iHerb - delivery times once it has reached the UK?

[Kitten44]

Hi all

I see from the tracking that my iHerb order was received in the UK 8 days ago, so been eagerly waiting for it, but nothing... It is the first time I order from there, so I wonder if more seasoned buyers know roughly how long it takes for items to reach their final destination?

Could it be that it's been held by customs??

Cheers!

[Kari55]

Hi Kitten44, I order from iHerb all the time but always select a delivery by DHL. They send me a text to pay customs, which I pay online and the parcel gets delivered. If you selected a free option with another courier company then you will need to wait a bit longer and should get a card from Royal Mail with instructions to pay the duties. Sometimes it can take weeks, sometimes it isn’t too bad. I hope you get it delivered soon.

[Josiesmum in reply to Kari55]

Hi Kari. Does using DHL avoid the £8 Royal Mail handling fee? Thanks.

[Kari55 in reply to Josiesmum]

I understand that with DHL you just pay customs but I didn’t notice that it was cheaper than with Royal Mail. In fact, DHL would always work out more expensive. After one parcel not being delivered for 4 weeks and many phone calls that cost me a lot too, I will never use them again as I like to receive them fast and well organised.

[Kari55 in reply to Josiesmum]

My fees to pay were never as little as £8, neither with DHL nor with Royal Mail.

[Josiesmum in reply to Kari55]

Thanks. The handling charge is on top of duty and VAT so it gets very expensive doesn't it. I try to stay under £15 to avoid all these fees but not always possible.

[Kari55 in reply to Josiesmum]

Yes, the fees are expensive and some of the products could even work out cheaper if bought in the UK. But I still find majority is good value for money and amazing selection too especially on whole food supplements.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Kari55]

Many of the US brands (but not all) are available from bigvits.co.uk - so no customs problems

[Kari55 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Thanks for this, I will check how this works out financially and if they have things that I buy.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

I use BigVits, excellent customer service. They also have an ebay outlet worth checking to compare their own prices as they do free postage with ebay

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[Kitten44 in reply to Kari55]

Thanks, Kari. I selected the free delivery, but it is with DHL Worldwide, which provided tracking information to the point of arrival in the UK. I guess I shall eventually get the Royal Mail card, but it concerns me it's been now coming to two weeks.

It is just a hair supplement I want to try - could not find it elsewhere in the UK at a reasonable price (2x plus more than iHerb, so despite the taxes and the wait, I thought it was worth it, I hope I'm right!).

Thanks to all others who provided replies!

[Kari55 in reply to Kitten44]

2 weeks isn’t too long, hopefully you will get the card next week.

[Kitten44 in reply to Kari55]

Thanks, I'm crossing my fingers both for the delivery and the effectiveness of the pills!