Topic: My Batch 2 Avalon was rejected by german customs and returned back to China - page 2. (Read 6443 times)

Their competition?

Serbia... i wonder if one could find out who the snitch is. I would be really angry. I mean what kind of person must such one be?

From the last paragraph of that news:

Yes, it was a snitch.
Declared value was $39, but the custom's Did they look at the BFL site?

No, when dealing with Buerocrats (customs) it's a risky, but some times profitable way to take them for idiots. But Buerocrats hate to be taken for idiots and when the recognize the attempt they react how any human being would react, by retaliation. The best way is always to play by their rulebook, even if it is hard.

When dealing with the idiots (customs), sometimes it is the only viable route. 

You are sure? I, as a custom employee, wouldnt believe that this thing costs 39$ only too. You see the packaging and all?
If it was really a snitch i would try to find him and see if he has a clean slate.

Another company is BFL that has problems with customs in germany. Because no german manual was there and a psu with connector to another country.

http://www.carina.rs/lat/Stranice/Vest.aspx?ListItemID=590
Problem was with declared value - $39!
More precisely, problem was someone through 'anonymous line' reported that DHL shipment to customs.

Another two days passed by and still NOTHING happend. This really sucks

As I know also in Serbia (was part of Ex Yugoslavia) there was a problem with asic blade (I think) I don't know how It was solved.

@Bitsyncom, I gave you another shipping address last week, waiting patiently waiting all the weekend, but NOTHING happend so far. No update, no reply to my support ticket regarding the new shippment, nothing. You got my paid Avalon unit back and now ...

Added a note with a different shipping address to the support ticket. Please send the unit dismounted without the PSU and the TP-Link. Or make absolutely clear it's and why it's a engineering sample. As I understood the customs officer there was no document at all, just the device.

Thank you

It sounds like shit luck to be fair, Germans are known for efficiency and strictness, it still a numbers game, but these are indeed commercial products...

Ah, shit.  I missed that.     and I wish I had one of those facelpalm deals.

These are not engineering samples, but self-contained, electronic products. It's a commercial product you are selling. Don't act stupid. This is no way to do business.

I hope that's the case.  I just don't trust governments' reactions to things they see have aspects they can't control.  Like bitcoin.  Like the internet. 

In any event, it looks like team Avalon is on the case, and this one-off is going to be resolved, knock wood.

 now this sucks big time man ...

give us a different address, we have sent units to Germany many times without problems, but of course there is always a chance where custom do not believe this is just a engineering sample.

I see your ticket, just reply with new address and we'll try again.

Wow german customs have it in for these miners.

And fyi the BFL units were stopped in german customs because they didnt have a German language manual according to bfl forums.

I think the theory that bitcoin miners get targeted specifically is rather far fetched

exotic hardware tends to get stuck in customs, no matter what it is. at least from my experience, however that's probably vastly different from country to country.

but either way, DYI and more localized hardware assembly is definitely going to be the way to go.

It's just another symptom of how far away from being "businesses" these hardware providers have been and still are.  Given the origins and orientations of the owners, it's no surprise, but it is a reality.

What's happening now is that bitcoin mining equipment - not BFL, not Avalon, but generically, has gotten on the radar of the FRG's customs.  Other governments, when they find out about it, will undoubtedly think "what a good idea." 

Governments are going to respond to bitcoin, both aggressively, like the USA government has done in a couple instances, or passive-aggressively, like these customs slowdowns over fairly trivial non-compliance. 

Why?  Because bitcoin advocates call those governments' sovereign currencies by the derogatory term "fiat," they implicitly or explicitly attempt to operate outside the scope of financial tracking of the authorities, and they implicitly or explicitly attempt to evade taxes.  That's just for starters.   

Modern states all control their financial systems very tightly.  Bitcoin seeks to avoid these controls.  States therefore will seek to extend their control to bitcoin, or, failing that, will seek to  destroy bitcoin.

Hardware vendors will have to be increasingly careful about compliance to avoid these things.

It also, BTW, shows why DIY, or at least localized hardware assembly, is the way to go in the short term.