Indian Almond Leaves For Sale

[block2]

Hi All,

Jeff and Wan here, first of all we would like to say a big thankyou to Arron and Proteus for their help on getting our profile active.

We are based in Nakhon Sawan Province in Thailand. We have always used Indian Almond Leaves for conditioning and care of our Bettas. They increase fertility, health, and vigour. Reduces Ph in water, aids in the recovery of diseased/damaged fish and the tannin quickly colours the water.

These leaves are also ideal for discus, gouramis, tetras, arrowana’s, South American dwarf cichlids, corys, plecos, some rasboras some cat-fishes and crustaceans.

Like Arron as mentioned we have been supplying members of another forum for a few months now with no hassles from AQIS. AQIS provide rules and regulations regarding the leaves and we keep to those rules and regulations...to date we have not had 1 parcel stopped.

If you do a quick search of the ICON database (The database operated by AQIS on the conditions on import for items to Australia) you will find the following info regarding Indian Almond Leaves:


Quote:
Condition C9482
Non-Commercial

1. An Import Permit is not required.

2. A Quarantine Entry is not required.

3. All material in the consignment must be labelled with full botanical names i.e. genus and species. Each package must be labelled. Alternatively if the goods are easily identifiable, then there is no requirement of the botanical nomenclature.

4. All material in the consignment must be thoroughly dried and not capable of propagation.

5. Each consignment will be subject to an inspection to verify that it is free of prohibited seeds, live insects, soil and other quarantine risk material.

6. If the consignment does not meet the above conditions it will be treated as detailed in the Commercial conditions below, re-exported or destroyed.

We aim to supply a fast friendly service with a quality product in a professional manner. We have had some very excellent feedback on AusAqua regarding our service.

We accept payment via paypal. Upon confirmation from paypal that payment has been received we then send the leaves via airmail 7 - 10 working days. We also send via email an invoice for payment, 2 pics of the leaves boxed and unboxed and a copy of the post office receipt to confirm postage.

Prices in Australian $ are as follows :

30 Leaves : $8.50
50 Leaves : $12.00
100 Leaves : $23.00
200 Leaves : $40.00
300 Leaves : $57.00
400 Leaves : $74.00
500 Leaves : $95.00

All prices quoted include postage via airmail 7 - 10 working days

Kind Regards
Jeff & Wan

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr65/block2_photos/indainalmondLeaves.jpg

[TW]

Hi Jeff & Wan

Will the leaves come with instructions, for dummies like me who won't be sure how many to use, how often to change them & whether they go in the filter or float in the water column?

[block2]

Hi TW,

You simply put the leaves into your aquarium. After 1-3 days, your leaves will be water-logged and will sink. They will tan the water slightly (to a clear amber - tea colour) and also provide benefical effects to the water.

How many leaves to use? It's up to you, but the more leaves you put in the darker the water will be and the PH will be lower (but it will very rarely drop below 6.0). If you are using the leaves for a large tank, we would recommend putting 2-3 large (or 4-6 small) leaves for every 25 gallons (100 litres). You should not have to change the leaves for upto 3 weeks to a month.

Hope this helps, if not, you can always do a search in Google regarding the questions you have about the leaves.

Kind regards
Jeff & Wan

[TW]

Hi again,

I'd like to make an order. I can see your prices & that you will take payment via PayPal, but now to start off the process. I'd like to go with an initial order of 300 leaves please.

[block2]

Hi TW,

PM sent with our paypal instructions.

Kind Regards
Jeff & Wan

[AHC]

Hi Jeff,

Got my first order of leaves today. Very well packaged and quick. Will catch you later down the track for a bigger order. (I still have a few leaves left over from a previous hard to get buy). Glad we found you.

Thanks a million. :cheers

[block2]

Hi Aaron,

That has to be one of the quickest deliveries yet...I posted them on the 5th and you got them either today or yesterday 9th /10th so thats 4 or 5 days but only 2 or 3 working days.

But saying that we sent a parcel to the Netherlands once and he got it in 3 days...it must of left the post office, straight to bangkok airport, got a flight the same night, arrived following morning and delivered next day...lol

We are glad you are happy and look forward to doing business with you again in the future.

Kind Regards
Jeff & Wan

P.S. Did AQIS open the package or just checked the contents of the box?

[block2]

Hi TM,

Leaves posted yesterday as promised...check your email for invoice, 2 pics of the leaves boxed and unboxed and a copy of the post office receipt.

We thankyou for your custom and look forward to doing business with you again in the future.

Kind regards
Jeff & Wan

[AHC]

Hey jeff.

