Held in customs - meaning?

[marblecheshire]

What does held in customs mean? I am sending a pony back to Spain and am waiting on it to arrive to the seller to receive a refund. I have never had anything held in customs before.

[Emberfly]

When I've seen it on parcels coming to me, it often means that Canadian customs is still inspecting it and I may or may not have to pay custom fees when it finally arrives.  It usually only holds up my parcels by a day or two but then they continue on their way.  Not sure if it means anything different for other countries.

[Storybelle]

Customs basically control the flow of good in and out of a country. And every country has different regulations about what's allowed in and what requires fees. When I worked in a parcel shop we had people ask if they could pay the custom fees in advance and we had to explain that we have no control over whether the item required fees or how much. It's up to the receiving country.

Hopefully, the item won't be held too long. Or require an extra fee. I hate when I get ponies from the states and they're worth a lot, it always means I have to fork out 15 quid extra!

[lovesbabysquirmy]

What value did you mark on the Customs form?

[marblecheshire]

What value did you mark on the Customs form?

$500. It is a Lemon Drop piggy.

[Taffeta]

What value did you mark on the Customs form?

$500. It is a Lemon Drop piggy.

Then that's almost certainly why it's held in customs. And if Spain is like a lot of countries in Europe, the seller may be charged an import duty fee to receive it. If it's like the UK, it'll be a high one. The only items I had sent even close to that value mark produced a £90 fee...which is what, $100?

[flying_narwhal]

What value did you mark on the Customs form?

$500. It is a Lemon Drop piggy.

Then that's almost certainly why it's held in customs. And if Spain is like a lot of countries in Europe, the seller may be charged an import duty fee to receive it. If it's like the UK, it'll be a high one. The only items I had sent even close to that value mark produced a £90 fee...which is what, $100?

This was my thought as well, if it's a high dollar item that's probably why it's being held. £90 is actually closer to $118 USD based on current conversion rates, which is pretty expensive!

[Taffeta]

What value did you mark on the Customs form?

$500. It is a Lemon Drop piggy.

Then that's almost certainly why it's held in customs. And if Spain is like a lot of countries in Europe, the seller may be charged an import duty fee to receive it. If it's like the UK, it'll be a high one. The only items I had sent even close to that value mark produced a £90 fee...which is what, $100?

This was my thought as well, if it's a high dollar item that's probably why it's being held. £90 is actually closer to $118 USD based on current conversion rates, which is pretty expensive!

Ah, okay xD. My deadly pessimism about the state of my currency may have been exaggerated in that estimate, then

[marblecheshire]

The package arrived in customs the morning of the 22nd. I am assuming the receiver will be contacted if there are any fees. What happens if the receiver refuses to pay the fees though (hopefully won't be the case)? I looked at my form and I forgot to check off what I wanted done should the package be undeliverable. I have never had issues with customs and nor have I had to return a pony before. I do not want the pny to get lost and lose the refund. I did the transaction on here and spent over 400 Euros on it plus $44 on return shipping.

Thanks for the help in answering my questions.

[Taffeta]

The package arrived in customs the morning of the 22nd. I am assuming the receiver will be contacted if there are any fees. What happens if the receiver refuses to pay the fees though (hopefully won't be the case)? I looked at my form and I forgot to check off what I wanted done should the package be undeliverable. I have never had issues with customs and nor have I had to return a pony before. I do not want the pny to get lost and lose the refund. I did the transaction on here and spent over 400 Euros on it plus $44 on return shipping.

Thanks for the help in answering my questions.

Usually return to sender, I would imagine.

[Ringlets]

If they refuse to pay the fee then the pony will be sent back to you  . Really though the buyer ought to be aware of the fact that they will be getting quite a big customs fee for importing a valuable pony.  That's the reason why the pony is held in customs - its held there until the buyer pays the fee. They are notified and given a certain time (I don't know what that time is in Spain TBH sorries! ) and if they don't pay, the pony will get shipped back to you.  The fee is the buyers responsibility not yours- you don't need to pay anything.

[Sebby6]

Is it a pony you are returning because you are unhappy with it?

