# Ever have stuff sit a Canadian customs for 2+ weeks?



## captainbrew (Feb 5, 2010)

I bought a Les Paul from a guy in the US. Long story short, it's been sitting at Canadian Customs in Mississauga since Feb. 2nd!

This is the status it's been sitting in since then:


2012/02/0218:07MISSISSAUGAInternational item arrived in Canada and will be reviewed by Customs


I called Canada Customs as well as Canada Post and both told me there's nothing they can do and that this is "normal"
They've seen stuff take over 3 weeks to clear customs.

I"ve ordered a hell of a lot of stuff in the last 15 years but I've never had something take this long to clear customs.

Have you?


----------



## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

No. Not normal.


----------



## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

It's happened to me before. I ordered a pickup for my acoustic once and it sat in customs for 3 whole weeks. :|


----------



## Clean Channel (Apr 18, 2011)

If that place wasn't an impenetrable fortress, I'd just drive over there and get your guitar for you. Imagine my frustration when this happens to me. I know the item is right down the street, but I can't just go get the darned thing! That said, two or three weeks is unusually long, but not unheard of. I hope they get it to you before the long weekend!


----------



## Hamstrung (Sep 21, 2007)

I've had Stew Mac orders sit for weeks as well. Sometimes they move at the speed of government.


----------



## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

yup. I've had small packages take 1.5 months to arrive.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Hamstrung said:


> I've had Stew Mac orders sit for weeks as well. Sometimes they move at the speed of government.


Apparently there is a guy at this address who has been waiting several years for his order of files to arrive from Stew Mac.










Cheers

Dave


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

Its happened to me before too. Six weeks was the longest and the item arrived having been opened by Customs.

I do have a very positive experience with Customs though. A giant box arrived from a band we played with in Japan. It was full of band merch, t-shirts, CDs, DVDs, books etc. they listed the retail value of these items and Customs levied a $300+ duty charge. They said the package was greater than a gift value of $75.

I appealed the charge and spoke with Customs a few days later. Explained the origin of the package and that I could not afford the duty charge and to send the package back to Japan would be a huge insult. 

She cancelled the duty charge, apologized for the inconvenience and I received my package the next day.


----------



## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


----------



## Jeff B. (Feb 20, 2010)

I had a box full of parts that I was in a tremendous hurry for get stuck in customs for almost 6 weeks last year.


----------



## Frenchy (Mar 23, 2011)

Had a bass stuck in customs for 2 weeks... but I had 2 basses disappear for 1 month each from within Canada shipping.... Go figure.....


----------



## captainbrew (Feb 5, 2010)

Ok it's nice to know this isn't an unheard of incident. I've never had anything get held up at customs before. I must have gotten lucky until now.
The wait continues....


----------



## captainbrew (Feb 5, 2010)

Ha! I checked the status right after my last post and guess what.....NEW STATUS!


2012/02/1516:09International item released from Customs for processing by Canada Post


----------



## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

I regularly have packages sit in Customs for two weeks. The quickest I've ever had anything get to me is one week. I've got a package that was shipped from the US on the 14th and the expected delivery date is the 16th. I'm not holding my breath.

I think they hang on to them for that length of time just to see if anything will explode. It's a lot safer than opening it up.


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Good to see that it's released Shaun.

I've had most stuff that I ordered come through without much delay.
Last year though, one pedal was stalled for three weeks and another for a week.

When I order from StewMac, I use Fedex and it arrives in northern Ontario in two days.
Three orders placed that way, and all two days to get here.


----------



## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

captainbrew said:


> I bought a Les Paul from a guy in the US. Long story short, it's been sitting at Canadian Customs in Mississauga since Feb. 2nd!
> 
> This is the status it's been sitting in since then:
> 
> ...



It's happened to me a few times. I've also had stuff shipped within Canada go into a spin cycle once it hit Toronto and take a week or two to deliver. 

Personally, I wouldn't ship a guitar across the border using USPS - Canada Post in the middle of winter for this reason. Sometimes its worth paying the brokerage IMO.


