So, here's my "guitar in transit" story

[Mick51]

The seller - forum mate Nils-Bro - answers a bunch of questions for me, gives me a great price. Packs the guitar up, ships it off, and sends me tracking information.

Tracking shows the package leaves Denmark on 24-Jul-2009.
Tracking shows the package arrives in NYC/USA Customs (IISC) at 6:45 PM (EDT) on 26-Jul-2009.
Tracking goes silent.

And, that means that the package never made it out of customs, past the USPS scanner.

For anyone in the States, I'm sure you can imagine how helpful the USPS folks on their Help Line have been. And, the Customs Border Protection website doesn't even contain any contact information.

Just a bit like a "no man's land."

Please understand: Nils-Bro has been a great seller, and this has absolutely nothing to do with him. I'm just sort of hanging out, wating for delivery of a package, or a customs detention letter, or something. Rather expecting that it fell off the conveyor belt; and, when the Customs facility is torn down in 2058, it will turn up in the rubble, be sent along, and arrive postage due..

 

[Innadaze]

I try to avoid having anything shipped to me from Europe, but of the grand total of two guitars that I have had shipped to me from there (once from UK and once from France--about 4 years apart) in the last 8 years, both disappeared into customs for an inordinate amount of time (around three to four weeks) and were finally delivered with huge amount of duty to pay and both packages looked like they had been a gorilla?s play-toy and/or fell out the back of the plane upon landing at JFK.

Of the hundreds I?ve had come via EMS from the west (from Asia through SFO) the longest transit time-posting time to delivery--has been 48 hours, never a duty charge and even hand-delivered on Sundays and government holidays by the USPS.

The customs facility here on the west coast also handles more than 30 times the volume vs. NY. Apparently not all customs entities operate in the same manner.

 

[SUSHI GUY]

What was your item Mr.Mick51??

:roll: J.

 

[Cali Girl]

I once bought a collector cd set from Japan for about $500. The seller said he mailed it but it never arrived. I called customs and tried to find it for weeks and weeks and gave up. Then one day, six months later, the package just "showed up"! I had forgotten I bought it.

 

[SUSHI GUY]

I once bought a collector cd set from Japan for about $500. The seller said he mailed it but it never arrived. I called customs and tried to find it for weeks and weeks and gave up. Then one day, six months later, the package just "showed up"! I had forgotten I bought it.

Excuse me but tell me rrrrrrr u actually a girl from CA, Cali Girl???

:roll: Joe.

 

[Mick51]

Well, all stories need both a beginning and an ending. This one actually has a happy ending.

After complaining, and posting my story here on Friday (Iowa time), the package showed up later Friday afternoon. Then Friday evening, the USPS tracking information was suddenly updated; showing the parcel into Urbandale (the local post office unit), and delivered. Never has showed up exiting customs, though.

The guitar - an older Navigator that Nils-Bro was selling - was double boxed and packed well. The outer box had been "bumped and sat on," but was all intact; the the inner box was untouched. Guitar shipped in a gig (soft) bag, and arrived intact and in good shape - much as represented in his photos.

So, a happy ending. And, in fact, Nils-Bro had purchased this guitar a couple years back from someone in Ann Arbor, Michigan. So, it was just coming back to the States.

Still a bit hard to figure: two days from Denmark to NYC; and 5-6 days from NYC to central Iowa. I agree with the comments on EMS; guitars from Japan have arrived door-to-door in three days. There must be an agent at the port of entry who walks the item(s) through Customs.

 

[MIJvintage]

Since living in the Twin Cities for the last seven years, all of my imported guitars come into the USA via Chicago O'Hare US Customs.

Tracking (via USPS) has always been updated at every step; i.e. Into Customs, Out of Customs, etc.

AFA any duty charges; I was never charged any duty on any import until about the end of 2006.

Don't know why all of a sudden at that time that US Customs decided to start charging me a duty on 1 out of 2 guitars, on average.

Charge usually runs 8.7% of the listed invoice value, plus another $10 plus for Postal Inspection fee

I'm just glad they didn't hit me for duty on the LS-320
That would have been 3 bill$ :-? added to the cost ................

From the threads I have seen on the TF concerning US Customs duties, my guess is that duties are charged, or not charged based on nothing more than the indescriminate whim of any given clerk/clearing agent at any given US Custom's location.

 

[Koubayashi]

Since living in the Twin Cities for the last seven years, all of my imported guitars come into the USA via Chicago O'Hare US Customs.

Tracking (via USPS) has always been updated at every step; i.e. Into Customs, Out of Customs, etc.

AFA any duty charges; I was never charged any duty on any import until about the end of 2006.

Don't know why all of a sudden at that time that US Customs decided to start charging me a duty on 1 out of 2 guitars, on average.

Charge usually runs 8.7% of the listed invoice value, plus another $10 plus for Postal Inspection fee

I'm just glad they didn't hit me for duty on the LS-320
That would have been 3 bill$ :-? added to the cost ................

From the threads I have seen on the TF concerning US Customs duties, my guess is that duties are charged, or not charged based on nothing more than the indescriminate whim of any given clerk/clearing agent at any given US Custom's location.

The US Custom is probably charging you because the EU decided to put heavy import tax on items imported from the USA.
It all began with the steel industri if I remember it correctly.

 

[yankeebulldog]

So if they don't hit you with customs on delivery (USPS) are you free from any charges? My package had a notice saying the postmaster was to collect $150 on my LS150, but they didn't charge me when I picked it up today.

 

[MIJvintage]

So if they don't hit you with customs on delivery (USPS) are you free from any charges? My package had a notice saying the postmaster was to collect $150 on my LS150, but they didn't charge me when I picked it up today.

here's the deal folks ..............

when you get assessed a US Customs duty there should be a MAIL ENTRY form aka 3419ALT on the item

The MAIL ENTRY form will be affixed to the package in a flat plastic sleave just as most way bills are attached.
The plastic sleave is a bright/translucent orange, which is very difficult to miss.

There will be a charge for three items:
1. US Customs duty
2. Postal Fee
3. Customs processing fee

If you picked up a package with a Customs duty amount due, and the clerk let you have the package without receiving a payment for the duty, I surely would not want to be the cleark that let you have the package.
Just another example of the many brain dead individuals that make the US Postal service a money losing entity.
Don't get me wrong, there are lots of smart postal employees but just as many are dead weight too.
That clerk WILL hear about it, period, and he/she want be too happy about it either.
Don't be surprised either if they send you a notice for payment :wink: ....................

Let me guess; your package came thru' US Customs at O'Hare, in Chicago?

 

[Grrr]

Following on from this, I have a guitar in the UK, it's boxed and ready to ship. It's my guitar and have owned it for several years but I was reluctant to take it on a plane, I live in San Francisco and would like to now get it over here.

So what would be the best way to get it over here, and avoiding duty etc?

Can I ship it and mark it as personal property and avoid the duty, there are some towels and clothing in the box as well just to try and help keep it safe.

Perhaps I should just bring it with me on my next trip back and hope for the best, it doesn't help that its an SG, slim neck go crack.

any advise would be great.

 

[youami]

I ordered some bits and pieces from guitarpartsresource.com a couple of years ago (good guys, great prices). Two months later they still hadn't turned up. I emailled them and they figured that my order was lost in transit so re-sent it (that's great service in my book), the second posting arrived here in NZ after a couple of weeks.

Two months after that, my original order turned up. So that was nearly five months for a delivery. The funny thing is that it had a post-mark from La Paz, Bolivia on it. So it went from the US to NZ, with a long stop-over in Bolivia. Mind you, a Bolivian post-mark probably didn't help it's transit through Customs in NZ very much!

 

[Mick51]

Two months after that, my original order turned up. So that was nearly five months for a delivery. The funny thing is that it had a post-mark from La Paz, Bolivia on it. So it went from the US to NZ, with a long stop-over in Bolivia. Mind you, a Bolivian post-mark probably didn't help it's transit through Customs in NZ very much!

The secret lives of guitars...