I am distraught,need advice/help please....

[gypsyunicorn]

I purchased a pony item thru eBay and the person who sold the item to me is overseas. This person is also a member here. I paid for item on November 17. This item is suppose to be a prize for another pony member here. This is why I am distraught and stressed. They provided tracking but it has not updated since November 26. It is now December 17. Item is coming from Austria. I live in USA!
How long should it take? I opened an eBay case but feel clueless as to what I should do. I really want the item but fear it is forever lost in transaction and now belongs to evil postal workers.

[Skeen]

Where was the package when it updated on the 26th?  It could be in Customs for whatever reason. 

[Raindrop]

International shipping can be really slow.  I had a package from Germany that took two months to arrive.  Just recently a purchase off French ebay took a month and a half to arrive.  I had almost given up on it when it arrived, and I was so thrilled to see the package!

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Has it made it into your country at least?    *shakes hoof at holiday mail delays*

[silverdawn]

I once had a package from the uk post marked July 7 arrive Sept 26.  Not much you can do, I definitely wouldn't worry yet but it may not get here before Xmas.

[CupidStrikes]

The post is being very slow this year compared to the last two. I usually get my packages from Japan within two weeks. I currently have a parcel that left Japan nearly two weeks ago and hasn't even reached the UK. Not sure what's up, but it seems everywhere is stuffed up (Also, is that shipping worker strike affecting your part of the country? There was a strike that was holding up Hot Topic deliveries in the US, so maybe it has affected private parcels as well?)

The post office won't consider it late or missing until 6 weeks have passed, sadly I imagine it's just sat in a depot with a mountain of other holiday post. Hopefully it being small will give it some priority soon (more people are using Priority and Express mail this time of year so those of us using SAL and First Class are left in the dust a little bit haha).

[SpookyTrees]

Hmm this is strange because I've been experiencing the opposite of the previous posters, my friend shipped me something from the UK via Royal Mail, cheapest slowest way possible, and it took less than a week. It's one of the things I love about this time of year! Sorry about the missing package - I am no stranger to 4+ week shipping waits and I would agree that normally shipping in the rest of the world is wayyyyy slower than what people in the US are used to. I hope the package turns up very soon!

[goddessofpeep]

International mail is like playing Russian Roulette.  Sometimes you get lucky, and sometimes you really don't.  I've had packages arrive from overseas in less than a week, and other packages take 3 months.  I once bought two items from the same seller, a week apart.  Item A was paid for and shipped out the day after I paid.  Item B was won a week later, and was shipped out a week after item A.  Item B arrived first, and item A arrived a full month after item B.  Same seller, same location, same shipping cost, same post office.  Item B took about a week and a half to get to me while item A took almost two months.

I generally don't start getting worried until it's been 2 months.  Anything after 2 months is starting to get into "is it lost?" territory.  The longest I've had a package take has been about three and a half months.  That one the seller had given up and just refunded me like a month before, but it just showed up one day.  I let the seller know about it, and they were so surprised that I actually told them it came, they only accepted half the auction price from me:p

I will say that I recently had an item come in from Greece.  It had tracking on it, but it seemed to drop off the face of the earth for like a week.  No updates on the Greek postal service website, and the USPS one just kept telling me the tracking number didn't exist.  Suddenly it popped up one day on the USPS website, and it made its way here pretty quickly after that.  I think it was stuck in limbo somewhere for that week.  It was just before the holiday rush started really going, so it's entirely possible that your package is sitting in package limbo with all the rest of the holiday mail now.

[gypsyunicorn]

No it is not hit the US as far as I can see. It is still stuck.

[Prideth]

I've had some things take a reaaaaally long time to get through customs and whatnot.  It may just be compounded by all the Christmas mail going through... truly hoping it gets to you soon!

[pony_magick]

You could still have luck, after my package went on a tiki tour (scenic route) to Europe and Eastern Europe they finally made their way back to the US and then on to New Zealand - it took about a month. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[gypsyunicorn]

Well eBay surprised me and refunded me. I'm using that money to pay for a new prize pony that will be just as good. If the missing pony ever shows up I will send them money for pony ... I will keep you all posted. Now I just wait for international postage on new pony. I wish I could get around the face it comes overseas again. I've mailed and received a lot of international mail and this is the only one that has taken a month and going into 2 months now.

[Ringlets]

I'm glad that you are not out of money and pony although the whole thing is stressful, especially as you needed the pony for someone else. Your seller should not be out of money or pony either  though since they shipped with tracking thankfully. Ebay has I'm assuming refunded you themselves due to this being neither buyer nor sellers fault 
Hopefully the pony will still make its way to you or at least back to the seller. I agree that international shipping is hit and miss - sometimes things arrive super fast, other times its months of waiting... and its especially unpredictable at this time of year with all the xmas post.