Help, my bass is stuck in customs

megadan · #1 12-17-2008, 07:38 AM

I wonder if you guys can help me! I've shipped plenty of basses to Canada from the US before. each time I'd paid through the nose (all though I knew I would) because of duty, taxes, and brokerage fees.

This time I told myself that it was unfair that I was paying all this extra duty when under NAFTA American made goods are duty free. So, since the latest bass I'm receiving is a 4003, which is definitely made in America, I asked the shipper to indicate as such (Made in the USA) so I wouldn't have to pay the quite expensive duty.

Now I get an email from FedEx (tracking update) saying that the bass "has encountered international clearance delays."

Here's their little blurb:

Quote:

1. Reason For Delay: Arrangement for duties and taxes is required. Recommended Action: Importer must agree to provide payment of duties and taxes.

2. Reason For Delay: Shipment requires a certificate of origin from the Chamber of Commerce at the origin location. Certificate must include origin of goods (country of manufacture). Recommended Action: Shipper must provide Certificate of Origin from Chamber of Commerce.

3. Reason For Delay: Shipment requires importer's registration/identification number for clearance. (Examples include EIN, SSN, VAT, GST, RFC, etc.) Recommended Action: Importer must provide the required registration/ identification number.

4.Reason For Delay: A Power of Attorney (POA) or form letter, authorizing FedEx/Broker to clear the shipment on behalf of the importer, is required for clearance. Recommended Action: Importer must provide a Power of Attorney (POA) or a form letter authorizing FedEx/Broker to clear shipment.

Ok, so I get most of it. 1. I have to agree to pay the fees. Duh, that's always the case, or you don't get your package.

2. Uh... I have no idea what any of that means.

3. Ok, they need my SSN. Whatever

4. I'm not sending anyone a damn Power of Attorney letter; I guess I could make up a "form letter" but do they need this in writting? Jeez.

So yeah... this "Certificate of Origin" from the Chamber of Commerce. Do they mean from where it was sent? What on earth is the CoC of Humboldt, TN going to know about my Rickenbacker? Do they mean where the Ric came from, ie California(?)

I'm confused, stuff like this always unnerves me, even though I've done nothing wrong at all. Also, the seller is a novice (I think he's 15) so I have no idea what he put on the paperwork.

Obviously the next step is to call FedEx, but it's the friggin' week before Christmas and everyone everyone including myself is busy... ack!

If anyone can shed any amount of light on anything at all I'd be grateful... I'm just lucky I got a tracking number for this, two other packages on the way have no tracking numbers, arrg I hate christmas!

Sorry! Just needed to vent...

Relic · #2 12-17-2008, 07:51 AM

wait, what?? That is crazy!!
I just (4 days ago) got a 4001 from Canada and it made it here without so much as a hiccup. It was shipped Canada Post, and transferred to USPS.
A few weeks ago, I shipped a Jazz bass to Canada, also via USPS and it made it to the buyer in a week.
In both cases, whether it was to or from Canada, neither seller nor buyer paid anything extra other than what the shipping fees were. Both were exceedingly simple transactions. I dont understand why they're giving you such a hard time??

have them bring the darn thing back to the seller and reship it Canada Post to USPS (or vice versa)

megadan · #3 12-17-2008, 08:16 AM

I know, I know.
I asked the shipper to send it via USPS, but it cost $10 more, so they opted for FedEx (despite the fact that I was paying the shipping)

Anyway what's done is done, I've all ready paid for the FedEx shipping so I might as well see it through.

My major problem is, I'm obviously going to volunteer to take care of everything, and i'm sending him $10 + 3% via Paypal to pay for this "certificate of origin," but how the hell is a 15 year old kid who bought this bass from a friend supposed to prove to some suit that this bass, which he doesn't even have, was made in the US? maybe they'll just give him the form though, I guess that's usually how bureaucracy works

Oi vey.

Georynn · #4 12-17-2008, 08:17 AM

Sounds like you put the declared value too high. If you are shipping something that you bought for over a certain amount, the lovely government wants you to pay a tax on it!...

