Lost in a black hole

farlymac

farlymac

PF McFarland
Local time
6:00 PM
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
7,657
I bought a black dial S2 with the black Nikkor HC 2/50 back on 6-18-16. On 6-21-16 it arrived in New York, and was sent by the USPS into Customs the same day.

Since then, I have not heard a word about its status. So I looked on the US Customs site to see if there was a tracker I could input the customs form number into to see where it was along in the process.

There is no such tracker. The Customs site says they are not able to track packages. They also say they have 30-45 days before they need to contact you if there is a problem with the shipment. So I dug a little deeper, and found a complaint form I could fill out. After doing so, a green box comes up on a new page thanking me for using the site, and that due to their work load, they would not be able to respond until 16-24 business weeks later.

I waited all these years to get an S2, I guess another few months won't kill me.

PF
 
Overhere customs states that all inquiries should be directed to the parcel service. You have a contract with USPS (or the sender has), they are responsible and they are your contact. You should contact them and ask them to inquire.
 
customs

customs

I do sympathize. I had a lens come through jfk customs a few months back. :bang: it fell in the black hole no tracking untill it was on the mail truck in town to be delivered. This is our government at work.:eek:
 
PF these things happen, it's not unusual, but not at all common enough to be a concern for others here.

I've ordered so many things from abroad over the years, I've had customs interfere a handful of times and in the best cases it took 2-3 weeks before tracking resumed on the carriers page.

It sucks, but your camera WILL show up eventually, just a month late. Sorry for the luck!
 
I've ordered multiple items from Japan which were sent via EMS ( Emipre's Mail Service?) I think
Never had anything stop or be held in customs
 
I've had stuff from Japan get sucked into the no-light-escaping ultra-gravity trackless customs system in Australia. My much-anticipated 1933 Leica III as luck would have it. After a couple of weeks it miraculously spun out and appeared in my post box. So, just hang on, and hopefully all will be well :)
 
It's not the fact it is in Customs that upsets me, but that they have not applied the technology to be able to tell you just exactly where your package is along the process, and for what reason it may be there. I can only assume it's at the JFK facility, since it didn't take very long to get to NYC, but without tracking, I'll never know if they actually received it until it suddenly reappears through some spectral wormhole.

In the meantime, I've been using the Nikkor 3.5/35 I have on my Contax IIa. Just something to keep the anticipation level up.

PF
 
Customs seems to be hit and miss .
Sometimes things move through quickly ,
It unnerving to have a package stuck there with no updates for 10 days .
Not unusual though .
Usually it will be delivered before status is updated to show it's cleared .
They seem to randomly pick packages for inspection .
 
Yeah, I've had stuff come through JFK before, and it only took a couple of days. I probably never would have looked for it if it hadn't been over a week since it arrived in NYC.

PF
 
Independence Day! The camera made it out of Customs just in time for the Fourth, and is in the capable hands of the USPS in Jamaica, NY. Might be here in three days.

PF
 
To add insult to injury, the postal carrier this morning decided he couldn't be bothered with hauling boxes around, and left a delivery notice in my mailbox instead, stating I wasn't there to receive the package. Didn't even bother to knock on my door, as I was home when he arrived.

Sigh...

PF
 
I finally got the camera today, after having to go pick it up myself. It's everything I hoped it would be. Now, on to the film test. Hope it's not raining tomorrow.

PF
 
Thanks, Charles. Took me a while to find my box of Nikon rangefinder goodies I've accumulated over the years, but it's now loaded with some FP4, and in the bag.

PF
 
Re S2 customs hole, odds are the delay is due to a improperly filled out C22 or CN23 customs declaration, from the shipper or is missing the HST code if item was commercial (from retailer) sale.
Rest assured the "customs monkey" will get it sorted. Also if under $800US value item would/should be duty & tax exempt.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom