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Fellow2000 · Oct 12, 2003, 03:59 AM

Well after many months being macless, I have finally got my new powerbook. I decided to go with the new 12 superdrive instead of the 15. It is nice and all, but it was just too big for me when I went and tried it out. I really like just how small the 12 is. The funny thing is, it cost me almost 3000 dollars by the end of the night because I got caught smuggling it into canada :whistle:

to read about my horrible night and fine, check out www.bryantsdesign.com/Main

oh well, anyway, its just the stock 12 rev b superdrive model. 1gz etc... My only complaint is the small HD, but the only upgrade options were still only 4200 drives and I would of had to order online and wait, so I figure that if and when I start running out of HD space, I will simply go get a 5400 or 7200 drive.

All in all, this is a great machine and I really could not be happier. OS X is so beautiful and functional. I will write up a full review later, and take some pictures.

EvanV · Oct 12, 2003, 04:15 AM

Ouch, that sucks about Customs. Hahaha.... Shouldn't have lied!

shabbasuraj · Oct 12, 2003, 04:17 AM

frig man...

that is pretty harsh...

what you should have done was bought the computer in the US, and then unpack the thing and boot it up and stuff, put the computer into an old laptop case/bag, and then take the entire box, buy some package wrapping paper, wrap the box with the receipt, software, manuals etc. inside and mail it to yourself via USPS... or you can just throw the box in the garbage and mail yourself the manuals and the receipt...this would have cost you a few bucks, and then proceed across the border...

not that I have done this before....

I am not advocating cheating Canadian customs...just giving you some options for the next time...

or just declare what you have, and pay the tax...

flame away people...

lates...

Fellow2000 · Oct 12, 2003, 04:39 AM

Originally posted by shabbasuraj:
frig man...

that is pretty harsh...

what you should have done was bought the computer in the US, and then unpack the thing and boot it up and stuff, put the computer into an old laptop case/bag, and then take the entire box, buy some package wrapping paper, wrap the box with the receipt, software, manuals etc. inside and mail it to yourself via USPS... or you can just throw the box in the garbage and mail yourself the manuals and the receipt...this would have cost you a few bucks, and then proceed across the border...

not that I have done this before....

I am not advocating cheating Canadian customs...just giving you some options for the next time...

or just declare what you have, and pay the tax...

flame away people...

lates...

I remember getting something in the mail though from my parents one time and I had to pay tax on it because it was a package. Would this work because they could only make you pay tax on the box itself which would just be like a dollar? This is interesting. Too bad I was not that smart. Hard lesson learned.

shabbasuraj · Oct 12, 2003, 05:05 AM

ye... it may work...

when sending it over to yourself or to a friend for that matter just declare that the box is indeed empty, you will have to declare a value for the box but I can't imagine it being anywhere near the value of your PB...

if you like you could just chuck the box and send yourself the receipt via letter mail, that would be very easy, and just throw your manuals, recovery cd, and misc. adaptors into your laptop bag, as these items are considered normal items that one would carry in a laptop bag...

i.e. what you are trying to do is avoid raising the suspicion of the customs officer (read: try not to cross the border with a unopened box with the receipt in your wallet...)

or you can just declare and pay the tax...

whenever I cross the border, I am upfront with what I am declaring and if I am over the allowable limit, most customs officers just let me through, without having me pay tax...

I once bought a few hundred in stereo equipment on sale in Buffalo, and told the customs guy exactly what I bought and how I got great deal and he said 'good for you'... and he said welcome back, and off I went...

but then again, there are times I really bought nothing and declared nothing, and I got searched and then the customs officer suspected I bought the clothing I was wearing at the time, and made me pay the tax for my 'relatively new looking' shoes and sweater...

this angered me as I essentially had to pay tax on something I already paid tax on, so I wrote a letter/filed a grievance to the Customs office in T.O. which handles these exact things, and I got an apology letter, and a cheque in the mail for a refund of the tax I paid that time at the border...

in the end, it is a crap shoot as to what type of customs officer you end up with, but I do firmly believe that we all have saved records in the 'system' describing our past offenses/experiences at the border...

personally, I go to the US so often, and luckily have never had any negative incidents, and that everytime I cross I am hardly questioned when I return to Canada...the last time I crossed, I spent 5 months in the US, and the officer just asked me how long I was in the US, then I gave her my reply, and she asked if I had liquor or smokes, I said no, and off I went...

like I said crap shoot....

lates...

Naz · Oct 12, 2003, 07:37 AM

damn I did not know border crossing got that bad

The Jackalope · Oct 12, 2003, 07:57 AM

F u c k customs, f u c k them right in their ear. Bloodsucking leaches.

CobraNT · Oct 12, 2003, 09:31 AM

I am not sure which border crossing you came across but the reality is most have x-ray type machines scanning your car just before you get to the window. Chances are they already knew you had something all packaged nice in a box. You should have put it in a laptop bag as described earlier and just mailed yourself the manuals etc. That being said, they can be very nasty, people usually don't understand that Customs has more power than the police, but I guess you learned that the hard way. Glad it worked out for you in the end, even if it cost you a little more.

ASIMO · Oct 12, 2003, 11:57 AM

What happened to NAFTA?

James L · Oct 12, 2003, 12:54 PM

This has nothing to do with Nafta, and customs aren't blood sucking leaches.

...grow up people!

The dude LIED to a peace officer, and, to make it worse, LIED to a peace officer at the border of a country that is currently at war!

...NOT the brightest thing to do.

You buy the machine, you declare it at the border, you pay the tax ($200 Canadian is pretty cheap, I say that being a Canadian), you go home. Seems pretty simple.

Oh, and to all above, I would be careful about using the postal system too. Sending a box may be o.k., but anything else could be considered fraud, in both countries.

To the person who originated this thread, glad you got your new Powerbook, glad they didn't dismantle your car(!), and enjoyed reading your account of the incident.

Cheers!

p.s. Nice job on your XHTML/CSS site too, btw

shabbasuraj · Oct 12, 2003, 03:21 PM

Originally posted by James L:

The dude LIED to a peace officer, and, to make it worse, LIED to a peace officer at the border of a country that is currently at war!

is Canada technically considered to be at war? SUre does not seem like it from where I live...Security services are considered war?...

lates...

PS: this is shaping up like it should be in the lounge...

James L · Oct 12, 2003, 04:02 PM

Actually, I was referring to the fact that the border is shared with a country that is at war.

I know several customs officers, and if you think the security has only been tightened up by the U.S. Customs officers, guess again. More and more people are being searched for one reason, busted for another, etc.

The point is that the initial author of this post was attempting to break the law, by smuggling an undeclared item across a border shared with a country at war, and some people who have posted on this thread seem to be of the belief that it was the customs officers who were at fault.

Even the person who started this thread admitted it was a mistake, and a lesson learned.

And I agree, this is certainly becoming a lounge type thread!

nobitacu · Oct 12, 2003, 05:47 PM

Congrats with your new Mac, but yea... that sucks about how you have to pay extra after you got caught going through the border.

But at least you now have your Mac.

Ming

Fellow2000 · Oct 13, 2003, 01:45 AM

Yes, the fact remains that I did lie about it. James is right. The officers were just doing their job.

James - thank you for the comment on my site. I have not officially taken it off 'under construction' stage as I am still working on the photo album. Thank you though. If you want to see my latest work, check out www.student.twu.ca

I know some things dont quite look right on safari but I didn't have it at the time to check.

Peace guys.