Parcels that never reach their destination

[Mike T]

I have had parcels return from their destination country only to be destroyed once they reach Australia again. Here is a letter I received today alerting me that returned seeds had been destroyed. I understand many parcels are destroyed by the mail inspectors in the country they are sent to and no information about this is given to the recipient or sender. The reason why parcels and packed seeds don't comply with local laws is often baffling. One inspection may say all is good and the next will result in destruction.

Maybe people who I sent seeds to and didn't acknowledge receiving them probably didn't get them. I am sorry for that situation and often I have not alerting people when a parcel has been sent.The transient nature of fruit availability means I can't always send the same seeds again.

[starling1]

happened to me a couple of weeks back with a package I'd been trying to send to Luc.

The last parcel I sent shouldn't get canned for any reason as far as I can see...I've really tried to go above and beyond what is expected.

But yes, I feel your pain Mike. It isn't easy or to cheap to send out packages from Aus, and it can be time consuming too if the seeds are hard to clean (Achacha, anybody?) and to have them refused is a real kick in the guts. Not to mention the person the seeds were promised to is left high and dry. Just a really bad situation all around.

And yes, I'm a total quarantine Pirate. But who has Made me that? AQIS and their entourage of mouth-breathing staff.

[Mike T]

Here is that letter with appropriate modification.It is worse when you don't get alerted. Starling I have sent at least one parcel to luc that never showed up also.

[Mike T]

The other odd thing with this parcel is the weight of seeds returned. There is about one tenth the weight of seed listed compared to what was actually sent.This is no the first time I have noticed such a discrepancy.

[starling1]

Here is that letter with appropriate modification.It is worse when you don't get alerted. Starling I have sent at least one parcel to luc that never showed up also.

Wow, they've really got a hard on for you; the letters I get are a lot sunnier than that. Well, they are more vague anyway--maybe they just don't deign to even give me an explanation.

Major Bummer, some killer stuff in there that no doubt won't be got again easily. I mean seriously, what specific threat are they even talking about? What specific 'contamination'?

Have you considered that it might be personal?

[Radoslav]

. I understand many parcels are destroyed by the mail inspectors in the country they are sent to and no information about this is given to the recipient

I am not sure if this is true - at least in my country.  If there is a problem - for example guys in customs think, that the goods in packet cannot continue without phytosanitary control, mail service always inform me officialy and ask me, if I want to start the process, or they will send the packet back. Never heard something like that customs arbitrarily destroyed something or what.

[Mike T]

Starling this is a friendly one.They are reducing their carbon footprint by saying a parcel sent to me was destroyed as well as one returning from overseas. I would like to know how the hell the Garcinia forbesii picked up contamination in a foreign mailroom and what the threat was with the other seized parcel.

[Mike T]

Rad Australia is also destroying parcels leaving the country and due to budget cuts I suppose people are not always informed. I know you are one who had a parcel that never showed up.

[Radoslav]

Did you send me something?

I am really upset with customs policy at all, hundreds of elephants are killed because of  tusks, hundreds of rhinos are killed, tons of drugs are traveling around the world and customs are using their capacity and resources to hunt small packs with few fruit seeds.

[fruitlovers]

I don't recall ever having a returned package being seized here. I think the US department of agriculture takes a much softer approach on this kind of situtation, and most others as well. Australia and NZ are probably the most hard nosed, followed a bit down the ladder by USA.
A lot also depends here on the particular ag inspection officer and what inspection station they are in. Some locations being a lot more hard nosed than others. I suspect same is true in other countries.

[Mike T]

Radoslav, sorry that was a slip and it was actually another Slovakian member.

Oscar yes I know they are more hard line here and maybe I have a red flag against my name as I have had a few brawls with them before. I am sure customs in Sydney have a picture of Hitler on the wall. While the smuggling apocalypse flourishes unabated they have all hands on deck quibbling over technicalities and looking for an angle to snatch benign seeds.

[fruitlovers]

Radoslav, sorry that was a slip and it was actually another Slovakian member.

Oscar yes I know they are more hard line here and maybe I have a red flag against my name as I have had a few brawls with them before. I am sure customs in Sydney have a picture of Hitler on the wall. While the smuggling apocalypse flourishes unabated they have all hands on deck quibbling over technicalities and looking for an angle to snatch benign seeds.

A red flag? They must have a whole file on you there buddy! 

