Canadian Customs

[ss01]

Well since there are a few guys here who live north of the border, I figured I'd open this thread. I'm asking what does NOT make it through customs, in everyone's experience. We all know they get all the goodies down in the USA whereas we can barely get creatine here.

I've ordered a bunch of stuff, including ALRI Ergomax, Prostanozol, Gaspari Novedex XT, Formestane...

Does anyone have experience with a package being opened by customs and receiving everything, or NOT getting their stuff? What does and doesn't make it through Canadian customs is the question.

Thanks

 

[PIOTREK]

Okay, this is going to bring back bad memories. Of course I was bitten by the SD bug and I foolishly ordered 4 bottles from NutraPlanet which was at the time the “last run of SD ever�. Basically, they did not ship with fedex and I lost close to $350 bucks. After calling NutraPlanet and customs for weeks, it was determined by customs that the package needed to be “inspected� and that’s it. Never got it! My advice, make sure you pay extra for express fedex. Also, ask the retailer to ship the package in a plain box. Good luck. Damn you customs!

 

[ss01]

Yeah, well 4 bottles of almost anything is above the "for personal consumption" limit of a 3-month supply... There is that to factor in... In other words, if you get say Acetyl-l-carnitine in capsules with a recommended dosage on the bottle, say, 3 a day, and you have more than 270 capsules in total, Customs will interpret this as intent to sell. And YES alcar is illegal to sell here. How insane is that? Even more insane is that you can get bulk alcar, say a few POUNDS and they won't stop it at customs because there is no recommended dosage indicated on the container. Same thing for DHEA. Now how insane is THAT?

Anyone else?

 

[gixxman]

....i haven't ordered anythign just sent it to a relative and brought it over myself...my friend ordered regular protein form bb.com and customs checked it for 3 weeks and than he got it...rebound xt made it across perfectly...i think superdrol might be a problem

 

[t_dot_porkchop]

i got a few orders (5 i think) through from 1fast that included PHs (S1+, M1T, 4derm, powders, etc). last time i ordered, it got nabbed. $250 lost.

from then on i ordered stuff to a buddy in MI and would drive down and pick it up myself. i wasnt about to lose my DS PFOs or M4OHN powder...

 

[max silver]

I've found the amount of scrutiny I face depends on where I'm having the items shipped from. At first bulk nutrition was safe, but after awhile customs figured out they were shipping me items that didn't meet canadian customs criteria for entry, and after that I faced more scrutiny. I've noticed that shipments from a persons actual name as opposed to a supplement vendor are more likely to pass through customs with no extra scrutiny. So for example, if Joe Comblowski was to send me a package of alcar, it'd be much more likely to pass through customs unscathed that a package from ultimatealcarforyou.com.

 

[ss01]

gixxman, you mean the rebound XT was inspected and made it across, or just made it across?

t_dot_porkchop, there is supposed to be a way that you can get them to ship the product back to sender and you get a refund.

max silver, where you at?

I'm a little bit worried here, with a 400 $ order........... Come to think of it, I think I'mma order cattle implants from now on instead... Actually safer and better......... Too bad........

Or, make friends with some residents of the USA nearby... Anyone from Burlington, VT?

 

[gixxman]

gixxman, you mean the rebound XT was inspected and made it across, or just made it across?

t_dot_porkchop, there is supposed to be a way that you can get them to ship the product back to sender and you get a refund.

max silver, where you at?

I'm a little bit worried here, with a 400 $ order........... Come to think of it, I think I'mma order cattle implants from now on instead... Actually safer and better......... Too bad........

Or, make friends with some residents of the USA nearby... Anyone from Burlington, VT?

yeah rebound was checked and they let it go through

 

[t_dot_porkchop]

t_dot_porkchop, there is supposed to be a way that you can get them to ship the product back to sender and you get a refund.

yeah right....i talked to 1fast and TRIED to get something from customs with no luck....i just chalked it up as a loss.

 

[ss01]

Yikes. Wish me luck. :frustrate

 

[bigman420]

Yeah, well 4 bottles of almost anything is above the "for personal consumption" limit of a 3-month supply... There is that to factor in... In other words, if you get say Acetyl-l-carnitine in capsules with a recommended dosage on the bottle, say, 3 a day, and you have more than 270 capsules in total, Customs will interpret this as intent to sell. And YES alcar is illegal to sell here. How insane is that? Even more insane is that you can get bulk alcar, say a few POUNDS and they won't stop it at customs because there is no recommended dosage indicated on the container. Same thing for DHEA. Now how insane is THAT?

Anyone else?

if only superdrol was sold in bulk.......

 

[Bobby Nevada]

if only superdrol was sold in bulk.......

It is. There is one company that sells the powder by the gram.

 

[Bobby Nevada]

i got a few orders (5 i think) through from 1fast that included PHs (S1+, M1T, 4derm, powders, etc). last time i ordered, it got nabbed. $250 lost.

from then on i ordered stuff to a buddy in MI and would drive down and pick it up myself. i wasnt about to lose my DS PFOs or M4OHN powder...

Doesn't it worry you that the border might check through your belongings?

 

[Maldito]

i just got my bottle of SD from bb.com... custums inspected it and it went thrue np... im just made a new order and i purcharsed some protein , rebound xt and some dhea... i hope it goes thue... i need the rebound xt noone sell it here

 

[ss01]

The rebound XT should go through, because they sell Novedex XT and it has many of the same ingredients. I received notice today that my order will be at the post office tomorrow. Hopefully EVERYTHING is still in the package. It was inspected for sure, I ordered it the 4th of August... Will report in full tomorrow.

You know, guys, most anything they sell in the USA is legal to POSSESS here. Resale is another thing altogether but we're not talking about that. The rule is if you have more than a 3-month supply according to the directions on the packaging. OTOH, a pound of SD powder gets inspected and gets nabbed, for sure. 100 grams I bet they let across...

 

[spitboy]

The rebound XT should go through, because they sell Novedex XT and it has many of the same ingredients. I received notice today that my order will be at the post office tomorrow. Hopefully EVERYTHING is still in the package. It was inspected for sure, I ordered it the 4th of August... Will report in full tomorrow.

You know, guys, most anything they sell in the USA is legal to POSSESS here. Resale is another thing altogether but we're not talking about that. The rule is if you have more than a 3-month supply according to the directions on the packaging. OTOH, a pound of SD powder gets inspected and gets nabbed, for sure. 100 grams I bet they let across...

I've never gotten a package that had something removed. If you are getting it, you are getting everything. The ones they don't want to let through, you never hear from again.

 

[t_dot_porkchop]

Doesn't it worry you that the border might check through your belongings?

no....canada customs doesnt even leave the booth. just act cool, have a good story and they are none the wiser.

 

[stu_r]

You know, guys, most anything they sell in the USA is legal to POSSESS here.

Being from the UK I don't know enough to comment on your troubles but if the stuff isn't illegal in your country then why is there not a retailer in Canada that would save you importing from the US ? Or is is a price thing ?

I've bought a lot of supps from the US. The problem we get if it is stopped is that UK customs will charge import tax on it which sometimes is a huge amount. Most stuff I've had has been marked as gift on the customs declaration though so I've been ok. (Hope I haven't put a curse on my next shipment by saying that:think: It's amazing how many birthdays I have in a year !)

 

[ss01]

Actually, that's very interesting you should point out that difference, since all the fedelal laws in Canada have their origins in UK law.

The thing is, even though it is not illegal to possess most of those things here, it *IS* illegal to trade, i.e. Buy or Sell any of the "good" supps. So as long as we import in small enough quantities, it's all good. So it really isn't a price thing. Let me give you another example : Gaspari Novedex XT is in my order. You can get that in Canada. But no other Gaspari product is available for resale here because they presumably contain something which is forbidden to sell here.

