Hawaii - is it on this planet?

[tegeus-cromis]

This is about Royal Mail postage, so related to, but not specific to, Ebay.  Has anybody had any success shipping an item via Royal Mail to Hawaii? On their online postage they have the options of 'USA - Mainland' and 'USA - Guantanamo'. I enquired of them where to address such an item and they didn't bother to reply. So I opted for the 'USA - Mainland' option and this resulted in my item being transported down the motorway Preston, where it has been sitting for over a month, despite it having a return address on the label. When I chased this up I was told they had 'no information' on it and encouraged me to make a claim (laughable, but that's another story). Has anyone had any success sending items to Hawaii?

[4_bathrooms]

I imagine for Royal Mail's purposes Hawaii is treated exactly the same as the continental United States due to the domestic carrier still being USPS. 

[tegeus-cromis]

That's what I thought too. It's inexplicable.

[4_bathrooms]

What was the package size (Letter, Large Letter, Small Parcel) and how did you pay for the postage?

[ett1954]

I have shipped a few items to Hawaii over the years and had no problems.  Likewise to US territories such as Guam and Peurto Rico.

Providing you have entered the Zip code along with the state abbreviation (HI) preceeding the zip code and the last line of the address being USA there shouldn't be a problem.

[tegeus-cromis]

It was Large Letter, paid for online and collected. Tracking shows its collection and arrival at Preston, then nothing for about 33 days. The procedure now is to me to file a claim, which the RM will deny because my proof of value doesn't match their borderline scam standards. I will inform them I will take them to small claims if they don't pay up and then they will send me a cheque. This happens every time.

[tegeus-cromis]

I used the full address with zip code but the problem is the RM refuse to respond to any question about whether they ship to Hawaii, and if so what option to choose on online postage. I do note that on the online claims form, when it asks what location the item was shipped to, it includes 'USA - Outlying Islands', which clearly would cover Hawaii, an option not available on their online postage site. I wonder if this option is available to PO staff if you were to post from there instead of online. Although that doesn't explain why the item has been languishing at Preston for 33 days.