Pens Stuck In Canadian Customs For What Seems Like An Eternity.

[guyinkits]

I did a search and this topic did come up but it was a bit old so I'm bringing it up again. I'm in Canada (specifically Vancouver), and I ordered two pens from Italy. One off ebay and the other off Sanpei. Both of them are about 1 month in the shipment time. I decided to ask both sellers and they both told me they are stuck at customs for about 3 weeks. So to you Canadians out there, is this normal? I have another purchase that I need to give my shipping information for and I'm a bit gun shy. Shipping south of the border is a bit of a hassle as I have to go down and pick it up and now with US border security at an all time high, I don't think I want to go through that bother. Anyways, wondering how long you Canadians have to wait for your pens that are stuck in Canadian Customs for processing. Hopefully they eventually make their way through the backlog. I don't want to have to figure out what happens if I need to declare this lost in transit with the other side. It jus seems like a big mess (and that's putting it politely). Seriously, they tax us a whole bunch with hefty customs to get our stuff, at the very least, they can process them in a timely manner. Maybe this is what they do to promote buying local or within Canada...

[Wolverine1]

I recently sent a parcel from Michigan in the USA to a address in Regina, SK, in Canada. The person I sent it too said he recieved the package in 18 days from the date I shipped the parcel to him. Canadian Customs did not charge him any Customs Fees, and they didnot even open and examine his package.

I think since it has been a while, you should maybe ask the Canadian Customs about your parcels and why the delay in releasing them to you.

Best of luck.

[guyinkits]

*Gasp* Call the government? Dare I? Haha. More like calling the government will require me to call a number with an automated responder that will require me to be on hold for hours to talk to someone that will need to redirect me and place me on hold again for hours only for the call to drop. This is how Canada works. It's a great country, really =).

[ItsMeDave]

As a fellow Vancouverite, I feel your pain.

Most of the pens I've ordered from the U.S. are out of customs in a day or three. But sometimes the time spent is oddly random. My most recent pen was out of customs in one business day, the one before that took eight days, before that, fifteen days. I once had a set of speaker wires stuck for a full month.

 

I find that the tracking often gets 'stuck' in a hub city in the U.S. A Pelikan M805, shipped on Feb. 9 has been stuck in Chicago since the 11th. A Platinum Century, shipped on Feb. 14, also routed through Chicago, was delivered today. It went into customs on the 17th (today is the 20th). Both purchased from the same web vendor, both shipped via USPS, and I paid extra to get the Pelikan faster. Ship times can be so variable. (I'm not picking on USPS, Canada Post is just as variable.)

[ItsMeDave]

I have a separate postal system issue, I shipped a Sailor 1911L demonstrator to Dan Smith to get the nib tuned and I guess I screwed up the address, the package couldn't be delivered. It's on it's way back to me, I put it in the mail on Jan. 21, today is Feb. 20. :-(

[Cyber6]

Anyways, wondering how long you Canadians have to wait for your pens that are stuck in Canadian Customs for processing.

 

 

You might not like what I have to say..... I have friends all over the world (literally) and I do a lot of shipping back and forth.

 

From Europe... (especially: Italy, Greece, France).. is a hit or miss. Sometimes is 1.5 weeks and sometimes is 1.5 months.

 

I will say, just have patience.

 

 

C.

[ItsMeDave]

As a fellow Vancouverite, I feel your pain.

Most of the pens I've ordered from the U.S. are out of customs in a day or three. But sometimes the time spent is oddly random. My most recent pen was out of customs in one business day, the one before that took eight days, before that, fifteen days. I once had a set of speaker wires stuck for a full month.

I find that the tracking often gets 'stuck' in a hub city in the U.S. A Pelikan M805, shipped on Feb. 9 has been stuck in Chicago since the 11th. A Platinum Century, shipped on Feb. 14, also routed through Chicago, was delivered today. It went into customs on the 17th (today is the 20th). Both purchased from the same web vendor, both shipped via USPS, and I paid extra to get the Pelikan faster. Ship times can be so variable. (I'm not picking on USPS, Canada Post is just as variable.)

I wonder, is someone from USPS a member of FPN, my Pelikan M805 left Chicago today. It'll probably be in Canada Customs tomorrow.

[Winegums]

My wife ordered me some water colour paint brushes and a bottle of Noodler's Dark Matter from JetPens for my birthday and they've been in customs since the 17th. This is the longest time I've seen something in customs for quite a few years. As someone in Abbotsford I do plenty of online shopping that arrives in Vancouver and the packages are usually through customs the day they are submitted. I hope my Fountain K from Goulet doesn't get held up either.

Edited February 22, 2017 by Winegums

[InkedUp]

Italian Customs is notorious for taking weeks to inspect packages, I'd be curious to know if the delay was actually on their end. If they have tracking I'd be curious to know what the last scans say. An item awaiting Canadian Customs will come up as 'Sent for further processing' on Canada Post's website.

 

I know Toronto & Montreal are both moving smoothly, Vancouver reportedly was backlogged through December & January but I didn't experience it myself.

[ItsMeDave]

Italian Customs is notorious for taking weeks to inspect packages, I'd be curious to know if the delay was actually on their end. If they have tracking I'd be curious to know what the last scans say. An item awaiting Canadian Customs will come up as 'Sent for further processing' on Canada Post's website.

 

I know Toronto & Montreal are both moving smoothly, Vancouver reportedly was backlogged through December & January but I didn't experience it myself.

 

I find that USPS provides more detailed tracking info than Canada Post.

[guyinkits]

I ordered my Pelikan M805 from Italy and it came DHL and got here in two days. I just received an Omas Arco from Italy via DHL and it came in 2 days. DHL always 100% get customs charged on but at least I get my packages. These other two pens I ordered were shipped Poste Italiane and then gets transferred to Canada Post. Local post is the cheapest and the slowest I guess.

[ItsMeDave]

I ordered my Pelikan M805 from Italy and it came DHL and got here in two days. I just received an Omas Arco from Italy via DHL and it came in 2 days. DHL always 100% get customs charged on but at least I get my packages. These other two pens I ordered were shipped Poste Italiane and then gets transferred to Canada Post. Local post is the cheapest and the slowest I guess.

I've been batting around 500 as regards to getting charged customs duties.

[Ron Z]

We had a problem a couple of months ago with packages going to the western provences taking as long as 6 weeks. Tracking would show that they had made it through customs, and then they'd disappear from radar, finally appearing in the client's mail box. No explanation given when we tried to have the package traced. That seems to have cleared up with the last one we shipped, but then again it may be because of lower value.

 

<shrug>

 

We don't even try to figure out the mysteries of the USPS let alone Canada Post.

[welch]

Odd. I have sent several pens from NYC to Toronto, and bought one from "Dog River", Saskatewan. Toronto-bound pends, send USPS first class, arrived in three days. The pen from "the flat bits" arrived almost as quickly.

 

I labelled my packages as gifts worth about $15 or $20. They were Parker 51 Specials, but I gave them to a couple of FPN members who had lost P-51s. Incidentally, NYC to LA is also about 3 days. The pens cost about $2 or $3 shipping, without much insurance. (I had spares).

 

Shipping can be weird.

[helene20]

I ordered from Goulet Pens in Feb. and it was at the customs for one day. I'm in Ontario. Sometimes my parcels can be more than 3 days at customs. It's upsetting at times.

 

I try to buy from Canada as much as I can but sometimes I can't find some products like the Robert Oster ink.

 

 

 

 

Schedule

Edited February 22, 2017 by helene20

[duende]

Purchased a couple of nibs on Jan 13 and still waiting. Canada Post probably trying to squeeze more money from tax payer.

[ItsMeDave]

I wonder, is someone from USPS a member of FPN, my Pelikan M805 left Chicago today. It'll probably be in Canada Customs tomorrow.

My Pelikan 805 is currently in Canada Customs, stay tuned.

[torstar]

3 things happen for me over the 100s of things delivered.

 

1) I expect it to come from the US in 5-10 business days, and it usually does without fuss or muss, zero or little add-on from Customs.

 

2) If it comes to Canada from Japan/Korea/Thailand it might arrive in 48 hours, but Customs hits you for $30-plus a month later.

 

3) Sometimes it wends its way through the US system and takes a long time, but Customs has been merciful with these.

 

Customs may tell you they need an agent to sign for the product, then it shows up the next morning anyway.

[RoSpectre]

This year I have received pens from all over... US, Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan, Belgrade, Indonesia, Israel, all without any significant delays. No customs charges either, except those built in from the US. If they bill me for customs later I am screwed though... I always thought they demand payment before delivering, but so far I haven't had to pay a penny.

 

I am in Ontario, though, so it sounds like West coast may be stricter, and that could be for higher narcotics or other contraband control reasons. All my pens were used, and cost between $100 and $400 CDN, which sounds like the same ball park as most.

[Cyber6]

I ordered from Goulet Pens in Feb. and it was at the customs for one day. I'm in Ontario. Sometimes my parcels can be more than 3 days at customs. It's upsetting at times.

 

I try to buy from Canada as much as I can but sometimes I can't find some products like the Robert Oster ink.

 

 

 

 

Schedule

 

 

Sorry for the "plug"... I am in Ontario... you can get Robert Oster from me..

 

Link in my signature.

 

 

C.