How I got busted by Customs and got out of it alive

[Adeodatus]

First, I'd like to say that I'm sorry to hear of your bad luck Ade. I guess it's good that you seemed to have dodged the bullet with customs though.

Second, I'd like to comment on those that mention how long Ade has been a member and how many posts he's made. That logic is ridiculous. I've seen guys on this forum who have been members for many years with thousands of posts and their posts are generally useless and annoying. Ade's posts are some of the more entertaining and genuinely useful posts I've read, and this one is no exception. The big message here is to use caution, be specific and perhaps think through how you would react to this scenario should it happen to you. If he doesn't want to share the TD's name, that's his prerogative. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that if he had mentioned the dealer's name he would have been blasted with more criticism than he's getting here now.

It's posts like this that really help other people. I know some would like to know who it was, but I just know that I'm going to be very specific in my direction of how to ship. And if I ever get called in to the post office to sign for something that says "watches" I'm going to tell them I did not order any watches and please return the package to the sender.

Thanks Ade for a great post!

Thanks, S. As long as this thread helps even one member here to be more precise with his or her request, as I should have been, and be on guard regarding the transaction, packaging, shipment and customs, my deed is done.

We should always remember that this is a shady operation and our dealers make mistakes. A lot of them. Sometimes, as it was demonstrated in the recent events with the factories and Chinese authorities, dealers take the heat, and sometimes it's us, the buyers. Ultimately it is also our responsibility to protect ourselves. Fortunately I have some dough, a good lawyer and a bit of experience, but the other guy may not have. All in all, combined with idiot dealer and reckless buying this may lead to very unpleasant results. This is the reason I posted about it.

[Akira]

Never ever admit to a parcel containing counterfeid goods!

Always deny you have ordered them.

All customs can do, is return it to the sender and then you can figure out another way.

Accepting the parcel is commiting to knowingly having purchased replicas and is a crime in most countries.

Btw - some of the member's "dealer protection" attitude is ridiculous.

Just tell who it was, otherwise your thread is useless in the first place.

All guidelines you posted are already stated on this and every other rep board.

[Tom Hawkes]

Omg...

The reason why I made the "4 months member, 600 posts" comment is, that the OP tells a story about what happened to him, to "warn others", but doesn't say in what country it happened or what dealer was involved. His reason for this secrecy is as he states, that he wants to protect the dealer and himself and "keep a low profile".

1. If you don't tell the dealers name, no one will be able to take ANY care when ordering from him.

2. If you don't tell what country you are from, the people who REALLY should be concerned will not expect ANYTHING like this to happen to them.

3. if you want to "keep a low profile" making more posts in a couple of months than others make in several years is NOT the way to do it. When you are that far out, you really think that keeping your country a secret is going to do anything? Do you think the feds are on to you, now that you bought a fake watch and will scan the internet for some dude who comes from your country?

Without giving ANY information this thread serves no other purpose than getting your story off your chest. Not helping anyone, really. IMO. No need for all new members to come out and act all offended.

[slickdick]

Fully agree with points 1 and 2 from Tom here. So far it is a story, nothing more and not even entertaining one at that.

Compleet useless.

[Adeodatus]

Well, Tom

1. People need to take care when ordering from ANY dealer. Sorry for slipping into banality, as rightfully noted by Akira.

2. This can happen in ANY country

3. Actually I do. Can you blame me for protecting my real identity? Seriously.

In general what I don't understand is this: if you're genuinely after some information, why haven't you PMed me up until this moment? You are most welcome to do so. If you are trying to be a sensationalist and are trying to bash me or the dealer on a public forum, that's fine by me, I'm not easily offended, but I'm not willing to participate either (although I do it as we speak, don't I!? Oh dear, I'm such a complex person... :emo-eye-roll:)

@slickdick. Pardon me, sir, I'll try much better next time. Here is some Japanese Polka, while you're waiting to be entertained by my fabulous writing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKqT_trlRCg

[Ronin]

Well, Tom

1. People need to take care when ordering from ANY dealer. Sorry for slipping into banality, as rightfully noted by Akira.

2. This can happen in ANY country

3. Actually I do. Can you blame me for protecting my real identity? Seriously.

1. True, but that is a given in this hobby. As to your original premise-- attempting to TELL a TD (who we don't know) to "make sure NOT to declare it as XYZ with Value N" is sure to result in MORE confusion, and probably the exact OPPOSITE of what you are asking since English is not usually their primary language.

2. Maybe...

3. No. Protecting yourself is priority #1. However there are ways to hint or be geographically vague.

We are now 31 posts deep in this thread. Sorry, but I fail to see any value other than a generic "be careful" that goes without saying.

