Xuan,

So sorry to hear this, I haven't had this kind of a problem before but nothing is worse than waiting for a delivery then finding out something went wrong. Hopefully the condition of their fantastic bulbs will be worth this frustration. :(

AJ

I had one strange thing happen with delivery. Due to the fact that I am not home during the day, and it gets mighty hot here, I had my shipment delivered to my school.

There was a problem with one bulb, and they immediately corrected the problem by shipping me a replacement. Unfortunately, they shipped to my 'bill to' address rather than the 'ship to' address, so the bulb sat in a hot mailbox all day.

I suspect that this was an oversight on their part, but as it turned out, all was okay.

Trust me, Royal Colors will do right by you!

Ann

Thank you very much for you reassurance. This is my first time with RC so I didn't know what to expect.

I worried that the bulbs might get spoiled for the long time in transit.

But with what you have said, Ann, I feel whole lot better now. I'll wait and will report the outcome, which I hope would be fantastic.

Xuan

This is my 5th year ordering from RC - and have never had problems. Of course my main concern up here is the cold weather, though I am lucky this year, we are having "unfrosty" temperatures, and it should arrive tomorrow, always almost exactly 2 weeks after the ship notice is emailed. I can't wait! The bulbs are always huge and healthy!

I had a problem ordering because my bank wouldn't authorize the overseas charge, I had to contact them before they'd authorize it. I'm a bit worried about overseas shipping, has anyone had any problems with confiscation?

Josh

Shipping internationally is not easy.
Different countries have different postal rules/regulations and customs laws.
Some countries have fast and efficient postal and customs service. Some don't.

I have shipped packages to different countries and once the package is handed over to the post office, I have no control over them anymore.
UNLESS...It was shipped Express Mail (EMS)with tracking number. Or Priority International Mail which would have a tracking # that would work ONLY on some countries. Having them registered is also good.

Some of them do get lost without me knowing until later on when the recipient tells me that they have not received the package yet. And if it was sent regular mail, there is no way I can track them.

ADVICE:
#1 Know your country's Agricutural rules and regulations on importing "live plant materials" before ordering from anywhere.
#2 Know how your country's Customs rules, regulations, processing times. Some countries take a day or two, some countries takes weeks. Some countries would "fuss" on a couple of bulbs and then decide to tax you or make you pay import duties even if they were sent as "gifts".
#3 Inform the seller of these things so as the seller can prepare necessary documents if ever.
#4 If your country does not have a RELIABLE postal service, most specially international shipments, have your items shipped Express Mail with tracking #s or registered if you can afford it.

I have ordered from RC for years, goodness knows how many white boxes I have received from them. LOL! Remember that these bulbs are live plants coming all the way from Netherlands(NL) and not just from another state.

They leave RC as good quality bulbs. For USA and Canada shipments, a USDA inspector right there in NL inspects them already before they are boxed and shipped out. So they should have no more problems entering USA/Canada.
Some states have their own agricultural laws also by the way that needs to be considered. California being one of them.

UNLESS the weather/temp. are unfavorable while the bulbs are in transit, RC's bulbs do survive the trip with no problems. Prolonged warm temps. inside the enclosed box could cause rot or scapes to sprout. Too cold temps. could also cause problems of bulbs freezing even if RC packs their bulbs well. Know the forcasted or average temps in your area on shipping out dates before you order or have your bulbs shipped. If they are unfavorable, inform RC so as they can provide necessary precautions or even hold your shipment for you until good weather. RC is a very good bulb company but they cannot perform miracles.

When RC receives enough USA orders, they would ship the bulbs to USA FEDEX at their expense. Just so we all would get our bulbs faster. If not, they would have to be shipped the regular way.

These are things that RC cannot control. If anything happens to your bulbs, inform RC about it and they will fix what needs to be fixed. I very rarely see an unhappy RC customer.

Hi Xuan!

Below is a link from our US Postal Service. I always check on this everytime, before I sell or ship out stuff to other countries. This would show you Vietnam's Mailing Prohibitons, Restrictions and Conditions.

Under "Observations"...
1e. Merchandise shipments other than gifts and gifts valued at $200 and above, are prohibited unless the sender has a validated export license issued by the Office of Export Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230.
2. Gift shipments containing merchandise value at under $200 may be mailed without a validated export license. Mark address side of shipment “GIFT��"EXPORT LICENSE NOT REQUIRED.”

If this holds true to shipments coming from other countries or Netherlands...I do not know.

Hope it helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vietnam Country Conditions for Mailing from USA

Can someone tell me how to find out what California's regulations are? A URL would be useful. Thanks! Michelle

Thank you very much, Maria, for the info.

Actually I have asked RC to ship my order to a friend's address in Germany so that the friend can hand-carry them back to VN on his returning.

In VN, if you hand-carry live plants in through Customs at the airport, normally there isn't much FUSS about it. But if you send them via a delivery service... then problems may occur. God knows why :-)

I'm hoping to receive my bulbs within this week 'cause my friend is leaving Germany for VN end of November.

Knowing that you all have good experiences with RC, I have no worry now.

Once again, thanks everyone for your info.

Xuan

This has some info on California regulations. Looks like the federal laws cover foreign shipments.

Here is a link that might be useful: CA plant quarantine manual

I feel very comfortable ordering from RC, I will continue to do so in coming years ;)

Thank you for your positive comment re RC, Josh. I hope to be able to follow your footsteps, too. :-)

Dear Xuan, be sure to let us know when your friend and you receive your bulbs. I am anxious to hear of their condition after all that traveling!

Cindee, I got an email from Paul yesterday informing that he has re-sent the bulbs to my friend's address in Germany and that we could expect to receive it sometime next week.

I'll surely "shout aloud" here when I have the bulbs in my hands :-)

Thanks for being with me in this, Cindee.

Xuan