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Someone there is obviously a guitar player and he's checking to make sure the intonation is correct before he sends it on to you.


----------



## ledfloyd (Apr 1, 2011)

wow 2+ weeks pfft...
years ago I sold a pedal to a guy in Italy and it was in Italian customs for 6 months. It showed up at my door step 2 months after that because the address didn't exist apparently. I emailed the buyer and the email bounced back. ???


----------



## jazzmaster61 (Oct 17, 2010)

Someone there needs a guitar for a gig i wonder if they actually borrow stuff for short periods of time!!!!


----------



## Clean Channel (Apr 18, 2011)

ledfloyd said:


> wow 2+ weeks pfft...
> years ago I sold a pedal to a guy in Italy and it was in Italian customs for 6 months. It showed up at my door step 2 months after that because the address didn't exist apparently. I emailed the buyer and the email bounced back. ???


Wow, that's brutal. Note to self: never ship to Italy.


----------



## Jasrelic (Nov 4, 2011)

chances are the shipper screwed up the info on the packaging slip...probably the value of the guitar or something or some other stupid thing.... best of luck....they can hold it for 3 weeks...and they probably will...same thing happened to me. cheers!


----------



## captainbrew (Feb 5, 2010)

Got the yesterday!
All is well!


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Now we need an NGD thread!


----------



## Clean Channel (Apr 18, 2011)

I had to bump this thread, as I just had an good experience with customs! I don't typically order internationally, but took a chance and bought a pedal in Taiwan, shipped last Friday. It passed through customs this morning in just 26 minutes!



 2012/03/0608:20MISSISSAUGAItem was released by Customs and is now with Canada Post for processing07:54MISSISSAUGAInternational item arrived in Canada and will be reviewed by Customs2012/03/0310:42International item has left the origin country and is en route to Canada2012/03/0213:12International item mailed in origin country 


----------



## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

Clean Channel said:


> I had to bump this thread, as I just had an good experience with customs! I don't typically order internationally, but took a chance and bought a pedal in Taiwan, shipped last Friday. It passed through customs this morning in just 26 minutes!
> 
> 
> 
>  2012/03/0608:20MISSISSAUGAItem was released by Customs and is now with Canada Post for processing07:54MISSISSAUGAInternational item arrived in Canada and will be reviewed by Customs2012/03/0310:42International item has left the origin country and is en route to Canada2012/03/0213:12International item mailed in origin country 


small items and lower value usually pass quicker.

on that same note, my R8 when through customs with 0 issues. arrived on the estimated delivery date as well.


----------



## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

You guys having no trouble getting your stuff...man I have had stuff tied up in there for months...


 2011/12/19
09:43
MISSISSAUGA30 bundles International roofing shingles still being inspected by Customs 
08:14
MISSISSAUGA30 bundles International roofing shingles arrived in Canada and will be reviewed by Customs
2011/12/06
11:35
30 bundles International roofing shingles have left the origin country and is en route to Canada
2011/11/25
14:49
30 bundles International roofing shingles mailed in origin country
 


----------



## Stellajane7 (Mar 15, 2012)

*thank God I'm not the only one*

I bought an early 70s custom les paul for my husband's birthday from Reno, Nevada. (The serial number says it is from 1970-1973...and I will leave my husband to look at the pots to determine the age if he ever gets it).It has been stuck in Canada Customs since March 9....well today is my husband's birthday........ Still no guitar. I'm so choked!! I've bought guitars from the US before and never have had to wait for customs longer than a few hours.. This sucks!!! But I'm relieved to see that I am not the only one that has gone through this custom wait.It just kills me to think of that guitar sitting in some cold warehouse somewhere.


----------



## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

Are you able to track it Stella?

Whatever warehouse it is in would be very stable...better than having it run over by a forklift.


----------



## Stellajane7 (Mar 15, 2012)

Its at the Vancouver customs. I hope they take good care of it while it is in their possession.. >(


----------

