smt126 Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 Anyone ever have trouble with buying fossils and customs sitting on your package indefinitely? I bought some jacketed mosasaur bones from the UK, and they've been sitting in a ups warehouse since June, supposedly being held up by customs. I had actually forgotten it because work and a family vacation had occupied all my time for the last 2 months, then saw snollys prep the other day and realized I had never received it. Needless to say I'm a little annoyed and confused with where to go with this. The seller is trying to help, but ups is being useless and vague about the whole thing. I just wonder if customs would really hold it that long or if ups just lost my package and didn't want to pay me. My wife used to work for them so the latter would not surprise me at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Andy- Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 My case isn't so much of detained as it was lost. I had a mosasaur jaw that was late for over 2 months. It took quite a bit of emailing and calling before a customs officer located it. Parcelforce said they sent it 2 months ago. The Singapore customs said they only just received it that very morning when I called. I never found out who was lying. Thankfully though, since the jaw was located, the customs sent it over the next day. Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-fossils Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 It has never happened that a package I sent or am about to receive was lost/caught up in customs, but I did have a problem once: as the sender added a value for the package (instead of putting value at 0$) I had to pay some kind of customs tax of 22 euros. That's about the only trouble I've had so far with customs. Max Max Derème "I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day." - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier Instagram: @world_of_fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 On this side of the big puddle you always quickly get a notice if customs is holding something up and I would assume that that also applies in the USA. I could imagine that the problem lies rather with the carrier than with customs, although it might have gotten misplaced between the two. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taj Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Once I had to pay taxes for a book the sender shipped with a "luxuous " mode . I remember paying 2 euros of taxes and 17 euros as fees for the customs for calculating the 2 euros tax.... That happened once , not twice , I always made sure afterwards that the sender choose a cheaper shipping process... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamL Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Currently a nice fossil that i have ordered is sat in UK customs. It's been there for 10 days now. I'm getting a little annoyed. The tracking has had not updated since it arrived in the UK. Yorkshire Coast Fossil Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smt126 Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 After spending an hour on the phone with UPS, they state that customs took it, and that's the last they have a record of it. Customs says they don't track the items they hold, so that is where I'm stuck right now. The more I get into this fossil stuff, the more I hate the government. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 27 minutes ago, smt126 said: After spending an hour on the phone with UPS, they state that customs took it, and that's the last they have a record of it. Customs says they don't track the items they hold, so that is where I'm stuck right now. The more I get into this fossil stuff, the more I hate the government. I can empathize with that. A certain percentage of packages I try to acquire or send over the US-Canada border get held with no notification. Followups with the agency in charge result in vague responses with no redress possible. And those packages all comply with the rules, so sometimes there is some kind of misunderstanding that results in a somewhat arbitrary withholding. ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamL Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 29 minutes ago, Kane said: I can empathize with that. A certain percentage of packages I try to acquire or send over the US-Canada border get held with no notification. Followups with the agency in charge result in vague responses with no redress possible. And those packages all comply with the rules, so sometimes there is some kind of misunderstanding that results in a somewhat arbitrary withholding. Do you end up recieving them in the end? Yorkshire Coast Fossil Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 2 minutes ago, LiamL said: Do you end up recieving them in the end? No, they are pretty much confined for good. There may be a method for dispute resolution, but it is not forthcoming depending on who answers the phone. As annoying as it can be, I do sympathize with the fact that they have to manage the transit of a huge amount of cross-border packages. Up here, the rule is the precautionary principle; i.e., when in doubt, hold it. ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taj Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 On 22 septembre 2017 at 0:39 AM, Kane said: No, they are pretty much confined for good. There may be a method for dispute resolution, but it is not forthcoming depending on who answers the phone. As annoying as it can be, I do sympathize with the fact that they have to manage the transit of a huge amount of cross-border packages. Up here, the rule is the precautionary principle; i.e., when in doubt, hold it. No problem with that , but they know both senders and receivers , problems resolution should be fast and easy ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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