3. They have no idea why it is still there, or when it will ship to the USA. he will send me a replacement.

From my experience the delays come when there was 'special handling' and it doesn't really matter about the size of the package.

Several times in the last few years I've had parcels from the UK that took an inordinate amount of time to arrive. These were all sent Recorded or International Signed-For, which are handled as Registered Mail in the US. When I checked the tracking records after arrival, for every one of them, it showed acceptance by USPS within a couple of days and then the whole wait was on the U.S. side (usually at the Port of Entry, NYC). Maybe the barcodes are slightly different than USPS barcodes, and each piece of mail is lovingly handled by dozens of people who want to share in the experience.

12 days looks to be the average for Recorded or ISF, but I had one take 63 days and another 61 days. The postmarks showed they were indeed posted right away and the time was spent with postal people. At the end of the journey, the tracking records showed them arriving in the US in a day or two after mailing in the UK. A couple of other parcels took 25-30 days. This is out of about 50 packages since 2007.

You might not get current information from Royal Mail tracking; they might not update the computer until the US tells them they have it. On my delayed packages the USPS tracking system showed they had it weeks before RM showed the transfer. Try the tracking # on the USPS website; the number stays the same. I predict it was accepted in New York or Boston.

I guess I shouldn't be holding my breath for the Blakes 7 base set I won from a big UK dealer?

Of course, a few months ago I had a tracked package coming from Texas that seemed to have spent 40 days in the regional sorting facility. It arrived in perfect shape several weeks after the seller processed my refund. My theory is that it fell behind a sorting machine and was discovered when they swept the floor (annually, whether it needs it or not).

Can't speak for the UK mail, but UPS over here had a debacle during the holidays and I think they haven't even disclosed everything.

UPS guaranteed packages to arrive before Xmas and than couldn't make all the deliveries because they couldn't handle the volume, leaving thousands of fuming customers without Xmas presents.

What I found out before that time was that UPS Tracking Numbers mean nothing when you don't get your delivery. I bought something online from a major retailer in early December. Because they gave free shipping, it went through UPS, but UPS was supposed to drop it at my local PO and the regular mail carrier would deliver to the house. I had the Tracking Number posted on the UPS system.

Well the package never came and the Tracking Number on the system stayed stuck at delivered to PO. The PO did not get it. Finally I contacted the retailer who checked and said the package was returned to them for a bad address.

Now there was nothing wrong with the address and the Tracking System never reported that it got returned. So I got a rebate, but lost my merchandise at that sale price.

Bottom line is, all the technology doesn't mean anything if the people don't do what they are paid to do.