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problem with a dhgate order(inbound into customs)---URGENT. pls help.
 

im an avid online shopper. ive purchased many items from many different sites and never had a problem like this. ive found this forums because ive been buggin out about my order and been googling on what to do about them. everything went smoothly from initial payment to the actual shipment of the products until it sat at customs for 5 Freaking DAYS. are they seized ? will i ever see them again.

btw the products i am refering to are 6 pairs of jordan sneakers. not for retail at all but all 6 for myself. dont ask why;)

im one of thoose dudes who feels like a kid waiting for a present when i wait for my package. and this situation REALLY sucks. been checking usps website almost every hour. i hope you guys can help me.

i really like the seller from dhgate. very helpful and nice. so i obliged when he asked me to wait for two weeks. hes willing to resend the items if its not in my hands in two weeks. but im afraid that it would end up in the "black hole" that customs is? plus paypal only offers a 45 day period to file a dispute.


btw the tracking info looks like this

Your item is being processed by United States Customs. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.

Detailed Results:

Inbound Into Customs
Inbound International Arrival, November 11, 2009, 8:06 am, ISC SAN FRANCISCO (USPS)
Foreign International Dispatch, November 09, 2009, 6:57 pm, TIANJIN EMS, CHINA PEOPLES REP
Origin Post is Preparing Shipment
Foreign Acceptance, November 08, 2009, 4:40 pm

whats the best thing to do so that neither me nor the seller would end up in the shorter end of the stick. i dont want him to lose money but i dont want to take a hit ethier.
:tears::tears::tears: <<<--- this is excatly how i feel right now.

Could just be a back log in the customs, you can still claim non-receipt anyway, there's plenty of time

yeah i still have that option, boon. but i want the m shoes ALREADY:)

Welcome to the forum,lutwey :yar:

5 days is no time to wait for parcels to clear customs. Annoying when you are eager to get the items but part of bringing goods in from overseas.:ranger:

thanks green bean. you think 5 days is not that long? ive read that it should only take a day or two. and someone from right here wrote that if it been there for a week(2 days from now) you might as well kiss it good bye.

Ive had longer than a week in customs once with a package from China. The order was split into to boxes- both sent on the same day. One was released from customs in a day or 2 the other was there for about 10 days. I assumed it had gone, but then turned up out of the blue.

thats good to know boon. im definetley waiting for 2 weeks. but im clueless on what to do after that. should i ask for another shipment or a refund. will i get in trouble if i get 2 similar packages seized by customs.

I had the same thing happen, I had 2 cases of those ⊗⊗⊗⊗ iphones sit there for 2 weeks I thought for sure they were siezed and if they are you'll get a letter in I think 30 to 45 days then you fax that letter to dhgate to get a refund. Luckily they showed up with the green tape that says inspected by customs, it wasn't worth the wait the phones don't even function properly, real cheap. So ever since than I order small quantities and ask the seller if they'll be shipping in 1 box, It's usualy bulk items that are in more than 1 box get held up.

i think 6 pairs of shoes can fit in a box. the seller told me that the actual boxes(jordan boxes) would be folded to save some room. should i go to the dhgate route or just file a paypal dispute.

You've still got 45 days for that, I'd definately wait you still might get them in another week or so with the green tape. If you don't get them you'll still get a refund after you get the letter from customs and fax it to dhgate, this is pretty common for bulk china shipments that's why I only order small quantities. For shoes I would have ordered 1 first the sizes run a little small over there then if I liked it I would order 2 or 3 at a time on seperate days.

would you recommend stealth adress. sending a fax to dh gate is trobulesome(i don t haveone to begin with). do customs keep an eye on repeat offenders. like what i said on my op the seller is offering to ship a second batch after 2 weeks. (probabbly split it in half 3 at a time). should i agree or what?

Stealth address is kinda hard to come by unless you live in the ghetto or find a roomate that doesn't need to see your id, unless you're planning on purchising more than 10k worth of goods then i wouldn't be to concerned and I wouldn't call this an offense 6 shoes nothing 60,000 shoe that could be looked at as an offense.
Faxing is easy you just go down to kinkos.
About the second batch just make sure he sends it in one box and if there's more than 1 tell him to ship the second one the next day and reroute the flight like if they're in Sanfrancisco now have him route it to go through NY customs. My seller does that for me all the time.

I concur with jbuntz, 2 boxes of 3 pairs each shipped separate days , one through San Francisco and one trough New York.

Like Green Bean said above, a few days in customs is not too long, and could just be a back log. What I would do if you are still concerned by the end of the week, is call USPS and find out which customs office has your parcel, they will give you a phone number, and you can go from there. I WOULD NOT call any sooner then the end of the week, you don't wanna draw attention to your parcel if unnecessary. Coming from DHgate, you know you're dealing with questionable goods.... So.... ya. Be patient :)

big thanks to everyone.

so ill wait till the end of the week and then request for another shipment. 2 different shipment. 1 through ny and 1 through sf/la. thanks again guys.

btw hey tanduay your name reminds me of the menk/alvarado combo waaaaaaayyyyyyy back in the day.

