PLEASE HELP!!! my chanel bag is hold by customs.

#16
Follow up question. Your tracking on USPS shows inbound into customs or your tracking on Japan Post EMS says that...

Sometimes the systems don't get cross aligned. I have seen that happen where the update didn't get run and the bag was actually sitting waiting for the buyer to find a redelivery card. The tracking had not been updated internationally or locally. Just some hope there...

pinkywhite said:
I bought Authentic chanel bag from Japan,the tracking shows "Inbound Into Customs" already been 15 days,my post office told me that they have no idea..when I customs will release this package??

Seller put $100 as a gift(used bag).

Anyone can let me know
1)why Customs held the bag for so long?
2)what can I do customs will release this package?
3)if I do nothing,just wait,when I can received this package??


Thanks
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#17
I've ordered three bags from international sellers now - all authentic, of course.

Two of my bags cleared customs within a few days, but one was stuck for a little over two weeks. I have no idea what the determining factor is in terms of time spent in customs, but rest assured if the bag is indeed authentic, it will make it to you. It is a bit nerveracking to have to wait, but fear not. ;)
 
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#22
shinymagpie said:
Shipping outside is not a problem. It is the declaration on customs forms. A Chanel anything is a no brainer. Big metal CCs all over everything. Big braided metal chains. They stick out in X-ray like you wouldn't believe. I have watched mine roll across the screens at the airport. Just don't do it. You never know what the legal consequences are. I have enormous sympathy for the OP waiting for her bag on one level but not on another. There is too much risk to the OP and the seller by underdeclaring.
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Thanks...you teach me a class.
 
#23
shinymagpie said:
Follow up question. Your tracking on USPS shows inbound into customs or your tracking on Japan Post EMS says that...

Sometimes the systems don't get cross aligned. I have seen that happen where the update didn't get run and the bag was actually sitting waiting for the buyer to find a redelivery card. The tracking had not been updated internationally or locally. Just some hope there...
Click to expand...


My tracking on USPS shows inbound into customs.
 
#27
Smoothoprter said:
So you did not ask the seller to mark the value down to $100 on the customs form? The seller took it upon themselves to lie on the form? How much did you pay? What kind of Chanel bag are you talking about?
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Yes, VERY good questions! It's never a good idea to lie on customs forms, especially in a case like this!
 
#28
OP - I don't want to get you unnecessarily worried but I sold and sent a Chloe bag to the US on 31 October 2009 with tracking and signature confirmation declared at $150. It has been detained with Customs since 4 November 2009. Tracking info still shows "inbound into Customs".

The buyer says she never received any notification from Customs that duty was owing or that there was any other issue.

USPS and Singapore Post cannot track the parcel because according to their website Customs work only with their own internal reference numbers.

To this day I have not been able to find out where the bag is (I was hoping it would be returned to sender) and the buyer got her money back through a PP INR claim.

Hopefully your bag will be released without any problems. Have you tried contacting Customs directly? Good luck - I know how nervewracking Customs delays can be :smile:
 
#29
Om my :sad: Awful! I've had my miu miu Coffer held up when it arrived in summer 2008. But I live in Finland, therefore my experiences will probably not help. Anyways I'd be happy to tell how it works over here...

About Finnish taxes and customs I should tell you that import limits are very extreme. As mentioned in the Aussie-case, the limits there are 800 AUD (ok, I dont know if that's for taxes and customs fees). But here we pay:

-- taxes on the item, that is 22% of the value
-- and customs fees that is 3% (varies a bit due to item: 2,5-3%, bags are 3%) of the value.

Limits are:
-- 68 AUD (59 USD) to avoid paying the 22%
-- and 227 AUD (197 USD) to avoid paying the 3%.

I know that some good stuff in my country is run due to tax income for the government, but those limits with today's prices are outdated. It would be better if for example one could buy up to a certain amonut (for example 700 USD) every 2 months or so, without taxes. Then the government could collect taxes if it's obvious that a citizen benefits another country's cheaper prices (oh my what a sin! ;)).

So, the seller had declared my bag to a lower value, 50 USD, and as a gift (that I did not request, because I knew low value-items does not have high fees).

Then I got a note that I have a package in customs, and I went downtown to pick it up. I thought it was OK, they probably just checked it out, and due to low value I wouldn't have to pay. The lady opened the package in front me, and said:

"miu miu's are quite expensive (she didn't even think it could be fake), it is obvious that the sender lies on the customs form, now you have to prove the value. If this is a gift and you don't have the receipt you could ask the sender to send you one stating what she paid."

As a law student I got upset about this, how the lady presumes someone is lying, it is usually the presuming party who has to prove their case. Well there's the fact that miu miu's are expensive, but used items decrease in value..