The package doesnt look opened so they must have just opened the box. The leaves are visibly clean so maybe they are getting to know your parcel's?

[TW]

Got my 300 leaves today, thank you

[block2]

Hi TW,

We are glad to hear your leaves arrived also with no problems and that you are happy with your purchase.

Sent on the 9th June so if you don't count the weekend 4 working days.

6 days altogeather.

Kind regards
Jeff & Wan

[DiscusDave]

Hi Jeff & Wan

I'd like to place an order for 300 leaves as well

Regards

Dave

[block2]

Hi Dave,

PM sent

Regards
Jeff & Wan

[Can Hua]

Hi
i also want to buy some. how to order?
regards
can hua

[discus_man]

Hi Im after some indian almond leaves just wanted to know if there have been problems shipping to australia.

thankyou.

[block2]

Hi Discus Man,

We have been sending Indian Almond Leaves to Australia for roughly a year now and we have not had one seizure...all our parcels have arrived with no problems with AQIS.

Regards
Jeff & Wan

[Vspec]

Last post was almost a year ago. Is this person still trading? If so can someone provide contact details please.

500 pieces for that price sounds good. Im assuming thats for the product only. Can anyone comment on shipping costs?

[marty_87]

Yeah I'm keen to, anyone know if they are still around??

[block2]

Hi All,

We are still here and are still selling the leaves at the same prices as last year...all prices include shipping via airmail. We accept payment via paypal...if interested please PM me for more details.

Regards
Jeff & Wan

[Vspec]

Thanks bud.

i'll organise an order soon.

[TW]

Mine came through customs plain sailing, just as promised.

[Vspec]

obviously how much or rather how many to add is based on testing, & he gave a rough guide at the start, however peoples personal observations.

I'll have to balance the RO use with these.

[matblack]

Are they beneficial to crystal red shrimp or not Thanks MatBlack

[block2]

Are they beneficial to crystal red shrimp or not Thanks MatBlack

Hi MatBlack,

Although we do not keep/breed shrimps ourselves we do have a few customers who buy the leaves from us for their shrimps....google indian almond and crystal red shrimps or crystal red shrimps and indian almond leaves and there is quite abit of info comes up all saying that almond leaves are ok to be used with crystal red shrimp...hope this helps

Jeff & Wan

[Wutangxxx]

I would like to place an order for some

[block2]

Hi All,

It's that time of year again and we have been busy collecting freshly fallen Indian Almond Leaves. We also have a website now www.bettawan.com (http://www.bettawan.com) We have added a link back to Discus Forum on our .

We have added a few extra products and new prices...items can be purchased through the site using paypal. All prices are in US $ and include free shipping via airmail. We had to choose a payment method and we opted for US$.

To celebrate us opening up the website the 1st Discus Forum members who order a product will get 30% extra free of charge...just leave a message on the forum if you purchase something so that we can keep a track on the numbers.

Regards
Wan & Jeff

[block2]

That should read we have posted a link to Discus Forum on the front page of our site.

Regards
Wan & Jeff

[block2]

Hi All,

3 Discus Forum members have ordered leaves through our website to date...so there are still 7 x 30% extra for free promotions left.

Just go to www.bettawan.com place an order and we will add 30% extra for free to celebrate the opening of our website.

All the best for 2011
Jeff & Wan

[karisdiscus]

Have you ever shipped to the USA? If so have you had any problems shipping here?

[block2]

Have you ever shipped to the USA? If so have you had any problems shipping here?

Hi Karisdiscus,

We ship worldwide.....we ship to the USA on a regular basis with no problems.

Regards
Jeff & Wan

[duckeo]

Happy to give them a go, ordered here. Will PM you details.

[block2]

Thanks Duckeo,

payment recieved, so thats 5 down so there are still 5 x 30% extra for free promotions left.

regards
Jeff & Wan

[Chow]

Decided to give these a go, just placed my order with you guys through the site. Looking forward to testing them out. (BTW order number is 3523089)

[swampy1972]

Hi Wan and Jeff,

After seeing your post regarding use with CRS, and your generous 30% extra offer I decided to order a portion of premium leaves. My order number is: 3525092

All the best,

Swampy ;)

[BigDaddyAdo]

I hope i got in for the 30% extra. ;)

My order number is 3525909.

