busetinha Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 (edited) Today I had my first scare with U.S. customs. I ordered a watch and had it shipped DHL from China to the United States...everything was going as it normally does. Last night, I received the notification that the package had cleared customs and was in route to destination. When I woke up in the morning, I had received another notification saying that the package was pulled for inspection. It was 5am, I'm already [censored] and I had pretty much given up any hope of ever getting my watch. I continue getting ready for work, get in the car and start driving to my office. As soon as I sit down at my desk, my phone beeps again - I received a 3rd notification saying that the package was cleared and released again and in route to destination. I'm no longer [censored] anymore, but still leary. The status still shows the package at the customs facility and delivery date as "not available", anyone have any similar experiences? For future reference, which TD would you say is the best in terms of compensating for customs seizures? Do any of them have a customs protection policy? Or is the risk always going to be on the buyer? Edited September 22, 2015 by busetinha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcardoza Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 Any of the TD's will re-ship, once you provide a copy of a seizure letter to them. Such letters typically come in the postal mail and not via email. Also, it usually takes a number of days (like 10) for the letter to reach you. I don't think you have anything to worry about at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busetinha Posted September 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 Any of the TD's will re-ship, once you provide a copy of a seizure letter to them. Such letters typically come in the postal mail and not via email. Also, it usually takes a number of days (like 10) for the letter to reach you. I don't think you have anything to worry about at this point.That's comforting to know. Thanks. do you know anything about the internal customs policies regarding flagged addresses? I feel like once you have a package seized, your address would go into some kind of blackbook for naughty people, and would potentially put future packages at risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcardoza Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 I think more importantly, the combination of DHL plus your address should be avoided. The TD will likely reship using a different method. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavi Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 out of curiosity, what customs port has the watch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busetinha Posted September 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 out of curiosity, what customs port has the watch? DHL says it's in New York . Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mule play Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 I have experienced this problem as well. Packages come in and then route to NY for a day or so and then reroute to my destination. My last shipment was held for 2 days in customs in NY, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavi Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 awhile back, I saw a post where chicago customs were nabbing lots of packages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendota Explorer Posted September 23, 2015 Report Share Posted September 23, 2015 awhile back, I saw a post where chicago customs were nabbing lots of packagesYes. There was an ongoing thread over on another board about Chicago. They were using it as a training center or something. Damned near everything was getting nabbed there earlier this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted September 23, 2015 Report Share Posted September 23, 2015 The problem with using private couriers like DHL, FedEx or UPS, they all have their own in house customs clearing. More than likely this is designed to expedite packages, as they all have a pretty tightly controlled delivery policy, overnight really means overnight to FedEx, unless Mother Nature or events beyond their control get in the way. They can't afford to have an overnight package sitting in U.S. Customs for three days. The way to solve that is their own in house customs. I believe that when they pull a package like a watch, they are more concerned with valuation rather than whether or not it's a gen or rep. More likely to get a customs bill, or a letter that your valuation is too low, and you need to give it a realistic valuation. Then again, it very well might go right on through without further delays. AFA Chicago, I believe thus was temporary, and they have moved on to other things. Sort of like the Chinese cracking down on reps. Here today, gone tomorrow!Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busetinha Posted September 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2015 So, it was actually 2 packages that were pulled for inspection. The TD sent the first package, it hit customs, the online notification system notified me that the first package had cleared and that the next step was "proceeding to destination." At this point I had contacted the TD and gave him the green light to send the second parcel. Somehow, the second package caught up to the first package, and now both are being held. WTF. To anybody reading this, DO NOT green light proceeding parcels until you have the preceding parcel IN HAND (I learned this the hard way). After thinking about it, it was probably the arrival of the second package being delivered to the same address that shot up the red flag. luckily for me, Toro is an absolutely outstanding person to do business with, and he has informed me that in the event that the packages do not clear, he will reship using HK Airmail (which is the safest method for shipping). I will probably only be utilizing HK Airmail for all future purchases - out of fairness to the dealer (they really shouldnt be obligated to replace the goods - that is a risk we must realize as buyers in a black market hobby; we are very lucky to have this network of high caliber dealers). I too myself am a businessman, and I highly respect the TD and the way he deal with this situation, Especially considering I paid him via Western Union, and should he have decided not to reship - there isnt a darn thing i could have done about it. Im fairly new to this hobby and as an RWG Member - All I can say is you guys are great. Shoutouts to all the Admins and TDs for maintaining this neat little community. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revere Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Cool to hear there is a happy ending in sight. Unfortunately it happens every now and again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Anyone reading this should note that this is a US issue... to UK DHL customs is done HK sideAnd UK customs cannot simply seize an item simply because they believe it to be a rep... they have to have that item confirmed as a rep by an authorised agent of the brand...and allow 30 days to recipient to appeal or prove to the counter...Its a completely different process and one reason why triangle to UK and shipping on to EU or US can be a great deal safer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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