View Full Version : Customs 1, Metric Assload of Chiprodo 0
loydb
11-19-2009, 07:42 PM
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,575847,00.html?test=latestnews
glassblowingBiker
11-19-2009, 07:56 PM
sweet deal
Abe Fleishman
11-19-2009, 08:24 PM
ya ya they play with fire they get burned.
That is a pretty large amount of pieces holy shit batman,
Abe
SAWstudioZ
11-19-2009, 08:29 PM
sink them all!
smutboy420
11-20-2009, 04:52 AM
LOL LOL awesome. Because they could of just went the legal route and said they were tobacco "bongs" or "water pipes"
and would of had them let right in no problem with a smile and a hand shake from customs. Custom likes it when every thing is up to snuff and all legal.
Like pipes are when they are properly declared as such.
BUT lol lol nope they had to try and play games and "Disguised them as Christmas Ornaments" Witch is an instant fail with customs when some thing is mis labels on the Bill of lading.
Even if they were Christmas Ornaments and they tried to lie and say they were say ash trays or something other then Xmas balls a to not offend the anti Xmas crowd here. They would of been in just as much risk of having there other wise perfectly legal items confiscated for lying.
Thats how 99.999% of all other wise perfectly legal clean glass gets popped at the boarder is when they find it and its NOT properly declared or described on the paper work.
kebira
11-20-2009, 05:17 AM
OK, it's not much in the overall big picture, but like the definition of two lawyers at the bottom of a lake, it's a good start. With any luck, the top hacks in Customs will recognize this type of bust as a prime photo op and chance to get plenty of media face time. It speaks to the US glass artist, the rabid anti- bong bunch, the anti-foreign import folks and the somewhat looney homeland security gang.
Bunyip
11-20-2009, 06:58 AM
Damn that's like 6000 pieces per state... talk about flooding the market.
masterglaster
11-20-2009, 08:15 AM
LOL LOL awesome. Because they could of just went the legal route and said they were tobacco "bongs" or "water pipes"
and would of had them let right in no problem with a smile and a hand shake from customs. Custom likes it when every thing is up to snuff and all legal.
Like pipes are when they are properly declared as such.
BUT lol lol nope they had to try and play games and "Disguised them as Christmas Ornaments" Witch is an instant fail with customs when some thing is mis labels on the Bill of lading.
Even if they were Christmas Ornaments and they tried to lie and say they were say ash trays or something other then Xmas balls a to not offend the anti Xmas crowd here. They would of been in just as much risk of having there other wise perfectly legal items confiscated for lying.
Thats how 99.999% of all other wise perfectly legal clean glass gets popped at the boarder is when they find it and its NOT properly declared or described on the paper work.
The percentage of "mislabelled" glass caught during importation is about the same as the percentage of "mislabelled" grass caught during importation. Probably less then 10%. This big deal is no big deal. Insignificant. There's a whole lot more "mislabelled" glass (and grass) coming down from Canada then direct through LA or any other seaport. It's totally legal to import such "ornaments" into Canada and idiot easy to get them from there into the USA. They only thing unique about this catch is the importer used the stupid way to get those "ornaments" into the USA.
No big deal.
RaindropRising
11-20-2009, 08:22 AM
Well, more artistic opportunity for american's then. :Tongue:
/\/\ Thats a lot of pieces out of circulation
rustyglass
11-20-2009, 09:15 AM
Am I reaching or could this be a little smack on the wrist to China for not going along with everything on Obamas agenda when he visited there last week?? Probably small potatos...
Greymatter Glass
11-20-2009, 09:21 AM
same story, less Fox newsy:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/11/christmas-bongs.html
Although I am surprised Fox News didn't turn this into another "war on Christmas" story...
... also, it seems like a lot to those who have never seen that kind of product or that kind of money, but this is just one shipment of the probably dozens that come through every month. I doubt this will put any importers out of business, nor will it impact the presence of Chinese glass in head shops very much.
Also, I question the value at $2.6m. that would make the average cost of each piece seized over $8. Going by the picture there were lots of small hand pipes in the shipment as well, and in those quantities are maybe $1-$2 each, possibly less than a buck. Even a big tube from China can be had wholesale for under $10. So 316,000 would be more like $800,000 or so. Less than a third of what Customs says they're worth. Which isn't insane, since they routinely say that a pound of pot is worth $10,000.
smutboy420
11-20-2009, 01:07 PM
The percentage of "mislabelled" glass caught during importation is about the same as the percentage of "mislabelled" grass caught during importation. Probably less then 10%. This big deal is no big deal. Insignificant. There's a whole lot more "mislabelled" glass (and grass) coming down from Canada then direct through LA or any other seaport. It's totally legal to import such "ornaments" into Canada and idiot easy to get them from there into the USA. They only thing unique about this catch is the importer used the stupid way to get those "ornaments" into the USA.
