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DHL - shipment on hold with customs
 

i haven't bought anything from china, so i don't really know the proper time to clear customs. The item was shipped to me via DHL from china, it arrvived in California about 14 days ago and status on website hasn't changed since. it is still stuck on shipment on hold....does anyone have any experience?

i contacted the seller and they said they really couldn't do anything about it, and told me if i don't get the item they will only refund half of the cost!!
i paid $1800 so my refund will only be $900....that's really not fair, i paid by american express through paypal. should i file a dispute with paypal or american express?

#1) I personally would not pay anyone in china that much money upfront for anything, #2) They say you should go EMS from China as fees are pretty high with other shippers, #3) I have had packages take as long as 3 weeks but have anyways had my packages arrive, however I use EMS only.

Hope this helps.

i don't know why they use DHL.....i thought DHL doesnt do domestic? i know they do international, so will DHL deliver to me or do they contract with another carrier once it reaches usa

in my experiences with shipping from China via DHL (only twice) once it hit customs, it was out the next day. Anything in customs longer than two weeks via any carrier you can consider it government property, at least in my experiences. I've had customs take only one of my packages, and they send you a notice if you wish to appeal.

If you paid via PayPal, file a dispute, that should scare the seller enough to have them (or force them) to refund the entire amount.

DHL deliver to nominated address in most cases. They may subcontract a domestic shipment but it is still a DHL transaction.
Double check with DHL to see if they can give you an update. 'Sitting in customs' is problematic. Much depends on the items...some items are 'hot'.
Options: no delivery, no co-operation from seller, advise seller you are filing dispute with paypal. See what happens. Review situation after both DHL & seller reply. You still have options.

Definitely contact DHL and see what they say. They can answer your questions about shipping better than any of us. Some of us can advise you on what to do after we know what DHL says to better serve you. Try not to file a dispute if you don't have to because it ends up being bad for the seller. We know how well sellers are treated ;)

how long before you receive the letter? also is appealing effective?

Much will depend on the items. One of the other users here waited 29 days for the parcel to come thro' LAX customs (after he'd given up hope it landed). Check with DHL to see if they can help.

item was cds....

:eek: By China did you mean Mainland China or Hong Kong? Get onto DHL now. Sometimes cds are held because US Customs think they are pirated copies. Get the ball rolling for recovery of your goods.

what happened in the case where mine was seized was about 2 weeks after coming "Into Customs" i checked the tracking number and it said it said Outbound, so i was like "alright, maybe it just got lost or something" about another week past and nothing, then about 2 weeks after the Outbound update I received a letter in the mail from US Customs and Border Security stating some crap in an obscene language that only lawyers talk. All I took from it is that I could appeal and go before a Judge and try and get the TM Holder to release the items to me along with paying a 5,000 fee. OR I could let Customs dispose of it. So i never saw the package. I just got the seller to resend, and didnt get stopped by customs the 2nd time.

paying a $5000 fee?? ?what for?
was it shipped by ems or dhl? what were the item?

It was an EMS shipment, they make the fee so outstanding to deter you from disputing the seizure. It was generic electronics (although the letter claimed they violated TM rights of the iPhone and G1). They just went on a power trip and took em. No problem to me, because my seller was very understanding and sent more, shipped more and somehow got them into NY customs instead of San Fran, and it went right thru in a day.

If you dont get the items ,then DISPUTE the charges, the seller normally has to provide proof of delivery just like paypal requires and if not they will normally side in your favor.

Never do a dispute through paypal always go through your credit card company. Paypal will try to screw you sometimes but your card never will. Their pretty right govt property is a 90 percent bet. Chinese people are very tricky they will writhe hazardous on the box or something to flag the box the tell you sorry about your bad luck but they knew it was going to happen the whole time.

Yes, i am referring to your credit card company .

I am in the UK and our customs are real picky for anything non EU. I import a lot of stuff from the USA and about 1 in 2 lands in customs. I have the direct number for customs at the airport so if they are there for more than 24 hours I phone and enquire politely if they know how much longer they are going to hold it. Usually the delay is just staff shortage and its then cleared in 12 hours or so. None of my items has been held more than 3 days and 24 hours is more usual.

