Ohh, customs intercepted...

[Ohyouknow]

Yeah, so I purchased some Christmas Moss from a seller on E-Bay. They mailed it, and I got the package today. Rah. Unfortunately, only the package. I opened the envelope to find a baggie sliced open with a neat little sticker that said, "Thank You, if you have any questions or concerns feel free to e-mail us. If you need a refund or exchange for damaged goods, please contact us. -Christine.

Also enclosed, was a neat little letter from Customs, stating that there was missing documentation to properly ship a plant through customs. Ta-Da.

Thank you, Inspecting Officer, Scott E. Kinkelaar... You saved me from TWO (they sent me two! I only bought one! how nice...) LIVE (at least when they seized them..) Christmas Moss plants. I have also written the E-bay seller to notify them that it is important to do whatever it is you need to do to provide declaration, and phytosanitary (??) certificates. I suppose I'll just grumble for a refund, if they will give it. If not, it was cheap...

Just thought I'd share my great fortune of today.

[J-P]

that wasn't aquaticmagic was it?

I've had some problems with their product also

[Ohyouknow]

I'll have to log in and double check. It does sound very familiar!

[Pufferpunk]

What country was it shipped from?

[Ohyouknow]

It was shipped from Singapore, according to the packaging. Yes, it WAS Aquaticmagic - as a matter of fact, and the listing said it was in Malaysia, which hell if I know if that is maybe part of Singapore, or close... or if it matters.

According to the paperwork, the port of Entry was Chicago... where they issued this Quarantine Violation (7 CFR 319.37 to be exact) and destroyed my moss.

[Pufferpunk]

You couldn't find any here in the US?

[J-P]

Yes, AQ magic is a very large volume nursery in Malaysia and the office is Singapore (just a few mins away) AFAIK. If it was mailed out of Malaysia it would take FOREVER for you to get it IF you got it at all.

They may not have destroyed all of it. You might be able to grow some back in a glass. Just not your fish tank for the time being.

I have received 3 shipments from them and have had damages in all 3. Flimsy packaging and product getting crushed.

On the other side of the coin.. what did survive did very well in my tank. Nearly 50% of my plants are from them at the moment.

[Rusty]

Thanks for the warning. I was thinking of getting star moss from them.

[Flutter]

Research all the plants really well too. A lot of what they sell isn't aquatic. We were looking to place a large order of plants from them but after thorough research of the plants I think only one was aquatic.

[jdak]

Research all the plants really well too. A lot of what they sell isn't aquatic. We were looking to place a large order of plants from them but after thorough research of the plants I think only one was aquatic.

Petco is the same way. Half their plants aren't meant to be submerged and don't last long completely under water.

[J-P]

Research all the plants really well too. A lot of what they sell isn't aquatic. We were looking to place a large order of plants from them but after thorough research of the plants I think only one was aquatic.

Are we talking about the same company here?

http://www.aqmagic.com/store/

They are on e-bay, and aquabid and I have only noticed aquatic plants. AFAIK...

[Flutter]

That's the one

[bazil323]

Yep, they sell on Ebay and Aquabid too. I avoid any seller in Asia because of the long shipping time. Even if they might be a good seller (which IMHO Aquatic Magic is not), it just takes a long time to ship, and a lot of people don't bother to do the proper things to ship and could result in getting your stuff confiscated by Customs.

There are so many hobbyists in the US that I don't see the worth of going through that hassle. http://Www.plantedtank.net has a ton of people that sell trimmings for cheap, and usually in better amounts than what you get through Ebay and Aquabid. Another good website is http://www.bobstropicalplants.com (Mgamer20o0 on Aquaria Central, not sure if I got the last 4 digits right), and he has nice prices on nice plants and nice nerite snails too.

[Pufferpunk]

Yep, that's why I don't get taking the risk of shipping from that far.

[lobowind]

With you living in Indiana, you could go through Mark at RMC Aquatics for your plants. He lives on the south side of Indianapolis.

http://www.rmc-aquatic.com/

Contact: mark@rmc-aquatic.com