My Estervals Order Was Sent By USPS To Customs And Has been Shipped Back To Germany

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BROBS

Lifer
Nov 13, 2019
11,765
40,027
IA
What a bummer. I plan to eventually try some of the HU blends, so I will prepare myself ahead for the possibilities.

Just curious: are you guys ordering from the EU because of better availability of blenders like SG and Rattrays, or is it for stuff you can’t get over here in the US at all? Some of both?
Also a 1lb box of Capstan is $50. ?

both reasons though. ?
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,747
45,289
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I did have text alerts enabled, which I received up until the package made it to Los Angeles, after which they stopped. I did further tracking via the USPS website.

Disappointing.

I'll be interested in how Estervals responds to my email. I'll be fine with getting a refund and calling it quits. I'm not paying twice for shipping.
 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
11,772
16,057
SE PA USA
In the grand scheme of world problems....blah blah...perspective....starving kids in Africa...."it's only tobacco"...but....that made ME sad/furious/ready to make pipe bombs while writing a manifesto in a remote cabin in the woods. And it's not even my tobacco.

Sorry Jesse. Maybe they'll send it back! Double aged, world traveller tobacco. There's a gimmick.
I suspect a wide-ranging conspiracy involving the Elks, the Moose and the Knights of Columbus.
 

peregrinus

Lifer
Aug 4, 2019
1,205
3,787
Pacific Northwest
Some of both
Yes, it’s some of both.
The big draw for me is HU blends, there is not a domestic alternative. Also, if you add some more familiar blends like bulk Capstan as @BROBS mentioned, or say Salty Dogs ($7.50 per 50g package) in order to ameliorate the high flat rate shipping costs it makes for a pretty sweet deal.
 

Worknman

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 23, 2019
968
2,820
Wasn't it determined in the other thread about a similar issue that the guy lived in an apartment or something and wasn't able to sign for the package, which is why they wouldn't deliver it? I vaguely remember something along those lines.
 

timelord

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 30, 2017
955
1,970
Gallifrey
I just had a Smoking Pipes order (2x Peterson, 1x Butz-Choquin) rejected by Brazil customs.

Reason given is that e-cigarettes are not allowed to be imported into Brazil!??? Mind you; this decision was made suspiciously close to 5pm on a Friday afternoon so I have my doubts that the inspection was particularly thorough...

The lengthy explanation even goes on to state that this only applies to electronic substitutes for traditional pipes and cigarettes.

I did get a notification via the post office online tracking (no emails or snail mail) but when I contacted them and said it was a mistake and asked if customs could re-check the package they simply said "No, it belongs to the sender until it is delivered and you cannot appeal the decision ; it will be returned to the US and the sender can appeal".

Tracking shows it cleared Brazil customs (for return) and left for the US yesterday. :cry:
 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,803
I must be looking at a different Esterval website no bulk capstan for me.All sold in 50g tins 10.25euros Slight discount for five tins.

I looked just now as well (from my computer here in the U.S.) and saw Capstan only in tins... no bulk. Could be out of stock in bulk at the moment I suppose. I would love to buy a pound (or five) of Capstan Blue for $50.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,455
I've mentioned before, but at work, we used to have to hire a customs agent, a third party, to get moderate numbers of boxes of research publications across the Canadian border, which used to be a fairly friendly crossing. It is partly the bureaucratic red tape that stalls innocuous shipments. One always suspects corruption in the pipeline. At the least, a second revenue stream is created by necessitating customs brokers. I think of Canada and the U.S. as relatively open societies as relates to customs. I'd have more caution with some European countries, and even more in other regions. When I donated pipes and blends to the military people in Afghanistan, to an Army Post Office (APO), I had to fill out customs forms, and I was a little surprised when the box actually arrived. Customs often means trouble. It is either effortless or hopeless, a flip of the coin.
 
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