Haha!
Ordered a rather old lens from Japan recently. When it arrived Almighty Canada Customs ignored the documentation (or the officer got confused with the large amount shown in Yens (Rats! So many zeros...!) or did not have a Yen to C$ converter -- and estimated the price so high that I could have bought two new updated versions from Amazon or Henry's for that amount (including taxes)! I bought a used 80s AiS version of the lens, current version has AF-S, G, VR, redesigned optics -- u name it!
I refused to accept the package and asked for reassessment. The post-mistress was clueless as to how that was done, phoned here and there and she and I then figured out by the mercy of Almight Goddess Google! Even so, the post-office lady did not follow what customs folks told her to do (namely fill out a form, blah blah blah) and then customs deliberated and deliberated and fall turned into winter where I live in Canada, and then 2014 turned into 2015. I kept badgering Canada post (very patient and compassionate folks manning or womanning their phones-I must add!) who kept pointing their finger (don't ask me which one!) towards customs office.
Finally the package arrived, customs had charged me only HST this time, but not on the price of the lens alone but on the price of lens plus shipping and then slapped a $9.95 for whatever (brokerage or processing or something). At that point I felt broken enough from all this red-tape and paid!
The lens had been shaken and stirred through all these to and fro from Japan to Canada and then perhaps more tos and fros within Canada, but performed just fine!
All izz well that ends well, at least for this time. More screw-ups will follow for sure, unless I stop getting stuff by mail order! My wife too thinks, I should!!
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