Avs81 Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 Hi Everyone, This is my first full month in Hangzhou, its not bad but without Pats football and dunkin donuts coffee its not the same. I have a question regarding a package my parents sent to me from Boston to Hangzhou via UPS. In the package are: 2 video games, 3 DVDs, 1 bottle of prescription meds (for heartburn), and some clothes. Here is the problem, Customs in Shanghai has my package and wont release it since UPS made the value too high. They corrected the value but Customs said its over 1,000 RMB so it needs special forms. Now they told me I have to ship them my physical passport and scan/email them an explanation letter explaining that these are my personal items that could not fit on the plane. And that my parents are only sending me my personal items. I am being told that I have 2 months to do this or they will consider my package abandoned. Also I was told it would take approx. 20 days for this to get processed and that I can't go myself since they have to fill out the paperwork and speak on my behalf. It sounds fishy to me but I need those items but I don't want to mail out my passport to some joe blow in customs. Has anyone ever dealt with this before? And if I shouldn't send my passport what can I do? I only have 2 months.... Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 2 approaches you might take are 1) to try to make arrangements to bring your passport in - you are required to have it in your possession at all times. It obviously won't do to send it through the mail. 2) Find an agent to deal with them for you. They may have issues with the actual items being sent - if so, this may be the best approach. A friend found ours for us in the Zhanjiang phone book for our container shipment. I've sent myself a container full of used household goods, coffee, and medication (different shipments) each over 1000RMB without TOO much trouble (the only real problem was when the container was taken to Zhenjiang (Shanghai), instead of Zhanjiang (Guangzhou) - but they simply tossed it back on a ship and delivered it to the correct port). There are some odd ball regulations you may run into - I sent our clothing and electronics air freight, since they were not allowed in the container. Hopefully, they'll realize it's just a simple little package and not put you through that ringer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachey Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 Who exactly is asking for your passport? Is it UPS or is it a customs broker? My guess is it is a customs broker. To bring my household goods in and out of China I needed to give up my passport for customs clearance. However, this was a company hired by my large international company so even though I was somewhat nervous about doing this I had the weight of my company behind me. So I think it is likely they do need your passport. The question is whether you can trust the people asking for it? Is this a company hired/suggested by UPS? Only you can determine whether you can trust the company to get your passport back to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 That's right - I was thinking this was a shipment directly to you. It should be UPS handling any customs issues. Contact UPS. We had to go to Nanning and get our air shipment ourselves, but a package delivery should be handled by UPS. Sounds like they really goofed it up, but it shouldn't be a major deal to straighten out the paperwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avs81 Posted November 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 (edited) 2 approaches you might take are 1) to try to make arrangements to bring your passport in - you are required to have it in your possession at all times. It obviously won't do to send it through the mail.I know, I didnt want to send it but the woman with customs insisted this was the only way or we go to Hangzhou customs and pick up a form that we need from them. She said she doesnt know the form, so we would go there blind... 2) Find an agent to deal with them for you. They may have issues with the actual items being sent - if so, this may be the best approach. A friend found ours for us in the Zhanjiang phone book for our container shipment.Do you know who you talked too? Maybe he can point us in the right direction, Im not sure where to start for that. I've sent myself a container full of used household goods, coffee, and medication (different shipments) each over 1000RMB without TOO much trouble (the only real problem was when the container was taken to Zhenjiang (Shanghai), instead of Zhanjiang (Guangzhou) - but they simply tossed it back on a ship and delivered it to the correct port). There are some odd ball regulations you may run into - I sent our clothing and electronics air freight, since they were not allowed in the container. Hopefully, they'll realize it's just a simple little package and not put you through that ringer. Please see my answers above, thanks for your comments. Hopefully if we can find an agent we can get it through without problem. I am glad I dont have to send the passport, I think its unsafe but I dont want to lost my items. Bill Edited November 27, 2011 by Avs81 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avs81 Posted November 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 That's right - I was thinking this was a shipment directly to you. It should be UPS handling any customs issues. Contact UPS. We had to go to Nanning and get our air shipment ourselves, but a package delivery should be handled by UPS. Sounds like they really goofed it up, but it shouldn't be a major deal to straighten out the paperwork. I tried to call them and UPS keeps telling