Read this whole thread. Would like to throw in my

:smokebuds:
I recently put two large orders in to the 'Tude and the first one just showed up. Total time from order to delivery: 12 days. In the midwest of the States. Processed in CHICAGO. I fully expect my 2nd package within the next few days. The very FIRST order I ever put in to the 'Tude, same address, took nearly a whole MONTH. The orders in between have usually taken up to two weeks, sometimes longer. Attitude clearly states their shipping times are
estimated, not
approximated.
You can blame the seed shops all you want; they have virtually NOTHING to do with your packages being taken by customs, being delayed at a sort facility, slow mail delivery service, etc. I read these reply and I wonder how many of you have any idea how much
non-cannabis related contraband gets shipped internationally? Steroids, designer knock off purses, pharmaceuticals, you name it; it's going through the mail delivery service. This is a GIGANTIC industry; the United States Postal Service delivers over 212 BILLION pieces of parcel per YEAR. That's a lot of mail, envelopes, packages, boxes, freight!
As to the claims "they know what to look for," I'm sorry and excuse my language, but that's absolute bullshit. Whether it's a sorting facility or customs, freight is split up by size. Freight is divided in roughly three lines - small envelopes (containing documents, postcards, commercial material, etc,) small packages (somewhat bulkier packages that contain small items, small enough to fit in a post box,) and bulk packages (anything that does not fit in the above categories, generally packages of more than 1 pound). The first category is usually not inspected by the customs because papers can hardly be taxed; and because of sheer volume of such mail it is impossible to check it all. The third category is almost always opened and checked for contents. The second category though is somewhere in between; because of the volume of these packages (and because sometimes even the sorting machines cannot see the difference) it is not feasible to open them all. So they are checked when certain conditions are met. These include but are not limited to physical properties, addressee, sender, etc.
Customs procedures varies by country. Some customs have a minimum percentage of packages they MUST check daily to fulfill mandated quotas. Some are very strict, some are very lax. My Attitude shipments, every single one of the, has been inspected by customs (big ol' sticker right on there.) Still gets delivered. In the States. There
are procedures in place that will flag suspicious addresses or certain countries of origin. Most of the countries of origin are countries that are on the Office of Foreign Asset Control's (OFAC) watch lists (known terrorist harboring countries and things of that nature.) There are some countries that check EVERYTHING that comes in.
There are some things that could flag those seed packages. Customs will open suspicious
looking packages. My package came in a plain manilla envelope that looked like a cylinder. I get more suspicious looking packages from AMAZON than I ever have from an over seas order.
Think it got X-rayed? Those X-ray machines are incredibly expensive in cost and to RUN (you don't kick on a super expensive machine for every piece of parcel, these are businesses and whether you believe it or not, frugality does exist even in places like this. Often x-rays are used for the LARGER international freight items. If your international freight came through in a shipping container; sometimes the whole container is scanned while it's loaded on the truck (instead of individually.)
Also, it's not uncommon for freight to sit at a customs warehouse, especially air freight. It just sits there. Waiting. It might not even get inspected; but that's where it's at, and that's where it's sitting until someone sorts and processes it through.
As for the United States Postal Service; they are slow. PERIOD. This is the SAME USPS that just recently cried about possibly not delivering mail on Saturday anymore because it's going broke. It should be absolutely no surprise to anyone that a government regulated mail delivery service doesn't run like a well tuned engine. They are not UPS; they are not Fed-Ex. Those businesses WANT your business. The USPS is there whether they do a crap shoot job or not.
Some things to consider with USPS:
* Are you using your real name? You should be. That "fake name" game is a great way to NOT GET STU

DELIVERED. If your package made it past customs and it's in the USPS hands; you're golden. I moved into a family owned house and had to contact the post office because no mail was being delivered; sometimes they will deliver the post regardless; or other times you'll get a sticky note from the mail man that says "is this person now living here?", like my mail man so generously did.
* If you aren't comfortable using your real name, consider a PO (Post Office) box. You can use "C/O" (Care Of

, make up a business name, etc. International parcel that's being sent to a business PO is far less inconspicuous than parcel being sent to John Doe or Smokey McPot.
* Don't even bother with looking at the scanned ID's with USPS. Fedex and UPS are awesome at updating their scanned parcel. The key word here is SCANNED. A human scans these. If there's not a human around (again, we're talking government run enterprise versus privately owned enterprise,) the parcel doesn't get scanned. No scan, no update. USPS is notoriously slow. You'll find yourself banging your head on the wall waiting for USPS to update their parcel status.
* And never forget, human beings differ vastly from one another. My local Fed-Ex driver out here is a total piece of shit. He'll open my front door to leave packages even if I have a note that says leave it on the doorstep because I'm inside laying on my couch naked eating cheeto's. My UPS guy is a SAINT. He makes sure my stuff is safe and doesn't get ripped off and he's courteous as hell. My mail man is a total ass hat. If my vehicle is at all near my mail box; he'll complain about it or threaten to NOT deliver at all because he doesn't like to get out of his vehicle.
As for Attitude (or other seed shops,) those stealth shipping methods aren't just a sneaky method of getting a few more bucks out of you; it's a great distraction to a customs agent who looks at the parcel, marks it as a gift or toy, and sends it through. Unless the customs agent its really tipped off to something about your package; he's far less likely to want to pull out a big ass t-shirt, be wrong about his assumptions, then primp and properly fold it back up? If they took everything out of my parcel; bravo to the guy who folded everything back up with zero wrinkles in the fabric and was kind enough to put the smaller package inside back in it's proper place, WITH the original breeders seed packs.
Here's another reason why I would recommend stealth shipping; when an international package is sent there is a declared value put on it. When you get a stealth shipped seeds in a t-shirt, you might have a declared value of $10 or 10 euros. The customs agent sees the declared value; opens it up; "Oh it really is just a t-shirt, that fits the declared value listed." Send a package without stealth, still has to have a declared value; might red flag them going "oh well what's in this flat envelope that's worth $10 or $20?" Far more suspicious. I know this is a very hypothetical situation; but the declared value is real and that is one thing they do look at.
Think your cannabis seeds are the only thing being held up? Do some searches on Google for US Customs and leave out any mention of cannabis. Women complaining about 1 month hold ups at customs for their custom Italian leather hand clutches, muscle heads wondering where their next shipment of anabolic steroids is at, grandma wanting her pain meds and grandpa jonesin' for his viagra supplements. I believe according to USPS, US Customs can hold an item up to 45 days.
Does that mean getting seeds in the USA is 100% safe or guaranteed? Nope.
Does that mean packages do get intercepted? Absolutely.
Should you quitting purchasing seeds from X company because a customs agency, which has absolutely zero affiliation with X company, snagged your goodies? To each his own; but seems pretty silly to me.
I can and will send only positive karmic vibes :karma Cloud: to anyone that has had their beans snatched, waiting for packages, have been waiting a long time, or otherwise; but at least read this as food for thought and realize scapegoating seed companies because of the assumed liable risks you have taken have not gone in your favor with your countries importation laws is
probably fruitless.
That doesn't mean the seeds didn't get confiscated; it doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful; but there could be more to the story than meets the eye.
I hope this comes across as more informative and not dick'ish; ultimately we are all here to help each other and look after one another. I hope this offers a little insight into what goes on between Point A and Point B and that's not always a straight line, figuratively.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a little paranoia in the process of getting these shipped; but I prefer "a healthy fear and respect for what I'm doing" versus rampant paranoia. Nothing in life is 100%, always watch your six, and do your due diligence.

And that's all I gotta say :Cool: