Customs woes

[Bowie]

I ship there several times a year and sometimes customs just drags their feet with some packages. They all get through (or sent back) eventually. Hopefully all you paperwork was in order. I wouldn't stress though.

[massimo]

I agree with posters above:
1. Just be a little patient; this wait can be normal;
2. TFOA is not to blame: the sole source of information is the courier. The problem with national postal services (USPS in this case) as opposed to independent international couriers, is that when the parcel lands in the destination country, it is handled by the local national mail. Tracking becomes sparse at this point. If you ship UPS, on the contrary, a guy in brown will deliver to your door. In my experience, UPS in EU is totally reliable. Never a problem.

[gmel555]

As several others have said -and based on my own experiences- I'd remain cautiously optimistic, though understandably not easy to do. We're in the "CITES Guitar Era" and it would not be surprising for any Customs agency to put extra scrutiny and time into investigating wooden instruments coming into the country. Their response while unfortunate doesn't surprise me. I bet it will "suddenly" be released without any notice or explanation (as has happened to me several times). Good luck and let us know the result.

[Jimi2]

Thanks all. Hopefully it will get there with a some more time. I guess I was worried that the “held” part indicates a problem- but maybe that’s mistaken.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by Jimi2

I returned a used Lowden to the Fellowship of Acoustics in the Netherlands almost two weeks ago, and had problems right away - originally, USPS sent the guitar back to me before it departed the U.S. for reasons I’m unclear on. Went back to them and they resent, promised I would be all set. It reached the Netherlands this time, but according to tracking has been “held in customs” since May 1st, with only one update on the 7th that says the same thing. TFOA has not been contacted regarding any duties due (I marked it as a return), and neither have I.

I spoke with TFOA, and they told me they couldnt help and to call USPS. USPS says they can’t help, and to call Dutch customs. Dutch customs says they can’t help. This is a huge amount of money for me, and I’m concerned about recovering it. Someone on my previous thread said that “held in customs” doesn’t mean it’s processing, it means there’s an issue and that’s why it’s being held. Anyone have more insight into this?

It can't be undone at this point, but I'm curious. What made you choose to send a guitar to the Netherlands via the US Postal Service, twice?

[Jimi2]

Originally Posted by rllink

It can't be undone at this point, but I'm curious. What made you choose to send a guitar to the Netherlands via the US Postal Service, twice?

The guitar was sent to me via UPS, and while it came quickly, the box was nearly destroyed en route. So I was hesitant to use them, especially as I’ve read they routinely deny insurance claims. I’d also never shipped anything of value internationally before, so I didn’t realize USPS would apparently not be a good choice. It sounds from responses here that UPS and FedEx are generally preferred.

I was really pretty ignorant of the what a hassle customs could present; the clearance coming in to the U.S. was very quick.

[rabbuhl]

Like others said here patience is needed. I assume you have a tracking number? Also, keep in mind that school vacations were 27 April - May 5 and then a public holiday on May 9. Not excuses but during those periods things might move slower.

[Jimi2]

Well, in case anyone is interested, the guitar finally got back to TFOA a couple of days ago. Took about a month overall, and that was with a couple of calls from the store to Post NL, the carrier that the shipment was handed off to in the Netherlands. Not sure what TFOA said to them, but it seemed that they were indeed able to expedite the process of clearing customs, so I’m pleased with TFOAs willingness to help, and their return policy. This was a lot of money for me, so I’m relieved everything turned out ok, though I won’t be shipping internationally with USPS again, and not just due to the delay - when they returned the guitar to me the first time, they left it on my stoop on a busy street with no notification. After that I was envisioning the worst when it got held up in the Netherlands.

[Moldstar]

Originally Posted by Moldstar

This burden is on the Fellowship of Acoustics shoulders, imo. You don't engage in international sales and returns without making sure there are zero customs hassles for the customer. If there is an issue, especially in the EU, YOU take care if, FOTA, you don't leave the customer hanging, footing the bill AND possible losing a guitar. Word of mouth and forums will for sure (a) cause you to lose business, who wants to do business with somebody who leaves you hanging when there is an issue? (b) function as really bad PR, via the same channels. I don't think Anderton's would have left you hanging, for instance. Man, this is why I just don't buy guitars from overseas, as tempting as it is. I am so sorry for all your hassle. FOTA, you really should be assisting this person.

This is true.

[KevinH]

Glad to hear it all worked out....eventually.

Originally Posted by Jimi2

Well, in case anyone is interested, the guitar finally got back to TFOA a couple of days ago. Took about a month overall, and that was with a couple of calls from the store to Post NL, the carrier that the shipment was handed off to in the Netherlands. Not sure what TFOA said to them, but it seemed that they were indeed able to expedite the process of clearing customs, so I’m pleased with TFOAs willingness to help, and their return policy. This was a lot of money for me, so I’m relieved everything turned out ok, though I won’t be shipping internationally with USPS again, and not just due to the delay - when they returned the guitar to me the first time, they left it on my stoop on a busy street with no notification. After that I was envisioning the worst when it got held up in the Netherlands.

[RodB]

Originally Posted by KevinH

Glad to hear it all worked out....eventually.

+1 on this - must be a great relief…

[abn556]

Originally Posted by Jimi2

I started a thread a week ago that got shut down due to discussion of Ireland/Northern Ireland/Brexit/EU tangents, so please refrain from such on this one, as I could really use some advice.

I returned a used Lowden to the Fellowship of Acoustics in the Netherlands almost two weeks ago, and had problems right away - originally, USPS sent the guitar back to me before it departed the U.S. for reasons I’m unclear on. Went back to them and they resent, promised I would be all set. It reached the Netherlands this time, but according to tracking has been “held in customs” since May 1st, with only one update on the 7th that says the same thing. TFOA has not been contacted regarding any duties due (I marked it as a return), and neither have I.

I spoke with TFOA, and they told me they couldnt help and to call USPS. USPS says they can’t help, and to call Dutch customs. Dutch customs says they can’t help. This is a huge amount of money for me, and I’m concerned about recovering it. Someone on my previous thread said that “held in customs” doesn’t mean it’s processing, it means there’s an issue and that’s why it’s being held. Anyone have more insight into this?

On the customs hold thing in Amsterdam/Rotterdam which are the main points of entry, if TFOA uses a customs broker that does not have an autodebit agreement for settling duties, it can take them a while to get the transaction between customs and the import agent done. My company had a large office in both Amsterdam at Schipol Airport and at Rotterdam. I have been over to Amsterdam many times. The issue with Dutch Customs and agents is they nickel and dime you to death with little fees and charges. This is why some companies choose not to allow the auto debit. It slows the import process there a bit. Most of what I did there was in transit clearances for materials headed for other destinations. It was our regional hub for receiving oil and gas materials going to rigs and projects globally.

[Glennwillow]

Jimi,

I'm glad this finally worked out. I can understand your worries.

- Glenn

[Guitars44me]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Jimi,

I'm glad this finally worked out. I can understand your worries.

- Glenn

Yes, indeed! This is great news. And I will be thinking twice before I ship anything abroad. Fortunately, for me, most of my selling days are past.

Cheers

Paul