As people in the UK may know, the Royal Mail had its computer systems hacked recently. As a result, shipping anything overseas has been stopped. The exact rules on which types of post can be sent is a bit of a moving target. However, as of right now, the Royal Mail is not accepting any international packages to be posted that require a customs declaration. From my point of view, that means I can't send any trading cards overseas until this restriction is lifted as I always attach a customs declaration.

The Royal Mail do not know when these restrictions will be lifted but do post regular updates on their website:

https://personal.help.royalmai...rs/detail/a_id/12556

Right now, my local Post Office is not accepting parcels or large letters that need a customs declaration. As I just had an eBay sale to a collector in the USA...I have a problem

Same here , I've got packages waiting to be sent that are marked as despatch overdue on Ebay . I have been asking whenever I post UK sales but the local post office staff have no idea when they will be able to accept packages .

I get the impression Royal Mail is now clearing the backlog slowly ( the strikes and understaffing aren't helping ) but don't want to add anything else until it's almost completely cleared .

The Royal Mail say they are making progress on clearing the backlog but they still aren't allowing shipping of any items that require a customs declaration. So still unable to send out any cards to overseas buyers.

On a slightly more positive note, eBay have at least recognised the problem and say they are taking action to help sellers:

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t...4&trkId=127844161005

Royal Mail have lifted the ban on items requiring a customs label as long as you buy the postage online , print the labels yourself and either take the packages to a post office or arrange a collection .

quote:

Originally posted by Triple-Frog:
Royal Mail have lifted the ban on items requiring a customs label as long as you buy the postage online , print the labels yourself and either take the packages to a post office or arrange a collection .

Sadly, that is not quite the whole story It only applies to International Tracked and Signed For and International Signed For items. The line on their latest update on their website is:

'We continue to ask customers not to submit any new Tracked or Untracked (Standard/Economy) export parcels into our network just yet.'

The full statement can be found here:

https://www.royalmail.com/inte...al-incident-bulletin

So I still can't send my card to the States

UPDATE: After going through the process of attempting to buy the postage and getting a label online, it seems it is possible to send regular international mail. However, there are two caveats:

1. The item has to be collected from my home
2. I don't get a proof of posting

As there is no way I am sending something without getting a proof of postage (just in case it gets lost in the current chaos, never arrives and I have to submit a claim or explain things to the Royal Mail and/or eBay), it's going to have to wait a little longer before going in the post

UPDATE to the UPDATE:

Bleep Bleep Bleep Royal Mail BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP !!!

OK, so it turns out if you complete the postage purchase online, you can then cancel the collection and simply take it your local Post Office even though the Royal Mail website says you can't do that. Bottom line, my card is now on its way to the USA

To end on a slightly positive note, I did save 5p by paying for the postage online

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kevin F,

How is the Royal mail situation coming along? I have developed a recent interest in some older Unstoppable cards, but the vast majority are being listed by UK sellers naturally. I don't even want to try to order if I know I may have a problem getting the cards from anyone in the UK.

I ordered a card on eBay on 1/10 from the UK that just seems to have vanished into thin air.

The seller has asked that I give it 2 more weeks and if they card hasn't arrived they will refund my money.

Not sure if more recent orders are doing better, if this is the norm or if this is a fluke.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
How is the Royal mail situation coming along? I have developed a recent interest in some older Unstoppable cards, but the vast majority are being listed by UK sellers naturally. I don't even want to try to order if I know I may have a problem getting the cards from anyone in the UK.

The situation is still the same as in Kevin's last update , new post can be sent as long as the seller does all the work at home and then hands the package in at a post office .

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
I ordered a card on eBay on 1/10 from the UK that just seems to have vanished into thin air.

The seller has asked that I give it 2 more weeks and if they card hasn't arrived they will refund my money.

Not sure if more recent orders are doing better, if this is the norm or if this is a fluke.

Anything that was in Royal Mail's system and still in the UK when the hack happened has been stuck in limbo . Apparently the backlog is huge and they are only clearing it very slowly which is why UK sellers can still not use the post offices ( some of which may well have to close due to the loss of revenue ) .

Many thanks, I guess I'll just hold off a couple of months and see if its back to normal by then.

I guess I should've asked the question before ordering some cards from a UK seller last week. I haven't been told there would be a delay, however.

I had ordered something and it was sent after the hack but when they just started to open it up to sending again. I got the package a few days ago. It was a long wait, but it got here safe and sound. Of course, I didn't mind since it was a very trusted seller so I knew she was good for it. But if I didn't know the seller I would be cautious.

I ordered something that was sent early December that finally showed up last week. It sat without any kind of update for well over a month.

quote:

Originally posted by Ted Dastick Jr.:
It sat without any kind of update for well over a month.

That is what happens when you rely on using a computer that then gets hacked especially when the organisation concerned does not really care on ensuring that their records are secure as it costs money to do so. They prefer to make sure their stockholders get their dividends.

regards

John

It looks like the Royal Mail has finally sorted out its computer problems after getting hacked. According to this latest report on the BBC news website, it is now possible to post all overseas mail via a Post Office branch. I'll double check at my local Post Office tomorrow.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64718824

Of course, that doesn't mean they have cleared up the backlog in their sorting offices but at least I can get any overseas sales in the post without any more hassle

On Monday my local post office was still not accepting overseas parcels as the fix was still not available although those behind the counter has seen it and were confident it would work.

regards

John

I did receive a packet from the UK a few days ago and only 13 days after I ordered the cards.

My 1/10 order still hasn't shown up.

The seller refunded my money today.

Overseas packages are now moving through in both tracked plus tracked and signed. RM advised me that tracking details are not viewable online yet but are being recorded manually. This is adding to delivery times. If anyone is missing an item, the best thing to do is to ask the seller to raise a missing item claim with RM and they will then investigate the manual tracking status of the item. I have had one item take almost 4 weeks to get to the Czech Republic but it is now in country.

So does this mean if I purchase a card from the UK that I won't get it here in the USA ? Will Unstoppable ship to me ?