[block2]

Hi All,

We have had 11 dicusforum members who have booked a product through our website so the offer of 30% extra for free for the 1st x 10 members is now finished. We will honour the 30% to the 11th member who booked online.

we would like to take this opportunity to thank the 11 discusforum members for their purchases and hope they are happy with their purchases once they arrive.

we will be adding more offers over the coming months so be sure to check out our website on a regular basis.

sometime today we will be adding more products including indian almond bark, betta scoops and betta jars...busy at moment working out costings and editing the photos

regards
Jeff & Wan

[karisdiscus]

got my leaves in the mail today :) I dont even think they were inspected.

[karisdiscus]

How do you know when to take the leaves out of the water?

[swampy1972]

That depends on what type of tank/habit you're keeping. If the look of decaying leaves is an issue for you, then remove them when they start to break down after a couple of weeks. If you have species that appreciate the decying leaves (such as shrimp), then leave them in there as long as you like.
Have a look at Jeff's website as he has some good guidance there.
HTH ;)

[karisdiscus]

That depends on what type of tank/habit you're keeping. If the look of decaying leaves is an issue for you, then remove them when they start to break down after a couple of weeks. If you have species that appreciate the decying leaves (such as shrimp), then leave them in there as long as you like.
Have a look at Jeff's website as he has some good guidance there.
HTH ;)

Thank You:)

[BigDaddyAdo]

Just a word of warning. I placed an order which I have not received. I have contacted AQIS and they have not confiscated or held up the package. I have also chased it up with express post. As I have no 'proof' that it was not delivered the seller refused to replace the order.

Buyer Beware.

[BigDaddyAdo]

I have just now received a letter from AQIS. It states that the leaves show signs of infestation. Atleast now I can hopefully get them replaced and with a bit of luck they will make it through.

[swampy1972]

Still waiting on mine as well.. What number did you use to contact AQIS? The last time I called them I got given the royal run around..

[ILLUSN]

got home from work in my letter box was my letter from AQIS

"Please note that the dried INDIAN ALMOND LEAVES has obvious signs of infestation"

might get them gamma irriadited just to see how bad they are, maybe all the rain aroud got to them in transit or in the sorting facility.

I know from my contacts at AQIS that they are SWAMPED so things mostlikely arnt getting handled as fast as usuall.

[BigDaddyAdo]

AQIS won't do squat unless you have a letter from them.

I just called their main number and asked to be transferred to "held items". They called me back quite quickly.

[ILLUSN]

i know for a fact that over 40000 items are being held awaiting sorting you'll just have to wait, AQIS is way under funded and under maned for the job they have to do.

[tommy mf]

I was looking forward to my leaves, what to do now??

[goodoo]

lucky I read this. I was about to buy some.

[block2]

Just a word of warning. I placed an order which I have not received. I have contacted AQIS and they have not confiscated or held up the package. I have also chased it up with express post. As I have no 'proof' that it was not delivered the seller refused to replace the order.

Buyer Beware.

Hi Ado,

Buyer Beware..bit over the top ain't it.

As the seller we provided you with proof that we sent the leaves if you can not provide us with proof that the leaves where not delivered we have every right as the seller to refuse a replacement. You have now supplied us with the AQIS letter saying your leaves have been stopped and we will send you a replacement order as promised in due time.

I have just sent you an email explaining everything we are doing to try and sort this mess out..maybe you should post it on here.

interesting to note that AQIS is undermanned and under pressure from back orders...it looks like someone there is does not understand the rules laid down by AQIS as we have had reports from AQIS saying that citrus leaves/peel are an unimportable item into Australia...INDIAN ALMOND LEAVES " TERMINALIA CATAPPA" are neitherso why this officer has said this is unbelivable....proves he/she is not doing her job properly and does not understand the rules laid down by AQIS and therefore should not be in the job.

AQIS have also mentioned an infection amongst the leaves...they have mentioned purple spots and blotches..which is not an infection at all but the natural pigment of the tannin showing through the leaves. The leaves if left on the ground in the sun would eventually turn purple. Like all leaves that fall from trees they go through numerous colour changes as they rot/die. We have stopped this process by washing and pressing..bit like flower pressing.

So please ADO stop scare-mongering..and like I said I am trying to get to the bottom of this and also trying to sort out an alternative shipping process.

Regards
jeff & wan

[block2]

got home from work in my letter box was my letter from AQIS

"Please note that the dried INDIAN ALMOND LEAVES has obvious signs of infestation"

might get them gamma irriadited just to see how bad they are, maybe all the rain aroud got to them in transit or in the sorting facility.

I know from my contacts at AQIS that they are SWAMPED so things mostlikely arnt getting handled as fast as usuall.

Hi Illusn,

Did you order the leaves from us as we don't seem to have a customer based in Penrith...if you did buy from us can you please forward us the AQIS seizure notice ASP.

