Dutch customs got my watch

[hupholland]

Hi All,

Dutch Customs has captured a watch and send me a letter to my address if the watch was mine. Not of coarse! ;-)

Pls. can someone tell me if Customs keep track of shipping address. Can I still use the same address?

best regards

Huub

[cornerstone]

Which courier / mail service was being used when it was confiscated? That can be a relevant issue - sometimes it's the courier catching you.

If you're having continuing issues, an EU dealer might be a good choice.

[hupholland]

It was Fedex

Which courier / mail service was being used when it was confiscated? That can be a relevant issue - sometimes it's the courier catching you.

If you're having continuing issues, an EU dealer might be a good choice.

[piratedzeus]

Reg. Airmail 4 Europe = SURE WIN

[scoobs1971]

Hoi Hupholland

Yesterday Fedex brought me a nice package from Angus. No problems at all. Maybe you were just unlucky and they picked you out during a routine check. Who was your collector?

But I wouldn't use Fedex anymore if I were you. Better safe than sorry.... And if you don't wanna deal with c$stom hassle anymore you'd better use PT or Narikaa who are based in the EU.

[cornerstone]

It was Fedex

Bingo. They were your problem. Never use Fedex again, it was them that found it and reported it.

As piratedzeus said for the Netherlands I would suggest airmail; Dutch members may have other suggestions. Also know there are EU-based dealers which helps too.

One tricky thing with the Netherlands is that EMS does not go there; I think because TNT is Dutch or something - some part of the network is Dutch-owned or there's some kind of business link up anyway (can't remember the details); so it's an oddity. That's why someone might send you something Fedex instead. But avoid couriers and Fedex like the plague. [EDIT: they're also a nuisance for customs duties too]

Go with airmail, I think (and hope) you'll have better luck.

[hupholland]

Bingo. They were your problem. Never use Fedex again, it was them that found it and reported it.

As piratedzeus said for the Netherlands I would suggest airmail; Dutch members may have other suggestions. Also know there are EU-based dealers which helps too.

One tricky thing with the Netherlands is that EMS does not go there; I think because TNT is Dutch or something - some part of the network is Dutch-owned or there's some kind of business link up anyway (can't remember the details); so it's an oddity. That's why someone might send you something Fedex instead. But avoid couriers and Fedex like the plague. [EDIT: they're also a nuisance for customs duties too]

Go with airmail, I think (and hope) you'll have better luck.

Thanks all for the help!

best regards

Huub

[Antonio_Montana]

Thanks all for the help!

best regards

Huub

I have had a watch taken by dutch customs also, i could only do one thing: signed the letter and let them have the watch. If the dealer says he will deliver 100% for sure tell him to reship it for free to you but with another shipping method.

And i would not use the same address for a while, your address could be flagged or something, just let it ship to another address instead.

[Cats]

Mine was confiscated almost one year ago. They , the customs , said that they were going to report this to the "officer van justitie" which didn't contact me up untill know.

Mine was shipped with FEDEX. I have the impression that FEDEX get's more confiscated then others.

Recently i got a parcel in via Fedex but it wasn't recognizable as a watch. So i don't know if they keep track of my address. My feeling says YES

Cats

[piratedzeus]

Thing is - with reg airmail... they will for sure not enter each packet into the system to check if it is blacklisted. FedEx again could do that.

[sulone88]

I'm sending out a package via United States Postal Service to London. I have to fill out Customs form. Do I use my return address? What should I say that is inside the package? Do I say Birthday gift watch or no?

[kingkitesurf]

I am from Holland too and always let the sender use registered airmail... no ' courier' like Fedex, EMS etc. I had one watch confiscated (a DW 6263 case) but never received a letter form customs. I seriously doubt whether DW has send it at all because the tracking number never worked.

With reps its part of the risk...although it is a tiny one.

[By-Tor]

And once again... how can the dealers STILL be stupid enough to send ANY packages via FedEX to the EU countries?

Using any of these commercial shipping companies increases the customs risk about 5000%. ALWAYS ASK THE ASIAN DEALERS TO SEND VIA REGISTERED AIRMAIL TO THE EU COUNTRIES!

[piratedzeus]

And once again... how can the dealers STILL be stupid enough to send ANY packages via FedEX to the EU countries?

Using any of these commercial shipping companies increases the customs risk about 5000%. ALWAYS ASK THE ASIAN DEALERS TO SEND VIA REGISTERED AIRMAIL TO THE EU COUNTRIES!

Well it often works - and they seem often to use it. Maybe this creates the impression that FedEx is bad..

It worked for me in tough-customs-Germany

[freddy333]

I'm sending out a package via United States Postal Service to London. I have to fill out Customs form. Do I use my return address? What should I say that is inside the package? Do I say Birthday gift watch or no?

If you are shipping a contraband item (like a rep watch or replica watch parts with trademarked names on them) AND you are paying the shipping fees in cash (not check or credit card), then you can use a fake return address. The downside is that if the package cannot be delivered for some reason, it will be lost and you will be unable to collect any insurance (if the package is valuable).

Many countries prohibit certain types of items (like watches) to be shipped INTO them from the US. The post office has a master book that contains a list of prohibited items & the postal employee is supposed to check the declared contents of your package against this list when they complete the customs forms. I have found that some post office employees check & some do not. It is the luck of the draw. To be safe, I would declare the contents as just "A Gift" or, if you have to be more specific, try "clock parts" or a "clock for repair" or something like that. But I try to avoid using terms that give customs officials a reason to inspect the package, so I would not use the word 'watch', if you do not have to.

Also, I have recently received a couple of packages (containing gen parts) from Asian countries that arrived with large stickers on them stating something like 'For your protection, this package was opened for inspection by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security'. Had the package contained a rep watch, I am sure it would have been confiscated. (I do not know if this is true, but I recently read that having an item of contraband (like a rep watch) confiscated can cause your name to be added to some type of international 'watch list' that may cause you problems when trying to import future shipments of non-contraband goods. It may also cause you to receive increased scrutiny at airports.)

I think similar inspections are being carried out on packages being sent INTO many EU countries as well. So when you receive a letter stating that your rep watch was confiscated, I think it was more likely that the package was discovered by your country's border/mail police than by a shipper like Fedex (though I think Fedex packages probably receive more scrutiny by the authorities than those that are sent via standard post).

[By-Tor]

FedEX and all commercial shipping companies' packages go through much greater scrutiny, because most valuable items are shipped this way. They're not necessarily looking for counterfeits, but want to collect the tax/vat from these shipments. But of course... when they spot a FedEX package from China... it's immediately suspected.

Maybe UK and some parts of Germany are ok, but dealers should never ship anything through commercial shipping companies to Benelux and Scandinavian countries. We've seen enough examples of this.

Personally, I don't need any of this crap... thus I buy all my watches from EU-based dealers (Narikaa, Precious Time) and EU-based members. Buying from the US members (shipping via reg.airmail) has proven to be very safe as well.

[hupholland]

Thanks for all the advise. I go with reg. airmail. See what hapens,

best regards

Huub

FedEX and all commercial shipping companies' packages go through much greater scrutiny, because most valuable items are shipped this way. They're not necessarily looking for counterfeits, but want to collect the tax/vat from these shipments. But of course... when they spot a FedEX package from China... it's immediately suspected.

Maybe UK and some parts of Germany are ok, but dealers should never ship anything through commercial shipping companies to Benelux and Scandinavian countries. We've seen enough examples of this.

Personally, I don't need any of this crap... thus I buy all my watches from EU-based dealers (Narikaa, Precious Time) and EU-based members. Buying from the US members (shipping via reg.airmail) has proven to be very safe as well.

[dadog13]

ALWAYS ASK THE ASIAN DEALERS TO SEND VIA REGISTERED AIRMAIL TO THE EU COUNTRIES!

Amen!

I just got this friday a watch from Australia sent by reg air mail...passed the customs...I didn't even had to pay any kind of customs taxes...didn't happen for a loooong time!

use this way of shipping and you are sure 99.9%

[hupholland]

Just avoid Fedex

TNT: no broblem

Re-shipment arrived in 4 days

Thanks Jay

Huub

[KB]

Ok I'm late to this, but the biggest problem for Holland is that their postal system is now run by TNT and thus they can no longer be serviced by EMS.

My supplier demands a postal fee to deliver to The Netherlands via TNT and will not (says cannot) use Reg Airmail.

Ken

[saber0606]

I am from the Netherlands too.

Lately a package (fedex) with 3 watches, which was send to my dad's address, was confiscated by customs. Received a letter from them which I had to return with my signature that they could keep the watches for destruction.

I made a phone call with the office and the guy told me that my dad's address is on a black list now. So if any other watches will be confiscated in the future with that address on the package my dad will be in serious problems.

These watches have been send again by Andrew but this time via airmail. But these were lost. After 6 weeks still no watches received.

Will try TNT next time.