You should also phone DHL - I have found them quite useful in locating my package and getting it moving. They have specialist staff to deal with customs but you do need to be proactive and get in touch. I dont see it would be so different in the USA.

Having said that most of my stuff is "vintage" so they are not so interested in it and never actually had anything opened.

Maybe this will help.....I import from China on a very regular, high volume basis....my supplier strictly uses DHL.....the Customs state it goes thru is Wilmington, OH rather than the New York Hub that EMS uses....which is WAY stricter.

I have been importing for 2 years now and have encountered very little issues BUT I have had packages held and it is not necessarily a "destroy or seizure" issue. It can be very simple....such as DHL has not sent to them the proper paperwork and it can be just a matter of a Compliance Hold---where customs is awaiting proper paperwork from DHL themselves......very easily resolved. It can also be that they did do an "exam" and package is being held because it couldn't pass due to just something as simple as not proper scan label.

Here is the number to DHL Customs/Importing Issues: 1-866-600-0014. I use this number regularly and they are VERY helpful....they can immediately pull your info. from your tracking number when you tell them you are calling re; a package delivery delay. They immediately open a case and track your package and get all the info. as to what the problem is...they call you and update you everyday by 5:00 pm---take down the name and number of the agent you first speak to as this will be your contact always from this point.

It really sometimes can be very easily resolved with 1 phone call. Good Luck :)

I have found this to be as jollybee has said. Mine come in through a provincial airport rather than London. I am not importing new product on a large scale and I get my shipper to label my packages "used xxx for personal use" as the packages themselves are seldom over 7lbs. So they dont attract as much attention as others. They get picked on either because customs are overkeen that day or the luck of the draw - a certain % in every batch.

If you give DHL a ring and your package appears to be "stuck" they will "open a file" to find out the problem and liase with customs. Ive also called customs direct once or twice but this needs to be done with care as they can get a bit huffy if they think you are too pushy.

British customs act like gods sometimes and forget that they are handling someone elses property.

instead of DHL you should always get items shipped using EMS, if you can.

if you get a seizure doesnt you address get blacklisted?
has anyone had seizure then had parcles through unopened to same address after that?
after i got a seizure i switched addresses to be on safe side..

how do you know you got a seizure?

i'm a bit leery calling dhl for fear of them paying to much attention to the parcel. i might just wait and see what happends. the items are vero items.

It's up to you, but honestly, they don't ask you anything about the parcel whatsoever. They simply run the number and tell you if they have any information on it. It truly can be as simple as DHL themselves needs to do a release of some sort---improper paperwork got sent and needs corrected.

IF it was seized, they will tell you that also, but will still never ask you what the items were. I personally would rather know....there is a Big chance it is caught up somewhere for no good reason at all and once they are alerted you have not received it, they can start the process to do so. . . . they do handle thousands of packages per day and things can easily get lost in the shuffle.

2 weeks usually is the time it takes for US Customs to assess the tariffs on the contents and then release it back to the carrier to finish the delivery. You'll know about the release by tracking your package online. Depending on the amount of the tariffs you could negotiate that with your shipper, to split it, for example, if the total cost still makes sense for you to make a profit. If you decide not to pay the tariffs, you could refuse the delivery and the package would be sent back to the shipper. If your seller doesn't want to refund the whole amount I'd recommend to abandon any business with them. You will win the paypal dispute, since the seller is unable to verify the delivery of the shippment to the buyer, if you refuse to accept it, or it's confiscated by the US Customs.
For future:
a - do not get large vero shippments, it's safer to go small.
b - get the shippment "mistakenly" sent to a zip code starting with 4,5 or 6, not 9. It'll pass the Customs smooth and will be forwarded to your address. West and East cost Customs hubs are strict and tend to slap a lots of tariffs.
c - for small shippments try to always use EMS and for the large ones (over 25 kg) the UPS; it is safer delivery route.

hi,
the shipment was under a ficticious name (female name). i called dhl..and gave them tracking number, they then repeated to me the ship to information. I then asked them why i haven't receiveed it yet, they said they needed to contact customs and see what the holdup was, they then asked me for my name.....well, i kinda of froze up because the ship to address is a female name and i couldn't tell them the female name because i'm a male....i panicked and then pretended i had a bad connection and hung up :(

any advice?