If you did order from us don't get them radiated just yet...I'm busy emailing all customers who bought recently and have had their parcels stopped with alternatives

regards
jeff & wan

[BigDaddyAdo]

Hardly scare mongering. I was simply pointing out fact. I don't believe anything I have posted is untrue in any way.

As you will see in the email that I sent just before I read your posts here I am also trying to be helpful and had offered to go way out of my way to try and sort this out for the benefit of all.

[block2]

Hi Ado,

Was a little upset so sorry if I came across rudely......trust me it is trully appriciated what you mentioned in your email...Fanx's again Mate

Regards
jeff & Wan

[BigDaddyAdo]

No probs Jeff. I am sure this is a lot more frustrating for you than it is for us.

[block2]

Hi Ado,

Tell me about it...LOL...I haven't stopped all day.

Regards
jeff & Wan

[goodoo]

Let me know when this is sorted out and
I will buy some.

[block2]

Hi Goodoo,

Watch this space as they say...LOL

Just wrote 2 emails to 2 AQIS officers and am now waiting on a response will post once I receive a reply.

Regards
jeff & Wan

[ILLUSN]

got home from work in my letter box was my letter from AQIS

"Please note that the dried INDIAN ALMOND LEAVES has obvious signs of infestation"

might get them gamma irriadited just to see how bad they are, maybe all the rain aroud got to them in transit or in the sorting facility.

I know from my contacts at AQIS that they are SWAMPED so things mostlikely arnt getting handled as fast as usuall.

Hi Illusn,

Did you order the leaves from us as we don't seem to have a customer based in Penrith...if you did buy from us can you please forward us the AQIS seizure notice ASP.

If you did order from us don't get them radiated just yet...I'm busy emailing all customers who bought recently and have had their parcels stopped with alternatives

regards
jeff & wan

hi Jeff and Wan i did mate my shipping address is kingswood nsw 2747 i'll scan the letter and send it to you.

[goodoo]

will do. Thanks, cant wait to get some.

[karisdiscus]

I got mine ok. They dont look like they are infested with anything. there are no bugs.. How do you tell if they are infested?

[ILLUSN]

customs check them for bugs, mould and fungus. last time i got some from a diffrent seler they were "mouldy".

it could just be that the humidity has gotten to them while they sit around waiting to be inspected, the cost to gamma irridate is way higher then the leaves are worth but I'm half tempted to just to see how bad they are.

the photos I've seen of jeff and Wan's products look top notch so i doubt there will be any bugs in them.

On that note Jeff and Wan i just emailed you a copy of my AQIS letter let me know when you get it.

[block2]

Hi All...

Hi Karis, you are in the U.S.A. and trust me the customs there are a lot more relaxed than AQIS...they probably also understand what they are doing. No need to worry if they are infested as they are not...if they where we wouldn't of shipped them.

Today we had an email from a customer who contacted the officer who had stopped their leaves and asked him what made him think the leaves had an infection...he mentioned the purple dots, blotches and colouration..the customer than said that this was probably the natural process of the leaf drying as it died. The customer then mentioned that the leaves where for her daughter, to be used as a water conditioner for her fish...the AQIS officers response.....wait for it....( I can't write this without peeing myself )

" SO THEY ARE NOT USED AS FOOD THEN "

that comment is even worse than the excuse of the leaves been banned becuse they are citrus

We have also just had an email from another customer...he is one of the 20 and in Melbourne, Victoria and YIP YIP Hooray he has got his leaves.

Still have had no response from AQIS...I tried calling them but missed them by 20 minutes. Forgot about there been a 3 hour delay between Thailand and Australia. Will try again tomorrow if i don't get an email. That will of been 3 days without a response...me starting to think someone has made a big booboo at AQIS and they don't want to admit it.

Regarding shipping arrangements if we do have to reship it's looking like Brisbane and Sydney. Customers who can't make it to either destination we have had some great responses from customers who really want to help so don't worry you will get your leaves.

We are still awaiting on 8 customers whereabouts once we get them we will start the ball rolling...unless AQIS have a change of heart that is.

Myself and Wan are overwhelmed with some of the responses...a big thankyou to you all.

Regards
jeff & wan

[block2]

Only me again...

for those interested here is a picture taken by AQIS of the so called infected leaves...as you can see perfect grade A leaves.

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr65/block2_photos/AQISreturn.jpg

Regards
Jeff & Wan

[block2]

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr65/block2_photos/P2040417.jpg[/img]

I have just noticed something while I was doing this. The top photo was sent to 2 different customers who had asked to see pictures of their infected leaves. Both photos are the same photo.

