Anyone ever bought an LP/CD from South Africa?

A while back I purchased a South African copy of Abbey Road off the popular auction site. I'm not a huge Beatles fan but I used to listen to my parents' copy of this record as a little kid in the early 70s, and when I chanced across this particular copy with the cool Parlophone label--and no mention of "Made in South Africa" anywhere on the record or the cover--I figured I'd take a stab at rediscovering the lost paradise of my youth: I was the only bidder at $12 plus $24 shipping from South Africa to my doorstep here in the US.

That was back on July 28th. I messaged the seller--who claims he is selling records he purchased new some 50 years ago that were listened to once or twice; he comes across as an amiable fellow--to mention that we're nearly half-way into September and the record still hasn't shown up. He said he is aware of the situation and as someone else has recently opened a claim against him for a not-arriving record, and he explained that surface shipping from South Africa to the US--via boat--is exceedingly slow. The reason, he went on, that my parcel is still showing as awaiting shipment in Cape Town, South Africa from 8 weeks ago is because the post office holds economy/surface mail until there is a sufficient volume so as to fill a container before it gets shipped out.

Not the end of the world and the $35 won't put me in the poor house...but does this sound par for the course?

 

If the seller has good feedback, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. I would wait another week or so to see what happens. Just make sure to file a claim with Paypal before the time limit expires on the purchase.

 

Yes it's the slower than the second coming scenario @ROFLnaked. One time I accidentally sent a CD to an Australian member and it took nearly 5 months to finally arrive via Ground.

 

I learned over a decade ago to not do business with sellers outside the US. The one exception is doing it through Amazon.

The only way I would even consider it is if it was something I simply HAD TO HAVE and that was the only source. i.e. rebuilding a 90 year old Rolls Royce and the part I need is only available outside the US.

Otherwise, nothing is worth the potential grief, both due to sellers as well as customs.

 

I ordered one once, it shipped on September 14th and arrived on the 29th. (Wow, I've had that thing for a whole year!?) Maybe I just got lucky. Here's what the seller said:

The package was shipped Airmail Registered Signed For today, so it should be with you real soon.
The Tracking Number on the parcel is [removed for this post].
It was shipped via the South African Post Office.
Please give the parcel 9-24 working days to reach you.

 

I've had packages take months to arrive from overseas. It's unusual, but far from unknown. I always pay extra for tracking. The chances are you are buying overseas for an item which you really want which you just can't source domestically, and so more often than not it's going to be expensive even without the cost of shipping. Pay a bit extra and rest easy at night.

 

Arrived.

The guy shipped it in a smaller-sized pizza box, and it appears that the pizza boxes in South Africa aren't as sturdy as their US counterparts. Two of the corners were bashed in, and the box looks like it was stepped on. As a result the cover is badly creased, but miraculously, the record wasn't broken.

Thanks to everyone for chiming in!

 

All the packages from Germany arrived in 10 days or less, from Slovenia and UK even faster sometimes. From Belgium and France much slower (up to 5 weeks). So you can order from overseas... The issue arise if record is not as described, as shipping back can cost more then record itself...