mail stuck at Canada Customs

Orvy

Orvy

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Has anyone ever tried to get a hold of Canada Customs and see what the hold up is... anyone with any luck doing this? I had a package arrive Feb.11 (with tracking number) at Canada Customs. It says it is still sitting there... almost a month later... bunch of crap. Is there anyway to find out what the dang hold up is? The card is not made of gold, not super high end... just one single card.

:foottap:

Also, if anyone has an opinion... once a card has been opened from it's original packaging... taxes are paid. No one should have to pay duty... even if they bought a second hand item, no? Or is it just me that thinks that is the way it should be. Under the current rules, if they did want to go ebay sale on my card, it barely qualifies for duty under the current amount ($20 Canadian)... the exchange rate is what would put it over... that or shipping charges.
 
There is no duty on cards J - but GST can be charged on anything incoming - a trade is deemed to be a taxable transaction. Even if the transaction is less than $20 - in their eyes - they can judge whatever they want and assess - then it's up to you to appeal.

As far as Customs holding it - not much you can really do until they get around to it. There are times when there are massive backlogs for mail to be processed - it doesn't help when there's only three points of entry for the mail that is coming in from outside Canada where it is processed. I remember a few years ago when it was a real mess and I had a mailer that took over two months to finally arrive
 
I had something similar happen to me.I made a deal with a fellow HI member in Japan.He sent the cards with tracking.It showed it arrived at the sorting station in Mississauga.But never left.They would not answer any questions for me.Only for the sender.He tried his best but no results.So he lost over a grand in cards.In my humble opinion someone inside decided to help themselves to a nice hand full of cards.So maybe you need the sender to do the inquiring.Not sure if this is any help.Good luck,Winston.
 
Hey Art, Winston... ya, likely just backlogged or lost. It was ebay, only $20 US plus shipping, one card. Montreal point of entry... it's not a Habs card, so my chances of it slipping into an employee's pocket are lessened. I told the seller I'll wait until the last day to file a dispute, then we can drag it out there as long as possible too. In the end, I suppose he has to eat it, a shame, seems like a nice enough guy. I've eaten it a couple times myself, the way it goes when you're the seller. Maybe he has options in the US, not sure... insurance, etc...
 
Probably just a slow down (or missing?) item at this point.

As for the duty - I would be surprised if you got charged.... but yes you can.

I ONCE paid duty on a card I bought on eBay from an American seller. This was probably close to 10 years ago (I know it happened while I was in college, and I haven't been there since spring of 2005).

It was a card I paid around $100 USD, and had to pay GST + a $20 handling fee on.

I've bought plenty of cards since then, lots worth more than that, never seen a charge like that since.
 
There will be a flat fee, not sure if it's called a "duty" or not, but if it's opened by customs regardless of the value I think it's a $5 charge plus GST on the declared value of the item.
 
30ranfordfan said:
As for the duty - I would be surprised if you got charged.... but yes you can.

I ONCE paid duty on a card I bought on eBay from an American seller. This was probably close to 10 years ago (I know it happened while I was in college, and I haven't been there since spring of 2005).

It was a card I paid around $100 USD, and had to pay GST + a $20 handling fee on.

I've bought plenty of cards since then, lots worth more than that, never seen a charge like that since.
Click to expand...

The fee you paid was not duty, as there are no duties on trading cards. Any fee paid on top of GST would be a brokerage fee, which is sometimes charged by the carrier depending on the value of the package. Canada Post is usually good depending on the value claimed by the seller, but UPS and FedEx can charge outlandish brokerage fees.

I have a U.S. mailing address to avoid these hassles, but on a couple of previous occasions I actually went to the Customs office on my lunch hour so I could avoid having a third party act as my broker.
 
winniescards said:
I had something similar happen to me.I made a deal with a fellow HI member in Japan.He sent the cards with tracking.It showed it arrived at the sorting station in Mississauga.But never left.They would not answer any questions for me.Only for the sender.He tried his best but no results.So he lost over a grand in cards.In my humble opinion someone inside decided to help themselves to a nice hand full of cards.So maybe you need the sender to do the inquiring.Not sure if this is any help.Good luck,Winston.
Click to expand...

I had the same thing happen to me. Most likely your cards are gone.
 
quincy said:
I recommend an email to your MP.
Click to expand...

lol... if I was going to do that, I might as well make the news and chain myself to the gate of a customs office and refuse to leave until they produced my mail.

Not overly concerned, not a cornerstone to my collection by any means. I just thought someone might have a tip on how to get a hold of someone at Customs or a way to get more info than the useless postal site provides.
 

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