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triple_b

stuck in customs?

triple_b
17 years ago

I ordered some tomato seeds from Seed Savers Exchange. As well as some carrot and herb seed but the tomato seeds I am sweating over a bit as pretty soon it will be too late to start them and still have them ready for planting out time. Because Seed Savers is an American company I assume my order got held up in customs? Does anybody know anything about this whole brouhaha and how long it may take before they realize I am not sending a bomb or anything?

Comments (25)

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    17 years ago

    triple b, they just might be held up at customs, I've had a lot of dealings with importing things the last few years. A few gliches but I have had some really great customer service from the plant inspectors. I think the problem is too few people to do the work of many. I believe they are working as fast as they can.
    I've been waiting for Begonia seed from Antonelli's for a month now, I'm assuming it's caught in the backlog somewhere. Maybe you should contact S.S.E. and make sure you're seed has been sent?

    A......

  • sammyqc
    17 years ago

    I've ordered seeds from the U.S. and never had a problem. As far as I understand, they should be fine. There is no restriction on importing seeds if it is a small quantity. Customs wouldn't hold them, only plants. You need an import license for that.
    But...maybe they've changed the rules in the last year? You can check Customs regulations to find out pretty easily. ---Scratch that thought. I tried to find out, and the answers are about as clear as mud. But what I think I understand, is if the quantity of veg seed is under 5 kg, you should be okay? Why do they have to make things so darn complicated!

  • ianna
    17 years ago

    Don't you need a phyto... certificate for any plant or seed purchases crossing the border?

    Ianna

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    17 years ago

    You don't think you need a phyto for most seeds, some seeds are restricted and I imagine for those you would need an import pemit + a phyto. Many types of plants can come across the border now without having to have an import permit, but they do have to have a phyto. It is best to check with the Dept. of Ag. to see which ones you still have to get an import permit for.

    A......

  • triple_b
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    I checked the Canada Customs website and my order is small and relatively insignificant, being only a few packs of vegetable seeds. There is nothing needed, no border tax or restrictions or certificates.

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    17 years ago

    I meant to say in the previous post I don't think you need a phyto for most seeds. Just picked up my mail, my seeds are here, they came regular mail. I suggest you contact the place where you purchased your seed, see if they have sent them yet. If there is a declaration slip on the package they will go through customs and that will hold them up.

    A......

  • triple_b
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    They mailed it on Thursday March 22. I suppose 10 days isn't THAT long although my sister has sent things to me (small gifts) from London England and they have gotten here in a week. Go figure.

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    17 years ago

    Sometimes our mail from the states takes between 2 and 3 weeks. If it's a package from England I don't even start looking for it for a good 6 weeks you were lucky. I guess it depends on how much postage is put on the item. Hopefully you will have your seeds by the end of the week.

    A......

  • triple_b
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Surface takes that long but my sis seems to send it by regular parcel post-Royal Mail-which I guess would be airmail.
    Boy I hope I am not forced to put those seeds aside till next year. >:-(

  • bonniepunch
    17 years ago

    My parents live in the states now and sometimes cards and other envelopes take a long time to get here! Usually it's only about a week, but one thing took over a month.

    It is possible that customs is holding up your seeds, but it's really pretty unlikely. It's probably a bad case of snail mail.

    Phytos aren't necessary for most seeds to enter into Canada (they are necessary for most seeds entering the US though). The packet can still be examined to see if it contains seeds that are restricted for one of several possible reasons, but it's unlikely to be singled out like that.

    BP

  • jaro_in_montreal
    16 years ago

    Good nurseries in the US will provide a phyto certificate at little extra cost -- sometimes even free.
    The problem is the Canadian import permit, which requires that a single specific nursery be identified on the application.
    Strangely enough, the permit itself that is issued to the applicant, doesn't actually mention the nursery, only the State where its located, and the plant families you wish to import (not the cultivariants or even the species).
    So while this may let you get away with importing from different nurseries located within the same State (apparently the customs inspectors have no way of knowing the details that were on your application, or don't bother checking), importing from a different State requires a new permit (the permit can be amended at less cost than a new permit, but only for new plants from the same nursery, not an entirely different nursery).
    I've even had a shipment go through OK from a neighboring state than what was on my import permit, but I guess that was taking a bit of a chance....
    All that said, I agree with previous replies that a permit is not required for seeds.
    As for the phyto certificate, I guess (but I'm not sure) that it depends on the country of origin -- tropical countries likely being considered a greater risk than the US.

  • winnjoe
    16 years ago

    I ordered from SSE about 8 weeks ago and my packet arrived in about a week. Maybe you could email them and find out if your order has left yet - they get busier by the day this time of year.

  • triple_b
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    They say my order left them on March 22nd. That would make it just over 2 weeks in mail limbo. I wonder if they sent it cross continent before it crossed the border or if they sent it into Canada then it had to go cross country. Either way, me thinks they should retire the poor geriatric snail my order got stuck onto.