You should have given the female name and said she was your boss and you are just an employee told to find out what's up.

it sounds like a seizure, the shipper wont give that info as its not on their records or at least not yet, if it is, you will get the letter in the post a week or two saying that it will be destroyed or claim it etc..

Oompa, what exactly does it mean to be "blacklisted?"

I've had one seized, and no problems since. i'm almost positive the searching is random, and they just pick a few. I've had 1 opened and seized (i assume it was opened) and i've had 1 opened and gone through no problems. they were two different items but i do not think there is a blacklist or anything like that, but i may be wrong. i've only had one opened since my seizure, but all the others have gone thru customs no problems at all. most of them go thru San Fran, including the one that got seized.

well it's been more then 3 weeks since tracking shows it's in L.A.
when will i get the letter? i'm eagarly awaiting the outcome of this

I hope its not a seizure, but it does sound like what happens, a kind of long pause in the online tracking, where you call the shipper and they say they dont know anything, meanwhile its in a customs queue for letter.

About blacklisting yes, well just read it on another UK forum, I think if its a contraband or copyright issue they do keep a note of your address, and if they get another parcel it is opened.

Dont know for sure if its true for sure..its just too serious an issue to mess with, IMO, after a seizure, switch to another box/address

I agree and would definatley give the female name you used---seriously, they care not about any of that---could be a friend you ordered for that is out of town--mother-sister, etc.

I have had this happen.....simply needed to call the DHL # I listed for you and give tracking info. they do put in a request to customs to see what is going on with package....if it is a seizure, they will tell you that under a polite---unfortunatley Customs is not allowing your package to enter the US---or wherever. One of my packages was held up for 3 weeks just because DHL was not providing the proper paperwork needed for entry---had nothing at all to do with the contents. DHL has their own team of import brokers that handles all this and is privy to all info.

For the other question about "Blacklist"....at least in my instance in the USA, I have had a package seized---personal use handbag and wallet---few clothing items---all "vero"....received the "letter" and just let em' have it.......didn't fight to receive it. I had received hundreds of packages from China prior to this and to date have received hundreds following that 1 isolated seizure. Have had 1 package not be allowed---all generic stuff just due to missing proper electronic UL notations---was sent back to shipper--not destroyed and sent back to me again with no issues :)

ok..just spoke with DHL.....customs does have it. what kind of luck! i haven't bought anythign from china before and the first time i bought something, it ended up being seized, now i'm out of $1800 :(
what exactly does the letter state????
you stated that after you got an item seized you still had hundreds after that without a problem, but were they vero items?

^^^amount gone up by $1000?
Each and every shipment coming into US customs gets handled differently. This is because a different staff member does the work. Maybe bite the bullet and speak to them again to get this resolved.:peace:

original amount is $1800, they said they would give me half refund, but they never did!!! arg! i can't afford to lose this money....i'm not making anything right now selling on ebay, a lot of my suppliers of items i'm selling (non-vero) has gone out of business....i'm needing to find ANYTHING (even vero) to sell to support myself and family......

it's vero item, i know i'm wrong...DHL told me they don't know exactly the problem, but they said custom did tell them it was trademark infringment problem, they told me to call customs and sign authorization or something, but then i would have to pay some kind of fee..they did not know how much. This is a lost cause, cause i know, i'm not "authorized" to get this vero stuff.

OK, I hear you. DHL have a contract to deliver the items. So go back to them, ask for a team leader. Tell the team leader you are getting the right royal jerk around. Ask for a more concrete answer to the delivery problem. Customs will have said the items are held because of a 'xyz matter'. That should give you an idea of what to do next...

hi greenbean,
basically it's "we have your stuff, it's ⊗⊗⊗⊗..if you think we made a mistake, submit paperwork"
i guess it's the risk we take when buying vero from china.