What do I need to know about Customs?

[mrmack00]

If ordering in bulk from China, can anyone give me some advice (if there is any) to avoid the issues I'm reading about here on the forums? Is there a way to notify the FDA or SOMEBODY in advance so these delays don't occur? Is it certain products that are snagged more often, such as juice versus hardware?

if I'm in the wrong forum, let me know know where to go.

Thanks

 

[Qcig]

If anyone has an answer to this question i would greatly appreciate the input since here in canada we (importers) seem to have a real issue on that subject.

 

[jlazarus]

I'm with you, OP. I'd like to know as well. For example, I thought it was mainly juice that got snagged, but read recently about a cartomizer shipment that was snagged.....

 

[BoiseMike]

My local retailer says he's never had a problem with it. I sure wouldn't give anyone a heads-up about a shipment, although I don't think they have any legal basis for holding anything anymore. Way back when I was ordering directly from China I thought it funny that all my packages were "vitamins". Now regarding our friends up north, I have no idea.

 

[AkiraMercedes]

My local retailer says he's never had a problem with it. I sure wouldn't give anyone a heads-up about a shipment, although I don't think they have any legal basis for holding anything anymore. Way back when I was ordering directly from China I thought it funny that all my packages were "vitamins". Now regarding our friends up north, I have no idea.

The importation and sale of liquid nictone is "banned" in Canada. A "ban" is very different from a law. It just means the substance is not yet regulated. There is no need for a consumer to fear prosecution at this time.

I have had orders from the US held at customs (but eventually released). I know that border customs between the states and Canada have seized even hardware. My brother had ordered cartridges and batteries and the cartridges (unmarked) came in, however, the batteries have yet to make it (2 months later) If you are inside Canada try to find Canadian vendors to avoid hold-ups OR find a vendor that ships in unmarked inconspicous ways. (like labeling batteries as LED lights) The Canadian government is trying to limit the importation as the take-off of E-cigs in Canada will hinder the "stop smoking" drug companys who are usually over priceing their products and pushing them on people. Im sure they are looking into a taxation system on the E-cig now, you can't stop word of mouth. Spread the word and let start the revolution. It will go down in history similiar to the ban of alcohol and we are a part of it.

Happy Vapeing!

 

[1kshooter]

I made a commitment to my wife that if she stays off the cigs I will always have e-liquid for her to vape for as long as we both need it...I am spreading the word on e-cigs as fast as I can and I am looking for a way to get a stock pile of nic base for DIY from the states as any vendor here in Canada is going to make a big...no huge cut on anything that comes through them..and I don't blame them at all,just can't aford to build my stock pile from them!
anyone in Canada that has any good starting points please pm me!
Jonathan

 

[hairball]

I just had a huge order come in from China. No problems here.

 

[1kshooter]

I just had a huge order come in from China. No problems here.

and you live in canada?.....could you pm me a source? I am eager to get my stock pile before any sh$# storm hits the front lines!

Thanks so much Jonathan

 

[kingcobra]

A lot of us import juice and hardware from the U.S. without any real difficulty. There is a small chance that Canadian customs will seize it but you just go and get it shipped to you again. So this isn't even anything to be concerned about, however you can just order from many Canadian sources and take the worry of that right out of the equation. Visit the Canadian forum for more info on that, including a list of suppliers and reviews.

In the end, we will probably always be able to import whatever we want, providing the packages are "appropriately" labelled, meaning no overt mention of what the package may contain. It is far too expensive for Customs to manually check every package which is what it would take for them to stop "banned" packages from getting through.

 

[supervape]

Just so everyone knows ,,, customs of the respected country is NOT considered part of the country UNTIL that product clears customs.. so basically if they seize something they will send a letter for you to either admit and sign it is your package and you ordered it and then they make you show permits, prescriptions or your RIGHT to own what is in that package.. OR THROW THE LETTER AWAY AND THEY "Destroy" whatever was in that package in 30 days.. It is hardly possible to get in trouble for something that was seized form entering the country right? Now controlled deliveries rarely happen and ones for e-cig related goods ? Never! (That I have heard of) .. basically you could order drugs in the mail and if they get seized a letter is sent and if you throw away that letter they never contact you again and destroy the parcel in 30 days time if you do not object to it by signing that letter... so basically do NOT sign the letter and take it as a loss UNLESS it is something your legally and rightfully allowed to have and have to proof to that affect.. as I said a written prescription or the sort would suffice... But yea customs is BEFORE you enter a country even if located in the center of it.. do you think customs in Mexico at the boarder is the USA? no it is international land space.. I know all this for reasons I would rather not state on a forum and also lived in Bangkok,Thailand for almost 8 years and had the sad pleasure of going to Cambodia 24 times along with the pleasure of going to Laos, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and of course Canada lol.. but I have experience at this.. Basically in the USA ONLY 3-5% of ALL parcel entering the country can possibly be looked at do to employee and cost issues.. only 3-5% of ALL CARGO.. you know how much cargo comes in this country ? 3-5% is peanuts