[FantasticFirefly]

The package arrived in customs the morning of the 22nd. I am assuming the receiver will be contacted if there are any fees. What happens if the receiver refuses to pay the fees though (hopefully won't be the case)? I looked at my form and I forgot to check off what I wanted done should the package be undeliverable. I have never had issues with customs and nor have I had to return a pony before. I do not want the pny to get lost and lose the refund. I did the transaction on here and spent over 400 Euros on it plus $44 on return shipping.

Thanks for the help in answering my questions.

Since this is her item, being returned and not a purchase by her she shouldn't be paying fees. (or if she does need to pay them to get access to her pony, Spain customs should have a process at which to have those fees returned to her with proof of this being a returned item she had sold. it is her responsibility to find out how and follow the process on her end to get that money back from customs). Did you write the nature of the transaction on the customs slip? "item returned to seller" or something similar?

[marblecheshire]

Since this is her item, being returned and not a purchase by her she shouldn't be paying fees. (or if she does need to pay them to get access to her pony, Spain customs should have a process at which to have those fees returned to her with proof of this being a returned item she had sold. it is her responsibility to find out how and follow the process on her end to get that money back from customs). Did you write the nature of the transaction on the customs slip? "item returned to seller" or something similar?

No I didn't. I marked it as a gift since I was not selling it or anything. I was not really sure how to handle this return since I have never done one. I realized after I looked at the customs form I should have marked returned goods. I do not recall what the seller had marked in the box when she sent it to me originally. I hope I have not made a mistake in how I marked it.

I do not know what the hold up is then if there are no fees attached. I let the seller know it was being held in customs and have heard nothing. Wonder if customs has contacted her?

Is it a pony you are returning because you are unhappy with it?

Yes. There was a major flaw not listed in the description nor shown in the pictures (a noticeable crack/tear under the eye). The seller originally offered me a partial refund but the flaw was something that I would have not considered purchasing the pony to begin with. Ironically a few weeks ago a member from f/b was doing a price check on the same pony but in mint condition and people were quoting a fraction of what I paid for a pretty flawed pony. This post came after I contacted the seller and we agreed on me being refunded. I even offered to pay half the shipping costs since I appreciated her being understanding.

[FantasticFirefly]

Since this is her item, being returned and not a purchase by her she shouldn't be paying fees. (or if she does need to pay them to get access to her pony, Spain customs should have a process at which to have those fees returned to her with proof of this being a returned item she had sold. it is her responsibility to find out how and follow the process on her end to get that money back from customs). Did you write the nature of the transaction on the customs slip? "item returned to seller" or something similar?

No I didn't. I marked it as a gift since I was not selling it or anything. I was not really sure how to handle this return since I have never done one. I realized after I looked at the customs form I should have marked returned goods. I do not recall what the seller had marked in the box when she sent it to me originally. I hope I have not made a mistake in how I marked it.

I do not know what the hold up is then if there are no fees attached. I let the seller know it was being held in customs and have heard nothing. Wonder if customs has contacted her?

Yes, next time mark returned goods. and also add " merchandise return" where you provide details of the contents showing value.

Customs should (and here for example does) understand people will fill out the forms incorrectly when returning products. For example even marking "gift" here is only duty free if valued at $60cdn or under.  merchandise it's anything over $20 cdn I can be subget to charges. I would have to pay a percentage (for me 12%) from the total converted (to my currency) amount to accept this pony, as well as a $9.95 handling fee. I would then have forms to fill out with proof of the original sale, clearly showing it's a return to get the % I paid back (I'd lose the fixed handling charge) and it would take roughly 8 weeks for them to process that for me. The sellers paypal receipt of payment/refund serves as the invoice/proof here!.
The local post office likely will not know the process, mine doesn't and many don't. but googling "canada customer return getting customs refund" found me the answer. if she has any difficulty figuring out what to do - google will be her friend as well here.

I wouldn't stress, the charges that might be added could easily slow the receipt of the parcel ("held in customs") and not it being lost in the system. and worst case, she can be reimbursed by customs should she get charged those. <3