No big deal.
NO no big deal at all.
But I think you missed my point. on this one incident.
witch had nothing to do with how much illegal contra band makes it threw customs every day. I'm sure its at least 75-90% that makes it threw on almost any thing smuggled here in some shape or form.
MY point was tho that the only time customs will confiscate perfectly 100% legal pipes that are 100% perfectly legal to import in to the us is when they catch a place lieing about them, thinking disguising them will make it easier to sneak them in. When in fact its what causes the customs powers to kick in. Then they become illegal contraband. Same as if it was big shipment of cool-aid powder labled as some thing else.
When they could of just said they were pipes in the first place and had no worries at all. Them being pipes is not what gives customs the legal authority to confiscate pipes. Its when they are sent improperly threw customs is when they get up in some ones case about glass. Any item whats so ever thats lied about is subject to confiscation.
Even caring more then $10 in cash in to the us is perfectly legal AS LONG as you declare it. Yet if you lie and say you don't have more then $10 grand on you and they find you have $10,100 that other wise perfectly legal to carry money becomes contraband and subject to confiscation. regardless of why you had the money.
same story, less Fox newsy:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/11/christmas-bongs.html
Although I am surprised Fox News didn't turn this into another "war on Christmas" story...
... also, it seems like a lot to those who have never seen that kind of product or that kind of money, but this is just one shipment of the probably dozens that come through every month. I doubt this will put any importers out of business, nor will it impact the presence of Chinese glass in head shops very much.
Also, I question the value at $2.6m. that would make the average cost of each piece seized over $8. Going by the picture there were lots of small hand pipes in the shipment as well, and in those quantities are maybe $1-$2 each, possibly less than a buck. Even a big tube from China can be had wholesale for under $10. So 316,000 would be more like $800,000 or so. Less than a third of what Customs says they're worth. Which isn't insane, since they routinely say that a pound of pot is worth $10,000.
I think both numbers are made up with absolute max retail street value.
Mac Maestro
11-20-2009, 02:26 PM
Metric Assload
Which, when converted into standard measurement, would be aprox. 3.28 buttloads.
naughty pirate wench
11-20-2009, 03:04 PM
Which, when converted into standard measurement, would be aprox. 3.28 buttloads.
Repped for conversion.
There's a whole lot more "mislabelled" glass (and grass) coming down from Canada
Grass??? How old are ya?
masterglaster
11-20-2009, 05:25 PM
Grass??? How old are ya?
I was here when they invented dirt. Grass was introduced later.
Greymatter Glass
11-20-2009, 06:14 PM
Which, when converted into standard measurement, would be aprox. 3.28 buttloads.
Being the mad scientist I am I prefer to use a more universally standardized metric that's acceptable and understood by all cultures and scientific disciplines.
1 metric assload = 3.28 buttloads
1 buttload = 5.6 Standard Rectal Units
So what we have here in universal terms is roughly 18.4 SRU's of glass sitting in customs.
Adjusting for latitude and lunar phase in LA on November 19, the actual calculated volume is 18.647 SRU's using the (ê^3 / ♪º) method.
Greymatter Glass
11-20-2009, 06:16 PM
oh and some video from our buddy Adam at UST: http://www.ktla.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=73ba2107-7bb4-483e-ad0f-2169b82f5253
I was here when they invented dirt. Grass was introduced later.
That's funny. WHat's your name>? I can guess your age based on your name.(within 6 years). I got $20 that says I'll nail it.
Groundjoints.com
11-21-2009, 08:24 AM
I'm not your buddy pal. Did you see someone posted a comment using my name that said Yaaay George Gonzales Yaaay!!!!.
He called me to tell me if he was going down so was everyone he works with.
Actually it wasn't my post and I called the newspaper about it and they took my last name off of there but not the post.
I am pretty sure my clients don't need to buy blanks from George Gonzales.
Maybe he should go down?
Greymatter Glass
11-21-2009, 10:24 AM
I ain't your pal, guy.
posted a comment where?
As for going down...wow... Adam... I didn't know you swung like THAT.
