I order quite a lot from wish and the like, mostly cheap junk for the kids ..

I notice that most of the delivery time is actually spent in Switzerland which seems a bit crazy.. What actually happens at the 'border point'? Do they just sit in a big bucket at the airport?

My parcels are never opened for inspection, they are normally under 20chf, no additional charges etc..

Recent example, I ordered on 20th May, package arrived in CH on the 24th May .. Handed to Swiss Post on 1st June .. Will probably be delivered this week but spent more time here than in China.

Same for everybody i guess?

Are you sure? In my experience the customs process here is relatively quick, and items spend most of their time sitting in a warehouse in China waiting for transport.

In the case of Wish I wouldn't be that surprised if they describe the tracking wrong (deliberately or through ineptitude), they have to be the most unreliable and unhelpful company I've ever had dealings with. (and yes, that includes UK banks and Swiss phone companies!).

It could be they log it as arrived as soon as it’s left China. Are any intermediary points mentioned, as extremely unlikely the package travelled on a direct flight. More likely via a cargo hub like Leipzig or Luxembourg and then by truck (often shown as RHS). Those trucks have to be ‘in-bond’ from the airport to the Swiss border. Even though all the data should be included in the e-waybill, some spot checks are done. In my experience many shippers put down inaccurate prices thinking they are doing you a favour. A simple look and feel of the package is often enough to determine if that has been done. And once a shipper gets caught once they are put on a sh*7 list meaning all their shipments get increased scrutiny.

And, like everything, the pandemic has reduced the efficiency of Swiss Customs. Sick people away for longer, distancing requirements and wfh mandates.

I read more than once, that the tracking info on the sites like Aliexpress is fake and it doesn't show the true state. That Aliexpress airtransport is actually often done by train, supposedly they are transporting a lot overland.
Anyway, as I order from there only non crucial things, I never bothered to really check that.

Example :

Jun 1, 2021 : Arrived at Swiss Post
Jun 1, 2021 : Arrived at Switzerland airport
May 24, 2021 eparted Mainland China
May 23, 2021 : Departed transit hub China
May 21, 2021 : Arrived at transit hub China

So it's the time between 24th and 1st (when Swiss post acknowledge it) .. The plane doesn't take 7 days so just wondering where it actually sits.

If its indeed at another hub, another facility. it appears to not be scanned in there..

Obviously it's no big deal .. Just curious.

On a boat?

Probably the airside hub in China, which doesn't count as being in the country.

Pretty cool boat that "Arrived at Switzerland airport" on Jun 1st ..

Like 7 days between departing China and arriving at Switzerland airport .. It's too short for a sea shipment via Netherlands or somewhere ..

But 7 days by air is too long unless it's sitting in a bucket somewhere for days before being checked, x-rayed, sniffed, inspected and handed to SwissPost.

That's my question - what happens during those 7 days? Is it simply sitting in a queue or something interesting? Again a two week delivery from China appears to be spending more than half of its time in that bucket in Switzerland. Mildly annoying.

That's a good possibility ..

I'd need to check back but one of the items i ordered recently had an interesting tracking which actually showed the flight number it was scanned onto .. I could see the flight on FlightRadar24 ..

Sad i know looking at the tracking for toys.. But it keeps the kids happy seeing that the fidget toy they ordered for 1chf is flying over Germany right now. And will arrive in 7 more days :-/

The 1 June date is the date it cleared Swiss customs. The 24 May date is when it cleared outbound Chinese customs. The intervening period is the packages transit time and handling time at Swiss customs.

The cargo rate per kilo is much higher for a 1kg package than the rate per Kilo for 100kg. So shippers ‘consolidate’ packages attempting to get the lowest possible cost. To do so could mean single packages like yours wait for other packages headed to Switzerland to drive down their costs. It would have waited at an ‘in-bond’ warehouse. How long? Who knows?

Doubtful it arrived at a Swiss airport, most likely trucked in from just about anywhere in Europe.

Makes sense what @Bowlie says ..

The 'departed china' actually just means it's waiting for it's flight..

Also ties in for Wish especially where they now consolidate multiple orders to one shipment ..

Problem there is that we might order 10 items @ 2chf + 2chf each shipping .. Meaning 40chf .. And it all arrives in one parcel. . Still the stuff is still 50% cheaper than buying here.