So no way could those leaves of been in two seperate parcels. The plot thickens as they say.

[ILLUSN]

I've asked aqis to irriadiate my shipment ($45) I know its expensive but i just want to see for myself what actual infestation is on the leaves I'll post photos when they arrive (6 weeks or so)

[swampy1972]

I also recieved an AQIS letter today.. :(

I'm not prepared to pay $40+ for the parcel since I only got a small amount.. So it looks like my tanks will going without until I can find an Australian retailer..

[block2]

Hi Illusn,

We appriciate why you are doing this but you don't have to. 6 weeks...

we will still send you replacement as promised and you should have them within 2-3 weeks.

Swampy...will chat via email.

regards
jeff & Wan

[block2]

Good morning All

Ok..just spoke to Vansantha Pedagandham at AQIS...

1. I asked why she had not replied to my email as it had been 3 days since I sent it and that I had a report that she was in contact with me.....She said she had sent my email to head office and was waiting on a reply.

2. I then mentioned that 16 parcels had been stopped and 2 customers had not received theirs or a letter from AQIS and 2 had got delivered. I mentioned out of the 16 parcels 5 - 6 had been stopped, the reason for stopping them that Citrus leaves /peel where not an importable item into Australia...and stated that Indian Almond Leaves are neither.

She said the officer that did this probably did not know what they where...I replied that we state 3 times what is in the parcel ie. 100 dried Indian Almond Leaves " Terminalia Catappa" we state it on the box, the parcel and the customs declaration form as required by AQIS in their rules and regulations and that Indian Almond Leaves where an allowable item to be imported to Australia...said she knew this....so I asked again why had the leaves been stopped for been citrus leaves when we have clearly stated that they are Terminalia Cattappa...she said she did not know that any parcels had been stopped because they where declared citrus. She asked me if I had a name or reference number of the said citrus parcels and I said I had several...so I am in the progress of emailing her all the parcels references with the said citrus leaves and she said she will look into it.

3. I then mentioned about her sending the same photos to 2 customers who had requested to see pictures of their supposed infected leaves...she said she had not done this...I said I had proof....at this point her bottom lip was quivering and she started to stutter....I told her she was not doing her job properly and she was issuing false information to our customers....she then asked if she could put me on hold..and I said no..I'm calling from Thailand and I wanted to speak to her personally...I asked again about the photographs and why she had sent the same photographs to 2 different customers as the leaves could not have been in the 2 customers parcels at the same time..again she said she did not do this...so I said I will send her the proof...again she started to talk gibberish..then she said all the leaves are infected she had took some photo's and had sent them to the customers who had requested..I then said the customers had requested photographs of their infected leaves from their parcels not other peoples parcels and that it was very unprofessional of what she had done.

She kept going around in circles and would not admit what she had done...she asked me to forward the reference numbers of the seized citrus leaves and that she would look into it straight away and get back to me asp.

I wished her a nice day and said i would email her shortly and would speak again in the near future.

So will post once i get a response form head office and a response fron Vansantha.

Regards
jeff & wan

[swampy1972]

Jeff,

From your discussions with them, do you think there is a likelihood of AQIS reversing their decision and releasing the seized parcels to the intended recipients?

Cheers. ;)

[block2]

Hi Swampy,

at this stage I'm not sure...I have really tried my best to get this sorted all I have done is sit on the computor the last 3 days and Wan has cracked on preparing stock on her own.

I have just sent Vansantha a lengthy email...I mentioned what the leaves where and why our customers bought the leaves for their aquariums I more or less copied and pasted all the info from our indian almond leaf pages. So at least she now understands what they are used for.

I also mentioned how many parcels had been stopped also mentioned out of 20 parcels 2 have got through ( though I do not know how has they contained the same leaves as all the other parcels ), 2 have not turned up yet or been issued with siezure notices...12 have been stopped as they are believed to be infected, 1 customer was issued with a notice but with no explaination why his parcel had been stopped and 3 have been stopped due to been citrus leaves.

I gave her the ref number and names of the 1 with no explination and the 3 been citrus leaves.

I also mentioned the same photo that was sent to 2 different customers who had asked to see pics of the leaves from their parcels...I said it was very unprofessional and that she was supplying our customers with false information.

I attached the said photo that she had sent i also attached a photo of leaves from our dry room going through the different stages of drying out and a photo of leaves with infections and disease.

