U.S. CUSTOMS GAVE ME A HARD TIME TODAY

[silverfish96]

I took around 15 packages (total value of all $400 or less) to USA yesterday via ambassador bridge have done this before too.just give the manifest to the officer at the window and then go inside to pay the $5 fees and that's done.
But yesterday it was different went inside the custom's office to pay the fee as usual but then one officer came to me and inquired me about my citizenship,i told him.He asked me to wait and went inside another room was then called inside that room and there were around 5 officers present there.
first i was asked that how often i have been crossing the border in the past to do so,i told that every time i come inside and pay this $5 and never asked a thing until now.I was advised that since I had baby clothes(textile) about 3 lots of 100$ each so it is dutiable item and there is a certain quotas between usa and canada in regards to this .so i can just bring it like this into the USA was also advised to go to a certain office in michigan to obtain a import/export license and then always go the cargo facility and hire a broker to clear my items at border.
I asked the officer that i was under the impression that most of the things are duty free among us/can and i got the answer that as far as i am bringing in personal belongings that would be okay,but once it is a commercial venture nothing remains duty free.I was also asked about what my husband do for living,what i do,where did i got these clothing from and what are my future plans etc. As in the end i just told them that i am just doing this to save some money to my buyers when asked why don't you ship them from canada? so if it would put me at risk i won't do it any more.
At that moment inside custom's office and after being cross questioned bu five officers, i was thinking of quitting ebay as i became very dishearten. It is all due to canada post's rates hike ,or i would have never crossed the border to do so have always been happily shipping from canada and never ever lost a single package.so now i am thinking of not offering shipping from detroit any more in my listing as i am really terrified by how these AMERICANS treats us canadians. Amazingly when they are at our borders they are always welcomed by our officers and we are always degraded at theirs.
Sorry it dragged so long but just thought to share my experience with all you guys.any words of advice would be greatly appreciated.Any GOOD TIPS would be nice too.God bless you all!

[shoplineca]

Firstly, NOT all items are duty free between Canada and the US.

Only items made in NAFTA countries (Canada, US and Mexico) for many items. Textiles in particular can be hit with extra tarriffs and depending on which country they come from, it can make quite a difference whether it will be allowed entry at all or not.

Also dont fall under the impression our officers are kinder and nicer. Last year I saw a grown man in tears at our border as he was told they could and might confiscate his truck for smuggling in $100 worth of cigarettes without declaring them and I have had my own experiences.

I have crossed many borders of many different countries with varying degrees of success and ease.

At this time, the US is very protective of their borders and the opportunity for terrorists to bring items accross without having them go through normal channels of inspection.

Bypassing CP in mailing means your items are entering the US without going through the new scanning and inspection process that is in place for international mail, so the questions on the border crossing officers' minds is "Why?".

It is probably very difficult for them to fathom that it can be financially feasible to fill up our cars with gas at current prices and drive accross the border and save that much in postage between their rates and our rates so being suspect becomes a natural option for them.

I went through similar inspection when traveling to Vermont with a Lebanese lawyer, practising in Quebec during the PanAm hijacking about 17 years ago.

5 officers with guns drawn and we were parked in a special garage being drilled for 20 minutes while the rented car was being torn apart.

At the same time, I went through a massive inspection of luggage when retrurning to Canada from my honeymoon in Jamaica that took 45 minutes and damaged some of our items when Inspection agents took knives to see if things we bought had hidden compartments to import drugs.

You just happened to experience what most people that travel frequently hit every once in a while. Your number came up, and it was your turn. Thats all it was.

Malcolm

[silverfish96]

yes it may have been my turn.but now i have thought out a simple solution that no more crossing border for shipping anything and particularly textile.once in a while may be a book or two as we don't have media mail but it is not worth putting my own self at risk.
one thing i am trying to figure out is that does this shipping method made any difference in my sales or no.as i became a powerseller way before i started shipping from usa.so if some one likes and want to bid on my auction, they will despite the fact where it is coming from.shipping would be considerably differ in this case but they willingly were paying for it earlier.so i hope i have made a wise decision.

[shoplineca]

IF I shipped from the US, I would highlight that in my listings as it would be a very positive thing to tell Americans that they dont have to worry about being shipped items from a foreign country. No worry about taxes or duties or delays.

If I simply shipped from the US and didnt include that in my listings, then I would be loosing a great marketing tool and probably loosing some sales.

So if you didnt include that in your listings, you wont notice any difference in your sales.

If you do intend to continue crossing the border to ship, then I would definately advertise that feature.

Malcolm

[sunset_sports_cards]

Here is my customs story...A few years ago while we were on strike, I went to work in my other passion which is truck driving. I drove a major family owned company outta Winnipeg Manitoba. I had to pick up a load of boxed hams in London, Ont. and deliver them to Louisville KY. I had to cross at Detroit and proceed to the USDA and get my load inspected.

Never having been at the crossing in Detroit/Sarnia I proceeded into U.S. customs with the transport I was driving. I was driving in a lane that went around the building bypassing the customs booth to report. Well.....apparently I made a mistake because the U.S. customs officer was yelling at me to pull in his lane to report. I stopped, backed up a little and proceeded in his lane. He started yelling at me about how stupid I was and that he should take his gun out and shoot me! Yep he threatened to shoot me. I was appalled! I couldn't believe I was being threatened to be shot! I said to him I was not familiar with the crossing and that I was driving around to report to customs. He just told me I was a stupid truck driver and that I was to go inside and report. I went inside and told one of the younger officers that the older officer threatened to shoot me. They shrugged it off. That is my story.
Kelly.

[rd1000]

I had some problems at customs too at first. My products are subject to FDA, so you can imagine the hoops I had to jump through.

First of all, be persistent. If you really want to drive your things across, ask them exactly what the problem is and what you need to do to meet the regulations. A customs officer does NOT make the rules.

Secondly, you do NOT need a broker. You can clear the goods yourself. All you need is the paperwork. This is stipulated bu US customs. A broker is NOT necessary. You may have to be firm with this one.

I still run into problems now and again. Everytime I see a new officer, he or she usually has questions and comments about why I should not be allowed to do this, or how I should be doing things diferently. I just politely ask them what they want me to do, and carry on. Most times I don't even see that person again.

You can look up the HTSUS code on US customs web site and determine if there is duty applied. The duty is based on place of manufacture. It has nothing to do with the fact it is crossing from Canada. If the Americans have tariffs on goods from say, Cuba, then if your goods are made in Cuba there may be a tariff applied.

Rob

[artsmartniagara]

It's been my experience that most customs officers on both sides are rude and wield way too much authority and way too little good common sense. I ship all my stuff from Canada and I'm living right in a border town. I get the odd raised eyebrow over shipping costs to the U.S., but an explanation that they're coming from Canada usually suffices. In fact I almost always post the rate I charge when doing a listing. It makes things a whole lot smoother. Good luck out there. Steve.

[shoplineca]

I am pretty certain that goods manufactured in Cuba are totally banned in the US, even though the Governor of California can be seen smoking Cuban made cigars.

However that is an excellent example of why the US Customs' agents want to know what you are bringing in.

Their insitence on having a broker is to ensure that standards that the broker is aware of and may not be known by the ocassional impoerter, are adhered to but as Rob pointed out, you dont need a broker.

I recently went shopping across the border in the US for a day with my daughter. The border crossing officer asked what I do and while I could have listed a hundred different things I do, for some reason I said that I sell musical instruments on eBay.

That one comment resulted in a dozen more questions and a search of my car to see if I was bringing anything into the US to deliver to US customers.

Malcolm

[ellingtons]

Silverfish, for the love of God why put yourself through all this trouble? You wanted advice? here's mine - STOP crossing the border to ship. If your ability to sell on ebay or your profit margin hinges solely on the ability to ship from within the US then you may want to reconsider some things about your business. If its just an added incentive that may bring the occasional higher bid then thats another story. People frisking you, ripping apart cars, grilling you under the hot lights - what the heck is this? an episode of Law and Order? I've got WAAAYYY too much to worry about in life to add interrogations and being criminalized to the list.

I sell clothes myself and have done so for many years on and off ebay, and if the people really want it, they will come. Hell, if they want it bad enough, let them drag their own asses across the border, come to my doorstep and ring the bell. I'll be more than happy to oblige. Otherwise they're gonna have to have it shipped to them.

I try to save as much as possible in the expenses it takes to ship, offering free shipping every once in a while (with a slight mark up), flat rates, knocking a few dollars off shipping here and there, etc, etc - whatever it takes. But being humiliated for an already largely unappreciative customer base - sorry jack, ebay does enough of that for me already, thanks. If it works for some people, more power to ya, but for me, living an hour away from the border, and "Homeland Security" are enough to turn me off.

[auctiondropnship]

I am glad I cross at point Roberts
Please note that a Customs Broker does the exact same thing you would . Because all item under the value of $200.00 has only one form to fill out .