Dealing with customs is often a hassle for international orders, but one individual from Virginia was rightfully vexed when their 1kg bag of tea was sliced open right beneath the zipper lock. According to Ccs004 on Reddit, this was customs’ doing, and their Ning’er Golden Honey Aroma Black Tea may have been damaged. “I usually buy a big order twice a year, and I’ve had them searched before, but what was the point of this?” Ccs004 questioned with frustration on r/mildlyinfuriating.
While US customs does have the legal right to open and search through people’s packages, that doesn’t mean they will always do so with utmost care. In Ccs004’s case, the airport workers were struggling to open the bag’s ziplock. OP added that packaging wasn’t sealed; it was just zipped. Still, customs employees felt the need to allegedly cut it open to inspect its contents.
Ccs004 also couldn’t understand why the workers only cut open one of their bags, not the others they ordered. A commenter wrote that there just needed to be proof that someone checked the box, but OP disagreed. “The cut-up box and all the green tape everywhere else wasn’t enough? They also didn’t indicate the inspector who opened it, no name or badge number, no standard leaflet,” they sighed.
One Redditor claiming to have also ordered tea from China, like Ccs004 Ning’er black tea, said their bag was also cut open along one side. In other words, it would seem it’s customary for customs to slice open bags of tea from China for inspection. Regardless of whether it’s common protocol, plenty of Reddit users were mildly infuriated on Ccs004’s account.
This Virginia Tea Lover’s Experience with Customs Sparked Outrage Against the Federal Organization
“Customs was like, ‘We must protect the nation from… your perfectly sealed snacks.’ The little slit that does absolutely nothing except ruin the whole container is peak mildly infuriating,” remarked one commenter. “Did you make sure to let them know how stupid they were for doing it?!?” exclaimed a second. “Customs be doing stuff like this but can’t find the stolen cars / drugs being imported and exported,” said a third.
It’s objectively understandable why customs will thoroughly check international packages, but that doesn’t make some workers’ methods any less annoying for mail recipients, according to Reddit. One user even theorizes that the damage done is intentional: “They know what they’re doing. It’s not that they don’t care, it’s that messing with you is the point.”