No doubt the email will also be sent to head office...so there is nothing more I can do this end until I get a response.

in the meantime we are preparing new stock...if we have hit a brick wall and they will not see sense and release the parcels then I will contact her again and mention what we are going to do..ie...many parcels in one parcel and they can have the 90 or so $ it is going to cost to get the 2 parcels treated if stopped again. I am also going to get her to confirm if we put say 10 different parcels into 1 big parcels and put the names of the customers on the separate parcels that we only have to pay 1 payment and not 10....this should not be a problem has we sent 6 parcels to another customer in one parcel and they have only had to pay once.

So again thanks for baring with us and been understanding and patient...hopefully this will be sorted middle of next week.

Regards
jeff & Wan

[goodoo]

Australian customs are really paranoid. Probably becasue we have so done so much damage to this beautifull country with feral species. It is a very delicate country, well animals fauna etc. And in 200 hundred years we have managed to fuck it all up. The indiginous people took care of aus for thousands of years. Now well just look at the carp problem in are water ways. Or overfishing, They used to use the great murray cod as fertilizer. argh. I hate carp. I hope you get it sorted so I can through some leaves in my tank.

[block2]

So do I goodoo...i understand why AQIS do it and I for 1 are all for it...

but this as totally got out of order as it proves that some AQIS employee's have not got a clue what their job entails..you only have to read the feedbacks from our customers on the couple of forums we are apart of...anyway it's the weekend...i'm having a couple of days off preparing newstock an getting me brain in gear for the next episode.....

Respect to all involved and thanks for sticking with us....trust me.... myself and Wan will not let you down.

Regards
Jeff & Wan

[karisdiscus]

What a mess!! I hope all of you get your leaves soon.

[block2]

Hi All,

Fanx's Karis...so do I....

Had an email yersterday from the A/g Risk Manager, Sydney Gateway Facility, Australian Quarantine & Inspection Service

Hi Jeff,

I am awaiting a response from our Scientists in our Plant Pathology section regarding the samples we have sent for testing.

As soon as I receive a response I will be in contact with you regarding the outcome.

I thank you for your patience and hope to have a response for you soon.

Cheers,
( name witheld as I don't want to cause problems )

And there's me thinking the samples have already been tested.

fingers x'sed the samples will come back negative and a mistake as been made and we can put all this to rest.

Regards
Jeff & Wan

[goodoo]

I think it should all sort it self out. These leaves sound like the miracle leaf. And I want some.

[block2]

Goodoo,

That is their nickname the " Miracle Leaf " ..( viagra for fish )

regards
jeff & Wan

[BobbyBruce]

Hi Jeff,

Could you please let me know when the problem is sorted. I am going to be needing some more of your leaves in the near future.

Regards,

Bob

[goodoo]

[quote="block2"]Goodoo,

That is their nickname the " Miracle Leaf " ..( viagra for fish )

Does it work on humans ?

[block2]

Hi Bob,

Watch this space as they say..

GooDoo..google indian almond tree....the actual indian almond tree's.....bark, leaves and fruit/nut are used for many things...it truelly is ...The Miracle Tree

[goodoo]

Do you have a plantation? or do they grow everywhere ? excuse my ignorance.

[block2]

Do you have a plantation? or do they grow everywhere ? excuse my ignorance.

They grow everywhere...we have several in and around our village...you find a lot of thai's will build a little road side stall or cafe under an Almond tree.......they are mainly used for shelter from the sun.

Back to the thread, we have received a parcel yesterday that we sent on 11/1/11...the customer was not at home and a memmo was left to pick it up from his local post office...he never seen the memmo and parcel was returned to us...looks like the parcel was opened by aqis but not the package itself..no leaflets where inside just a big sticker saying unclaimed return to sender.

The leaves inside are the same has in the 18 stopped recently showing purple spots and purple blotches so I would like to know why this parcel got through and the others at a later date got stopped.

I have photo the original photo I took on the 11/1/11 before shipping..the writing on the package as been smudged I have took another photo and you can definitly see it is the same package.

I am going to reship the same package....there should be no reason to stop it has it has already cleared AQIS once......it will be interesting to see what happens.

Regards
Jeff & Wan

[block2]

Hi All,

Just had some great news....maybe all my hard work as paid off...just had an email off a customer in Melbourne who we shipped the leaves to on the 7/2/11 and he has got them...but it gets better I quote his email and wait till youi see the pics he has kindly sent me.....

Hi Jeff/Wan,

My leaves arrived today. There is a yellow sticker on the box which says they have been inspected by AQIS and they thus presumably had no problems with it. One of the top leaves in the packet is spotty like the pictures of the so called "diseased leaves" that were posted on the forums so there is no way they could have missed it. I presume that leaves sent to Melbourne must've gone through a different AQIS check point.