[starling1]

Radoslav, sorry that was a slip and it was actually another Slovakian member.

Oscar yes I know they are more hard line here and maybe I have a red flag against my name as I have had a few brawls with them before. I am sure customs in Sydney have a picture of Hitler on the wall. While the smuggling apocalypse flourishes unabated they have all hands on deck quibbling over technicalities and looking for an angle to snatch benign seeds.

At night all cats are grey.

[Roy-Ind]

According to me the most difficult country to send seeds is AUSTRALIA
I succeeded only 3-4 times without inspection
My friends were sent notices with warnings
I received seeds from there many times


Roy

[Radoslav]

Radoslav, sorry that was a slip and it was actually another Slovakian member.

and btw: what about UD ambarella seeds, do you have some for sale?

[davidgarcia899]

That's much nicer than the US letters, whenever my stuff has gotten confiscated the first thing they do is tell you of the penalty and that its all your fault

[luc]

Mike , I think I got all of your packages , some went very fast ( 1 month ) others took forever.

Starling , I am so sorry about this , I'll make it up to you soon ( next month )

 I got 99% of all the packages in the last 2 years , before that a lot were confiscated .

Packages send to Brazil and Taiwan are also problematic specially if they are kinda large .

[fruitlovers]

That's much nicer than the US letters, whenever my stuff has gotten confiscated the first thing they do is tell you of the penalty and that its all your fault

If you have no permit enclosed nowadays your package in USA will go straight to incinerator without any notice. Used to be when USDA was at border inspection that all seized packages got a notice in the mail. But now after 9/11 only Border Patrol is at border inspecting packages, and they are a lot less forgiving or taking time to send you any notice, nor are they required to do so.

[Coconut]

If you pack it like dreamfrutas, ricbitar, or luc, they practically fly under the radar. I wont go into further details because all their stuff get to me and I am on the most wanted USDA-APHIS Plant terrorist list follow by that guy Saddhu & Wilson . Yes they monitor ebay & I am sure Anthony the Agent Assigned to me is reading & monitoring us. Yeah they show up at my house & confiscate my plant even though it had phytosanitary certificates on 15 plants four months after i have received from US custom.

Forget about  permits , i had them too & I talk to a close friend who was a former special operation elite too & he get harass by them too. Cant they let us old medal soldiers  who follow the rules, free other people have a hobby to calm our haunted souls from Vietnam to gulf War, fruit give us peace.  So I went back to covert mode operandi & you know what no problem.  So when I request you Ozzie & Kiwi to pack a certain way, please pack that way so I will get it in stealth mode & i am not insulting anyone charity.

" Where there is incompetence the window of opportunity expose an opened door of deceit...the blind man walk through without being seen.  " My former Black Op Boss like to tell us before we disappear into the night to stalk the valley of death.

So exploit the gray line, a chameleon would be nice!!! So my old boss last words before he retired to be Halliburton Executive

[starling1]

Mike , I think I got all of your packages , some went very fast ( 1 month ) others took forever.

Starling , I am so sorry about this , I'll make it up to you soon ( next month )

 I got 99% of all the packages in the last 2 years , before that a lot were confiscated .

Packages send to Brazil and Taiwan are also problematic specially if they are kinda large .

No luc you misunderstand me; I mean the package I had sent to  you didn't get out of the country--TWICE. That was a lot of Davidson plum seeds down the drain BTW, over 40. I'm hoping to be able to get the Lemonade seeds to you, but it is always a gamble unfortunately, as you are well aware.

[bangkok]

Why would the australian customs confisticate packages that go OUT of Australia? I don't understand that part.

[starling1]

Why would the australian customs confisticate packages that go OUT of Australia? I don't understand that part.

They basically said I'd mislabelled the seeds, you have to fill out a green form with details of what is being sent etc and mine apparently wasn't satisfactorily done on both occasions.

[Mike T]

It is partly about correct and sufficiently detailed labelling of contents. They try to pin 'false declarations' on parcels to make it look like they are doing a good job and are busy.

[RICBITAR]

Example :

I bought 50 seeds Marquesas palm (Pelagodoxa henryana) from Australia, I request to the seller 5 package with 10 seeds each, the weight of  seed is about 50 grams each,  I dont know how, but I received today the last package, I received all 5 package, In Brazil and Australia have customs
I sure the customs oversee only a small parcel of the mail packages

[rac78]

Mike what type of Davidson plum seeds did they destroy?