  • triple_b
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    It has been nearly THREE weeks now. Had I known it was going to take such an UNREASONABLE amount of time to mail I wouldn't have ordered them. I figured expecting the package around April 1st would give it ample time to get here. I have sent and received BOXES of stuff to and from Southern California in less time. Canada Post is SO inconsistent!! It is almost getting too late to start the tomatoes when they get here. I have come to the conclusion that the more time an item spends at the mercy of Canada Post the longer it takes. With S. Cal it merely had to go south to the border and then US Mail had it. With these, it had to come across Canada. GRRR. I emailed them and (Canada Post) and complained. Normally it takes 3 business days to get a reply, so the website says. My auto-response said because of alot of inquiries the wait for a reply is now 5-10 business days. Figures.
    Sorry for the rant guys. I figured you folks would be able to relate to my frustrations.

  • triple_b
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    They finally came today. Three weeks from leaving their destination. I would still like to write Canada Post and ask for detailed step by step route that things take, to justify the three weeks. I mean they weren't coming from Calcutta for gosh sakes! Still I got me some planting to do.
    Bye for now! :-D

  • Crazy_Gardener
    16 years ago

    Triple, did you get dinged for gst and the service charge to do the paper work?

  • triple_b
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    mmmm....Nope. Did they ever do that to somebody else? I have (on the invoice) the charge for the seeds, shipping and handling and that is it. Of course it gets converted to Canadian dollars off my Visa but there is no mention of gst or anything anywhere.

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    16 years ago

    My experiences with getting things from the states is: If there is a declaration slip on the outside of the envelope stating contents, value etc. you do get dinged. G.S.T., Duty if applicable and that damn cash grabing $5.00 handling fee. If it just comes in a plain envelope you usually luck out.

    A......

  • triple_b
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Mine got sent in a regular brown bubble envelope. I read the Canada Customs site and found out it also has to do with the dollar value of the order itself as to wether they ding you with gst or not. Either because it was a small order (5 packs of seeds) or because Seed Savers is an organization that operates for a greater purpose, the order was tax exempt.

  • Crazy_Gardener
    16 years ago

    I've got dinged a couple of times, but now that I think of it, these seed orders were only from HardyPlants.com, most likely because they do put the declaration/value sticker on top, never thought of that.

    Sharon

  • bonniepunch
    16 years ago

    I can believe it took that long just working it's way through the snail mail system without customs getting their hands on it. Usually things get here faster, but I have had things take several weeks before. And believe it or not - it's almost certainly the USPS system that had your package for most of that time. When I've sent things or ordered things with tracking info, I can see that Canada Post is much faster than the USPS. Canada Post is certainly no great shakes in my books, but the USPS is even worse! The USPS has lost five parcels (with tracking info!) that were en route to DH - Canada Post has only lost two parcels (serious eye rolling here - none should be lost IMHO!). I still don't understand how you can lose any parcels - letters can fall behind machines or something, but a parcel??? I figure someone stole them :-(

    We've been charged GST tons of times - DH works for a small publishing company in the US and they are always sending him stuff for work. Because they're books, customs assesses GST charges based on the face value of the book and the post man collects it. They're not supposed to charge GST, because of certain paperwork that gets filled out, but there's always some idiot that doesn't understand how to read or doesn't bother reading the paperwork. So we have to pay, and then fill out more forums, and wait and wait and wait to get reimbursed.

    BP

  • triple_b
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Darn snails. And don't you just LOVE beaurocracy? (SP). Losing parcels is inexcusable. I hope they reimbursed you for EVERYTHING. We lost a parcel coming up from the grandparents over Christmas.

  • bonniepunch
    16 years ago

    A xmas parcel from DH's parents went missing this year. I suppose there's a possibility it was stolen out of our mailbox, but the mailman knows we're home and he rings the bell when he sticks a parcel in there.

    There's no chance of getting reimbursed unless you have insurance and tracking info. Nada. None. Zip. Been There Done That Got The T-shirt :-). I always send things with insurance and tracking now.

    Most Canadian companies will have small business accounts with Canada Post and will mail things larger than a small bubble envelope with tracking info, but it doesn't seen to be so common on things coming from the US. DH's work parcels never have tracking info - maybe they don't have an equivalent service.

    Bureaucracies are such a pain! The only way to deal with them is to know their rules better than they do :-) I've hauled out pages of the appropriate rules and regulations more than once when told "No".

    BP

  • flower_fan_in_ns
    16 years ago

    You can read the policy on mailing nursery items into Canada here:

    Here is a link that might be useful: Canada Post Website & Importing Nursery Items

  • triple_b
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks. I also researched it and knew it was not a red tape issue. Merely a bad case of snail mail.

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