Bad news first:
Remember when there was that Customs delay last month? Well that was the export Customs office. Now the fabric shipment is in Canada, and here we have our very own Customs officers and apparently they have taken an interest in the shipment too. So much so that the shipment hasn’t moved for the past week.
I don’t know if there’s a stash of heroin stuffed between the fabric rolls, or a terrorist driving the truck, or what, but this incredible series of delays makes me wonder how any business manages to function while relying on international trade. I placed this order in February and here we are in June, still with no fabric.
Good news:
Several people have asked about a 2-person DIY Packraft, and after considering lots of different design options, I decided to stick with something fairly simple for the first version. I haven’t built one yet, but for those of you who are eager to get started, the plans are available in the shop. Click the link for more information.
3 Comments
Brian · June 24, 2017 at 5:13 am
Hi Matt,
Sometimes the hold up on Fabric coming across the border is the company doing your brokerage; they sometimes lose the paperwork or have the wrong import code on the paper work, and since it is happening on both sides of the border that could be the issue, and when this happens customs contacts the vender and your broker and if they don’t respond your shipment sits. Call you broker, or if your using a currier like FedEx as your broker call them. So often we think it’s customs but in long delays it is usually the brokers fault. Hope this helps, looking forward to you having fabric so we can order a few rafts!
Matt (Admin) · June 26, 2017 at 8:44 am
Hi Brian – thanks for the tip. I’ve been in touch with the broker and freight forwarder on an almost daily basis and they both confirm it’s Customs holding it up, but yeah, I’ve had shippers, brokers, and forwarders screw things up in the past. I’ve learned not to sit back and assume everyone is doing their job perfectly all the time… unfortunately.
James Schloemer · June 19, 2017 at 9:42 am
Hoping it gets in before I have to buy a full price Alpacka for an expedition in July 🙁