us custom

So I bought 55 cheap 5mw laser pointers from china. Thinking I could sell them and knowing I couldn't get higher powered ones I bought the cheap ones. Well when customs ripped open my package and took them out they ignored the lables and sent them to be tested. They then send me my package with a note saying they have seized them all for being over 5mW. So I call the number and asked what they where rated at. I was told I would get an offical notice. Well that came and no proof of what they were rated by their so called lab. I called again and was told that i had to petition in writing why I think they are not over 5mW. Even though they give no proof that they are! Just thought I'd share my shipping pirate story with you all. Has anyone tested these cheap lasers from china? There is no way these cheap things are over 5mW right?

9 times out of 10 they are over.

Make the partition, and provide proof you bought 5mW lasers. Like your receipt, or invoice from the company you bought them from.

US Customs is not obligated to prove that the lasers are over 5 mW. You are obligated to prove that they are under 5 mW. And yes, chances are that if these were cheap Chinese pointers they are not IR filtered and they are producing more than 5 mW.

Sad to say but I don't think you'll be getting them back. Like Justin said they probably are over 5mW. I don't think it would matter that you paid for 5mW or not, they are over 5mW and that makes them illegal.

I doubt they would either, but see if they will ship them back at your expense, maybe you could get some money back.

I bought 10 of those from ebay. All ten were over 5mW. 2 were over 50mW and would burn a little. They did the same thing with a bunch of 5mW lasers I ordered only mine were actualy 5mW. I ended up getting 2/3 of them back after nearly a year. DHL lost the last package.

Yeah, with cheapo green lasers you never know what you're going to get. At very low powers it's actually tougher to keep them low-powered and guarantee they'll be below 5mW than it is to just let them make whatever power they'll make and sell them as 5mW. The vast majority of the time they are overspec.

Kind of ironic. You want low power, they are over powered. You want high power, the are under powered.

IMO that's an example of what is so terribly wrong with the gov't of this country, what happened to innocent untill proven guilty? Now they just steal your stuff and have no obligation to even tell you why or give you proof of a legitmate reason. I had to fill out a customs form just to mail some batts to austria, worth $3.
Orwell was right, this is 1984....

It's not just that lasers must be <5 mW to be legal, it's also true the laser importer is supposed to have ascension numbers the show the goods are pre-approved by the authorities. Importers beware, No ascension numbers? Then they simply are not legal lasers, period! -Glenn

I thought lasers under 5mW did not need a ascension number?