[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Customs Issue, what should I do? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 12/4/2008 6:22:54 PM EDT
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On Oct 30th I made a purchase on eBay. I have been tracking the packages process on the USPS website and the last package location noted was "Inbound Out of Customs, November 13, 2008, 10:16 am" It is now Dec. 4 and no package at my door. The item was shipped out of Poland and contains nothing that would be illegal to own in the United States or in my area. I have been in frequent contact with the seller, who has apparently cooperated with my requests.
I informed him that I would file a complaint with eBay/paypal if i did not receive the package by Dec. 8. His last message said. I have recived an official responce form my Post Master, the item is currentlybeeing held by US customs, and he advised me to inform You to contact postal customs, the package arrive via JFK, so please contact the post office customs office on JFK for information on Your package, regrds *** **** *******
From my past experience I have not been able to find any information other than that found on the tracking website and also am not able to get anymore information because I am not the sender of the package. Should I continue with my complaint, or keep waiting. Is there a number that I can call to find information on the package being held by customs. Any help from ARFCOM would be super. Resolution statement located at bottom, tell me what you think before I hit SEND! |
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(718) 487-5164 8am-4pm If you get no where with that, IM me. There are a MULTITUDE of reasons why CBP may be sitting on it or why the USPS hasn't delivered it. I called this number and was transfered to (718) 553-1446 where a very rude lady took my call and told me that the package had left customs and there was nothing they could do. She then gave me the number to what I believe is the USPS at JFK where I left a message, I am currently awaiting a reply. I doubt the call will be returned. |
| Nothing unusual. You have to go in and pay dues or get a stamp from a customs agent. Nothing scary. Expect to deal with grumpy and unfriendly people that are exercising what iota of power they have. Just smile and be nice though, the whole thing is very subjective. I had an agent one time give me serious grief over the fact that the person shipping the package had spelled my last name incorrectly, and one time I picked up a package shipped to my brother with no problems at all. |
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Why would you file a complain with eBay/PayPal is the problem is on your end? Dude shipped and provided you a tracking number, get used to Customs fucking up if you buy from overseas. Or, next time spend a little more and have him shipped EMS  In the Item description on eBay it was listed that the item location was United States. I would not purposefully purchase something overseas. After the auction I fully expected to receive the package within a week, not a month and a half. I also do not see how the problem is on my end. As I see it; I paid for the item to be delivered to my door. If the seller screwed something up or did not use proper postage than he is at fault. Please let me know where I am confused on this. I know I dont have a complete understanding of how customs and stamps work. |
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Nothing unusual. You have to go in and pay dues or get a stamp from a customs agent. Nothing scary. Expect to deal with grumpy and unfriendly people that are exercising what iota of power they have. Just smile and be nice though, the whole thing is very subjective. I had an agent one time give me serious grief over the fact that the person shipping the package had spelled my last name incorrectly, and one time I picked up a package shipped to my brother with no problems at all. Where do you do this. At the post office? I live in Indiana and nowhere near JFK. |
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Why would you file a complain with eBay/PayPal is the problem is on your end? Dude shipped and provided you a tracking number, get used to Customs fucking up if you buy from overseas. Or, next time spend a little more and have him shipped EMS In the Item description on eBay it was listed that the item location was United States. I would not purposefully purchase something overseas. After the auction I fully expected to receive the package within a week, not a month and a half. I also do not see how the problem is on my end. As I see it; I paid for the item to be delivered to my door. If the seller screwed something up or did not use proper postage than he is at fault. Please let me know where I am confused on this. I know I dont have a complete understanding of how customs and stamps work. While the seller was dishonest in the item location, I have had items held by customs for several weeks. This is NOT a seller issue. It is a CUSTOMS issue. Don't ding the seller for something that has to be fixed on your end. Sellers are not responsible for taxes or duties charged by Customs. That's your problem. Av. |
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Sounds like Customs is taking time for processing - or that you owe duties. If duties are owed - that is YOUR responsibility. Items moving through customs takes a long time. Be more patient. If I do owe duties, how do they get paid and where, also when do they let me know I owe duties. Do they just keep packages and hope people realize that duties are owed. |
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While the seller was dishonest in the item location, I have had items held by customs for several weeks. This is NOT a seller issue. It is a CUSTOMS issue. Don't ding the seller for something that has to be fixed on your end. Sellers are not responsible for taxes or duties charged by Customs. That's your problem. Av. No. No. No. You are completely wrong. This would not have happend if the vendor hadn't falsely listed the location. This *IS* a problem that was created through the vendor, unless the OP edits the post. If it was represented as being in CONUS, such a vendor has a responsibility to provide the gear that was offered, without international red tape. |
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Why would you file a complain with eBay/PayPal is the problem is on your end? Dude shipped and provided you a tracking number, get used to Customs fucking up if you buy from overseas. Or, next time spend a little more and have him shipped EMS In the Item description on eBay it was listed that the item location was United States. I would not purposefully purchase something overseas. After the auction I fully expected to receive the package within a week, not a month and a half. I also do not see how the problem is on my end. As I see it; I paid for the item to be delivered to my door. If the seller screwed something up or did not use proper postage than he is at fault. Please let me know where I am confused on this. I know I dont have a complete understanding of how customs and stamps work. If the item was listed as in the US, I'd say you have a point, as it was a misrepresentation. But if you buy something from other country, you're always responsible for the "problems/issues" that might arise with customs in your own country, and international sellers/buyers agree to that. It's not fair to blame a seller for the regulations of your own country. It's not a problem of enough postage, it's about your country importation laws. I'm not sure how the US Customs work, here, I get a slip in the mail asking me to go to the customs warehouse where they open the package in front of me and charge me importation taxes according to what's inside and the declared value / receipt of purchase. When I get packages EMS as its safer, that PO guy that deliver it, charges me at delivery time. |
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Nothing unusual. You have to go in and pay dues or get a stamp from a customs agent. Nothing scary. Expect to deal with grumpy and unfriendly people that are exercising what iota of power they have. Just smile and be nice though, the whole thing is very subjective. I had an agent one time give me serious grief over the fact that the person shipping the package had spelled my last name incorrectly, and one time I picked up a package shipped to my brother with no problems at all. Where do you do this. At the post office? I live in Indiana and nowhere near JFK. There may be more customs experts here than myself that can answer this better than myself. If it is in fact with customs at JFK then it is not going to move. You will need to get an agent or someone to pick it up for you. Maybe an Arfcommer can help you with that, as long as you are not embarassed about them picking up your Polish penis enhancement pump. j/k 
I feel your pain bro. |
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Nothing unusual. You have to go in and pay dues or get a stamp from a customs agent. Nothing scary. Expect to deal with grumpy and unfriendly people that are exercising what iota of power they have. Just smile and be nice though, the whole thing is very subjective. I had an agent one time give me serious grief over the fact that the person shipping the package had spelled my last name incorrectly, and one time I picked up a package shipped to my brother with no problems at all. Where do you do this. At the post office? I live in Indiana and nowhere near JFK. There may be more customs experts here than myself that can answer this better than myself. If it is in fact with customs at JFK then it is not going to move. You will need to get an agent or someone to pick it up for you. Maybe an Arfcommer can help you with that, as long as you are not embarassed about them picking up your Polish penis enhancement pump. j/k 
I feel your pain bro. No penis pumps purchased at this time. I am in contact with zitiforbreakfast to see what he can accomplish. This is bull shit and I had no clue that our customs was so screwed up. Its not like I'm trading nukes with Cuba. |
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I've heard of the nightmares that happen in customs, but for some reason, the few modchips that I bought for older Xboxs to turn them into media PCs came straight from Hong Kong and got to my house in about 1 and a half weeks.
You'd think something like that would get flagged at customs, who know? |
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Sounds like Customs is taking time for processing - or that you owe duties. If duties are owed - that is YOUR responsibility. Items moving through customs takes a long time. Be more patient. As the man said.... the item description showed it was already CONUS. If that is the case I would be pretty pissed also if I owed anything to anyone. "IT" was supposed to be in the US... not POLAND. So I would say that the seller holds a large portion of the responsibility for the fucking. |
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I had a similar issue. Item was listed as located in a Large US city, as was the seller. Was drop shipped from outside the country - duty paid tho. Bo big issue - except the 30 wait (suxxor)
If I'm buying from the UK - I realize I might get dinged for duty, or not. But I f the ad says US - I expect it in the US - 'course the tip-off is the seller location. Pay attn to that next time. Luck Alac |
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I had a similar issue. Item was listed as located in a Large US city, as was the seller. Was drop shipped from outside the country - duty paid tho. Bo big issue - except the 30 wait (suxxor) If I'm buying from the UK - I realize I might get dinged for duty, or not. But I f the ad says US - I expect it in the US - 'course the tip-off is the seller location. Pay attn to that next time. Luck Alac Noted and I will check from now on. As it were, I would like to support the US economy as much as possible and this seller, IMHO, got one by me. Now, If i could still get my package, that would be great. |
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I had a similar issue. Item was listed as located in a Large US city, as was the seller. Was drop shipped from outside the country - duty paid tho. Bo big issue - except the 30 wait (suxxor) If I'm buying from the UK - I realize I might get dinged for duty, or not. But I f the ad says US - I expect it in the US - 'course the tip-off is the seller location. Pay attn to that next time. Luck Alac Noted and I will check from now on. As it were, I would like to support the US economy as much as possible and this seller, IMHO, got one by me. Now, If i could still get my package, that would be great. Hey I learned too - hopefully it wasnt an costly lesson. Be glad it got here - many non-US Postal Systems suck Luck Alac |
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Swedish Polish penis pump? Maybe the nice Customs officer is testing it out to ensure you aren't being scammed by a Nigerian?  It was not so much that it was a penis pump. They were more concerned of the biological threat that seller forgot to clean out of the tube 
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Sounds like Customs is taking time for processing - or that you owe duties. If duties are owed - that is YOUR responsibility. Items moving through customs takes a long time. Be more patient. If I do owe duties, how do they get paid and where, also when do they let me know I owe duties. Do they just keep packages and hope people realize that duties are owed. *IF* duties are owed - you will probably be the one that will end up paying them. Getting the seller to do it seems improbable - especially since they had concealed it was coming from outside the country. I would demand a repayment of any duties from the seller and if they balk - provide negative feedback on Ebay. How was their Ebay feedback score? |
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Well hell, make sure you leave a really harsh negative feedback for the seller!
I fucking hate ebay. I still use them, but I hate that you really have no recourse if you have a fraudulent seller. This dude screwed you, even if it's just a delay in receipt of the product. |
| I dont know about NY but in San Francisco the packages are held at the postal facility and checked by a Customs Officer that is permanently stationed there- to open every international package. The same goes for DHL, Fedex, UPS. It will sit till someone checks or gets around to clearing it. If you have a complaint contact Port Director otherwise its like taking a number off that grenade on a desk. If you need to pay some duties, they will notify you. Unless you know someone high up at the office.....getting things moving and shaking aint gonna work- you just will have to wait. |
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Sounds like Customs is taking time for processing - or that you owe duties. If duties are owed - that is YOUR responsibility. Items moving through customs takes a long time. Be more patient. If I do owe duties, how do they get paid and where, also when do they let me know I owe duties. Do they just keep packages and hope people realize that duties are owed. *IF* duties are owed - you will probably be the one that will end up paying them. Getting the seller to do it seems improbable - especially since they had concealed it was coming from outside the country. I would demand a repayment of any duties from the seller and if they balk - provide negative feedback on Ebay. How was their Ebay feedback score? His score, in the screen shot above, is 99.7 with over 900 sales. Looked promising to me |
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Don't blame the seller for .gov's actions. Don't worry, next month Obama will be inaugurated and he'll personally deliver your package to you. He is The One, you know. Unless the advertisement said the item was in the United States. That pretty much implies that there should be NO interaction with Customs doesn't it? If the seller knew it was not in the US, that sounds like it was a seller issue, especially if he ends up taking it in the shorts over duties. |
| If the guy listed the item as being in the US, I would file a claim if I didn't receive it. I have purchased a few items from guys in Poland with no issue here on the board but when it comes to ebay I won't buy out of country. Since he misrepresented the location, screw him. You wouldn't have had an issue with customs etc. if it had actually been in the US. |
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When selling an item on eBay, it is important that you be completely truthful about the items description. This includes the items location. You marked the items location as United States and I never thought that I would have to deal with US Customs. Had I know the item was for sale outside of the U.S., I would have never made the purchase. I found out the item was an international sale when you sent me the shipping information showing the item was shipped from Poland. From the customs number you gave me, it seem the package is untraceable after it left customs. The USPS cannot find the package because it was not sent with a USPS tracking number. Customs cant find it because they say it has left their facility. This is the reason I try not to make international purchases. If you had labeled the item location correctly, we would not be in this position.
