After much personal research and using a couple of friends as guinea pigs, I decided to try to get my very stubborn 43 yr old fiance a BLU kit (seems like the best gadget-converter/initial cool factor) and ship it to him in Sweden. I check the laws, etc. Yup still legal there! So...
Someone recommended that I use DHL, well DHL always has shipped these chocolates I get from France rather efficiently to his office, next day by 9am. So, I hunt down nearest DHL shipper still open (next county 2 towns over, OK).
Friday: Bring the thing in UNwrapped, show the clerk what it is and explain it's a gift, etc etc. Fill out the form she gives me for address/phone numbers. Paid $77.77 to ship it. Paranoid about using the word "cigarette" and having customs go ape over what is NOT tobacco I used the term "personal vaporiser" on the invoice.
Check over the weekend and it's all going very smoothly. Goes through Germany lands in Sweden, and... SCREEECH! It gets delayed in customs. I thought, oh man, I wonder if it didn't get entered in computer correctly as a gift, etc.
I submit an e-mail requesting information and they give me an "after hours" number, which doesn't work there is NO way to reach them after hours HERE. Morning hours are ticking away...
My fiance sends me an e-mail. "Customs is calling me and asking about some package. What is going on?" Apparently the Swedish translation for "vaporiser" was indistinguishable from "vaporizer" to them which is a marajuana device!
Several phone calls and e-mails later to describe exactly what it is and that it IS a gift, etc. I got left overnight wondering if they were going to blow the thing up, tear it apart or what. All they would say is "HELD for further investigation"
Well, YAY! No idea if they opened it and read my love note inside or what, but it finally got through customs over 24 hours later...
THEN, it goes on its merry way to the WRONG DHL facility! I send another e-mail asking what's going on? I got another "We're sorry about the delay" canned message and that it's being fixed and will arrive by close of business, etc. At this point I can wallpaper my powder room with "We're sorry" messages...
NOW, after taking 6 hours to get to the RIGHT facility in the same city which is still an hours drive from my fiance, it SITS.
Shipped Friday, now after 5pm TUESDAY and still in transit in a city an hour away!
What have I learned? If you want to ship this stuff through customs, make the value $10, label it "adult toy", and do NOT use DHL
Reference: See the tracking below... It's REAL/UNreal!
Tracking history... Help
Date and time Status Location Service Area
5/18/2010 3:30 pm Processed at DHL Location. Gothenburg, Sweden
9:51 am Shipment arrived at incorrect facility. Sent to correct destination. Gothenburg, Sweden
9:17 am Arrived at DHL facility. Gothenburg, Sweden
7:39 am Depart Facility Gothenburg, Sweden
6:12 am Clearance processing complete Gothenburg, Sweden
5/17/2010 12:53 pm Clearance Delay Gothenburg, Sweden
5:38 am Processing for clearance Gothenburg, Sweden
5:35 am Transit through DHL facility Gothenburg, Sweden
5/16/2010 11:44 pm Depart Facility Leipzig, Germany
12:56 pm Processed at DHL Location. Leipzig, Germany
11:25 am Transit through DHL facility Leipzig, Germany
5/15/2010 12:13 pm Depart Facility Cincinnati Hub, OH
5:51 am Processed at DHL Location. Cincinnati Hub, OH
3:12 am Transit through DHL facility Cincinnati Hub, OH
2:43 am In transit. Cincinnati Hub, OH
5/14/2010 9:30 pm Depart Facility Washington - Ronald Reagan National, DC
9:29 pm Processed at DHL Location. Washington - Ronald Reagan National, DC
7:48 pm Departing origin. Washington - Ronald Reagan National, DC
5:04 pm Shipment picked up Washington - Ronald Reagan National, DC
Someone recommended that I use DHL, well DHL always has shipped these chocolates I get from France rather efficiently to his office, next day by 9am. So, I hunt down nearest DHL shipper still open (next county 2 towns over, OK).
Friday: Bring the thing in UNwrapped, show the clerk what it is and explain it's a gift, etc etc. Fill out the form she gives me for address/phone numbers. Paid $77.77 to ship it. Paranoid about using the word "cigarette" and having customs go ape over what is NOT tobacco I used the term "personal vaporiser" on the invoice.
Check over the weekend and it's all going very smoothly. Goes through Germany lands in Sweden, and... SCREEECH! It gets delayed in customs. I thought, oh man, I wonder if it didn't get entered in computer correctly as a gift, etc.
I submit an e-mail requesting information and they give me an "after hours" number, which doesn't work there is NO way to reach them after hours HERE. Morning hours are ticking away...
My fiance sends me an e-mail. "Customs is calling me and asking about some package. What is going on?" Apparently the Swedish translation for "vaporiser" was indistinguishable from "vaporizer" to them which is a marajuana device!
Several phone calls and e-mails later to describe exactly what it is and that it IS a gift, etc. I got left overnight wondering if they were going to blow the thing up, tear it apart or what. All they would say is "HELD for further investigation"
Well, YAY! No idea if they opened it and read my love note inside or what, but it finally got through customs over 24 hours later...
THEN, it goes on its merry way to the WRONG DHL facility! I send another e-mail asking what's going on? I got another "We're sorry about the delay" canned message and that it's being fixed and will arrive by close of business, etc. At this point I can wallpaper my powder room with "We're sorry" messages...
NOW, after taking 6 hours to get to the RIGHT facility in the same city which is still an hours drive from my fiance, it SITS.
Shipped Friday, now after 5pm TUESDAY and still in transit in a city an hour away!
What have I learned? If you want to ship this stuff through customs, make the value $10, label it "adult toy", and do NOT use DHL
Reference: See the tracking below... It's REAL/UNreal!
Tracking history... Help
Date and time Status Location Service Area
5/18/2010 3:30 pm Processed at DHL Location. Gothenburg, Sweden
9:51 am Shipment arrived at incorrect facility. Sent to correct destination. Gothenburg, Sweden
9:17 am Arrived at DHL facility. Gothenburg, Sweden
7:39 am Depart Facility Gothenburg, Sweden
6:12 am Clearance processing complete Gothenburg, Sweden
5/17/2010 12:53 pm Clearance Delay Gothenburg, Sweden
5:38 am Processing for clearance Gothenburg, Sweden
5:35 am Transit through DHL facility Gothenburg, Sweden
5/16/2010 11:44 pm Depart Facility Leipzig, Germany
12:56 pm Processed at DHL Location. Leipzig, Germany
11:25 am Transit through DHL facility Leipzig, Germany
5/15/2010 12:13 pm Depart Facility Cincinnati Hub, OH
5:51 am Processed at DHL Location. Cincinnati Hub, OH
3:12 am Transit through DHL facility Cincinnati Hub, OH
2:43 am In transit. Cincinnati Hub, OH
5/14/2010 9:30 pm Depart Facility Washington - Ronald Reagan National, DC
9:29 pm Processed at DHL Location. Washington - Ronald Reagan National, DC
7:48 pm Departing origin. Washington - Ronald Reagan National, DC
5:04 pm Shipment picked up Washington - Ronald Reagan National, DC
