So much for supporting small business

[matt819]

A couple of gripes.

I import stuff from Europe. Without the imported stuff from Europe, I have no business. So, right off the bat our economic policy of a weak dollar to bolster exports (a failing policy, as far as I can figure), is killing me, since my margins are tighter and tighter since I can't really raise prices.

That's complaint number one.

Here's complaint number two.

I've received maybe a dozen shipments from Europe over the past six months. Of those, two have had duties imposed. Fair enough. I wish that wasn't the case, but it is. But this time round, one of the shipments from my supplier was held up in Customs. The shipper and his courier service couldn't tell me why. Now, a full 9 days after the shipment arrived in NY, I get a notice from Customs telling me I have to arrange for formal entry of these goods into the US. So send me a form, I say. No can do. The only way you can formally enter goods into the US is through a customs broker. So now I have to search for a customs broker (not exactly an every-day kind of search) and pay whatever he charges for this service, which undoubtedly consists of shifting paper from one place to another.

There is no question that "this is the way it's always been done," but surely there has to be a better way. First of all, why mail documents when they could have called to ask for an e-mail or fax. And why this shipment? Does this mean all future shipments will hit the same hurdle? Where I had a sure thing before, now I have guesswork.

All in all, this does not strike me as supporting small business.