Greymatter Glass
11-21-2009, 10:29 AM
oh nevermind I found it.
well post a link, douglas... don't make us all UTFSE :D
Euphoria Glassworks
11-21-2009, 12:01 PM
so according to customs it takes 316,000 chinese bongs to add up to 2.6 million in cash??? uhh so like $8.22 ea??? shops in the US that sell that shit should have to register like sex offenders...
masterglaster
11-21-2009, 12:23 PM
so according to customs it takes 316,000 chinese bongs to add up to 2.6 million in cash??? uhh so like $8.22 ea??? shops in the US that sell that shit should have to register like sex offenders...
Customs always uses retail prices to present the maximum valuation for their seizures. That means there were 316,000 bongs expected to sell for an average retail price of $8.22 each. Assuming they weren't all the same size, it's reasonable to assume some were expected to sell for less then $5.00 each retail. An American retailer would probably buy for $2 or $3 each wholesale and sell for anywhere from $5 to $50 retail. That's a very appealing profit margin.
A relatively recent development is Chinese factories making basic bongs and pipes in clear boro that are "enhanced" with decoration here so it then becomes possible to claim they are locally made. The importers sell these for about $2 each.
Euphoria Glassworks
11-21-2009, 12:48 PM
i saw the news footage of 18" tubes with 6 tree percs, and also even some reversal action on a few...it wasnt like any chinese pieces i personally have ever seen...i was floored
Greymatter Glass
11-21-2009, 01:37 PM
shops in the US that sell that shit should have to register like sex offenders...
repped for that... too true
Ahh Come on Masterglaster. You don' want to play????
masterglaster
11-21-2009, 03:16 PM
Ahh Come on Masterglaster. You don' want to play????
Feel free to call me master.
Greymatter Glass
11-21-2009, 04:40 PM
I think skips more of a top (pitcher) ... you'd be wise to call HIM master.
Seriously??? A guy as involved with the glass industry. All these stories of being able to go into glass factories in asia. All this real life experience your willing to share and not even a first name to go with it.????
Feel free to call me master.
Master Dennis?
smutboy420
11-21-2009, 07:07 PM
I'm pretty sure you just hit th nail on the head.
I knew them posts had a certain ring to them and could not put my finger on it. Till now. Now its Without a shadow of a dought.
PyroChixRock
11-21-2009, 08:08 PM
Sup Dennis. :naughty:
I had a good friend who used to ship to the US all the time from Canada. His customers were asking about his weird methods of packing boxes because when they opened their shipment, they found all the glass on the bottom of the box and all the protective packing just piled on top of it. US Customs emptied the carton to inspect it but neglected to bother repacking it properly. he had considered making up bright orange labels that said "It's Glass - not Grass" Get it haha but he thinks Americans are all so uptight and dumb that they wouldn't get the humor in that.
smutboy420
11-22-2009, 04:56 AM
i saw the news footage of 18" tubes with 6 tree percs, and also even some reversal action on a few...it wasnt like any chinese pieces i personally have ever seen...i was floored
I have seen imports of that caliber before. But the main reason MOST don't think they have seen stuff like that is. When its real nice work and good color its not sold as imports at the end sale. same as when some real real crappy us made PCs looks like crap some one will just assume its imported when that may not be the case at all.
So a lot of the Chinese glass someone might see never gets viewed as being imports when its good glass that no one can tell the difference. and
all the crappy us made wonky pipes with no holes or the color not melted in gets considered Chinese glass regardless of were its made once its hits a store shelf.
Alfred
11-22-2009, 08:25 AM
I deal with a few stores that get Chinese glass from distributors that are importing it,and the quality and prices are really scary.
True indeed Alfred. I've seen a whole mess of Chinese glass here with fancy tree percs, some pretty deft hollow sculpture, and so on. For very little money, too. I mean, price and being undercut and all aside, it's hard not to respect some of this work.
Stemming the flow of imports is a good thing for us, for sure. But does this indicate that what we do is still considered illegal to anyone else?
...But does this indicate that what we do is still considered illegal to anyone else?
It depends on who is answering the question, "Is this considered illegal?"
I'm going to venture a guess that you'd be hard pressed to find any kind of fed that would answer that question with a "no". But I've talked to numerous local and state level l.e.o. that all seem to operate under the belief that it is completely legal "unless..." Of course, that's going to vary widely state-to-state. I'm sure there are still plenty of states where the majority of law enforcement believe it is illegal no matter what.
smutboy420
11-25-2009, 08:09 AM
"Is this considered illegal?"
I've seen any times when someone might have a perception they are not legal even in a place when they clearly are. But a lot of times thats just pure ignorance Or assumption they must be illegal because someone feels they should be so they think they must be.
