Sending boxes to New Zealand via Fedex ...

We had a fair amount of stuff to carry, so we opted to use Fedex to ship some clothes, books and gear. We had this a few years ago when we moved to London (pre-maya) and it had worked out quite well. This time we were not so lucky, and our boxes have still not arrived! (its been 10 days since they were shipped).

NZ has pretty strict rules and checks about anything coming into the country. Fedex does not bother to tell you this in the US. When our boxes did not come in a few days, i checked the tracking number and noticed it there was a clearance delay. Sent them email, called them and realized we needed to fill in a few more forms which were emailed to us. Not sure why those forms have not been web-enabled as yet :(. We sent those forms in and were told we needed to fill in still more forms and send in copies of our passport and visa (why didn't they ask this the first time around). They also have the bad habit of not responding to email and different people leaving you voicemail at different times etc. It seems to be finally sorted out (according to the tracker), and i'm hoping we get the boxes in the next few days ..

Also for some strange reason, NZ customs insists on charging GST for items over NZ $400. Kinda wierd and not sure why. I accessed the two boxes at NZ $1000 and was socked with $100 in GST, which obviously necessitated another call and message from fedex ...

For the curious, here's the tracking history:

Date/Time

Activity

Location

Details

Dec 13, 2006

6:33 PM

Int'l shipment release

AUCKLAND NZ

5:17 PM

Int'l shipment release

AUCKLAND NZ

2:02 PM

In transit

AUCKLAND NZ

9:04 AM

Clearance in progress

AUCKLAND NZ

Dec 12, 2006

5:55 PM

Clearance in progress

AUCKLAND NZ

1:45 PM

Clearance delay

AUCKLAND NZ

Dec 11, 2006

12:05 PM

Clearance delay

AUCKLAND NZ

9:36 AM

Clearance delay

AUCKLAND NZ

Dec 8, 2006

5:48 PM

Clearance delay

AUCKLAND NZ

9:32 AM

Clearance delay

AUCKLAND NZ

Dec 7, 2006

1:35 PM

Clearance delay

AUCKLAND NZ

Dec 6, 2006

1:15 PM

Clearance delay

AUCKLAND NZ

12:10 PM

Clearance delay

AUCKLAND NZ

3:52 AM

At dest sort facility

AUCKLAND NZ

Dec 4, 2006

2:12 AM

In transit

HONOLULU, HI

Dec 3, 2006

7:57 PM

Departed FedEx location

LOS ANGELES, CA

6:35 PM

Arrived at FedEx location

LOS ANGELES, CA

2:14 PM

Departed FedEx location

MEMPHIS, TN

12:54 PM

Arrived at FedEx location

MEMPHIS, TN

7:06 AM

Departed FedEx location

OAKLAND, CA

Dec 2, 2006

4:01 PM

Left origin

ALAMEDA, CA

10:57 AM

Picked up

ALAMEDA, CA

10:25 AM

Picked up

ALAMEDA, CA

10:25 AM

At local FedEx facility

ALAMEDA, CA