Customs Laser Confiscations

How much do you really want to pursue it? What they want is an FDA 2877 Import of Radiation Emitting Devices. Your lasers do not have accession numbers nor do they meet the requirements of any other selection on the form. Do not submit a false 2877.

Any person who knowingly makes a false declaration may be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than 5 years or both, pursuant to Title 18 U.S.C. 1001. Any person importing a non-compliant electronic product may also be subject to civil penalties of $1000 per violation, up to a maximum $300,000 for related violations pursuant to Title 21 U.S.C. 360pp.

Yeah there is no hope for your case. I am sorry to say it looks like you will never see those lasers.

Thanks, didn't know that and definitely wasn't considering making a false 2877 or any other document. The other lasers I acquired through friends at star-gazing parties who told me of sites to use, but assumed it was all too good to be true.

This is really why I stick with in-country DIY guys or CNI or Laserglow who I know can get me legit 2877s with laser purchases these days. In the short term it may be a bit more expensive than the chinese web shops, but one bad incident like this can erase any cheapness gains.

Yes, indeed the cheapness gains have been erased ): At the risk of being cheesey, I guess this is another cliche of "better to go local".. Duly noted and thanks for the advice.

I ordered a Arctic S3 from WL that vanished into the "NON CUSTOMS AGENCY HOLD" blackhole on 10/22/10. I just called my bank and disputed the charge. Seems that WL is on the "the list".

How do you know where the S3 is, did you get a notice from some one telling you where it is ?

TeufelWolf said:

I ordered a Arctic S3 from WL that vanished into the "NON CUSTOMS AGENCY HOLD" blackhole on 10/22/10. I just called my bank and disputed the charge. Seems that WL is on the "the list".

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Per UPS

NON-CUSTOMS GOVERNMENT AGENCY HOLD
REGISTERED WITH CLEARING AGENCY / SHIPMENT SUBMITTED TO CLEARING AGENCY

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That's the FDA clearance hold.

What they are doing is contacting the exporter for an FDA 2877 or a proper harmonized tariff code. It all depends on what WL sends to them, if anything. They may or may not contact you for the 2877 if they don't get a response from WL. Generally UPS will contact you if they don't get anything from the exporter. Don't get worked up about it if they contact you. It's just UPS. They are acting as your agent in the matter. Unfortunately, you may not be able to do anything at that point.

WL is on the list so chances are they (FDA) know exactly what they are looking at and comparing it to the false "disco light" harmonized code on the customs documents. If they imported on a false tariff code it may never get a chance to be cleared up. Those are the kinds of things that get the inspectors worked up and the laser thrown in a crusher. And, no, they don't take them home. There is a chain of custody just like criminal evidence.

Maybe it will clear but in this case I'd say the cards are stacked against you.

FrothyChimp said:

That's the FDA clearance hold.

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Nice to see you pop in once in a while...
Always have some good stuff to share...

Jerry

FrothyChimp said:

That's the FDA clearance hold.

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Yeah that is what I figured. Since other people have already had their orders in that limbo for over 2 weeks, I figure it was better to cut my loses and call in the interest free loan I made to WL.

There is a thread on the WL forum about a guy who claims he is facing criminal charges for exporting a WL s3 to china (RMA return) WL advised him to declare a value of $0.00 and call it a "Pen".
Do NOT RMA SPYDER III - View topic :: Laser Community

If you want to build any register of confiscated lasers, it is also important to get data on lasers that were not confiscated.

To make any statement on chances of customs bypass you would need to know how many shipments pass unhindered too. Unfortunalely such data is difficult to obatain, since people who do not experience any problems rarely speak out.

My WL shipment that I had given up on when is vanished into a non customs hold back in Oct sudden came to life again... back in Oct it was

Non-customs Government agency hold.

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and there it stayed, until suddenly...

Non-customs Government agency hold. / Brokerage released shipment. Shipment is submitted to Clearing Agency for further clearance.

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Of course if I get it, IT will probably be an empty box. But since I already did a charge back against WL in Oct its all gravy...
And if some FDA storm trooper comes with the box, I can show proof I made a good faith effort to cancel the order before it was shipped.

As i've never had problems with anything in customs before, what really happens if they stop your package? Can you get into trouble for trying to import a laser? Or will they just hold your product and ignore the fact you exist?
Example; I buy a 1W Blue from Wicked Lasers and U.S. customs stops the package.. Would it effect me in any way other than not receiving my item?

99.9999% you just get a nasty note from customs inside the box. I did read a story of one guy who got into a bit of trouble shipping a broken laser back to Wicked Lasers. WL told him to list it as a flashlight valued at $20.00 on the customs paperwork. US customs opened it and since it was not a flashlight he was threaten with a perjury.

US customs has always been sloppy - in other countries they are a lot more hardass. Guy in brazil got fined $500 for importing a laser with a under-reported value. But that was more a tax evasion issue.