My advice is to post a generic review, or have someone else do it on your behalf, in the TD's sub-forum with some vague notion of shipping-declaration issues. We can then put 2 and 2 together and hopefully garner some useful information out of this situation.

[upland]

personal freedoms and equal right for women, minorities and rep collectors.

That is the right definition of FREE country ;-)

And thanks for sharing your experience with us.

[It'sAboutTime]

I've seen guys on this forum who have been members for many years with thousands of posts and their posts are generally useless and annoying.

I couldn't agree more. Several posts in this thread are proof positive of that.

I must say.........I've been a member of many forums covering a variety of topics over the years, but none compare to this one in terms of the number of people who think join date and/or post count are the be all end all when it comes to determining whether or not someone knows what they're talking about. You never know who's behind a screen name. That "noob" may have forgotten more about a subject than you ever knew.

In fact, I'd be willing to bet that if he had mentioned the dealer's name he would have been blasted with more criticism than he's getting here now.

Another comment that's right on the money. In the short time I've been here, I've seen quite a few members unmercifully attacked because they dared to make a legitimate complaint about one of the favorite dealers. I think one poor soul had to go into hiding in order to keep his neck out of the guillotine. I sure hope I never have a problem with a dealer.

[Tom Hawkes]

Well, Tom 1. People need to take care when ordering from ANY dealer. Sorry for slipping into banality, as rightfully noted by Akira. 2. This can happen in ANY country 3. Actually I do. Can you blame me for protecting my real identity? Seriously. In general what I don't understand is this: if you're genuinely after some information, why haven't you PMed me up until this moment? You are most welcome to do so. If you are trying to be a sensationalist and are trying to bash me or the dealer on a public forum, that's fine by me, I'm not easily offended, but I'm not willing to participate either (although I do it as we speak, don't I!? Oh dear, I'm such a complex person... :emo-eye-roll:)

Oh boy, it really is no wonder how you got to that post count in that short time.

Let me recap: You're not telling who the dealer was or which customs were involved or anything usefull, because you are afraid your government is stalking you for buying a rep and you might attract attention to yourself , but yet are perfectly fine posting generally a lot and disclosing all the information that you are so secretive about via PM to anyone who is interested.

Also you think it would be wrong to name the "Trusted Dealer" on a public forum, which mainly exists so that people know which dealers can be trusted and which dealers f*ck up like on your order.

I see... Makes perfect sense...

Well good luck on the run, Dr. Kimble.

Edited April 15, 2012 by Tom Hawkes

[Jkay]

Just to remind everyone: we are here to protect each other, not the dealers. you are a number and a dollar sign to them.

[asciwhite]

Here!!!! Take your minds of this.... Deep breath and center *lol*

[spooky driver]

Sorry guys due to obvious reasons I like to keep my location sealed for now. Lawyer says keep it low.

You are right Ronin, the TD's name maybe important but I wouldn't want this thread to turn into witch hunt. The TD has made a mistake and tried to avoid taking the responsibility for it, but on the other hand this could have happened with any TD. When this whole ordeal started, i have informed an admin team member, so they have yhe tds name on record. If you feel that you absolutely need to know, pm me.

[cougar1]

Way to go guys with the attempt to drive a decent contributor off the forum, what is the big deal about where he is from? Or frigging postcount or quality or whatever?. If he wants to protect his identity then I see no issue with that. On the other hand though, I'm all for naming and shaming the dealer. I doubt it's going to affect his trade, but it is something to watch out for. Tbh, I still can't understand why a dealer or his little helpers would put an obvious red flag to customs on the package...it's like sticking a fcuking biohazard sign on the box, regardless of what country the OP is from! ....If they have specific rules for specific countries, then this sort of sh*te should clearly be clarified prior to shipping, and an arrangement worked out between the buyer and dealer about how best to proceed.

This is what it's all about:

Just to remind everyone: we are here to protect each other, not the dealers. you are a number and a dollar sign to them.

The weird thing is that I have never even heard of this kind of mistake from any dealer. The only thing I can think of is that it may be another example of a TD having grown his organization too big and losing control of his minions....

[vandal.tbh]

I think ASCIWhite said it best.

[rogerthat]

If the dealer made it right in some sort of compensation I could see the op

Keeping his name secret

Though I thought he said the dealer did not offer assistance so I also see no reason to protect the dealer that made a very big mistake in this case

As far as location op has every right to keep that secret if he wants to.

He has already said that it is not s common country so it really is not relevant for other members

[Guest Carl]

Where is he? The Duchy of Grand Fenwick?

If it's that obscure it's pointless to bring it up here. Nobody here lives there.

As for the TD, well, just read the feedback and don't post your comments here but post them under the TD. That's what that category is for.

[KB]

I think everyone needs to take a step back and calm down here.

The OP stated in his first post that when buying you should....

1. Learn your local customs laws and act accordingly.

2. Always specify how you want your watches to be delivered and verify that appropriate actions are taken. Never trust a TD to follow your request, always verify.

3. Always have your invoices handy and make sure that it's for any item except for "watches"

4. NEVER admit anything.

5. Have your lawyer handy.

So right there he has done his service to the community.

The fact is that his country is very harsh on replica goods so whereas it is true this can happen elsewhere in most countries it is unlikely.

If buyers follow the outlines he has given then there is no need for him to disclose the dealer anyway.

Instead of lining up to stick the boot in it would be nice for someone to say "Hey thanks for the warning"

Ken

[TeeJay]

I don't mean to put the boot in here after KB's post, but I must agree with previous posters, that without naming the TD here publiclly, this is not a truly useful post, just an interesting read on you dodging the bullet... I'm not going to PM for the information, because it's irrelevant to me, but I feel that the information is very relevant to other members here who do use TDs, and at the end of the day, this forum exists to protect buyers from dealer lies, not to give dealers 'fish in a barrel' buyers who don't know any better

[chrgod]

Thanks for the warning, A.

I am just joining the Bandwagon.. Show us your country! I love small, weird countries!

One of these..?

1. Andorra – Officially known as the Principality of Andorra and also sometimes referred to as the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra.

Covering a total area of only one hundred and eighty-one square miles or about four hundred and sixty-eight square kilometers.

It has an estimated population of only eighty-four thousand people. This charming country is actually a popular holiday destination, with its magnificent mountains and beautiful landscapes.

2. Antigua and Barbuda – This twin island-nation is bordered by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Its total area is pegged at only one hundred and seventy square miles or roughly about four hundred and forty square kilometers.

It has an estimated population of eighty-six thousand seven hundred and fifty-four.

3. Barbados – This island-nation of the Lesser Antilles only covers one hundred and sixty-six square miles of total area or around four hundred and thirty-one square kilometers.

It has an estimated population of about two hundred eighty-four thousand five hundred and eighty-nine.

4. Grenada – This island-nation is situated in the northwestern parts of Trinidad and Tobago. It has a total area of approximately one hundred and thirty-three square miles. This size is equivalent to three hundred and forty-four in square kilometers.

It has an estimated population of one hundred and ten thousand.

5. Lichtenstein – Officially called the Principality of Lichtenstein, this country is situated west of Europe. Bordering Lichtenstein are Switzerland and Austria.

Its total area is approximately sixty-two square miles or about one hundred and sixty square kilometers.

It has an estimated population of thirty-five thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

6. Maldives – This island-nation has a total area of one hundred and fifteen square miles or roughly about two hundred and eighty-nine square kilometers.

Its estimated population as of 2010 is three hundred and ninety-six thousand three hundred and thirty-four.

7. Malta – This country is formally known as the Republic of Malta. It has a total area of one hundred and twenty-one square miles. This is around three hundred and sixteen square kilometers. Located in the southern parts of Europe, it has an estimated population of four hundred twelve thousand nine hundred and sixty-six.

With an area this small and a population this much, Malta is one of the countries with a high population density.

I will bet Lichtenstein or some of the weird South-Eastern former Communist states..

[avenger69]

Omg...

The reason why I made the "4 months member, 600 posts" comment is, that the OP tells a story about what happened to him, to "warn others", but doesn't say in what country it happened or what dealer was involved. His reason for this secrecy is as he states, that he wants to protect the dealer and himself and "keep a low profile".

1. If you don't tell the dealers name, no one will be able to take ANY care when ordering from him.

2. If you don't tell what country you are from, the people who REALLY should be concerned will not expect ANYTHING like this to happen to them.

3. if you want to "keep a low profile" making more posts in a couple of months than others make in several years is NOT the way to do it. When you are that far out, you really think that keeping your country a secret is going to do anything? Do you think the feds are on to you, now that you bought a fake watch and will scan the internet for some dude who comes from your country?

Without giving ANY information this thread serves no other purpose than getting your story off your chest. Not helping anyone, really. IMO. No need for all new members to come out and act all offended.

I agree with this assessment. Although the decision to name names is ultimately the OP's, I'm one who won't hesitate to name names if I got screwed (which recently happened to me and by a TD). It wasn't until posting the experience that an amicable resolution by both parties was finally achieved. Protecting buyers is after all one of the major reasons for this board.

[maxman]

Good advice D...glad it all worked out (reasonably)) well In the end.

Mike