Customs' procedure?

**98tls** · 14th February 2012, 19:39

Been tracking something i bought from the states,it arrived here early last week and on the usps tracking site it shows up "customs clearance",all good i think or thought until a week later theres no change nor any contact from them,never had a problem before this and just wondering if anyone could advise on the next move,been through there website clicked on the "contact us any time of day/night blah blah" rang the number but nope no good.All i am after is a number i can ring and ask whats happening with my box of stuff,anyone been down this road and able to give me a number for them.

**mossy1200** · 14th February 2012, 19:44

Originally Posted by 98tls

Been tracking something i bought from the states,it arrived here early last week and on the usps tracking site it shows up "customs clearance",all good i think or thought until a week later theres no change nor any contact from them,never had a problem before this and just wondering if anyone could advise on the next move,been through there website clicked on the "contact us any time of day/night blah blah" rang the number but nope no good.All i am after is a number i can ring and ask whats happening with my box of stuff,anyone been down this road and able to give me a number for them.

is normal usps will say custom minute boat lands.7days-10days goods afterwards and maybe pay gst if over 400 including freight

**SMOKEU** · 14th February 2012, 19:49

The customs officers are probably too busy snorting the coke you tried to import.

**98tls** · 14th February 2012, 19:58

Originally Posted by mossy1200

is normal usps will say custom minute boat lands.7days-10days goods afterwards and maybe pay gst if over 400 including freight

7 -10 days after it lands,mate ive bought shitloads over the years and always marvelled at how quick stuff turns up ie ive had stuff from both England and the states on my doorstep in 7 days.Ive never bothered using the usps tracking site before,fwiw it has 3 entrys for customs clearance over 2 days,no idea if that means something or not.Whenever ive had to pay the gst ive had a phone call,paid and bobs your uncle it turns up a couple of days later.Just find it weird that its been in country a week and no contact etc.

**nodrog:Me** · 14th February 2012, 20:25

ring new zealand post and ask them if it is actually in the country, USPS are fuckin useless, i have had heaps of dramas with them, the last one was at xmas when the tracking showed they had tried to deliver a parcel to my door, 4 weeks later and they finally admitted they still hadnt put it on a plane.

its heaps easier if you get the poster to track it from their end rather than trying to do it yourself, as they are the only person who can authorise a proper trace and claim the insurance if it has actually been lost.

**Gremlin** · 14th February 2012, 21:04

When passing through customs, if you're picked up for GST the parcel company should be contacting you to pay the GST, then the parcel is released. Could be something as simple as a lazy courier not getting it to you, best would probably be contact the supplier and get them to chase it.

**tigertim20** · 14th February 2012, 21:05

Originally Posted by 98tls

Been tracking something i bought from the states,it arrived here early last week and on the usps tracking site it shows up "customs clearance",all good i think or thought until a week later theres no change nor any contact from them,never had a problem before this and just wondering if anyone could advise on the next move,been through there website clicked on the "contact us any time of day/night blah blah" rang the number but nope no good.All i am after is a number i can ring and ask whats happening with my box of stuff,anyone been down this road and able to give me a number for them.

hey man, Im going through this myself at the moment.

what happens is, when it arrives in new zealand, NZ logs it as arrived in NZ. Once that happens, you should have it in as little as a day or two.
Now, when it arrives in NZ, they put it through customs, and put a new tracking number on it for its route within NZ.

Ive bought several items this week, so far three of those items have arrived, and of those three items:
I checked the tracking on one and it showed as reaching customs NZ on the monday - it was at my door wednesday lunchtime
Item #2 arrived 8 days ago, but according to its tracking details, it still hasnt reached NZ, even though its already been installed on my bike.
item #3 currently shows as customs clearance - but arrived yesterday.

Another item I have been waiting on was due to arrive on my doorstep over three weeks ago. We have proof of it going through all the facilities in the USA, however I have confirmed that it has not yet reached NZ at all yet.

Basically you cannot trust the tracking numbers at all. You need to email NZpost with the tracking info you have for the item, and they will tell you where it is now - remember it will have a different NZpost tracking number on it now if it has arrived in the country. It might be that the item requires you to pay duties etc, and you might receive a letter to this end.

Send an Email to this email address:
nzpost@custhelp.com ;

They will get back to you by 5pm the next day with a response.

Hopefully your shit turns up, I have about $2,000 worth of shit thats WAY past due delivery date - USPS are more fuckin useless than a cock flavoured lollypop at a lesbian nightclub

**DrunkenMistake** · 14th February 2012, 21:12

Email USPS with the tracking number,
they are actually fucking muppets, You are lucky the tracking went as far as saying it had actually landed,
Mind gets as far as the sorting facility and thats it.

Depending on the size of the stuff your sending it can take a tad longer than normal, especially if customs decide to have a good look around it, they could also be getting a value on it so they can charge you the gst if they feel it is worth more than the $500,
but USPS are so unreliable with their times its criminal, I brought a reservoir sock, and it took an entire 2 months before it arrived.

