OT: US Customs Service

threeneurons

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Mar 30, 2016, 12:07:40 PM3/30/16

to neonixie-l

In the past, I had been complaining of the German Customs Service for holding and delaying delivery of parcels. Well, its seems, lately, that the US Customs Service has adopted the same bad habit. In the last couple of months, parcels coming my way, from outside the US, have been held at a customs warehouse for typically a week. Thru the magic of "tracking numbers", I've noticed an expected parcel sitting at one place, inside this country, for a week, before progressing to its next station.

Most of the time, I try to buy stuff within the national boarders. For someone that lives near a major port, like Los Angeles, as I do, that usually works out. Especially with stuff from China. The whole San Gabriel Valley (or at least the section between state route 60, and Interstate 10) has turned into one big warehouse of Chinese goods. So if I want to buy cheap USB cables or plastic filament (for my 3D printer), I can find a vendor less than 30 miles away. But sometimes, I need something that's not locally found, and I have to bite the bullet.

Nicholas Stock

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Mar 30, 2016, 12:14:19 PM3/30/16

to neoni...@googlegroups.com

I'm finding the same problem at the moment....some small plastic spacers from China sitting in US Customs for 10 days now....no updated tracking....

On Wed, Mar 30, 2016 at 9:07 AM, 'threeneurons' via neonixie-l <neoni...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

In the past, I had been complaining of the German Customs Service for holding and delaying delivery of parcels. Well, its seems, lately, that the US Customs Service has adopted the same bad habit. In the last couple of months, parcels coming my way, from outside the US, have been held at a customs warehouse for typically a week. Thru the magic of "tracking numbers", I've noticed an expected parcel sitting at one place, inside this country, for a week, before progressing to its next station.

Most of the time, I try to buy stuff within the national boarders. For someone that lives near a major port, like Los Angeles, as I do, that usually works out. Especially with stuff from China. The whole San Gabriel Valley (or at least the section between state route 60, and Interstate 10) has turned into one big warehouse of Chinese goods. So if I want to buy cheap USB cables or plastic filament (for my 3D printer), I can find a vendor less than 30 miles away. But sometimes, I need something that's not locally found, and I have to bite the bullet.

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Mich...@aol.com

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Mar 30, 2016, 12:25:42 PM3/30/16

to neoni...@googlegroups.com

I am in Seattle.

I have not had a problem. I get about 1 package a day as I have a bad habit of buying far more items than I will ever have time for the projects they are intended for.

In fact, I have been very lucky in that I am getting items even faster than expected - stuff I haven't expected for at least another week or so after I get them.

Only 2 packages have ever been lost coming to me, and both of those actually at customs. Hard to complain with the seller since tracking obviously shows at US customs.

It's amazing how cheap everything is from China, etc. So, I took on the practice of double purchasing the same items from 2 diff people just to make sure I get what I want. With my luck of delivery and speed, I will cut back on this tactic - no sense on having 10x LCD displays when I only needed 2. 5 should have been enough overpurchase, but at $3 each shipped with i2c backpacks, how can you say no to these types of deals? :)

Michail

gregebert

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Mar 30, 2016, 12:27:38 PM3/30/16

to neonixie-l

Maybe it's a regional issue; I'm in Oregon so the bulk of my purchases overseas are cleared thru San Francisco, and that usually takes 1 day (my most-recent purchase arrived in customs last Friday, and I received it Monday morning).

I buy small & light items, so they are sent via air freight. Hard to believe it costs 50 cents to ship a voltmeter from China to my house via air-mail; it would cost many times that to mail domestically.

Jeff Walton

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Mar 30, 2016, 1:42:54 PM3/30/16

to neoni...@googlegroups.com

I live in the Midwest US and my items typically go through Chicago for customs clearance. In the past 6 months, most items seem to take at least 10 days from the time that the tracking shows them arriving in Chicago until they are released for final delivery, which typically takes 1 or two days from the time released in Chicago. In most cases, shipments from China seem to get to the US in 5-7 days but the delay in the US is typically longer. Some vendors ship through Switzerland but I typically lose tracking in between the origin and US customs. In summary, the delivery times can be surprisingly short but often, it takes 3-4 weeks for even the simplest items.

Jeff

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Dan Hollis

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Mar 30, 2016, 2:11:49 PM3/30/16

to neoni...@googlegroups.com

Theft by US customs employees is more common than you'd think.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/127-border-patrol-and-customs-workers-arrested-corruption

-Dan

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jf...@my-deja.com

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Mar 30, 2016, 3:10:00 PM3/30/16

to neonixie-l

I am not sure who is to blame, but after almost two months, I am still waiting for some 13-pin dekatron sockets being sent from Russia.

Dekatron42

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Mar 30, 2016, 3:28:34 PM3/30/16

to neonixie-l

We have had the same situation here in Sweden for the last three months, most foreign packages from Russia, China and even the US get stuck in customs but pass without problem after a month or so, but strangely some packages fly through customs in under a weeks time even though they come from the same sender. I know that most of these packages have been stuck abroad and actually not in Sweden, so it is the country of origin where they have been stuck most of the time, I had to check this thoroughly as I got incorrect information from some of the senders.

/Martin

Grahame

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Mar 30, 2016, 4:21:59 PM3/30/16

to neoni...@googlegroups.com

I sent a package from the UK to NM, USA. Posted on the 21st March in the
Highlands, arrived Los Angeles on the 23rd, so far so good...

It hasn't moved since.

Grahame

Tidak Ada

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Mar 30, 2016, 4:56:38 PM3/30/16

to neoni...@googlegroups.com

Had years ago a comparable experience from Netherlands to Sacramento (CA):

Posted two equal boxes with tubes. One arrived two days later J, the other over two months…. L !!!

eric

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Kerry Borgne

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May 5, 2016, 5:57:41 PM5/5/16

to neonixie-l

So, I am having the same problem. In fact I am awaiting the arrival of a package right now...

I sent a small package, with a small item for modification inside, to Alberta Canada on the 22nd of April and arrived at its destination on the 24th. It was sent back to me on the 26th and arrived in Chicago Il. on the 28th at something called the ISC, Chicago, and promptly stalled there. It finally popped lose this morning and is headed to Michigan as we speak, hopefully. I have no idea what it was doing in Chicago (Perhaps a side visit to the Museum of Science and Industry??) but I discovered that ISC stands for "International service center" and it has a nick name of "The Black Hole of Calcutta" as packages seem to go in but not always come back out....