Customs has shipment, don't know why, can anyone shed some light on this?

[nikeb5]

So I have been selling generic cell phone accessories for a few years now and have really never had any issues. I do not sell any items with any logos, branding or writing on them, all of them are generic just to be clear. Saturday there was a "clearance event" and then shortly updated to Contact DHL ( I put the tracking below). I had a similar event a few months ago where they needed to verify the value but this time it appears to be different, the last one never told me to contact DHL, just days of clearance events. DHL told me it was not a value issue but customs has seized the package and that is all they know. They don't know if it is gone or if they are just taking a closer look to make sure they are not branded. Has anyone had any issues like this selling generic goods?




Saturday, September 14, 2013 Location Time
11 Please contact DHL LOS ANGELES GATEWAY, CA - USA 13:27

10 Clearance event LOS ANGELES GATEWAY, CA - USA 09:26

9 Processed for clearance at LOS ANGELES GATEWAY - USA LOS ANGELES GATEWAY, CA - USA 05:48

8 Arrived at Sort Facility LOS ANGELES GATEWAY - USA LOS ANGELES GATEWAY, CA - USA 05:13

Friday, September 13, 2013 Location Time
7 Customs status updated LOS ANGELES GATEWAY, CA - USA 20:09

Saturday, September 14, 2013 Location Time
6 Departed Facility in HONG KONG - HONG KONG HONG KONG - HONG KONG 02:06

5 Processed at HONG KONG - HONG KONG HONG KONG - HONG KONG 02:03

Friday, September 13, 2013 Location Time
4 Processed at HONG KONG - HONG KONG HONG KONG - HONG KONG 12:46

3 Arrived at Sort Facility HONG KONG - HONG KONG HONG KONG - HONG KONG 11:36

2 Departed Facility in HONG KONG - HONG KONG HONG KONG - HONG KONG 04:14

1 Shipment picked up HONG KONG - HONG KONG 00:53

[GreenBean]

Of course, importers have had issues.

It happens frequently.

Your seller's intrepretation of a branded generic item may not match what Customs have.

It may be there have been a whole series of issues with the item. Customs have now decided to take action. This is within their rights to take possession of the goods.

I would expect DHL to get further info to relay to you.

You could consider contacting your seller as well.

His activities with other imports may be at the center of this.

[nikeb5]

The thing that is strange to me is this exact style of case has been pulled by customs, inspected and then returned to me with no issue about a month ago at the same facility. When that happened DHL was able to keep me in the loop but this time the import specialist there told me everything was in customs' control now and they would have to contact me. I have never seen the "Please contact DHL" message in my tracking before and as I understand things it usually means the package has been taken. I am waiting for another reply from my seller but they seem to think this is not an issue since they are completely generic non branded items but this just seems odd to me. How long do you routine inspections usually take?

[jeffweico]

Inspections can take up to 30 days, although it is normally much faster. It is not uncommon for DHL to have little information when these things happen.

The other possibility is that even though these are unbranded with no logos, if they look SIMILAR enough to a trademarked product, it COULD be considered trademark infringement. This has never made sense to me, but it has happened to others.

Invicta watches look an awful lot like Rolexes, even though they don't carry the Rolex name. One computer maker decided to make black PC keyboards, monitors and cases and suddenly everyone else did too. Same thing with kitchen appliances - first black and then stainless steel. Rights owners have been claiming this is infringing on their designs and apparently customs is agreeing with them.

Whichever way this goes, you should know soon. Either the goods will be released or you will receive a letter explaining why they were seized. You can fight a seizure, but you would probably need to hire an attorney with experience in these matters and post a bond.

[nikeb5]

I'm hoping thats not the situation but we shall see. It just seems strange to me that they cleared my shipment a month or so ago without issues but I have a feeling I am just worrying for nothing. My supplier has told me they have never had any issues with this style of cases and they send over 6,000 out per week. They say it should be released soon and I am hoping the same.

[GreenBean]

nikeb,

This is consistent with Customs catching up on a declared problem.

If you ever get told, it may be that enough formal complaints have been made about the item. Customs is taking action.

On a brighter note, this is merely temporary.

Good Luck

[rsot]

Only been 1-2 business days OP - wait patiently for update - hope it works out.

If delay keeps going on, I would worry about seizure

[schwuller]

what was the final outcome of this?

[nikeb5]

The shipment ended up being seized and destroyed according to DHL. I never got any kind of letter from customs about why the shipment was seized. I tried calling customs and they told me just to wait for a letter for more information but since it has been like 3 months I am not expecting to hear anything.

[Gamefreak]

Very interesting, apple cables perhaps?

[rsot]

Originally Posted by nikeb5

The shipment ended up being seized and destroyed according to DHL. I never got any kind of letter from customs about why the shipment was seized. I tried calling customs and they told me just to wait for a letter for more information but since it has been like 3 months I am not expecting to hear anything.

Let it go - good that no further action came against you I would say