What If Customs Can't Repack My Luggage After A Physical Inspection?

[Scorpio]

@Zaphod7

its australia you arent going to need it, it really doesnt get that cold here, sometimes you migh tneed to through an extra blanket on the bed but its pretty warm, especially if you are in a double brick home or apartment.

Seriously get yourself a cheap radiotor or electrix heater, through it on when you get back from work in the dead of winter and thats that, basically here in sydney you get a few month where you throw on a jacket or jumper and long sleeve shirt at most, but even then all through winter i wear a fairly thin jacket and most of the time i am out at soccer etc pretty early in the morning when its coldest.

Zaphod

a) women do get colder than men
b) she likes her duvet, don’t make her leave it behind!
c) it can and does get cold in Australia to the point of needing more than one extra blanket or a thin jacket

[Obsidian]

@Zaphod7

its australia you arent going to need it, it really doesnt get that cold here, sometimes you migh tneed to through an extra blanket on the bed but its pretty warm, especially if you are in a double brick home or apartment.

Seriously get yourself a cheap radiotor or electrix heater, through it on when you get back from work in the dead of winter and thats that, basically here in sydney you get a few month where you throw on a jacket or jumper and long sleeve shirt at most, but even then all through winter i wear a fairly thin jacket and most of the time i am out at soccer etc pretty early in the morning when its coldest.

Zaphod

I can’t speak for the OP, but as a down comforter ‘person’, it’s not entirely about warmth. Snuggling under this big fluffy thing is my favorite way to sleep. No matter how many warm blankets I pile on while sleeping elsewhere, it’s not as comfortable. I brought my duvet from NJ out to CA when I moved. (Though I eventually did replace it with a summerweight one)

My boss’s wife packs with space bags (they spend 3 months out of every year in India, so she has a lot to fit in thier suitcases). Oddly enough, she was just explaining them to me the other day. Customs has opened her bags but has never unsealed the spacebag, as they are are see-through and obviously cloth on an x-ray. She actually packs everything else in clear plastic bags withing the suitcase, for ease of searching. (My boss, being dark-skinned and speaking with an accent, is frequently searched while traveling). it certainly keeps everything neat and other people’s fingers off your underwear.

[JohnClay]

You could just send it by insured airmail to Australia - one where the receiver has to sign for it. It would take less than a week or two to arrive.

[Sisyphus_Stone]

Please don’t call your ‘comforter’ a duvet when you get here. Eiderdown or doona is the common and acceptable sobriquet (at least in Brisbane).

Better yet, leave it behind and do as the Aussies do, sleep naked without the aid of insulation (pronounced inSHulation).

[Sublight]

Actually, USNSPARKS, only the US has changed forever since 9/11. Europe, Asia and just about everywhere else have been dealing with terrorism for years and have managed to do so without going nuts (heck I went through Orly airport in Paris just two weeks after a bomb killed almost three dozen people, and the security staff were still capable of behaving rationally).

Basically, I have to second Una Persson’s advice. If there’s anything you’d really miss if you lost, either carry it or ship it.

[dre2xl]

@Lissla Lissar

…when duvets were INVENTED!

I agree. Take it carry-on, and explain helpfully what it is. Radiate helpfulness- that’s what I always do when I’m going through Customs.

You aren’t kidding. One time I was running late for a flight, and was in a long security line. You know how they provide these plastic boxes for you to put your coats & laptops on? Well, they were all in 1 tall stack, and the traveller in front of me took the stack.

She took the top box. She licked her finger, ran her finger across the bottom of the box and looked at her finger as if she were examining it for dust. SLOWLY. Apparently unsatisfied, she then did it with the next box. And the next. And the next. And the next. (I should mention here that she put the boxes on the far end of table, out of reach…)

The lane was narrow such that I’d have to shove through her rudely in order to get ahead–there was no graceful way to do it. So after she got 1/4th way, I just elbowed in ahead of her and angrily grabbed a box.

For that little indiscretion, the security people took me aside and did one of those search-your-clothes deal.

[gluteus_maximus]

@**Reader99**

as i understand it, what the customs people are looking for when they x-ray checked baggage is something that might be a bomb. i had a bag opened (in my presence; you can request that at some airports) when the scanner showed a brick-sized object in the bottom. (it was a thick lonely planet guide book.) the searcher went straight to that object and didn’t even look at anything else. it’s hard to believe that a down duvet would register as a possible bomb.