Cheers,

I have withheld the customers name..

heres the pics......

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr65/block2_photos/Gotthrough.jpg


http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr65/block2_photos/gotthrouh1.jpg


I think all the parcels go through 1 gateway and that is the 1 at Sydney so this parcel must of passed through where the other parcels where stopped and you can deffinetly see the spots which is the so called infection...lets hope that the good people at AQIS have realised there as been a mistake and that the tests have returned negative and all parcels will be released shortly...but saying that I have still had no response from AQIS other than the one saying samples had been sent to the lab and they where waiting for results...but it is starting to look good...


Here's some pics of the parcel returned that was unclaimed and sent on the 29/11/10

1. Unclaimed return to sender label..looks like it was returned on the 24/1/11 so it has been sat waiting to be claimed for nearly 2 months.

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr65/block2_photos/BSunParcelReturn1.jpg


2. Front of parcel and the leaf on the right has visable freckles

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr65/block2_photos/returnfront.jpg


3. Back of parcel and the leaf at the bootom as very big freckles.

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr65/block2_photos/returnback.jpg

Regards
jeff & Wan

[block2]

Good Afternoon All,

I sent an email this morning to the risk manager at the Sydney Gateway Facility who is dealing with the stopped leaves. I have just this minute received a response.

1. Asked him if there was any news.?

He said he is still waiting for a response from plant pathology

2. Mentioned that I had not had any feedback regarding the 4 - 5 parcels stopped because the officer/s had declared the leaves citrus.

He said he had spoken to the officer who had put the comments regarding citrus peel/leaves.

She had advised him that she had accidentally copied and pasted the wrong comments into the first one, and then had copied the first one as a template for the others, and that she had apologised for any confusion this has caused. If it turns out they cannot release them, he will make sure the comments are corrected and new forms are sent to the customers concerned.

3. I also mentioned about the parcel returned due to not been claimed and also the one that recently got through to the customer in melbourne and sent him pictures of the said 2 parcels and packages.

He said regarding the ones which have been released he was unable to comment as he did not know which mail centre they were cleared through.

He said mail is processed at the port of entry. Mail centres are set up in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Cairns and Perth. he also said that the Sydney mail center had been extremley busy durning the month of January.

Lastly he said he would keep trying to get the results and would inform me asp once he had the results....

The guy comes across as if he is trying his best to get to the bottom of this, I have just thanked him and wished him a nice weekend...so there is nothing we can do but be patient and hope it all gets sorted sometime next week.

Regards
Jeff & Wan

[tommy mf]

FINALLY

lol leaves came in today, along with the same yellow sticker and a pamphlet telling me there was nothing of dangerous goods found and an information booklet stating what is allowed and not allowed into aus.

It was a fair wait, posted as stated by wan/jeff on the 21st jan but yes customs seemed to have messed up, but at least we know they protecting our shores.

Cheers guys great quality leaves

[block2]

Hi Tommy,

Great news...Are you the Tommy in Midland? Has I have 2 Tommys on my list....

if you are I have just checked the photo I sent you when we shipped the leaves and your leaves have definetly got the freckles...you can't miss them. ( if it is you is it ok if I shot the picture up ).

I have still had no word about the samples that where sent to the lab and it's the 2nd week now but when parcels where 1st stopped nearly a month ago Vansantha at AQIS said she had received results from the lab and the leaves where infected...

now we have parcels that have got through in Melbourne and Western Australia with the freckles clearly visable through the bag they are packed in....surley all AQIS offices should have the same rules and regulations and stick by them.......it just dosn't add up......

but like they say no news is good news....fingers x'sed.

Glad you got them anyway mate...and so sorry for the delay.

Regards
Jeff & Wan

[block2]

Hi All,

I'm afraid I have bad news

I received an email from the risk manager at the Sydney Gateway Facility yesterday :

" Hi Jeff

I have spoken to the Chief Scientist in charge of Plant Pathology

He has advised me that “the leaves had a range of disease symptoms expressed as necrotic spots and sunken lesions with some showing fungal growth”

And that the appropriate treatment for them is to “gamma irradiate” this treatment will cost $42.50 for each consignment.

I have emailed them to ask if we need to send them samples from each consignment for testing and I am waiting for a response on that.

I am not sure how you should proceed regarding sending further consignments.

Regards,

( name witheld )

But I also have good news

I sent an email back and thanked him for his help on the matter and said that we where disappointed with the results but would accept them.