I had a situation once ware a district attorney had a bug up her ass trying to convince here self and a grand jury that it was against the law to make pipes. In NY if they were clean and not for drug use.
Not once during the days we had to go to the court house for the BS case did any one get up tight about our case of glass we bought in every day. They just put it threw the metal detector thing and looked inside to make sure we were not bringing any thing in to the court building that we were not supposed to be.
We wanted to be able to have some show and tell time with our art.
They had legal eagles tying to find any loop hole in NY or Federal law that would say in legal terms that they are against the law. They could not find any president to make the case even. They could only find stuff that was for illegal use. (like for doing drugs with or some evil stuff like that:-) )
Once the grand jury asked to see the law and what it said the entire case was over once they got to see the law didn't say a dam thing about pipes for legal uses being against the law or having any thing to do with drugs. Nore could the da present any proof we ever even tried to sell a pipe that was already used and containing any evidence of illegal use like residue or our own admission that would clearly be proof of illegal use.
It was all over at that point. They dint even get one vote out of the 18 to find cause that any law was broken.
But my point in bringing this up is because even when something is perfectly legal Don't mean that someone can't get it in there head they they are bad. so they must automatically be illegal or something.
Like in the case of NY state's most ruthless district attorney with an almost 100% trial conviction rate LOST hard and crashed and burned when she went on a crusade against some thing she didn't like and had a personal grudge with Me and my old lady and tried using her power to fuck with us.
IT felt good knowing we beat her so unequivocally. Rather then just slipping by or lucking out. We beat the case on its merits and the law alone. nothing more.
SO perception they are illegal tho clearly is still abound. Even a lot of feds think they are illegal when federal law clearly says they are not unless PROOF can be shown they are intended for or are used for illegal drugs.
Not many sellers of glass would fall under that category unless they have a second hand pipe shop or some thing. Like if some one had the dirty pipe emporium. Ware all previously used pipes are 1/2 off lol lol
That would be clearly be illegal and be against all federal and most state laws.
Yeah, I'm with what you are saying, JJ. Like I said above, there are many people that consider pipes (on their own) to be illegal no matter what. And even though pipes truly are perfectly legal, that doesn't stop anyone in a position of power from using that power to try and enforce their own view of the law.
Really, it's not just pipes. There are many instances of this... of letting things slide that really are illegal and vice versa. I have found that sometimes it is up to the citizen to be informed and able to calmly express knowledge of law in order for it to be applied correctly... and the opposite applies as well, sometimes when a citizen is not able to communicate calmly and with respect, those things that would have normally been ignored suddenly become important and strictly enforced.
JJ, if the dirty pipe emporium has a crushed soda can and hollowed out apple section, I'm going every weekend.
masterglaster
11-26-2009, 12:39 PM
If pipes are legal in the USA, why is it not possible for Canadians to ship them into the USA without falsifying the customs documents?
If pipes are legal in the USA, why is it not possible for Canadians to ship them into the USA without falsifying the customs documents?
Drug paraphernalia is illegal almost everywhere in the United States, while pipes are not. Obviously, legality then lies in the definitions of said terms. As was discussed above, the way that feds interpret the law and the way it actually reads are two different things. Feds essentially take the stance that drug paraphernalia is whatever they say it is. That being said, your question can be directly answered by the following.... Customs = Feds
However, almost all states use the exact same guideline as the feds when it comes to pipes vs. paraphernalia. Interestingly enough, many of them actually enforce the law the way it reads, while some of them follow the lead of the feds and determine drug paraphernalia however they see fit.
Blah, blah, blah...blah-blah-blah-blah... blah, blabbity blah-blah... oh sorry, Dennis, I wasn't sure if you would make it this far. Anyway, as I mentioned above, there are many more instances of similar tendencies by l.e.o.'s in the United States. MMJ and assisted suicide are obvious examples of federal law enforcement overreaching their authority or interpreting laws in such a way that they can feel good about doing whatever suits them. It seems that their m.o. is to take whatever they feel like and let the courts sort things out... they do this until someone with more authority finally tells them to stop.
But I remember from a ways back that you seem to feel you know more about the pipe market in the U.S. than do those of us that live here and work in it. So maybe you can fill me in?
If pipes are legal in the USA, why is it not possible for Canadians to ship them into the USA without falsifying the customs documents?