What Reader99 said. Last year, when I travelled between here and the States and back, I had my severely over-packed soft-sided suitcase searched (in my presence) before boarding in Pittsburgh. They went straight for the containers of deodorant. Plastic Walmart bags containing shirts and slacks were merely moved out of the way for deeper rummaging into the corners of the suitcase. It took the combined efforts of three latex glove-wearing inspectors to get my suitcase zipped back up. They wouldn’t let me help. “Please don’t touch the case, sir!” When I retrieved my suitcase in Japan, it appeared that it had been searched again at Detroit. Somebody had done a few wraps of duct tape around my suitcase to ensure it didn’t pop a zipper. Nothing was missing.

If CheekyMonkey613 wants her (probably demon-infested) comforter with her in Australia, that’s her business. The Space Bag idea sounds good. I doubt that inspectors will feel the need to open it unless the luggage is declared suspicious by the sniffer dogs.

[zoogirl]

@gluteus maximus

If CheekyMonkey613 wants her (probably demon-infested) comforter with her in Australia, that’s her business. The Space Bag idea sounds good. I doubt that inspectors will feel the need to open it unless the luggage is declared suspicious by the sniffer dogs.

Ohmygoodness, now THAT’S a thought!

Please keep in mind that I am in no way advocating drug use, but If you DO smoke anything other than cigarettes, don’t do it anywhere near that duvet!!!
The sniffer dogs will hassle you for sure!

[CheekyMonkey613]

@gluteus maximus

If CheekyMonkey613 wants her (probably demon-infested) comforter with her in Australia, that’s her business. The Space Bag idea sounds good. I doubt that inspectors will feel the need to open it unless the luggage is declared suspicious by the sniffer dogs.

Touché Gluteus! You got a chuckle out of me. But didn’t you read my post? I left the demons at my old place.

No drugs around here (much to some people’s surprise! LOL) I didn’t even think of the sniffer dogs. At most, they’ll get excited to smell my cats on the duvet.

Thanks for all of your help, people! It looks like I’ll be bringing it in my carry-on. I’ve got brand new luggage and I would cry if a zipper popped.

Mods, I don’t mind if the thread is closed now. My question was answered and I have some solutions. Or keep it going. Either way.

[Kalhoun]

@JohnClay

You could just send it by insured airmail to Australia - one where the receiver has to sign for it. It would take less than a week or two to arrive.

I was going to suggest this. Just FedEx it and you won’t have a problem.

[Greymot]

@Kalhoun

I was going to suggest this. Just FedEx it and you won’t have a problem.

FedExing will not skip US customs. I live in Germany and had my father(lives in Canada) send me a package.
When I go, it was all taped and stamped ‘Inspected by US Customs’. The contents was a software package that I couldn’t get here in english. My dad had boutght the package and packed it still in it’s store sealed wrapping. When I got it, it looked like it had been used for centuries.

[Greymot]

@Greymot

When I go, it was…

When I got it, it was …

[CheekyMonkey613]

The following shows the rates for a parcel of 18.00in x 12.00in x 6.00in weighing 6.0000Lb.

Canada Post Prices For Airmailing:

International Surface Parcel
Base Price: 46.20
Fuel Surcharge: 1.04
Delivery Confirmation: N/A
Insurance: 7.20
Total: $54.44 ($41.05 US)

Purolator International (5 Business Days)
Base Price: 230.50
Fuel Surcharge: 5.19
Delivery Confirmation: Included
Insurance: 6.00
Total: $241.69 ($182.24 US)

Xpresspost International (7 Business Days)
Base Price: 79.25
Fuel Surcharge: 1.78
Delivery Confirmation: Included
Insurance: 6.00
Total: $87.03 ($65.62 US)

From Federal Express:
Service FedEx International Priority
Reach major business centres in 24-48 hours
$168.58 ($127.12 US)

Though this was a good suggestion, once I look at the prices, I’ll let the doggies sniff my carry-on Nice to have you guys brainstorming for me. Thanks again for trying.

[cochrane]

@Emily_Blunt

Appears like a truly real motivation to me. It’s an impeccably lawful thing, not overweight and very costly to just give away or give to a thrift shop. Since she’s really going to be moving to Oz and it’s a thing they’ll be requiring for ordinary utilize, I don’t see an issue. Remember, in United Kindom it’s Autumn and it’ll be getting chilly. Dislike she’s only an excessively particular traveler who doesn’t care for inn covers!

I’m sure after 13 years in Oz, it’s no longer an issue.