International shipping - comparison
Feb 10, 2015 1:22:18 GMT
Post by junon on Feb 10, 2015 1:22:18 GMT
Hi All,
Just want to share my experience shipping swords internationally using couriers (UPS, FedEx, and DHL) from USA to Singapore.
So far, DHL is the best courier for sword shipment. Not only you can declare sword (they have no issues with sword!), their custom clearance process is very fast. 1 day custom clearance process!
UPS is 2nd best; The trick on UPS is... you can't declare it as sword - I have been in touch with UPS and their official answer is:
"Unfortunately we are unable to accept the mentioned item through our services due to prohibited item.
Knives: Examples of knives considered to be weapons include switchblades, swords & bayonets"
"Knives are considered weapons if the intended use of the knife is to inflict bodily harm. All knives considered to be weapons are prohibited in the UPS system."
This is despite my protest that Singapore Customs has no issues with swords (http://www.spf.gov.sg/licence/AE/FAQ/AE.html).
Anyway, declaring the items as historical replica works fine; take longer than I like for custom clearances (3 working days), but items got delivered in the end.
FedEx was a nightmare. Enough said... If you can use DHL, why bother with FedEx?
Different countries would have different rules; so your mileage would vary.
PS: I had been using UPS for years (I believed I had 6-7 shipment using UPS in the past without problems - so either they have something new in place that cause the delay or it's just matter of luck. The same thing can be said with FedEx - When I ordered my Jue Yun Jian from sevenstarstrading years ago, it was shipped under FedEx and declared as sporting goods - sword. No issues... Perhaps sword was ok back then but come under heavy scrutiny these days).
Just want to share my experience shipping swords internationally using couriers (UPS, FedEx, and DHL) from USA to Singapore.
So far, DHL is the best courier for sword shipment. Not only you can declare sword (they have no issues with sword!), their custom clearance process is very fast. 1 day custom clearance process!
UPS is 2nd best; The trick on UPS is... you can't declare it as sword - I have been in touch with UPS and their official answer is:
"Unfortunately we are unable to accept the mentioned item through our services due to prohibited item.
Knives: Examples of knives considered to be weapons include switchblades, swords & bayonets"
"Knives are considered weapons if the intended use of the knife is to inflict bodily harm. All knives considered to be weapons are prohibited in the UPS system."
This is despite my protest that Singapore Customs has no issues with swords (http://www.spf.gov.sg/licence/AE/FAQ/AE.html).
Anyway, declaring the items as historical replica works fine; take longer than I like for custom clearances (3 working days), but items got delivered in the end.
FedEx was a nightmare. Enough said... If you can use DHL, why bother with FedEx?
Different countries would have different rules; so your mileage would vary.
PS: I had been using UPS for years (I believed I had 6-7 shipment using UPS in the past without problems - so either they have something new in place that cause the delay or it's just matter of luck. The same thing can be said with FedEx - When I ordered my Jue Yun Jian from sevenstarstrading years ago, it was shipped under FedEx and declared as sporting goods - sword. No issues... Perhaps sword was ok back then but come under heavy scrutiny these days).