gadgetsrepairhq
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I have been running my own retail cell phone repair business in Central Florida since 2003, I started importing iphone repair parts from China lately since almost 5 months, small packages in $1500 -$2700 . I mainly use it for my own store repairs.
Last week I tracked a package that was transported by DHL, the package had 100 iphone4 LCD screens and 40 iPod touch Screen Assemblies, DHL told me that the package has been seized by US customs, they gave me the officer’s contacts.
My wife first called him and here are the bolts and nuts:
• We are violating Apple trademarks because we have to be “CERTIFIED SERVICE CENTER” and also licensed by them to import any parts.
• He took photos of those screens and sent it to apple to determine if they are genuine, and in both cases I can’t even ship them back to get my money, they will be destroyed anyhow by the customs!!!
• If you break your phone, you have to go to the manufacturer only to repair your cell phone, and what I am doing “cell phone repair “is illegal because I have to get the parts only from the manufacturer, and be certified from each one. BTW, I used to be certified by Nokia and Motorola when they dominated the markets almost 6-8 years ago, and I decided not to renew my license since I have very little benefits and you get $15 per the whole repair.
• As my wife asked him if he has one of those “smart phones” that everyone uses and asked him if he went to the manufacturer to fix it even once, he didn’t have an answer.
• All the companies selling parts (IPHONE –HTC-BLACKBERRY-…ETC) on ebay, amazon, and their own site, the US customs “WILL GET THEM ONE BY ONE, THEY ARE ALL ILLEGAL”.
• I will get a letter within 2 weeks; possibly get sued over fraud and trademark violations!!!
I contacted several customs clearance offices, basically they said I have to let go this shipment, take my losses and possibly consult an attorney if they decided to run after me!!! I have a meeting with one of them in a couple of days to see if he can help me get an import license for those items.
I decided to go myself to the customs office based to on an advice from one the brokers I spoke to him, the broker said this is just a small shipment ($2800), and maybe they can settle it directly with you.
Well, I was completely wrong, the officer was a complete Jerk, he even took a copy of my DL like I am a fugitive, he told me that those big companies pay them to “CATCH” people like me, he showed me a memo (could not get a copy) that anything, I repeat ANYTHING, has the shape of an iphone is a trademark violation, either it is a screen, digitizer, battery, battery door. All the big companies pay us money to bring down people like me.
As I told him I am just a small business who struggled to stay in business in this bad economy, he blamed “ people like me” , because all those “honest big companies” pay money for research and development and you people make them lose a lot of money because we do not go through them to buy parts and customers go directly to us instead of going to the manufacturer and use a legal way to “repair their cell phones”, I was even harassed by another officer who left his customer and joined the smack down on an “ illegal way to make money”, he told me to leave and do not come back here again, just appoint a customs broker to handle it.
What is the Hell is going on? It looks like the government job now is to keep the big business bigger and make sure the small business stays small or go out of business. I do not think anyhow that Apple, and all the other big boys are interested in hiring people like me who know all the tricks to repair their gadgets.
Anyone has any leads and news on similar incidents? I was in a T-Mobile meeting in Miami 3 weeks ago and one of the attendants has stores in Miami and said he said that several service centers in Hialeah were shot down because the government shot them down because they were using a selling aftermarket iphone parts, anyone can confirm that in Miami?
I am not one of those big cell phone franchise names out there who can afford to hire top paid attorneys who can fight monsters like apple, I am trying to make a living and avoid my business of being shot down.
Thanks
I have been running my own retail cell phone repair business in Central Florida since 2003, I started importing iphone repair parts from China lately since almost 5 months, small packages in $1500 -$2700 . I mainly use it for my own store repairs.
Last week I tracked a package that was transported by DHL, the package had 100 iphone4 LCD screens and 40 iPod touch Screen Assemblies, DHL told me that the package has been seized by US customs, they gave me the officer’s contacts.
My wife first called him and here are the bolts and nuts:
• We are violating Apple trademarks because we have to be “CERTIFIED SERVICE CENTER” and also licensed by them to import any parts.
• He took photos of those screens and sent it to apple to determine if they are genuine, and in both cases I can’t even ship them back to get my money, they will be destroyed anyhow by the customs!!!
• If you break your phone, you have to go to the manufacturer only to repair your cell phone, and what I am doing “cell phone repair “is illegal because I have to get the parts only from the manufacturer, and be certified from each one. BTW, I used to be certified by Nokia and Motorola when they dominated the markets almost 6-8 years ago, and I decided not to renew my license since I have very little benefits and you get $15 per the whole repair.
• As my wife asked him if he has one of those “smart phones” that everyone uses and asked him if he went to the manufacturer to fix it even once, he didn’t have an answer.
• All the companies selling parts (IPHONE –HTC-BLACKBERRY-…ETC) on ebay, amazon, and their own site, the US customs “WILL GET THEM ONE BY ONE, THEY ARE ALL ILLEGAL”.
• I will get a letter within 2 weeks; possibly get sued over fraud and trademark violations!!!
I contacted several customs clearance offices, basically they said I have to let go this shipment, take my losses and possibly consult an attorney if they decided to run after me!!! I have a meeting with one of them in a couple of days to see if he can help me get an import license for those items.
I decided to go myself to the customs office based to on an advice from one the brokers I spoke to him, the broker said this is just a small shipment ($2800), and maybe they can settle it directly with you.
Well, I was completely wrong, the officer was a complete Jerk, he even took a copy of my DL like I am a fugitive, he told me that those big companies pay them to “CATCH” people like me, he showed me a memo (could not get a copy) that anything, I repeat ANYTHING, has the shape of an iphone is a trademark violation, either it is a screen, digitizer, battery, battery door. All the big companies pay us money to bring down people like me.
As I told him I am just a small business who struggled to stay in business in this bad economy, he blamed “ people like me” , because all those “honest big companies” pay money for research and development and you people make them lose a lot of money because we do not go through them to buy parts and customers go directly to us instead of going to the manufacturer and use a legal way to “repair their cell phones”, I was even harassed by another officer who left his customer and joined the smack down on an “ illegal way to make money”, he told me to leave and do not come back here again, just appoint a customs broker to handle it.
What is the Hell is going on? It looks like the government job now is to keep the big business bigger and make sure the small business stays small or go out of business. I do not think anyhow that Apple, and all the other big boys are interested in hiring people like me who know all the tricks to repair their gadgets.
Anyone has any leads and news on similar incidents? I was in a T-Mobile meeting in Miami 3 weeks ago and one of the attendants has stores in Miami and said he said that several service centers in Hialeah were shot down because the government shot them down because they were using a selling aftermarket iphone parts, anyone can confirm that in Miami?
I am not one of those big cell phone franchise names out there who can afford to hire top paid attorneys who can fight monsters like apple, I am trying to make a living and avoid my business of being shot down.
Thanks
