Angela, I must agree with you. It sounds like America has gone overboard with this system! regards, Bill Richardson, Ixia King Summer 7c. to 32c. at present West Gippsland, Victoria, Australia ixia@dcsi.net.au http://www.angelfire.com/ri/ixia/ "Almost any garden, if you see it at just the right moment, can be confused with Paradise" Henry Mitchell ----- Original Message ----- From: "Angela and Dean " <angelasgarden1@bigpond.com> To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 9:09 PM Subject: Re: [pbs] Seed imports to U.S. > I feel so sorry for you Americans, I definitely think some sort of combined > front to the Quarantine department is called for! > Good luck! > Angela > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Richard" <xerics@cox.net> > To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 11:58 AM > Subject: Re: [pbs] Seed imports to U.S. > > > > Don't send them stamps. I did that last year and the envelope with the > > stamps and instructions was mysteriously empty. > > > > I had to open a fed ex account. All together this is a completely > > unworkable system. Pretty much the way everything at the USDA is done. I > > don't have enough millions to influence anyone but I think we should start > > a > > campaign among our public representatives to address these problems. > > > > The Plant Inspection people claim to have been working on this since I > > first > > complained last summer. > > > > Richard Wagner > > Vista > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Lee Poulsen" <wpoulsen@pacbell.net> > > To: "PBS Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > > Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 5:03 PM > > Subject: [pbs] Seed imports to U.S. > > > > > >>I just a phone call from USDA/APHIS down the street from the L.A. > >> Airport informing me that a package of seeds had arrived from Rachel > >> Saunders in South Africa, and that I could either take time off from > >> work to fight traffic and drive over there and pick it up in person. Or > >> I could open an account with Federal Express and then give them my > >> account number that they could charge to and they could ship it across > >> town via FedEx. Or I could mail them actual postage stamps of > >> sufficient value ($1.35) for the weight of the package to have the US > >> Postal Service deliver it to my home. The guy I spoke with says he has > >> called several superiors of his several times since this new method was > >> begun seeking instruction on what exactly to do. He also acknowledged > >> that the USDA and the USPS are having an argument over whether the USPS > >> has to continue shipment or if they can charge full postage rates > >> depending on what the final destination that the package was addressed > >> to is. (The permit says the shipper should not put our address on the > >> outside of the package, but when the Archibalds put both the green and > >> yellow label and my address on the outside of the package it was > >> delivered all the way to my house. I couldn't tell if USDA/APHIS had > >> opened it for inspection or not.) > >> > >> What this guy did say was that I could not send them money in any form > >> nor could they take a credit card number. I talked over various crazy > >> ideas with their dispatcher and she said that the program was so new > >> they hadn't really thought up any long term plans or solutions. I asked > >> her about sending her a supply of postage stamps that she could save > >> and use until they were all used up. She thought she could probably > >> keep them in a file for all packages I received and notify me when the > >> supply was gone. She suggested the idea that I send the postage stamps > >> along with the copy of my permit and the green and yellow label to the > >> overseas sender and then that person could include the postage stamps > >> inside the package together with the seeds. This of course would > >> require that I know how much the package was going to weigh beforehand, > >> or at least have an estimate of it. > >> > >> In any case, it is an added complication that I wish they had figured > >> out back when they were figuring out this new method of seed importing. > >> Question: In Australia, after they've checked over your incoming seed, > >> do you have to go pick them up at the inspection station? Or are you > >> required to send them or provide them with the means or money to ship > >> them from the station to your home? Or do they just put them back in > >> the mail and your postal service delivers them to the final destination > >> without any additional charges? It would be somewhat ironic if they > >> don't charge you for that service since they do charge you for just > >> about everything else including many services that we in the U.S. don't > >> have to pay for, and yet here in the U.S. they do want to charge > >> additional for delivering the seeds the final leg of their journey. (I > >> also found out that if I need to get a phytosanitary certificate to > >> mail plants overseas, for about US$40 total the inspector will drive > >> over to my house, inspect all the plants I want to send, make out the > >> certificate, and give it to me. I believe that is cheaper than what the > >> Australians have to pay.) Anyway, just wondering. > >> > >> --Lee Poulsen > >> Pasadena, California, USDA Zone 10a > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> pbs mailing list > >> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > >> http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > > > > _______________________________________________ > > pbs mailing list > > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >