Online Order Can Revoke Your Trusted Traveler Status

Beware: online order can revoke your trusted traveler status.

Last week, lifehacker.com reported on an incident where someone’s trusted traveler renewal was denied.  The cause of the denial was an online order that the person had never received.

The Story

According to Lifehacker, eBay engineer Harper Reed ordered a Rimowa suitcase sometime last year.  He paid $700 for the suitcase, which is in the regular price range.  However, Reed never received the suitcase and was provided a refund by Amazon without explanation.

Fast forward to November 2017, and Reed submitted an application to renew is Global Entry status.  His application, however, was denied, as he had been flagged by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for attempting to import a counterfeit product.  And, of course, any customs violation (as well as a large number of other violations) are grounds for termination from any trusted traveler program.

As you might have already guessed, it was the Rimowa suitcase Reed never received that caused the flag.  Apparently, Customs officers intercepted the shipment as it arrived in the U.S. and confiscated it.  However, instead of going after the exporter or Amazon, Rimowa chose the easier target: the importer.  And, unfortunately, even if you unknowingly purchased/import a counterfeit product, you are still liable, and your trusted traveler status will still be revoked.

Recommendations

While Reed could contest his situation, it’s a process that’ll take months, which isn’t ideal if you travel often.  So the best course of action here is prevention.  In this case, I think Reed had reason to believe he was purchasing a legitimate product.  After all, his Rimowa didn’t have a deeply discounted price.  However, a sign that something was amiss was the fact that his order shipped from China.  When ordering online, especially from sites like Amazon or eBay, you want to make sure your order ships from within the U.S.  This, of course, isn’t a guarantee your order isn’t counterfeit, but it helps.  It also helps to order items on Amazon that are fulfilled by Amazon or come from a third party that you’re familiar with.

Better yet, you should just order (or buy in-store) direct from the company or a department store, as Reed eventually did.  Plus, by going that route, you might be able to earn bonus points through an online shopping portal like the Chase Ultimate Rewards one.

Online Order Can Revoke Your Trusted Traveler Status, Final Thoughts

Shopping online is awesome.  Often, it’s very convenient and may allow you to earn bonus points.  However, the danger is you may not know where your order is coming from or if it’s even real or not.  So, while it takes more time, it’s important to do your homework to ensure you don’t end up like Mr. Reed.  It’s an unfortunate circumstance, but as is the case with many laws, laws and regulations don’t change fast enough in the U.S. to keep pace with changing technology.  And I suspect things will see cases like this again in the future.  So do yourself a favor and double (maybe even triple check) when you buy online.