Folks, this may be of help to impatient UK Bottlehead customers who simply can't wait for their parcel to arrive. Assuming your item gets shipped via USPS (my last 3 orders have) then the following may be of use as a general guide:
1) You can track your parcel using the USPS.com website. Don't worry if it looks like it is sitting in San Fran for a few days doing nothing - it sits at that status until it arrives in the UK!
2) Once your parcel hits the UK (takes 5-7 elapsed days) it appears that Parcel Force take over the delivery. You can put your USPS tracking number into the Parcel Force website to get more information on how it is progressing through customs (seems to take 2-3 days to clear UK customs).
3) Once it leaves customs and the Parcel Force tracking shows it is at the 'national hub' it will likely be at your local depot the next day (includes Saturday).
4) Parcel Force WILL NOT DELIVER the parcel until customs charges are paid and it takes another 24-48 hours for them to send you a letter with details of the charges, you then pay them and they ship the kit to you the next working day. This adds another 3-4 days onto delivery time while the kit sits in the depot 30 mins from you house.
5) There is NO NEED to wait for the letter. The minute the Parcel Force tracking shows the kit at your local depot you can actually drive to the depot with ID, proof of address and the Parcel Force tracking number (this is NOT the USPS number, its the one you see at the top of the Parcel Force tracking page) and they will let you pay your customs charges and collect the kit.
Hope this helps the impatient get their kits a little quicker - I know it made a big difference for me!
Bill
