PLEASE NOTE: As per advice from @yong tracking numbers have been sent to the majority of users advice for those who haven’t is as follows:
Those who have not received the tracking number, try your spam folder, and please feel free to seek for help at help@clockworkpi.com
Quite some time after shipping has begun, a number of us from countries including, but not limited to the UK, Russia, Germany and Sweden, have still not received our tracking numbers.
This leaves us at the risk of not being home when the package arrives, and if the packages are left on doorsteps (common for flats in the U.K. with communial areas) they are open to theft.
It appears that several of us have contacted the creators via Kick Starter and this forum and have yet to receive a reply.
Sorry, we are sending out the tracking numbers this week, our shipping partner will provide all tracking numbers to us by tomorrow. We are figuring out how to best send it to you. (Some emails are missing, some may end up in spam folder or lost, we probably need a backup plan, any suggestions are welcome.) According to our latest information, packages to Europe are in route from Hong Kong to Amsterdam, at this time, tracking number may not show up any useful info now.
As shipment may take 2-3 weeks, we understand some backers do have concerns like @MrDJWoodhouse or may be out of home when it arrive, is it possible to contact your postal service to arrange different time or place for delivery? ePacket will be most likely handled by your local postal service, we have no control once the package is out of our hands.
I work with data for a living, so perhaps I can help? You certainly can’t be responsible for people not seeing the email once you’ve sent it, but if you know which email address the shipping reference is coming from you can tell people in advanced so they can add to their contacts. Once the address is in contacts most mail systems will not move to SPAM.
Once people know when their package is close to delivery, if they have their tracking number, they can arrange for someone to be in or most UK delivery companies will allow you switch delivery date so you can be sure you are in. But again, that is not your responsibility.
From my previous experience with deliveries from China using Post.NL, you won’t get any meaningful tracking data until the parcel arrives to the Netherlands (for instance, the UK-bound parcel pictured in this forum at the time shipping started still doesn’t show any entry, even though it is in transit: https://postnl.post/details/?barcode=LX358050406NL&landcode=GB).
Once in the hands of Post.NL you should get a fairly good estimate of the delivery day and they are quite helpful in rearranging delivery. It generally takes 1 week from that point to receive in the UK.
@Petrakis - you are right, that SHOULD be the case, but it most often isn’t. I have had couriers sign for the package for me and leave in front of my door. In one case I had a delivery company leave an expensive NAS Drive out in a cardboard box in the rain, at the wrong address and told me it was delivered! I hope shipping companies in Spain are better!
@macario - completely agree, but now you have your tracking number as soon as there is additional information available, you will get it immediately. And thats my point. You will have enough time to plan for your delivery whereas those who do not have a tracking number will not.
I’d also like to say thank you to @yong for replying to my query and for reassuring others reading this thread. Again, if there is anything I can do to help please let me know.
sure, having the tracking numbers can only help, albeit they are only useful during that last week of shipment. At least you will know when to take action.
Set up a basic webpage like “www.gameshieldKS.com” or add it to your existing domain and do the following:
Create a basic form page (PHP or whatever works) that requires only the customers backer number and zip code or some other secure datapoint, then create a simple DB (or if you already have this in a DB somewhere) to query for those two data points and return the tracking number and write that to the webpage.
If it doesn’t find anything tell the user the tracking isn’t available yet and not to contact you until [xx/xx/xxxx] if it doesn’t show up. DONE.
