I'd been a fan of Two Sisters Shipping, having mailed items with no problem domestically and to Canada. Thus, I did not question using them to ship a small package to Great Britain. It turned into a debacle. I've spent so much time & energy on this failure, I barely want to take the time to write this review, much less offer a blow-by-blow of their incompetence, dysfunction, and-- what I can only conclude is-- greed. But I will in case I can help spare another person the same inconvenience, upset, and lost money.
Two Sisters took my $75 to ship a small shoe-box-sized package to the UK, which was being sent to a very sick friend (irrelevant except for making the failed result all the more distressing). I acknowledge they warned me that shipping to the UK 'takes longer than it used to', and 'can be a bit wonky'. But the staff person circled the tracking number on the receipt and politely wished me a good day.
The long & short of it is that I thought the package was taking a long time to be delivered and the tracking number wasn't working, so I called twice to check on the status, only to be told, "Yes, it takes time," and the second time-- "sorry, we have nothing to do with it once it leaves the US." Only then did I go on a more in-depth personal detective mission and learn the package had arrived in the UK, was never delivered, and was ultimately "returned to sender" after exceeding the hold time. Finally, weeks later, neither myself nor Two Sisters (reportedly) have received it, and there is no means of tracking, so the package is missing.
In the end, Two Sisters told me I'd been warned UK delivery was "unreliable," which they certainly DID NOT.
The value of that gift was more than $150, and I would not have risked that or-- more key-- the carefully curated collection of items, plus $75 fee for something "unreliable." However, wonky is more benign-sounding, so did not deter me. Should I have asked what that meant? In hindsight, obviously. BUT WHEN I TRUST A BUSINESS **I count on them to be honest and not take my money for a service they are not confident they can fulfill.** And really, I'd not heard that there were problems shipping to Great Britain (as they made it sound was the case in the end!).
I learned after the fact that the British Postal Service only attempts delivery once, whereas we are accustomed to the USPS attempting 3x. (Thanks USPS!) Two Sisters tried lamely to offer that as an explanation-- but, if so, and they knew that-- shouldn't they have told me that at the offset? I don't know if that would have changed things, but it might have. I have a friend traveling to London this Fall who could've hand-delivered the parcel, but I was trying to send some cheer in the period between visitors.
Two Sisters refused to refund me ANY money, saying it had been too long since the ship date! Their apology too was that type that does not say they are sorry for their mistakes or lack of professional expertise, rather they said, essentially 'I'm sorry that didn't work out.' I am just heartbroken that my card, heartfelt books, trinkets, and custom-ordered t-shirt are now MIA, and my friend without a hoped-for moment of respite.
Thankfully, there is a reliable shipping alternative. The Parcel Center, of East Lyme, which is conveniently located at Flanders Four Corners near CVS/ Walgreens/ ELHS/ The Shack, and offers an even broader range of services. They are priced similarly and have never failed me. I had first tried Two Sisters only because it was closer to work. I wish I'd stuck with my own local business. read more