Oops! My Wife Saw My Customs Invoice

[barepipe]

So I went a little crazy when McClelland’s went bust and ordered 15 tins of various blends. Normally I would pace these things and make small orders and then Canadian Customs would end up hitting every second shipment or so. This time it all came in two shipments a few days apart, one large and one giant order, the large order went through customs without duty, the giant order, well not so much. So my wife went to check the mail today and she gets a delivery notice with a staggering customs bill attached!
Awkward! Amazingly she was very understanding about it. She is awesome!
To be honest, I was more shocked than her

 

[robcapp]

I feel your pain, brother.

Customs intercepted a few of my shipments and I've got some explaining to do!

 

[madox07]

I am so scared of European customs, I don't even dare order American pipe tobacco :roll:

 

[mikethompson]

Well what was the damage?

 

[kola]

^^ ??

 

[barepipe]

Just over $600
Let’s just say the credit card is not looking so good.

 

[barepipe]

I am so scared of European customs, I don't even dare order American pipe tobacco

European tobacco is expensive when you buy in Europe, it is so heavily taxed already that I dare not order from Europe because once the Canadians add their own layer of tax on top it is something fierce.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"So I went a little crazy when McClelland’s went bust..."
Since when did McClelland's go bust?
Regards,
Jay.

 

[smittyd]

It's crazy that you had to pay 600 dollars!

 

[mso489]

I used to work for an outfit in the U.S. that attended scientific meetings in Toronto to which we sent cartons of publications. We hired a customs broker to navigate customs. Otherwise, we were told, the publications would never arrive, would arrive months after the meeting, or would accrue vast customs charges. With a broker, they arrived on time and at cost acceptable to our stingy overseers. These were health related items, so go figure. Meantime, I loved Toronto, with its black squirrels, great art museum, and Cuban cigars. It was a rare pleasure to be among people who actually realized I was being polite -- in the U.S. that's usually regarded a submissive.

 

[seanv]

$600.... dear god. How many grams or tins in that shipment that not nailed?

 

[pipefish]

I'm curious--are you required to pay the bill or can you have the order sent back to the US (with you paying the shipping)? If you're not obligated, you might be able to get a refund since the tins are unopened and you'd only be out shipping charges.

 

[barepipe]

There is way I am sending those tins back! Balkan Blue, Frog Morton cellar, irreplaceable! No the credit card will just have to suffer.

 

[pipefish]

There is way I am sending those tins back! Balkan Blue, Frog Morton cellar, irreplaceable! No the credit card will just have to suffer.

You might even try to sell a few on ebay just to recoup your expenses! :lol:

 

[meatballj]

Barepipe, just wondering how many tins you ordered (or ounces) that got you charged the $600. I'm in NB here and recently had a package assessed so I'm looking for comparison sake. And was that all in duties or were there other fees (I assume the obligatory $10 handling fee of course).

 

[barepipe]

10 50g tins and 4 100g
Welcome to BC!

 

[seanv]

That’s a lot of tobacco. Nice haul. I haven’t dared order that much lol

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Ouch. Fell for you brother. I hope you didn't choose the "super saver" shipping option. My experience is that is a customs magnet. In a Canadian forum I am on, we actually ran a test and choosing the super save option pretty much resulted in a near certainty that customs would be levied.

 

[saltedplug]

So far US pipe smokers haven't been hit by taxes, buying from US etailers. Some states won't allow shipping to to their residents. And buying from Europe, we don't pay VAT, nor do US customs find tobacco and tax it. Only McClelland has been shut down, but the reason for that includes other factors such as tobacco availability. But when deeming arrives in 2021, along with other FDA regulation, such as nicotine, we will then feel the hand of the antis, both for what they regulate, but also for their actions rippling into other areas, none of which can we predict today. They may choose to regulate pipes!
Already in the last years credit card processors have summarily dropped tobacco transactions. Maxim at pipes2smoke had production of his blends stopped. The climate for tobacco and related items has already become more or less problematic, and this will continue, all part of the antis well-coordinated strategy to eliminate tobacco. But in this I was cheered that 12,000 y/o tobacco seeds were recently found in US sites. It makes me think tobacco will endure.

 

[tuold]

@mso489

It was a rare pleasure to be among people who actually realized I was being polite -- in the U.S. that's usually regarded a submissive.

Has that been your experience? For me the reaction has been more of shocked surprise. People here in Oregon are pretty nice though. The further you go away from the cities you more you will encounter civility and displays of hospitality.