Customs confiscated entire order!

WhippoorwillG · March 31, 2016

Sorry if this isn't the appropriate location for this thread, but I need to vent a bit about waiting in vain on a seed order that arrived over three weeks later.

The box arrives from Richter's with no indication of a problem. My wife finally opens it up to find that lovely customs note telling us that the contents were destroyed due to a lack of phyto-sanitary certificate and illegal materials.

My wife ordered plants (lemon verbena and something else), and several packs of basil from Richter's out of Canada. I have ordered from them several times before, live plant material included with little problem. From the size of the repacked box, i can't imagine that the live plants were in there, but haven't confirmed yet.

We are, of course, going to deal with Richter's, but has anyone ever had seeds confiscated coming from Canada? If there was no PS Cert, I understand the plants not making it, but the seeds perplex me?

Any similar experiences?

Patihum · March 31, 2016

I have a friend that lives in Florida that has had the contents of several packages from Canada confiscated. She doesn't even try anymore. Personally I've never had a problem.

ChiliPeppa · March 31, 2016

I had tree seeds confiscated coming from UK. I complained to the seller and they resent new seed, but NOT ONE of those seeds germinated (about 100). I think they might have been irradiated.

ginger2778 · March 31, 2016

Oh no, so sorry that this happened to you. I have the same friend as Patihum, it was terrible for her too. They now have a strict rule about no import of seeds without a phytosanitary cert. it is the law, unfortunately. BrokenBar's son had his pepper seeds confiscated too, If I remember correctly. She started a thread here about obtaining a PS certificate. I hope someone can search and find it.

Here it is, just found it. http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=39541

bower · March 31, 2016

I had tree seeds held up for months, coming to Canada from the US. That was years ago, but from what I hear, it's gotten worse of late!

Labradors2 · March 31, 2016

What a bummer!

You'd think a reputable company like Richter's would know how to send stuff to the US.

Linda

henry · March 31, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by bower

I had tree seeds held up for months, coming to Canada from the US. That was years ago, but from what I hear, it's gotten worse of late!

Used to ship to the states, the garlic had to be inspected in the field growing and once more before shipping what fun. Most growers find phytosanitary permits just to much trouble.

**carolyn137** · March 31, 2016

I used to buy a lot from Richters, and last I knew they were not shippihng from Canada, they had a shipping place in I think way northern NYS,so I don't know if that's the current problem,that is they are only shipping from Canada.

Have you contacted Richter's to ask about this?

I always found them most helpful.

For several decades I've been sending and receiving seeds from many countires,Mary,Brokenbar, and I have talked about this,there's a long thread about it here,and not once have any seeds sent to me been confiscated.

As I recall,the situation with her son sending from Spain was rather complicated as she explained it, but I have some seeds sent to me from Spain with no problem at all.

Carolyn

bower · March 31, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by henry

Used to ship to the states, the garlic had to be inspected in the field growing and once more before shipping what fun. Most growers find phytosanitary permits just to much trouble.

Really... it isn't a tariff, but just as much a barrier to trade.

JerryHaskins · March 31, 2016

What about "Seeds from Italy"?

I got my seeds from them with no problems.

Do their seeds not really come from Italy?

Worth1 · March 31, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by bower

Really... it isn't a tariff, but just as much a barrier to trade.

So true it brings the price up and is a form of protectionism.

In Texas you cant buy a pecan tree from out of state.
So the darn things cost a ton of money here.
A peach tree will cost around 25 dollars a pecan tree of the same size can cost 50 dollars grown at the same place.

Worth

WhippoorwillG · March 31, 2016

Richter's was of course very cooperative. They assured my wife that they insert phyto-certs in all orders, but she was the second customer recently to have the same exact issue.

They are going to reship the order, but are working with my wife to see where the error was. Read below and see it appears to be DHLS.

Of special interest and curious note: Upon Richter's request, we inspected the envelope and noted a large orange sticker from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirming that it had been inspected and complied with all phyto-sanitary requirements of the United States.

It was shipped from Canada on 3/4. Shipped to us empty with USDA notice with date of 3/24 from MIAMI and DHLS tape on the envelope(which I didn't notice at first). I think we might have narrowed the geographic source of the issue. The notice said contents destroyed because they were prohibited, and that there was no psc.

WhippoorwillG · March 31, 2016

Losing my mind...It was an envelope and not a box.

So it was only the seeds and no plant material at all.

rhines81 · March 31, 2016

Friends of mine have ordered so many 'legal/illegal' items from overseas without issues that I think it is just a matter of 'X' shipments out of 'so many' that actually get sampled by customs. Personally, I will not order anything from out of the country, but I travel extensively and if I find some pepper or tomato seeds that spark my interest, which is not very often, I just hand carry them back with me and have never had an issue.