 

[Napolean Complex]

I made a commitment to my wife that if she stays off the cigs I will always have e-liquid for her to vape for as long as we both need it...I am spreading the word on e-cigs as fast as I can and I am looking for a way to get a stock pile of nic base for DIY from the states as any vendor here in Canada is going to make a big...no huge cut on anything that comes through them..and I don't blame them at all,just can't aford to build my stock pile from them!
anyone in Canada that has any good starting points please pm me!
Jonathan

Yes I have the same goal as you. Ca. You please provide details
To progress, if any that you have made?


Vape on, Live long

 

[recidivus]

120ml@36mg flavourless for 32$ from CAD vendors isn't that bad, is it? Or am I just looking to get ripped off when I start DIY?

 

[durgidog]

With respect to the OP's question, I have bought lots of products from China - but not PV's/accessories yet. The customs form is very important. What is declared there helps them to decide whether to x-ray the package or not. All of my packages (50+) have been marked "gift" with no problems. Generally they list the item as "accessories". Hope this helps.

 

[CapitalPuff]

I too have ordered from China many times without a single customs incident.

Off topic, but I work for a retail corporation and place overseas orders for my company all the time, and can tell you that customs doesn't even check cargo containers on a regular basis. I ordered clothes from bagladesh and AFTER customs cleared the container we found out that there were bags of cement in the container to balance the weight...

I'm definitely not concerned.

 

[Don Graham]

There seems to be a lot of confusion when it comes to international shipments when it comes to e-juice.

Here is what has happened to me over the past month. I ordered a sample pack from AbsolutelyEcig.com. I live in Thailand. Any way the sample pack of e-juice was rejected by US customs, and returned to sender.

Next, I placed an order for e-juice from a company in China. Ecig.com That shipment was stop by Thai/FDA customs. Now here is the strange part. The customs agent phone me up. He asked me what was in the box. I said flavoring LOL!! He said I need to fill out some forms. He also told me that there would be an additional cost of 1,500bt. ...? I had him email the forms. One form was "FDA Power of Attorney Letter. The next form was titled Food and Drug Department (Suvannabhum Airport) This form asked me to describe what is in the box in detail and what it is used for. I also was asked to say that this import was not for resale.

The agent told me I need an agent here in Thailand. I guess that is the reason for the 1,500bt. All of this is giving me a very bad feeling in my gut. When this feeling happens I take notice. I emailed the Thai customs guy and told him I reject his offer for an agent. The order must be returned to sender. No further action is needed in this matter.

So people you might want to think twice before you order e-juice and try to have it shipped internationally. I have ended up placing a order with a company here in Thailand. That company is E-Liquid Thai. I just placed the order yesterday. So I can not make a report yet

 

[Don Graham]

There seems to be a lot of confusion when it comes to international shipments when it comes to e-juice.

Here is what has happened to me over the past month. I ordered a sample pack from AbsolutelyEcig.com. I live in Thailand. Any way the sample pack of e-juice was rejected by US customs, and returned to sender.

Next, I placed an order for e-juice from a company in China. Ecig.com That shipment was stop by Thai/FDA customs. Now here is the strange part. The customs agent phone me up. He asked me what was in the box. I said flavoring LOL!! He said I need to fill out some forms. He also told me that there would be an additional cost of 1,500bt. ...? I had him email the forms. One form was "FDA Power of Attorney Letter. The next form was titled Food and Drug Department (Suvannabhum Airport) This form asked me to describe what is in the box in detail and what it is used for. I also was asked to say that this import was not for resale.

The agent told me I need an agent here in Thailand. I guess that is the reason for the 1,500bt. All of this is giving me a very bad feeling in my gut. When this feeling happens I take notice. I emailed the Thai customs guy and told him I reject his offer for an agent. The order must be returned to sender. No further action is needed in this matter.

So people you might want to think twice before you order e-juice and try to have it shipped internationally. I have ended up placing a order with a company here in Thailand. That company is E-Liquid Thai. I just placed the order yesterday. So I can not make a report yet

Here is an up date. My juice order was in my mailbox in less then 48 hours

 

[edifice98]

I wouldn't worry at all ordering from China. Worst that happens is that customs keeps it. Most likely in a few weeks it will just show up at your doorstep.