If they are illegal in the USA, why do convenience stores sell foreign made glass for like $5 in display cases?
loydb
11-27-2009, 07:17 AM
Don't mistake lack of enforcement for legality.
smutboy420
11-27-2009, 07:41 AM
If pipes are legal in the USA, why is it not possible for Canadians to ship them into the USA without falsifying the customs documents?
If they are getting gin with falsified documents I can tell you they are not getting them "LET in"
Sounds more like who ever just got lucky and not didn't get caught. As getting caught with any thing that was mis documented would make said item subject to instant confiscation and possible fines.
Even if you declare you ought nothing while on a trip and they find a bag full of rolex watches and other thing that one would of had to pay tax on would get nabbed if caught trying to sneak the stuff in to avoid taxes.
Its no different them If I tried to smuggle gold threw the border and if asked if I had any and I said yes then there is not going be a problem cept going in to Canada then I would get hit with an outrageous tax and no tax if coming in to the us with it.
But if I lie and they find I do have gold on me it gets confiscated and there is no recourse for getting it back as losing it is part of the penalty for getting caught playing around.
There is a guy that had that happen recently he was asked if he had more then 10k in cash on him and he said no and it turned out he had about 800 1 oz Canadian maples in his suit case.
He could of just said he had them and all would of been fine as they did determine he legally owned them and bought them with his own money. BUT he lied and so he looses them all. He could of also gotten in trouble to and fined on top of loosing the gold. But sense it waswas determined he meant no harm and wasn't trying to do any bad. Just screwed up on the paper work
but none the less he won't be seeing his gold ever again.
I used gold as the example because most can Phaethon that gold is not pipes. and golds legality is more clear cut And its perfectly legal even if the government hates gold and any one thats knows what gold is and esp any one that has any. ( a gold holder is public enemy #1 in the governments eyes)
rp1313
11-27-2009, 07:45 AM
there will always be a market for imports, same as there will be for us made items.
is there really a difference in a pipe made in china or a pipe made in the us from china glass? i thought all boro was imported from somewhere. china, europe.
if imports are so bad, i'd be interested to know what kind of car you drive, food, beer, clothes, toys your kids play with, or where your grand/great grandparents are from.
we are all imports.
masterglaster
11-27-2009, 10:17 AM
Drug paraphernalia is illegal almost everywhere in the United States, while pipes are not. Obviously, legality then lies in the definitions of said terms. As was discussed above, the way that feds interpret the law and the way it actually reads are two different things. Feds essentially take the stance that drug paraphernalia is whatever they say it is. That being said, your question can be directly answered by the following.... Customs = Feds
However, almost all states use the exact same guideline as the feds when it comes to pipes vs. paraphernalia. Interestingly enough, many of them actually enforce the law the way it reads, while some of them follow the lead of the feds and determine drug paraphernalia however they see fit.
Blah, blah, blah...blah-blah-blah-blah... blah, blabbity blah-blah... oh sorry, Dennis, I wasn't sure if you would make it this far. Anyway, as I mentioned above, there are many more instances of similar tendencies by l.e.o.'s in the United States. MMJ and assisted suicide are obvious examples of federal law enforcement overreaching their authority or interpreting laws in such a way that they can feel good about doing whatever suits them. It seems that their m.o. is to take whatever they feel like and let the courts sort things out... they do this until someone with more authority finally tells them to stop.
But I remember from a ways back that you seem to feel you know more about the pipe market in the U.S. than do those of us that live here and work in it. So maybe you can fill me in?
You'll have to ask Dennis about that.
richsantaclaus
11-27-2009, 10:35 AM
I feel sorry for the 11 year old Chinese pipe makers...lol,lol,lol!!!!!
You'll have to ask Dennis about that.
What a troll. You need to take your meds pal. The meds that keep you from posting your rhetoric like a crackhead.
I can just see Dennis Brady now. He is enamored with his own over simplified commentary. Smoking that cigarette, shaking hands, trying not to post anymore but can not resist the urge to splooge more crap.. Knowing he's already been banned from this board for ripping people off. Hand sweating as he tries to not hit the "post" button on his ridiculous posts.
Keep posting your anonymous crap Mr mystery guy. Most people who spew your crap have balls big enough to not do it anonymously.
kbinkster
11-27-2009, 05:31 PM
I, for one, would be relieved to learn that they are indeed one in the same. Could you imagine two of them?
You'll have to ask Dennis about that.
C'mon man
kbinkster
11-27-2009, 08:19 PM
But I remember from a ways back that you seem to feel you know more about the pipe market in the U.S. than do those of us that live here and work in it. So maybe you can fill me in?
Just the pipe market? How about "everything."
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