Scooty · March 31, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhines81

Friends of mine have ordered so many 'legal/illegal' items from overseas without issues that I think it is just a matter of 'X' shipments out of 'so many' that actually get sampled by customs. Personally, I will not order anything from out of the country, but I travel extensively and if I find some pepper or tomato seeds that spark my interest, which is not very often, I just hand carry them back with me and have never had an issue.

Same. The people that always get caught are those with a like a half pound of seed. That lights up on an x-ray really really well.

1 seed packet or 20 seeds stuffed into a bookmark, not so much.

March 31, 2016	#1
WhippoorwillG Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Hartwell, Georgia Posts: 174	Customs confiscated entire order! Sorry if this isn't the appropriate location for this thread, but I need to vent a bit about waiting in vain on a seed order that arrived over three weeks later. The box arrives from Richter's with no indication of a problem. My wife finally opens it up to find that lovely customs note telling us that the contents were destroyed due to a lack of phyto-sanitary certificate and illegal materials. My wife ordered plants (lemon verbena and something else), and several packs of basil from Richter's out of Canada. I have ordered from them several times before, live plant material included with little problem. From the size of the repacked box, i can't imagine that the live plants were in there, but haven't confirmed yet. We are, of course, going to deal with Richter's, but has anyone ever had seeds confiscated coming from Canada? If there was no PS Cert, I understand the plants not making it, but the seeds perplex me? Any similar experiences? __________________ Mark Whippoorwill Gardens

March 31, 2016	#8
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	I used to buy a lot from Richters, and last I knew they were not shippihng from Canada, they had a shipping place in I think way northern NYS,so I don't know if that's the current problem,that is they are only shipping from Canada. Have you contacted Richter's to ask about this? I always found them most helpful. For several decades I've been sending and receiving seeds from many countires,Mary,Brokenbar, and I have talked about this,there's a long thread about it here,and not once have any seeds sent to me been confiscated. As I recall,the situation with her son sending from Spain was rather complicated as she explained it, but I have some seeds sent to me from Spain with no problem at all. Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

March 31, 2016	#12
WhippoorwillG Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Hartwell, Georgia Posts: 174	Richter's was of course very cooperative. They assured my wife that they insert phyto-certs in all orders, but she was the second customer recently to have the same exact issue. They are going to reship the order, but are working with my wife to see where the error was. Read below and see it appears to be DHLS. Of special interest and curious note: Upon Richter's request, we inspected the envelope and noted a large orange sticker from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirming that it had been inspected and complied with all phyto-sanitary requirements of the United States. It was shipped from Canada on 3/4. Shipped to us empty with USDA notice with date of 3/24 from MIAMI and DHLS tape on the envelope(which I didn't notice at first). I think we might have narrowed the geographic source of the issue. The notice said contents destroyed because they were prohibited, and that there was no psc. __________________ Mark Whippoorwill Gardens

March 31, 2016	#13
WhippoorwillG Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Hartwell, Georgia Posts: 174	Losing my mind...It was an envelope and not a box. So it was only the seeds and no plant material at all. __________________ Mark Whippoorwill Gardens

March 31, 2016	#2
Patihum Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Southeast Kansas Posts: 878	I have a friend that lives in Florida that has had the contents of several packages from Canada confiscated. She doesn't even try anymore. Personally I've never had a problem.

March 31, 2016	#3
ChiliPeppa Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Mojave Desert - California Posts: 368	I had tree seeds confiscated coming from UK. I complained to the seller and they resent new seed, but NOT ONE of those seeds germinated (about 100). I think they might have been irradiated.

March 31, 2016	#4
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	Oh no, so sorry that this happened to you. I have the same friend as Patihum, it was terrible for her too. They now have a strict rule about no import of seeds without a phytosanitary cert. it is the law, unfortunately. BrokenBar's son had his pepper seeds confiscated too, If I remember correctly. She started a thread here about obtaining a PS certificate. I hope someone can search and find it. Here it is, just found it. http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=39541

March 31, 2016	#5
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,793	I had tree seeds held up for months, coming to Canada from the US. That was years ago, but from what I hear, it's gotten worse of late!

March 31, 2016	#6
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,886	What a bummer! You'd think a reputable company like Richter's would know how to send stuff to the US. Linda

March 31, 2016	#10
JerryHaskins Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Mississippi Posts: 166	What about "Seeds from Italy"? I got my seeds from them with no problems. Do their seeds not really come from Italy?

March 31, 2016	#14
rhines81 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Zone 5A, Poconos Posts: 959	Friends of mine have ordered so many 'legal/illegal' items from overseas without issues that I think it is just a matter of 'X' shipments out of 'so many' that actually get sampled by customs. Personally, I will not order anything from out of the country, but I travel extensively and if I find some pepper or tomato seeds that spark my interest, which is not very often, I just hand carry them back with me and have never had an issue.