# What happens in the customs process of shipping yoyos?
**URL:** https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/what-happens-in-the-customs-process-of-shipping-yoyos/49772
**Category:** Unrelated Discussion
**Created:** [February 20, 2013, 8:07am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/what-happens-in-the-customs-process-of-shipping-yoyos/49772 "2013-02-20T08:07:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@mccando](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/mccando)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2013, 8:07am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/what-happens-in-the-customs-process-of-shipping-yoyos/49772/1 "2013-02-20T08:07:21Z")
I understand they’re treated as items but yeah.
A yoyo coming from Japan has been in customs for a few days and I was wondering what happens.
The main reason I think it takes a while is actually getting to the package in queue and paper work.
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### Author:  [@frodoslair](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/frodoslair)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/what-happens-in-the-customs-process-of-shipping-yoyos/49772/2 "2013-02-21T04:53:37Z")
Yup, chances are it is just in the queue waiting for someone to process the paperwork. This shouldn’t take more than a few days, but it can be a tricky process and there can be delays…
As an example, I live in South Africa and we have an incredibly high tax of 54% when importing textiles. If someone sends me a box of string and labels it as “Yoyo string” or “Yoyo thread”, customs is going to charge me 54% tax. If you labelled the string as “Yoyo toy accessories” or even “Yoyo toy string”, I would just pay 14% (I’ve learnt this the hard way…).
Many countries have a higher duty on importing wood, and in some countries, certain types of wood can be banned outright. Recently someone sent me a wooden yoyo and marked it as “Wood yoyo” on the box. Because of that, I ended up paying something like 33% tax. If they had left out the wood and simply labelled it “Yoyo”, I would have just paid 14%.
Parcels are also usually x-rayed and there are often sniffer dogs. If something looks unusual on the x-ray or if a dog smells something (they’re usually trained for explosives / solvents), customs will want to open up your package to take a closer look.
Bottom line - customs can be a complicated process. When you label and package items, try to make it as simple for someone else to understand (citing my example, I make it clear that string is not a textile, but an accessory you need to play with a toy called a yoyo).