Illegal To Import???

[yohvn]

I placed an order from the States for a sigelei Mini, Subtank Mini, and a battery yesterday using my friends credit card.
He told me he received a call later on from the bank saying that it is illegal to make that purchase and future transactions have been blocked.

Is anyone familiar with this law?

I didn't think there was any problem with shipping equipment, only nicotine? And even then it would only be taxed heavily?
Is this a new law?

 

[Fishtec]

Possibly with it being a states to Korea sale which could have resulted in the block by the card issuer as they have to adhere to any sanctions in place by either government I do know that PayPal has a policy in place preventing ecig sales (which doesn't work) but a credit card company or bank should not work to this principle once a order is placed it is placed there isn't a middle ground with bank transactions

 

[Frenchfry1942]

fasttech, and others, are based in china. Maybe it will get blocked again, but maybe not.

 

[yohvn]

Hm, I asked my friend to clarify exactly what the bank said and he told me that they told him it was illegal to import 입담배 which he told me means rolling tobacco, which obviously I did not order. I can, to an extent, understand the confusion, but how did they know (or think they know) what I ordered? I mean the site I bought from doesn't even sell rolling tobacco!

 

[Waddle]

Unless things have changed since January 1st, I have had no problem using PayPal or my Korean credit card to buy ecig paraphernalia from the States or China. Just this last week I had an atomizer clear customs with DHL through Incheon. I bought my Sigelei mini from a vendor on Ebay in December without issue. Another issue that has been discussed ad nauseum; PayPal restrictions only apply to vendors in the USA, Brazil, and Canada . And these restrictions are coming not from PayPal but from government intervention.

Thank you for contacting PayPal regarding your business venture.

Mr. Taylor, we appreciate your interest in our services and can confirm
that as long as you yourself are based in the EU, this is not a problem
and we will be more than happy to have you as a customer.

As a regulated industry, there are certain rules we ourselves are
required to adhere to and these differ depending on which country our
merchants operate from.

With regards to E cigarettes, at present our policy does not accept E
cigarette merchants from USA, Brazil or Canada.

Please note that this is subject to change as is the current policy
concerning the EU merchants.

At present as long as you are not operating from those above 3
countries, we have absolutely no problem having you on board and value
you as a future customer.

We look forward to working with you soon and wish you good luck and
success in your business venture.

Sincerely,

Louis.

PayPal, Brand Risk Management

What you may want to try is buying gift certificates with your CC on Fasttech, then using these gift certificates to purchase the items you want.

 

[nwasiq]

I bought a subtank mini from here: ½Ã°¡¸ô - ÀüÀÚ´ã¹è ºÎÇ°Àü¹® ¼îÇθô

The packaging was immaculate and I got an EXTRA 0.5 ohm coil! It was a mistake I think because the product description inside did not mention any extra coils.

EDIT: And it comes with the 'peek' insulator in the RBA section. I don't know the technicalities, but I heard a few people had issues with the subtanks because of cheap insulation materials used and kanger fixed that by changing the insulation material to 'peek'

 

[Waddle]

I bought a subtank mini from here: ½Ã°¡¸ô - ÀüÀÚ´ã¹è ºÎÇ°Àü¹® ¼îÇθô

The packaging was immaculate and I got an EXTRA 0.5 ohm coil! It was a mistake I think because the product description inside did not mention any extra coils.

EDIT: And it comes with the 'peek' insulator in the RBA section. I don't know the technicalities, but I heard a few people had issues with the subtanks because of cheap insulation materials used and kanger fixed that by changing the insulation material to 'peek'

I saw in another thread you were talking about FastTech. Not much cheaper but enough.

http://www.fasttech.com/products/3006/10004861/2106401

 

[nwasiq]

I saw in another thread you were talking about FastTech. Not much cheaper but enough.

$33.34 Authentic KangerTech SUBTANK Mini Clearomizer - 4.5ml / 1.5ohm (12-25W) at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

I didn't know before ordering that FT could deliver within 10 days. To me, the extra 10-15 dollars seemed worth it to get the tank within 2 days. But yeah, I dont recommend buying ANYTHING vaping related from Korea now. FT and ebay for the win!

EDIT: These korean websites are still good for extra prebuilt coils though

 

[nwasiq]

Waddle check out the Cloupor mini on that website. Freaking 85,000 WON!

 

[Waddle]

Waddle check out the Cloupor mini on that website. Freaking 85,000 WON!

Highway robbery...$36 on FT. A difference of say $15 - $20 with the sub-tank I can live with, but $50

 

[Waddle]

I didn't know before ordering that FT could deliver within 10 days. To me, the extra 10-15 dollars seemed worth it to get the tank within 2 days. But yeah, I dont recommend buying ANYTHING vaping related from Korea now. FT and ebay for the win!

EDIT: These korean websites are still good for extra prebuilt coils though

For sure...if you would have FT ship it DHL you would pay about the same. Like you I don't like waiting once I've paid for it.

You're lucky if you get it in 10 days. For me its usually more like 20 days up to a month.

 

[Shirtbloke]

Are you sure the bank didn't block it because the delivery address was different from the card holders address?
They may have been protecting the card holder from potential fraud as they saw it.

 

[yohvn]

Are you sure the bank didn't block it because the delivery address was different from the card holders address?
They may have been protecting the card holder from potential fraud as they saw it.

Shouldn't be the case, I ordered it to his address.

 

[ImThatGuy]

Great bank...

IP address from Korea...Order made with different country with US credit card; three countries involved. (correct me if I'm wrong)

Bank made a great call on that one. Your friend needs to talk to them with the story and approval or have your friend order it himself.

 

[yohvn]

Great bank...

IP address from Korea...Order made with different country with US credit card; three countries involved. (correct me if I'm wrong)

Bank made a great call on that one. Your friend needs to talk to them with the story and approval or have your friend order it himself.

The order was made with a Korean credit card (KB) on a US site... Ordered in his name to his address. Have been looking around and there shouldn't have been any problems..

 

[ImThatGuy]

So...you are in Korea...

Making an order on a USA website from Korea. To be delivered to a USA address. Using a Korean credit card (KB) with the account holder residing in the USA.

Why would the bank say the reason for the declined transaction is "Import" as noted in your response in the previous page? In the USA, we currently do not have restrictions on mailing ecig products.

The Korean credit card (KB) may just have restrictions in their policy for ecig related products or it was a security response for fraudulent transactions. That website may be on their list of unsafe transactions.

 

[Waddle]

So...you are in Korea...

Making an order on a USA website from Korea. To be delivered to a USA address. Using a Korean credit card (KB) with the account holder residing in the USA.

Why would the bank say the reason for the declined transaction is "Import" as noted in your response in the previous page? In the USA, we currently do not have restrictions on mailing ecig products.

The Korean credit card (KB) may just have restrictions in their policy for ecig related products or it was a security response for fraudulent transactions. That website may be on their list of unsafe transactions.

You might want to try and read the thread again:

1) Korea Forum
2) OP in Korea
3) CC holder in Korea
4) Korean CC
5) Ship-to address in Korea
6) Vendor in USA
7) 입담배 means tobacco product - reason for declined product

There has been a drastic price hike on cigarettes in Korea since January 1, 2015. There has also been a lot of talk about the government tightening down on electronic cigarettes in the media.

I haven't had any problems personally - yet. But in Korea that's never a given. As in most Asian countries there is never any consistency in the way laws or rules are applied.

As I mentioned to the OP before, try buying gift certificates from Fasttech and then use those to purchase the things he wants. The CC company will be none the wiser. Keep the orders small, send everything via air mail, and your orders should get through. Just don't add loads of liquid.

 

[ImThatGuy]

Now it all makes sense...

 

[yohvn]

Thanks for helping to clear things up Waddle, and i'll take your advise under consideration for my next orders