Heck DHEA and alcar are illegal to sell here.

 

[Maldito]

hey ss01
i was just wondering where did u order ur stuff from and how long did it take?...
i new to the ordering online and i love it .. the prices are Fantastic lol...
Ty

 

[ss01]

I ordered at 1fast400.com. They use to be a board sponsor back in the day. Actually, I have discovered that current board sponsors NutraPlanet and Island Supplements (maybe others) have better prices on many good things.

I'm not dissing Mike in any way, 1fast ships insanely quickly and I have ALWAYS received everything I ordered, one cannot ask for more. I do believe that his shipments are undergoing more scrutiny at customs since he's been sending stuff north of the border for so long.

Now on to the good news. I received everything I ordered, and MORE actually... That is :
1. Lipoderm Ultra
1. Dermabolics E-Form
1. Dicana
1. Novedex XT
1. ALRI E... Max
1. Prostanozol
1. Now Biotin
1. GABA powder, 1000g
1. Guggulsterone powder, 3g
2. Green Tea Extract, 100g
2. Primaforce ALA, and...

1. Neurostim, which I did not order and got as a gift from them. Interestingly, this is the item which prompted Canada Customs to write me a nice letter saying if I order more precription drugs (neurostim, because it contains acetyl-l-carnitine), they will keep the package.

This totals C$ 400. Of course, they did not stop at a nice letter, and slapped me with a C$ 65 duty on top of the 1-month wait. I ordered on August 4th and got it on September 2nd. Mike shipped the same day.

If you're going to order significant amounts of supplements from the USA, and seriously I still think it's a good deal, I suggest you have them shipped by FedEx or UPS. FedEx charged me C$ 35 for customs clearance fee, but it took a whole week for my stuff to get here. I thought it was expensive. NOT. FedEx or UPS parcels get much LESS attention at customs, so I hear.

Also another thing to remember is that now that I have received a nice Customs letter, my address is certainly red-flagged and so it means I will from now on have my stuff delivered at a friend's place instead of mine. Not because I intend on ordering more acetyl-l-carnitine, heck I have over a pound of the stuff that I rarely use.

So that's my report, as full as I can make it. I vote to keep this thread going, we need all the help we can give each other. The good news is that most anything will make it through, so it seems.

 

[Kristopher]

Back in the day, i ordered methylD from bb.com and it came through np.

 

[spitboy]

Having ordered every which way with every which shipper, I can tell you for sure, Fed Ex does not mean squat when you want it to get through customs sooner or with less scrutiny. One of my biggest losses in shipping was done with a Fed Ex shipment that never made it through customs.

On the other hand, I routinely get my US Post/Canada Post deliveries in 5 to 7 days.. customs included. The trick? !#%!@$^% ships from a person's name and does not hint that it is a business shipping the goods. Also, I ask him not to mark it as a gift. While you will pay the duty, I believe it garners less attention. Since doing it this way, only about 1 in 4 packages has been inspected.

 

[Poobah]

Canada is considered a High Risk, from the stand point of black market shipments....

MOre so, Vancouver is the absolute nastiest, customs to get through, so if your lucky your orders clear in mississauga/Toronto with little problem from my experience.. or ground through montreal is also good.

Packaging is also extremely important.... ALot of retailers don't even bother to include a proper invoice with the package... and if customes decides to open the package, your pretty much fucked.. unless they call the shipper, but they are more likely to send it back. So if at all possible make sure that whoever your ording from includes a proper invoice. Sometimes all it takes is them to see the invoice.. and go okay.. tape it back up and off it comes to you. No invoice.. raises questions etc... check it out.. you loose.

White lie's on customs declaration forms work good too... if you retailer will do it.... and in such cases it's a good idea to order a bunch of legal supps to get a few illegal supps through.. ie. creatine, protein, dextrose, and a few bottles of sd.

