Mike22 is very upset and he sees the situation only from his own perspective. On the other hand someone else had commented how so many people try to sneak through brand new strollers and other items without paying mas on them and therefore customs are cracking down. Maybe he shouldn’t blame the custom agents as much as those fine yidden who try to cheat the rules.
Yes I do believe it will be a chilul Hashem because the story will bring out the fact that so many frum people do try to cheat the government by bringing in brand new taxable items saying that it is used and that is why the custom agents are cracking down. I believe that Mike22 should provide all the proof that he has to show that he bought this used, that it is NOT a new product and get it back. He knew that he would have to provide proof, he knew what the rules were and he should not be that surprised that this happened, even though he could tell that the carriage was NOT new. People have dirtied up brand new items to fool customs before.
If you face these type of strict rules you should get a receipt for purchase. Try and get the original paperwork for the item, like the instruction book which would have the model year of the item, etc. If you are pushing a 2009 stroller in 2011, and you have the booklet to prove it, and the receipt then you have an argument to make with the customs agent.