I went home and contacted the seller. She was awesome, she sent me fax where she had copied the receipt of an outlet where she got the bag. The bag had been a display sample, and had some marks on it (I got it at a good price!! I knew about those.) There were other stuff on the receipt too, and it didn't say the names of the items, because some stores just don't do that. She had marked with a pen which one was my bag, and written on the side that it was from an outlet for damaged merchandise. I have no reason not believe her (I mean she could have lied in my favor, I'm not that naive, but it's not my problem, she's the one who gave me the receipt)! She sells a lot of samples, and probably makes good money on it on eBay. I took my fax letter to the customs and no questions asked I got the bag. There was indeed another lady then, who did not open the package, but the fax said "miu miu"..therefore I assume the only thing that mattered to them was to make sure people PAY taxes and fees! The whole counterfeit-thing was not an issue.

Here the receipt you have to show for customs could even be handwritten, because if the item origins from a second hand store, it is possible it's "cash only", and seller writes you a receipt on a receipt form printed from the web. Totally legally binding! There's a lot of legal issues regarding gift sending too..If a relative sends you a used designer handbag overseas as a gift, how can she know the value? I mean should she check up what maximum amount she might get if she sold it on eBay? I mean she could think like "well I got this old thing 5 years ago and used it a lot, for wealthy me it's worth peanuts..I'll send it over to my niece.." And it could be sold on eBay for a lot less than the maximum amount, if the seller just want's to get rid of it without any profit. These are legal questions that tick me off :biggrin: BTW, I'm planning on doing my master's thesis on counterfeit handbags, and Finland's situation regarding those etc. :smile:

So this is Finland. The most important thing is to collect taxes. Counterfeits are of course illegal here, but it's not such a big market as in other countries. For example we do not have a big black market for those, only in tiny amounts. The government does not spend money on trying to stop that.

And my 2 cents on declaring a low value.. I know you should never ever do that! But as a buyer, I understand other buyers too. Here in my tiny country, we have very limited possibilities to get designer handbags. Some shops yes, but this whole last season-outlet does not exist really. Same goes for second hand shops, in some you might find an authentic designer bag, but you can't count on it. And European eBay-sites also have very limited amounts of stuff. So, as a serious bagaholic I hate the fact that I have to pay huge amounts extra for my bags just because I live in the middle of nowhere.
 
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#30
christa said:
About Finnish taxes and customs I should tell you that import limits are very extreme. As mentioned in the Aussie-case, the limits there are 800 AUD (ok, I dont know if that's for taxes and customs fees). But here we pay:

-- taxes on the item, that is 22% of the value
-- and customs fees that is 3% (varies a bit due to item: 2,5-3%, bags are 3%) of the value.

Limits are:
-- 68 AUD (59 USD) to avoid paying the 22%
-- and 227 AUD (197 USD) to avoid paying the 3%.

I know that some good stuff in my country is run due to tax income for the government, but those limits with today's prices are outdated. It would be better if for example one could buy up to a certain amonut (for example 700 USD) every 2 months or so, without taxes. Then the government could collect taxes if it's obvious that a citizen benefits another country's cheaper prices (oh my what a sin! ;)).
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I know, it's the same here.

They call it rip-off Britain, as companies use the fact that we are an island (even though we're only about 21 miles from France and not much more from Holland!) to charge us far more than mainland Europe pays, for everything.

Not to mention the 17.5% VAT (sales tax) we have to pay on virtually anything we buy.

Then, like you, we get charged extortionate import duty, even on used goods, to try to ensure that we remain enslaved to these companies rip-off prices forever! :rolleyes:

Of course, it's even worse, at the moment, as the Euro is so high (at virtual parity with the pound, when it used to only be worth about 66%) and so, anything made in the Eurozone is now prohibitively expensive for most people (even though no customs duty is owed on it, of course).

I strongly believe that the ONLY fair tax is a finely calibrated income tax and I think it should be quite high, if necessary, for very high earning individuals, like certain bankers and CEOs (with any loopholes blocked) and that penalising people for spending, rather than hoarding, their cash (by taxing them) is utterly absurd, if the goal is a healthy economy. :Push:

This is because many rich people, including those I have known well, are very careful with their money (that's how many of them get and/or stay rich!), whereas, many poor people simply have to spend a far greater proportion of their money, just to feed and clothe themselves; meaning that VAT and sales tax (and to a certain extent, import duties) are, essentially, often a tax on the poor. :tdown: :nogood:

If governments of Western countries want to ensure that the citizens of their country buy home-produced stuff, rather than imports from the developing world, it would be a much better idea to nurture businesses that produce specialised and/or luxury goods (which could then be sold, not only to people from the West, but also to richer people from developing countries); as there is really no way we can, or should, try to compete with people who will work for a $1, or less, per day and as I say, raising taxes, in a vain attempt to do so, just hurts the poor and the middle incomed. :nogood:
 
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