MacBook stuck at LAX customs for over a week - is this typical?

If you are in, for example, the U.S. and order a Mac from Apple to be shipped to you in the U.S., it will be shipped from China. It will have to go through customs. How long that takes probably depends on a huge number of factors. Is the expected delivery date still within the range Apple gave you? If so, don't worry about it.

Hawerchuk10 wrote:

What does this have to do with ordering a brand new MacBook from the Apple Store?

TL;DR: it'll arrive when it arrives, nobody here has insight into your shipment.

Why was there confusion about ordering? It was unclear who you ordered the Mac from, and the original post didn't specify that. There's a grey market shipping equipment, and various folks posting questions around here can ask about international delivery of their purchases. I certainly wasn't sure about who you ordered this Mac from, too.

As for LAX US Customs, that can range from a day, to weeks. Sometimes longer.

Various folks have also reported the gear got through customs too, but the shipping status was not updated again until the package arrived at a regional delivery hub.

Nobody here knows the status or outcome or cause of the delay here.

If there is a delay here, and not simply a missed tracking update.

If Apple has an update about a shipping problem, they'll notify you.

This is incorrect. I’ve had laptops I’ve ordered from Apple Store shipped to me from China.

Customs is a bit of gamble- an agent can pull a shipment for whatever reason and it can sit around for a while then continue on or get lost. I’ve had both happen to me. It’s a function of the individual agent and the office it’s being held at. I’d have thought Apple are shipping so many of these the agent would be used to this sort of package but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Apple does not ship internationally. You must have used a third party service, so it would be best to ask them.

I could see something such as a computer being held up in delivery. US Customs (last time I checked) only allows $40 of value per day duty free. You may have to pay duty on something such as a computer, even if you own it unless you bought it in the USA and have a receipt you can present to customs official showing your purchased it here. I take receipts with me if I travel with expensive items to other countries.

Again, Apple does not do international shipping. Even if you have something bought in one country and then move to another country, you have to have somebody take it in person to the country where the repair needs to be done and then pick it up in that country again.

AlexDivide wrote:

This is incorrect. I’ve had laptops I’ve ordered from Apple Store shipped to me from China.

Yes, that's where they all come from. What Limnos was referring to was the fact that Apple won't, for example, allow someone in Brazil to order from the U.S. Online Store. They were asking for clarification about who the OP bought the device from as they didn't specify in the original post.

Customs is a bit of gamble- an agent can pull a shipment for whatever reason and it can sit around for a while then continue on or get lost. I’ve had both happen to me. It’s a function of the individual agent and the office it’s being held at. I’d have thought Apple are shipping so many of these the agent would be used to this sort of package but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Very true.

Exactly whom did you order this from?

Hawerchuk10 wrote:

What does this have to do with ordering a brand new MacBook from the Apple Store?

By “Apple Store” you mean the US online store, right?

It's still within the original range, so if it were me, I wouldn't be excessively concerned. But, if you are, contact Apple. There should be contact information in the emails you received.