**iriegnome** · #5 12-17-2008, 08:24 AM

This is exactly the reason I stopped shipping anything across US boarders via any other method than USPS. I am a big hater of FEDEX and UPS is a nightmare of hoops to go through. Good luck. You should be able to get some help from where you bought the bass I would think

megadan · #6 12-17-2008, 08:26 AM

unfortunatly the seller is just a 15 year old kid using his dads ebay account.
But I'm kinda getting to the bottom of this.
According to the UPS site, all that's needed is this one NAFTA form:
https://www.ups.com/media/en/nafta.pdf

So I may be able to just have him print that out and fax it to me.

I was going to push him to use USPS, but it was his first time so I didn't want to make it too complicated on him. Damn!

Geddyfleaharris · #7 12-17-2008, 09:42 AM

I have imported 2 Rics with no problem. One by USPS and 1 by FedEx.

FedEx can act as your broker. You sign a Power of Attorney indicating that you have agreed to let them act on your behalf. That's what I did. The FedEx fees are minimal - like $7.00 or something. You will have to pay whatever provincial taxes that might be due but you will not have to pay duties. I got charged duties on one of the Rics (FedEx can't do anything about that- that is Customs) but got the money back by giving Canada Revenue pictures of the Ric with the "Made in USA" tag. I also provided them with Rics website address and business address. FedEx were very helpful getting me pointed in the right direction to get the duties refunded.

The trouble with FedEx is that they are inconsistent with what level of service they provide. It all seems to depend upon who you are lucky enough to talk to.

Good luck!

megadan · #8 12-17-2008, 12:04 PM

Yeah, I called FedEx a couple times and got different info.
I think the problem is stemming from the fact that this is apparently FedEx Ground and not Express - not good?
Anyway the guy on the phone at the first FedEx I called said I needed to send Customs the NAFTA CO - ok, I can do that, I need the sender to fax it in but I can walk him through it.
But then I got an email from the seller saying that FedEx had called him and that they needed my SSN. So I called that number back and an importer or something is supposed to call me.

What's worrying me now is that the first FedEx people i talked to said they they - Ground - do not do clear customs at all, and I will have to contact a Broker, set up and account, and have them clear it! Arg. I really hope that that is WRONG.
Does anyone have experience with FedEx Ground that knows otherwise?

Jeremy Crockett · #9 12-17-2008, 12:36 PM

I think it's time we just annexed Canada. Lovely scenery, nice people. And we can teach them the proper way to do a Zip code.

GeneralElectric · #10 12-17-2008, 12:41 PM

Do what I do when shipping stuff to CA.

When they ask you to declare it, state that the item was returned to the US for repair work and is being shipped back to the owner.

Relic · #11 12-17-2008, 12:44 PM

Argh!! It's not even my bass and I'm frustrated!
I would get a darn broker, and follow any/all directions to just get this over with. At this point I don't think there's much else that you can really do.

This is just so bizarre..I have been buying and selling stuff via ebay for years now and have sent and received all sorts of stuff to and from Canada, and never once had this problem. Something's telling me this kid filled something out wrong, or used an incorrect form or something like that. This whole thing is ludicrous..

cavemusic · #12 12-17-2008, 02:27 PM

Is the declared value over $1600? Under $1600, the process is streamlined. Over $1600, that's a whole different process - the goods can't be released for shipping until certain paperwork is done. I had a bass shipped in via FedEx, and their people in Vancouver set it all up for me. I had to sign a power of attorney form too, to allow FedEx to handle it. It cost a bit extra for their help, and there was a delay in getting it, but it all worked out in the end so it was worth it. The government is certainly sticky if your paperwork is not in order, so I don't think I could've done it myself without major headaches. Don't panic, be patient and follow FedEx's instructions, and it'll likely get through. Of course this time of year is busy.

cavemusic · #13 12-17-2008, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by megadan

Yeah, I called FedEx a couple times and got different info.
I think the problem is stemming from the fact that this is apparently FedEx Ground and not Express - not good?
Anyway the guy on the phone at the first FedEx I called said I needed to send Customs the NAFTA CO - ok, I can do that, I need the sender to fax it in but I can walk him through it.
But then I got an email from the seller saying that FedEx had called him and that they needed my SSN. So I called that number back and an importer or something is supposed to call me.

What's worrying me now is that the first FedEx people i talked to said they they - Ground - do not do clear customs at all, and I will have to contact a Broker, set up and account, and have them clear it! Arg. I really hope that that is WRONG.
Does anyone have experience with FedEx Ground that knows otherwise?

Hmm, I don't think that shipping ground should matter (see previous post). I have had several things shipped in from the US via ground, the only time there was this kind of holdup was when the value was over $1600.

megadan · #14 12-17-2008, 05:28 PM

It may be marked over $1600, depending... the actual sale price of the bass was $1275US, which is $1,537.39CAD
But plus $100 shipping, that works out to the $1,773.13CAD that I actually paypaled him.
So if he put that total on the paperwork (the 1375US which converts to $1,638.31CAD at the moment but Paypal screwed me over on the exchange rate) that would put it just over...

Hopefully tomorrow I can get ahold of someone helpful at FedEx... will escalating the call actually go to a higher up FedEx worker or just a higher up call centre manager I wonder?

megadan · #15 12-17-2008, 05:32 PM

Yeah... god... slightly o/t but what a serious bummer... Paypal gave me 1 CDN $ @ 0.77 US last week, now it's up to 0.83... almost $150 out of my pocket for absolutely nothing, that just pads Paypals bottom line... (*&#$#!...

GeneralElectric · #16 12-17-2008, 06:39 PM

This is why paypal sucks.

Stanley Design · #17 12-17-2008, 09:59 PM

None of this should have happened. When you ship with fedex, you are charged a brokerage fee automatically. Fedex then becomes your broker unless you otherwise tell them you have your own. THEY take care of this. I would be unwilling to pay the brokerage fee for this delay. I have imported several basses and exported a few as well, it's never a problem. Marked "MADE IN USA" in big black letters all over the box. You will not have to pay any duty, only the brokerage fee, and even then I would be unwilling to pay because of Fedex's delay. Make THEM fix it.

megadan · #18 12-18-2008, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Todd Stanley

None of this should have happened. When you ship with fedex, you are charged a brokerage fee automatically. Fedex then becomes your broker unless you otherwise tell them you have your own. THEY take care of this. I would be unwilling to pay the brokerage fee for this delay. I have imported several basses and exported a few as well, it's never a problem. Marked "MADE IN USA" in big black letters all over the box. You will not have to pay any duty, only the brokerage fee, and even then I would be unwilling to pay because of Fedex's delay. Make THEM fix it.

See what's I was worried might have started the problem! I asked the seller to write MADE IN THE USA on the box, and now they're asking me for customs papers and certificate of origin and crude.

Apparently FedEx Ground does not act as a broker whereas FedEx Express does. This is what the FedEx guy told me. I'll try some more numbers today and see if I can get to the bottom of it.

megadan · #19 12-18-2008, 08:17 AM

Update:

I got ahold of the actual person in charge of my specific shipment (she even knew it was a bass), and she's faxing over the form I need to sign to get things rolling. So hopefully there won't be any more major delays and I'll have it in time for christmas!! That would be grand. Sounds like cavemusic was right on the money.

Geddyfleaharris · #20 12-18-2008, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by megadan

Update:

I got ahold of the actual person in charge of my specific shipment (she even knew it was a bass), and she's faxing over the form I need to sign to get things rolling. So hopefully there won't be any more major delays and I'll have it in time for christmas!! That would be grand. Sounds like cavemusic was right on the money.

You should be good to go. When I signed my papers it was because the bass was physically in Canada. They could not release it until the paper work was in order. In theory it should be a matter of signing your papers and picking up the bass a day or so later.

It looks like it should work itself out!