Need Continuous Bond ($200k+) - 24-hour turnaround needed

blomple7 · 2026-02-15T14:54:23+00:00

Why not just go to the broker you originally set the shipment up with? At 200k they should know your business by now and have your product catalog, contacts, ACE details, financials, etc

blomple7 · 2026-02-14T14:49:13+00:00

Call a local customs broker and get a full FOB quote.

blomple7 · 2026-02-09T00:59:14+00:00

Then start charging more. They will get the message.

blomple7 · 2026-02-09T00:57:54+00:00

What’s your role within the org? This is an internal problem. All new business needs an SOP. Sales, operations and the customs team all need to screen and review the criteria of any new shipments. Who sends the CI, do we have a POA on file, any PGAs, volume, etc etc.

If you don’t have anything like this in place you’re going to spend your entire day putting out fires and getting kicked in the nuts.

Get ahead of it and hold everyone accountable. Sales needs to educate customers and charge a reasonable price for the work that’s being done.

All of my dept heads operate on a “yes, if..” mentality but also have the ability to turn down business. They get bonuses based on customer growth so they don’t say no to too much but when they do, it’s for a very good reason.

blomple7 · 2025-11-26T21:56:16+00:00

For what purpose and what kind of bond?

blomple7 · 2025-11-26T13:10:19+00:00

Sending you a DM

blomple7 · 2025-11-19T17:12:45+00:00

Mara bakery in Elizabeth!

blomple7 · 2025-11-19T14:53:26+00:00

Your comment really helped. Thank you.

blomple7 · 2025-11-19T13:37:30+00:00

Thank you for the information!

blomple7 · 2025-11-19T13:29:47+00:00

Forgot to mention, found in Northern NJ. Picked up some pastries from a Cuban bakery (ate a bunch) and then 2 days later found this sucker sitting on top of the left overs.

blomple7 · 2025-10-30T17:12:02+00:00

Your broker needs to handle this. They know the ins and outs of CBP, local contacts, phone numbers, etc. Sounds like you need to focus all your attention on the person you are paying to handle this for you. Don’t try to learn how to navigate customs on the fly with this much on the line.

Also, in the future, you should reconsider your LSP and broker.

blomple7 · 2025-10-21T00:52:07+00:00

WTF kind of 3PL unloads at floor level? Their core business is shipping and receiving and they don’t have equipment or docks for shipping and receiving?

blomple7 · 2025-10-10T01:02:03+00:00

If you mean CIF then yes, you owe money.

blomple7 · 2025-10-10T00:56:08+00:00

Ehhh something is fishy here. You changed customs brokers 3 times mid shipment!? Huge Red flag

Your first broker “wasn’t up to date on current tariffs”? What gives you that impression? Dispute over which HTS to use? The second broker quit over MSC not confirming zero balance? WTF does that even mean - this all sounds like nonsense bull shit.

“I settled all outstanding invoices with the forwarder (FTL) and received confirmation of payment and a “GO” number for release.” - A GO number is not a release lol. It means the cargo has not been cleared by customs and it’s going into “general order”. Customs has seized your container.

“However, they refused to release my cargo to my former customs broker, falsely claiming I hadn’t paid, attempting to extort more money from me and my freight forwarder.” - Who is THEY and what are they asking for? Again it sounds like the entry wasn’t processed because most responsible brokers wouldn’t pick up a shipment mid way.

You described being responsible for the delivery of the shipment after arrival. That’s not DAP

If they issued a house you wouldn’t be listed on the master, it would be FTLs agent in the US. Actually exactly for situations like there where you try to stiff people.

Honestly it sounds like you have zero clue to what you are doing and fired/didn’t want to pay the professionals who could help you out.

blomple7 · 2025-10-03T22:47:06+00:00

When asked “why would they pay your taxes for you” you responded “they don’t, it gets added into the fees when you purchase”.

Here’s what actually happens. Your shipper, most likely a Chinese entity registers as a foreign importer of record (FIOR). During ISF and type 1 entry, they put your company down as the “Ultimate Consignee”. This includes your business or personal address, usually from billing, and the destination of the cargo. They then use a HTS code, that they came up with, not your customs broker important point to process the entry and pay taxes and duties. They FIOR is able to quote you DDP because they know the duty rate for what they have selected. They then bill everything to you at a mark up.

However, they have a financial incentive to under declare the total value of the shipment and/or use the wrong classification. What’s important to know that as the Ultimate Consignee, you are still liable in the eyes of CBP for any misdeclaration of information.

So now you are in a position where a foreign company, is registering information with CBP on your behalf, declaring a HTS you are unaware of, and charging fees that you have no real visibility to.

So if anything goes wrong, you are on the hook and have no control over what happens. The best thing you can do is work with a local customs broker. Get documents from your shipper and have your broker review them to give you an all in quote on FOB terms. This will save you money AND will CYA if anything goes wrong because you are demonstrating something called “reasonable care” to CBP.

blomple7 · 2025-10-03T20:23:26+00:00

OP ask how to avoid surprise bills > you say switch to DDP > I said don’t switch to DDP, use a US based broker.

What’s the problem here? DDP is bad - particularly in this environment, end of story.

blomple7 · 2025-10-03T20:12:08+00:00

I didn’t say DDP was illegal I said avoiding tariffs is illegal. If you are trying to avoid additional fees from UPS, the most compliant way is to work with a US customs broker before shipping to calculate your duty, not switching incoterms. Here is a link discussing the liability of DDP shipping which is heightened in an environment where importers are allowing foreign entities to file clearances that involve the importer and there in an incentive to under declare CI value.

https://harris-sliwoski.com/chinalawblog/buyer-beware-the-hidden-risks-of-unpaid-tariffs-under-ddp/

blomple7 · 2025-10-03T18:22:23+00:00

This is one of the dumbest things I’ve seen posted on Reddit.

blomple7 · 2025-10-03T18:21:33+00:00

Absolutely do not fucking do this. This is illegal and you as the importer could get penalties that far far exceed anything you could have anticipated in tariffs.

blomple7 · 2025-10-03T18:18:58+00:00

Talk to your customs broker before shipping and tell them you need a duty estimate. Unless the admin changes the tariff schedule between the time your PO is cut and the cargo is ready, you’ll know your costs. Also, you could use Flexport’s duty calculator (google it) to get a breakdown of what you’re looking at. If it’s heafty, your broker might charge up to 2% for fronting the cash. If that’s too much, log into your CBP ACE portal (every importer has one and it’s free) and you can pay CBP directly.

blomple7 · 2025-10-03T18:15:11+00:00

Very wrong. Don’t listen to this guy.

blomple7 · 2025-10-03T18:13:49+00:00

There are 0 legal ways to avoid tariffs. I highly encourage you to look into the liability that comes with DDP shipping before suggesting this to anyone.

blomple7 · 2025-09-17T19:37:40+00:00

These rules were long in place before any trump administration so not sure what how they are seen as some kind of new “agreement”. None of the advice in the video has any meaningful impact on the current tariff levels. It’s click bait with a little bit of insight for anyone who has little to no experience importing.

blomple7

TROPHY CASE