me they are putting notes in my file and asking people to call me. I haven't heard anything yet and I don't really trust notes in my file. I am talking to UPS since the email they are using is UPS and the line I called is for the Shanghai UPS branch. But I think they will go through customs with my passport but I am not familiar with the while thing...maybe i should send them my passport...at least I copied the front of it and my visa if it got lost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avs81 Posted November 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 actually i think your right they are the customs broker that UPS uses for these type of cases. It would be nice to send the passport with my company's wight behind it but this is all personal and I can only send it with pretty much good faith. I wish that wasn't my only option but I don't see much else. If I can get an agent to help me maybe that might be better, I would prefer to have someone who knows the process then just sending my PP to a voice over the phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan1984 Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 Well, I unfortunately have no experience to be able to help in the shipping matters, BUT, as far as it relates to football - yes, the good old American version - here are a few of the best sites I found online where you can watch games for free: http://forum.wiziwig.eu/forums/32-NFL-CFL-AFL http://www.firstrowsports.tv/sport/american-football.html?game=american-football http://extreme-goal2.blogspot.com/p/channel1.html Enjoy! And.....IF you should make it to the Super Bowl, get ready to be destroyed by my Packers, hahahha. Best of luck in trying to figure out the shipping matter~~~ dan in beijing (via milwaukee) Hi Everyone, This is my first full month in Hangzhou, its not bad but without Pats football and dunkin donuts coffee its not the same. I have a question regarding a package my parents sent to me from Boston to Hangzhou via UPS. In the package are: 2 video games, 3 DVDs, 1 bottle of prescription meds (for heartburn), and some clothes. Here is the problem, Customs in Shanghai has my package and wont release it since UPS made the value too high. They corrected the value but Customs said its over 1,000 RMB so it needs special forms. Now they told me I have to ship them my physical passport and scan/email them an explanation letter explaining that these are my personal items that could not fit on the plane. And that my parents are only sending me my personal items. I am being told that I have 2 months to do this or they will consider my package abandoned. Also I was told it would take approx. 20 days for this to get processed and that I can't go myself since they have to fill out the paperwork and speak on my behalf. It sounds fishy to me but I need those items but I don't want to mail out my passport to some joe blow in customs. Has anyone ever dealt with this before? And if I shouldn't send my passport what can I do? I only have 2 months.... Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachey Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 If I can get an agent to help me maybe that might be better, I would prefer to have someone who knows the process then just sending my PP to a voice over the phone. I might look in the various expat magazines or post on a local expat board. What you need is a local Chinese who you can trust to hand deliver your passport to the customs broker. Given the size of the expat population in Shanghai/Hangzhou, it shouldn't be too hard to find one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 scan/email them an explanation letter explaining that these are my personal items that could not fit on the plane. I believe you're simply in the wrong category, and that this letter should put you back in the right place. For example, it's forbidden to import "used clothing", but excess luggage for your personal use is allowed. In other words, shipping a container-full of used clothing for resale would not be allowed. I would seriously try to hand-deliver this letter, along with your passport, and see what they do (assuming the trip is feasible) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avs81 Posted November 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 scan/email them an explanation letter explaining that these are my personal items that could not fit on the plane. I believe you're simply in the wrong category, and that this letter should put you back in the right place. For example, it's forbidden to import "used clothing", but excess luggage for your personal use is allowed. In other words, shipping a container-full of used clothing for resale would not be allowed. I would seriously try to hand-deliver this letter, along with your passport, and see what they do (assuming the trip is feasible) I asked if I could hand deliver the passport but UPS told me no. She said its takes time to prepare the documents and apply for CIQ and then to customs. She said I would break the process...its a 45 minute bullet train ride to shanghai and I am tempted to go anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 For future small packages have them ship it via USPS Priority mail and declare under US$100. It will arrive in 8-10 days straight to your door via China Post. I once made the mistake and had a used iPhone shipped via Fedex. They asked for passport copies and a letter of realease so they could let customs inspect the package. After that they told me I had to pay duties. They sent the Fedex boy to my office, I signed, go the box, and refused to pay any duties...Success! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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