I would like a refund of my money, including shipping. If the package does show up at my house, I will pay you in full for the Item and shipping, less any duties or taxes I am charged for receiving an international purchase. In the mean time, I would suggest you file a claim with the postal service for the missing package. This is the responsibility of the shipper and cannot be done by the receiver of the package. In the future I hope that you will notify your customers of the item's true location before the item is sold. Regards, this is the message I am sending the seller through the PayPal Resolution Center, What do ya Think |
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If the guy listed the item as being in the US, I would file a claim if I didn't receive it. I have purchased a few items from guys in Poland with no issue here on the board but when it comes to ebay I won't buy out of country. Since he misrepresented the location, screw him. You wouldn't have had an issue with customs etc. if it had actually been in the US. I'm not trying to screw anyone, I just want Justice or my package. |
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From Seller
12/9/2008 00:13 PST Hello, package was labeled and shipped according to all US & International standarts, it is trackable via both USPS Tracking system & Polish Post (pocztex) tracking system, and it is in US, so please not not claim that it is not trackable, customs duties and or taxes are sole duty of the buyer. I will file a claim on my local post office today, You choose not to insure the package, so if the package will be declared lost, I will refund You exacly the amount I will recive from the post office, as it's not my fault USPS has lost the package. As You probably know post office claims are not instant, so please give the postal system a week or two, I will be informing You about the claim progress, regards *** ******* This is the message that was returned to me. Not sure what my reply should be. |
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Firstly, since he gave the item location as United States (do check the text of the description and make sure he doesn't say Poland in there somewhere) then I wouldn't pay for the duty.
Secondly, you had a contract with him for supply of goods. He has not supplied the goods. Where they got lost and whether they were insured is not your problem. |
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Firstly, since he gave the item location as United States (do check the text of the description and make sure he doesn't say Poland in there somewhere) then I wouldn't pay for the duty. Secondly, you had a contract with him for supply of goods. He has not supplied the goods. Where they got lost and whether they were insured is not your problem. I have checked the description and Poland is nowhere in it. Nothing in the auction stated or implied that this was an international shipment. he has also changed his location from Poland to the U.S. since the last time I looked at the auction. This is the screen shot from today. 
This is the screen shot from a few days ago. 
This is what I replied to the seller. From Buyer - Christopher *****
12/9/2008 06:29 PST It was my understanding that the package was sent from inside the Continental U.S., that is how you had it labeled. The tracking number you gave me is a customs tracking number and not a USPS priority mail tracking number. After the parcel has left U.S. Customs, the number does not track it any further. Please understand that you had a misleading description of the Items location and that is why we are having problems. I would have purchased insurance on an international Item but I do not think it is necessary for Continental U.S. shipments. It was your failure to properly label the item as an international purchase that has led to this dispute. Regards |
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In most commerce, a seller is considered to have fulfilled his duty once he tenders the item to a shipper in a responsible manner (proper packing, postage, and labeling)- any problems past that are up to the buyer to resolve. For example you order some NIW USGI mags from my store. I offer insurance, you decline. I ship them. UPS loses them. Under the UCC it is between you and UPS, as I fulfilled my obligation under the contract once I tendered the goods to UPS as you desired. (however, I always go over what the UCC requires in cases like this to keep the customer happy)
However, Paypal/Ebay (hereafter referred to as Paybay) user agreements DO NOT work that way. Paybays terms state that the seller is responsible for ensuring the item makes it to the buyer- so until you have said item in hand, the seller has not fulfilled his obligations as per the paybay user agreement. File a Paypal dispute, and escalate to a claim ASAP. You have tracking showing it was not delivered. Seller has acknowledged you have not received it. Paypal will take the full 30 days to rule on your claim (they will freeze the $$ in his account as soon as you file, however) but unless he has a tracking # that shows delivered he will lose. Customs control #'s are NOT accepted by Paypal as they do not provide tracking all the way to the destination. File the claim ASAP. If the item shows up in the next 30 days, drop the claim and all is well. If it does not, you get a refund. |