If they cant help you out then next bet would be New Zealand post, as its probably in Auckland still,
Good luck on getting your stuff.

**DrunkenMistake** · 14th February 2012, 21:17

My bad, forgot to add this.

https://ribbs.usps.gov/index.cfm?page=contactus

**Damantis** · 14th February 2012, 21:29

Sometimes it's worth paying the extra to get it via Fedex or DHL or even UPS. With the postal service, you get what you pay for. With Fedex, for example, the package is manifested and usually clears customs before it even lands. Only gets held up if MAF or Customs stop it for a look as it goes past on a conveyor ... or it attracts duties / GST and the payment isn't made yet. Not to say there aren't sometimes problems like missed aircraft connections, missrouting, incorrect or non specific addressing with no recipient contact phone numbers etc ... but the upshot is that companies who charge a premium for a door to door express service actually want to give you a good customer experience and are more helpfull when there is a problem. The postal services don't give a fuck cos for you to go somewhere else next time will cost you more and they know their customers main consideration is price.

**mossy1200** · 14th February 2012, 21:36

Originally Posted by Damantis

Sometimes it's worth paying the extra to get it via Fedex or DHL or even UPS. With the postal service, you get what you pay for. With Fedex, for example, the package is manifested and usually clears customs before it even lands. Only gets held up if MAF or Customs stop it for a look as it goes past on a conveyor ... or it attracts duties / GST and the payment isn't made yet. Not to say there aren't sometimes problems like missed aircraft connections, missrouting, incorrect or non specific addressing with no recipient contact phone numbers etc ... but the upshot is that companies who charge a premium for a door to door express service actually want to give you a good customer experience and are more helpfull when there is a problem. The postal services don't give a fuck cos for you to go somewhere else next time will cost you more and they know their customers main consideration is price.

The 2 items i had take a while sitting in customs were both used wheels with tyres on them and since we are talking about exaust system used im guessing its possible its maf thats slow.

I had to use usps as the wheel cost 90usd +freight 70usd USPS was $390usd Fedex plus it put me well into gst zone while with usps total was under $400nzd

**tigertim20** · 14th February 2012, 21:51

Originally Posted by mossy1200

The 2 items i had take a while sitting in customs were both used wheels with tyres on them and since we are talking about exaust system used im guessing its possible its maf thats slow.

I had to use usps as the wheel cost 90usd +freight 70usd USPS was $390usd Fedex plus it put me well into gst zone while with usps total was under $400nzd

I work with MAF all the time and you are bang on - second hand vehicle parts will get the raised eyebrow from MAF, and they wanna have a look 99% of the time.
but still, it wouldnt add much time to the delivery date

**Howie** · 14th February 2012, 22:14

I had one recent purchase take three and half weeks from the states, The tracking showed it left the States after 3 days, but didn't show up in NZ for three weeks, and was delivered the next day, had to a bit of chasing through both NZpost, and also got the vendor to chase it from their end. The value of the item was very close to the $400 threshold, so I was sort of expecting to get a bill but they let it through.

It'll turn up soon

**98tls** · 15th February 2012, 17:28

An update,after roughly 3 hours (i kid you not) on the phone i finally got some sense outta someone,that someone was a very helpful bloke at NZ post who was able to tell me that they had my exhaust but customs wont release it as the bloke that sent it from the states put the value down as $10

I never asked him to devalue it for gst purposes and if thats what he was intending to do then hes an idiot $10

Anyways a very long story short ive got to provide customs proof of how much i paid for it,didnt have time to go to the bank and get cc statement so printed off the ebay ad etc and sent em that,if thats no good then i will send them a bank statement etc.Crazy shit,they were supposed to have sent me a letter explaining everything but hadnt,on the letter would have been a number which when ringing them reveals all

trying to get someone at customs to help you out if you dont have said number is nigh on impossibe it seems.Anyways have the numbers i need and have made progress.Edit..will just add that most of the 3 hours on the phone was spent listening to shit music waiting for someone at customs to be bothered answering it.

**tigertim20** · 15th February 2012, 18:08

Originally Posted by 98tls

An update,after roughly 3 hours (i kid you not) on the phone i finally got some sense outta someone,that someone was a very helpful bloke at NZ post who was able to tell me that they had my exhaust but customs wont release it as the bloke that sent it from the states put the value down as $10

I never asked him to devalue it for gst purposes and if thats what he was intending to do then hes an idiot $10

Anyways a very long story short ive got to provide customs proof of how much i paid for it,didnt have time to go to the bank and get cc statement so printed off the ebay ad etc and sent em that,if thats no good then i will send them a bank statement etc.Crazy shit,they were supposed to have sent me a letter explaining everything but hadnt,on the letter would have been a number which when ringing them reveals all

trying to get someone at customs to help you out if you dont have said number is nigh on impossibe it seems.Anyways have the numbers i need and have made progress.Edit..will just add that most of the 3 hours on the phone was spent listening to shit music waiting for someone at customs to be bothered answering it.

sounds about right! glad you got it sorted, it can be a fucking minefield!