Personally I've been very lucky.. and recently claimed to have a perfect record... but once I made the mistake of ordering 10 bottles of m1t and nothing else... that was snagged. I'm sure if I ordered that and a wack of other stuff it probably of went by unnoticed. But then again, maybe not.

..Yes I have had packages opened, taped up and shipped to me... last one was 8 bottles of brain drive from custom that included ALCAR as the main ingredient.. I've also had orders of raw powders from china opened and shipped to me, but they use methods to make what it looks like something legal so they ship it to you.. and drug sniffing dogs aren't trained to smell steroids.. they are more concerned about heroin or Cocain.

And just recently, Synergy is claiming that customs shipped back my order of Cissus RX that I ordered over a month and a half ago... except not once has he supplied tracking information.. So I'm a bit upset about this one...

 

[Poobah]

On the other hand, I routinely get my US Post/Canada Post deliveries in 5 to 7 days.. customs included. The trick? @#$@#$@# ships from a person's name and does not hint that it is a business shipping the goods. Also, I ask him not to mark it as a gift. While you will pay the duty, I believe it garners less attention. Since doing it this way, only about 1 in 4 packages has been inspected.

That's a good point... but could you please edit thier name out.. no sense drawing attention to that sort of thing. Delveries from him have been excellent.

I'd say though, that 1-10 packages are checked in my experience.

 

[Grunt76]

Just wanna bump this, I got a shipment from NutraPlanet that contained

2xErgomax
2xSuperdrol
2xProstanozol
2xMAX
2xPheraplex
2xMethoxy-TRN
2xPCT

CEE and other standard things. Was inspected and made it through. That was back in November or so. This thread should be kept fresh, IMO. I'mma ask other bros who's got what stopped @ customs...

 

[GTOman]

It's a big crap shoot, what works one time fails the next. I just ordered some Chocamine powder, 7-keto powder, and Sesamin from 1fast and shipped it FedEx. The package was refused at Canada Customs and sent back to 1fast (at least I'm only out the shipping charge). No explanation was offered by customs to myself or 1fast. All of this stuff is readily available at any health food shop in Canada only not in bulk form. Now I have to pay Ergopharm a small fortune to cap my Chochamin for me and Now foods to cap my 7-keto. What a waste of money...

 

[max silver]

Nutraplanet has been excellent for myself for shipping. I've ordered a ton of stuff through them that could have been snatched up by customs that has made it through just fine.

 

[turkish]

Nutraplanet has been excellent for myself for shipping. I've ordered a ton of stuff through them that could have been snatched up by customs that has made it through just fine.

Great. FedEx or USPS?

 

[Grunt76]

Interestingly, my best experiences were with USPS - I think the global express is the best. FedEx works, but they charge you a big chunk of change (35$ or so) for customs CLEARING FEES, meaning that doesn't include any sales taxes that might be added to that... It happened to me ONCE and that was more than enough....

 

[max silver]

Great. FedEx or USPS?

Actually I've had great success with both USPS and Fedex as relates to Nutraplanet. USPS was a great risk with most other suppliers I've ordered from, however this hasn't been the case with Nutraplanet. I've only been charged brokering fees by Fedex once in all the times I've used them, and that was on a tire purchase from tirerack.com, never with any supplement purchases.

 

[turkish]

Actually I've had great success with both USPS and Fedex as relates to Nutraplanet. USPS was a great risk with most other suppliers I've ordered from, however this hasn't been the case with Nutraplanet. I've only been charged brokering fees by Fedex once in all the times I've used them, and that was on a tire purchase from tirerack.com, never with any supplement purchases.

Thanks Max & Grunt.

Nutraplanet & USPS for teh win!!1!!!11111

 

[Grunt76]

Promise me one thing, max...

 

[max silver]

Promise me one thing, max...