Regarding future consignments I said we would make sure we would not send any more leaves like the ones stopped and the leaves in future would be colour consistant. I asked him if we where to send one big parcel to a customer with several customers packages inside would we only have to pay once or would we have to pay several times..if the parcel was stopped. I also asked how long does it usually take to get a parcel treated as i had heard different stories.

I also mentioned that 2 customers had opted to get their parcels treated and I was going to contact the rest to see what they wanted to do but I reckoned they would want them destroyed....

I asked him rather than destroying them, was there anyway he could put them all in one big box and ship them back to us and we would pay the cost or would we have to pay for each individual parcel to be shipped back..if this was the case I said it would be better to destroy them as we could not afford to pay for 15-16 parcels at $42.50

I got reply email this morning :

Hi Jeff,

I am glad I have been able to help, even though it may not have been the best of news.

In answer to your Questions, as I said in the previous email, the cost is per consignment, a consignment is defined as one parcel being sent to one address.

It does not matter to us wether there are bags, boxes or any other containers inside the consignment, it is still considered one consignment as it is one parcel going to one address.

If any leaves in the consignment are found to be infected or infested, the entire consignment will be held and a notice will be sent to the delivery address requesting payment of $42.50 AUD for treatment of the consignment.

The only time the cost will rise is if it is more than a cubic metre, which is usually more than they will let you post in one consignment anyway.

Regarding the Length of treatment, It can take as little as 3 or 4 weeks from when the payment is received, however due to the treatment facility closing over Christmas/New Year there is often a backlog when they re-open and it can blow out to 10 weeks during January and February as a result, then as the backlog reduces it becomes shorter again. So yes you will get different reports as it does change.

Regarding the consignments we have here, I have spoken to my Manager and as a gesture of Good Will Instead of bundling up to send back to you any that the clients have not opted to have destroyed already, we are prepared to bundle them up and send them to be treated as the cost to you is exactly the same for either option ($42.50 AUD), and then we will split them up into individual consignments again and release them to be delivered after they have been treated.

I have attached the appropriate forms (from one of the consignments) to enable you to make payment for the treatment, and already began bundling them up in anticipation of your payment for treatment, Once the payment is received we will send them to be treated. If you have any issues opening them please let me know and I will convert them to a different format.

Please keep in mind though that bundling them up this time is a gesture of good will and not a service we are able to regularly offer.

Cheers,
( Name witheld )

So there we have it....A big thankyou goes out to the guy who as helped myself and Wan on this matter

Ok now I am going to be busy for a few hours emailing everybody with the good news..I also need to work out who we get to receive the parcel and who has to make the payment and also get the funds to him/her...I need to do it today as the guy has mentioned they have already strated boxing the parcels up and are just waiting for the payment....

regarding future consignments I also need someone to be our agent I have a couple of people in mind and am going to be emailing them also..I also need to work out how we are going to do this as if the parcel gets stopped we need to pay the $42.50 then the parcels once released need to be forwarded to the customers either by a meeting point or mailed...again mailing is going to incur extra costs so I want to keep it to a minium.

Can anyone tell me the costs of shipping something from one state to another in Australia or as anyone got a link of the Australian internal postal costs depending on weight.

I am also going to put a disclaimer on our website for Australian customers in the next couple of days once I have worked everything out regarding future shipments.

Will be back in a few hours.

Regards As Always

Jeff & Wan

[block2]

Hi All,

Just had an email from Brian at AQIS and the payment we have made for treatment has been accepted and 12 parcels have been put into one big parcel and has now been sent for treatment....once treated the individual parcels will be separated from the big parcel and put back into their original boxes and handed over to Australia Post to be forwarded on to the individual customers...I am busy now emailing all the customers whose parcels are been treated.

Also we have held several orders back last month and these are almost complete and ready for shipping...they will be shipped beginning of next week in 1 big parcel...we have arranged with one member to ship to their address in Brisbane and they will distribute once they arrive...

Regards
jeff & wan

[ILLUSN]

Hi jeff,
got my leave today, there was no documentaion to say that they were treated, a quick inspection of the bg shows no visable signs of any infestation, i'll ckeck at work tomorrow with my scope to see if i can see any disease on the leaves.

[block2]

Hi All,

Just heard today the big parcel we sent last week with several orders in it has reached Brisbane safe and sound and I have been told it looks like it wasn't even opened...so happy days....the guy who received it and myself will be contacting everyone to organise pick up/drop off or internal shipping arrangements.

Regards
jeff & Wan