I guess by reading the thread, that you are beginning in the world of import? Not a problem, we all needed to start somewhere. What I suggest you look at doing is having a PO Box: that saves your house address being used. Always keep business away from your home.

Another point is to check with your supplier if there is another method to pay. I say that because of time factors with paypal and the fact paypal can be troublesome. I guess you are looking at buyer protection etc: just be aware there are other options.:ranger:

By the way lutway, I didn't mean send 1 through sf /la and 1 through ny.

I meant if your current shipment is on hold in sf/la then send the next one through ny , or vice/versa on differant days if more than 1 box.

The purpose is to not have more than 1 box going through customs at a time, if you have something on hold and another box comes through they might recognize that one as well.

Anyway back to my boxed wine and beastie boys, hate to say it but I still love those guys, not more than girls of course or woman for that matter and what do you know theres the link right below me enjoy!!!!!

hey grean bean , youre right im really new to this. i already have a po box ill probably use that in future transactions. as far as payment goes i think paypal is the most secure way that my seller accepts. i believe the other option is through western union. which is a big no no for me.
hey jbluntz so are you saying that send both to ny if this current one does not pass through sf customs and just make sure they are a couple days apart from each other.

my seller is asking me to contact us customs. i dont think its a good idea as it may raise some flags right?

i dont know wjat to tell him,

jey just an update guys. the mail man tried to deliver the shoes today but was asking for 130 usd worth of tax so i didnt accept the package. imean 130 usd worth of tax for a 180 usd purchase. too much.

I would have paid, I mean your getting 6 pairs for the price 2 now you'll probably be out the 180 and the shoes, I would defenetly get the shoes.

i cam always get a refund through paypal plus i dont have any 130 laying around the house right now. plus the second shipment is on its way already but 130. i meant its the selleres fault for marking it as a gift.

I would've still got the shoes or have them hold it at the PO until get the money ecsepially if you got a second shipment coming, you may not be able to get a refund by paypal because the tracking will show delivered but rejected by customer or something like that.

ive read an incident like this on yahoo answers so i wasnt that surprised. and he got his refund since he refused to accept the items the upon delivery. btw i talked to my seller and hes sent a new one hopefully i wont be asked for a tariff this time. so i still have a 2nd chance.

when your goods stay in usa custom for two weeks,i think you have no chance to get it out

you had better tell the shipper put two invoice with stamp on the package together,and then it will be easy for clear custom,and we send so many packages of dvds to usa and uk without problem by this way

It's not the fact that the seller marked it as a gift, they put the value too low. So if they send the second package and put a low value on it marked as shoes or gift again and it's inspected, you'll get another bill for customs import tax, that's what they were trying to collect from you.

And as far as disputes using paypal goes... You have no protection on dhgate w/ paypal. Paypal protection extends to ebay. You'll learn if you have to open a dispute. It's better to find a trusted seller who understands leaving you hanging in a situation like this is not a good idea because you buy from them often. Of course this is assuming you're a re-seller and buy from the seller all the time, otherwise, you're just another cat trying to get Nike's at FAR less than retail by stealing from the rights owner so they have nothing at all to loose.

Seems ****ty but welcome to the seedy underbelly of the internet, if you approach it that way, with the right seller there's no need for claims or the horrible coverage dhgate actually gives you. All my customs problems are handled by me either asking for a 50% refund since we both lost money on the deal or they just give me a huge discount on the next order. Eitherway, they make me whole. Everyone is in the game to make money, just assure the other party that if things are made right, the flow will continue.

Teedon, I purchase DVDs from China a lot. I've noticed that DHL is much faster with delivery and cheaper if I order at least 21kg in weight.

I recently had 3 pkgs seized by customs, they all went through EMS. There are certain titles I always get that always make it through, but new releases seem to have problems. I also have problems with things that are clearly made in Japan like DS games, those get caught up a lot. (They are of poor quality if anyone is thinking about selling DS games, I would advise against it)

Do you have more success getting things through customs using DHL or EMS? Or is it kind of hit and miss? I need to increase my import and I've just burned an address w/ those 3 orders.

Do you sell to any customers that fills up one of those box cars that goes on the boat and is delivered by train in the US? I'd like to know who to talk to about filling one of those up. I have one I bought, I just have to find out how to get it on a train and to the port.

^^^
 

You're cute, I bet you sell on Dhgate don't you.

Hi Teedon,

I buy from DHgate, can you explain what you mean by two invoices with stamp, and why it's easier to clear customs.