Hmm? I'm listening...

 

[Grunt76]

DON'T change your avatar...

 

[max silver]

LOL, I didn't see that one coming

It seems that my avatar is kinda popular for some odd reason :think:

 

[Y2Jversion1]

And the tension starts building...

2006/03/14 14:36MONTREAL, QC International item has been sent to Canadian Customs for processing
2006/03/14 13:44MONTREAL, QC Item has entered Canada from International location
2006/03/14 12:39International item has arrived in the destination country
2006/03/13 10:13Item being processed for departure to destination country
2006/03/13 10:13International item has left the origin country

I've got 2 of each of the following:
M-TRN
Phera-X
M-Zol
Cissus
Synergy
Powerfull

:ntome:

BTW, on the upside, my pGHT from UK came through fine - was sitting on my doorstep this morning. :head:

 

[Cordeen]

And the tension starts building...

2006/03/14 14:36MONTREAL, QC International item has been sent to Canadian Customs for processing
2006/03/14 13:44MONTREAL, QC Item has entered Canada from International location
2006/03/14 12:39International item has arrived in the destination country
2006/03/13 10:13Item being processed for departure to destination country
2006/03/13 10:13International item has left the origin country

I've got 2 of each of the following:
M-TRN
Phera-X
M-Zol
Cissus
Synergy
Powerfull

:ntome:

BTW, on the upside, my pGHT from UK came through fine - was sitting on my doorstep this morning. :head:

Pretty sure this will make it through. I don't think any of these items are on the Canadian banned substances list, nor their derivatives. I've gotten Pheraplex and Ergomax LMG through and the package had been opened by customs. USPS airmail is my preference by the way.

 

[Y2Jversion1]

2 days and still no change in status :rant:

 

[Y2Jversion1]

I called CP today and the chick said since I'm in Toronto, the stuff should've went to the Mississauga customs but they're apparently very busy lately so they sent it to Montreal. She said that with them being so busy, it might take another day or two..

 

[BigVrunga]

Guys, this thread is teetering on source posting. Legal compounds are fine to discuss, but if you want to talk about where to get them take it to the Sponsor forums, or PM's.

Thanks,
BV

 

[Grunt76]

True. But it's still OK to discuss what does and doesn't get stopped by customs, right?

 

[LCSULLA]

DON'T change your avatar...

:thumbsup:

 

[PowerSupply21]

I have an order sitting in Customs right now that was ordered 4 weeks ago.

2 Powerfull
2 Symmetry
1 Cissus
2 T-drive.

I figure there is a custom officer that heard how good the USP Labs stuff works and is keeping it for himself because I doubt any of that stuff is on the ban list.

anybody have any luck getting their order any quicker by contacting them?

 

[Y2Jversion1]

No use contacting them - they just throw their arms up and tell you to contact Canada Post, who in turn tell you to contact customs.. like a freaking ping-pong ball.

My **** never came through..bastards..

I ended up re-ordering to one of my pals in the US and just picked it up while visiting him..

 

[PowerSupply21]

well there has to be some rules doesnt' there? I mean they cant just take anything they want and not give you a reason. I have had an order of SD and an order of M1T taking before but I can understand that. This was even before they were on the ban list.

if they take this one I will be really pissed.

 

[Y2Jversion1]

I hear ya - I'm pissed that they don't even provide a freaking reason as to why the package hasn't been released and nobody has any definitive or satisfactory answer.
The Cissus is what may have stopped your shipment..

 

[PowerSupply21]

Cissus? Really? why?

I must have ordered like 12 bottles of it. Now I am out of course.

 

[Y2Jversion1]

I remember Poobah mentioning something about Cissus being controlled in Canada and he was pretty pissed about it.. I'll try and dig up the exact info.

 

[PowerSupply21]

Thanks man. I dont understand that one. Maybe the government wants to keep us sore so they continually steal the money out of our back pocket.