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Post by nddave on Apr 12, 2019 22:36:21 GMT
Due to the terrorist attacks in Europe in the last years it's possible that importing any kind of weapon is more problematic and especially if they are declared not as a weapon, or as a weapon, I don't know. Maybe they're worried about terrorists knowing of sword shipments and hijacking planes with packages of swords to use as weapons to hijack the planes! Probably not... Though I think I just found a pitch to sell to Hollywood!!!! Albion collection funds I'll see you soon!
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admin
Site Admin
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Post by admin on Apr 13, 2019 3:33:09 GMT
Okay, for a start its only two vendors talking here because these days as we all know, the majority of vendors were driven off the forums years ago.
Yes. Ronin is effected & the SBG Sword Store effected with Forge Direct, Ryujin and Ronin shipments. KoA no longer offers USPS to Europe either now because of this - its a total crapshoot USPS now, some may get through with USPS still, but most wont.. That's a gamble a game we cannot afford to play when the result can be a loss of both high shipping cost and the sword itself (custom Ryujins for example, are not re-used and need to be scrapped if returned).
Was hoping that this might bring the community together to find answers and work together, but apparently that's not going to happen (sigh)..
I will have to backtrack on check on all orders from last month to provide exact countries effected, but its pretty wide and no discernible pattern other than 'Europe' and is as you will know, not the first time we had these issues (when Forge Direct suddenly had all European shipments stopped, for a while we could re-route via Hong Kong, but that's not working now either)..
All in all, its incredibly frustrating and even more annoying that some members have chosen to attack us as well over the way we represented the situation. Maybe Sword Ban was not the correct wording - but when we have had ongoing issues for a while now and then everything bounces back at once - that feels like some kind of unofficial ban to me..
United we stand. Divided we fall.
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Apr 13, 2019 5:25:20 GMT
The most important thing is to identify the problem. What has happened exactly? Some air carriers charged by USPS don't ship swords to some European countries. Why?
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Post by nddave on Apr 13, 2019 5:30:42 GMT
Good point Paul and seven pages later of this and that and a little too much aggression from some posters, I think that the focus should be on the problem some are having and not the problem some are not having.
I agree perhaps "sword ban" and "impossible" were terms too extreme for the situation as obviously its not a continent wide issue nor does it seem to be an exact issue with the European Union as much as an issue with USPS.
I made a joke above about potential fears of weapons being distributed via air couriers but perhaps that is the issue? What if it is the actual pilots or their administrators who are creating the issue due to overestimated fears of terrorist plots or even simply the refusal of weapons on board due to personal, professional or even political views of weapon transportation and distribution?
For example we're focused on swords here because we're sword enthusiasts but has anyone researched if other weapons are being refused like firearms, knives or even bludgeoning weapons collective or not like maces or clubs? What about axes both working tool or weapon? Polearms like halberds or spears? Or even working tool blades like machetes or saws? Hell even shears or scissors? I mean if the issue is refusal on exclusively swords that's kind of unique, if its a refusal on anything considered a weapon that makes more sense or even a refusal of blades in general that too would seem more understanding.
In the end though the goal should be finding the root of the issue and either taking proper steps to eliminate it or legally refute it. May be a loosing battle but I'd say its worth the time. More so than ignoring the problem or pretending there isn't one simply because a few memebers aren't experiencing it, yet anyway.
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Apr 13, 2019 7:17:59 GMT
Another thought: I don't know much of the different shipping companies but USPS seems to be cheaper than others and also seems to be the only company that has those troubles with air carriers. Perhaps the reason why USPS can be cheaper causes those problems?
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Post by dc on Apr 13, 2019 7:39:57 GMT
Dangerous goods? Those can flow through customs but some some carriers aren't allowed to carry them. So the postal service in the destination country or some intermediate carrier (like an airline) are the most like source of the problem. It could be either a carrier policy or government regulation that classifies swords as dangerous goods, and possibly only in specific circumstances (like if loaded on a passenger flight).
Removing "zombie" from the descriptions should be UK specific. Unless other countries have followed them in prohibiting zombie knives and weapons.
Knowing, or guessing at, the exact cause won't help SBG in the short term, nor will it alleviate their need to stop making high risk shipments. But it might help with finding a long term solution or work around.
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Post by dc on Apr 13, 2019 8:23:27 GMT
Another thought: I don't know much of the different shipping companies but USPS seems to be cheaper than others and also seems to be the only company that has those troubles with air carriers. Perhaps the reason why USPS can be cheaper causes those problems? UPS and Fedex are airlines themselves. They have their own air planes, pilots, and loaders, and carry the vast majority of their own air shipments. In contrast USPS own/lease few if any aircraft and their shipments are carried by various airlines (including Fedex and UPS). UPS and Fedex also have their own delivery drivers in high density areas, and contract out delivery in more remote areas. USPS international shipments are handed over to the local post office. Thus UPS and Fedex both have much more control over their transport network and communication between the US and international subsidiaries of UPS/Fedex is faster and more efficient than between USPS and other international postal services.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2019 10:03:23 GMT
page 3
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Post by csills2313 on Apr 13, 2019 11:28:40 GMT
Okay, for a start its only two vendors talking here because these days as we all know, the majority of vendors were driven off the forums years ago.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2019 13:24:32 GMT
Social dynamics and the pack mentality on any discussion board. I might add that both Paul's reminder and your curiosity are off topic to the matter at hand. Another facet that rings true to newcomers joining discussion boards is the lack of reading through even the first page of a subsection. An example in point would be a partial answer to your question. This is posted in this subsection, several threads below this one. sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/51841/dissapointed-another-manufacturer-leavesGranted, that is a couple of years ago but outlines the issues from one perspective, and written by the administrator. Please don't expect others to shag a lot of information that is actually presented as front page announcements. You may, or may not, see similar postings elsewhere on discussion boards. From my own perspective, I often see a lot of relatively new posters that post a lot, start a lot of threads and very possibly don't read posted information going back decades. There is nothing wrong with enthusiasm and "fresh" outlooks but again, often related in threads on the first page of any subsection. All of this essay quite off topic but that is the true nature of many boards. Aside from vendors, one might wonder why the overall trend on discussion boards is that they are dying, or have already become sleepy. Don't expect this thread to revitalize the board and certainly, if any expect information relevant to the topic of returned swords then please hope to be on topic. Or not. Posting "in the moment" serves no one if the topic is to be meant as serious. Don't put me in charge, I'll fire everyone.
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pellius
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Post by pellius on Apr 13, 2019 17:23:34 GMT
Dunno if this is off topic, but... I for one have found SBG’s site tremendously useful, and am grateful to have it as a resource. So this seems to be an appropriate place to voice my huge thanks to Admin for your time, efforts, resources, and patience,
Also, thanks for explaining what SBG has experienced (rather than, for example, just quietly cutting exports to certain countries).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2019 18:46:17 GMT
From the USPS website restrictions by country:
Country Conditions for Mailing — Netherlands
Prohibitions (130)
Arms and weapons.
Firearms and parts thereof, except under permit.
Human remains. Only cremated remains (human ashes) are permitted.
Live plants and animals.
Radioactive materials.
Tickets and publicity for lotteries.
(Bold added by me.)
(Despite what a certain departed member said, the bulk of the smaller (less than a pallet) shipments I used to oversee went to Schiphol, not to Frankfurt, especially when carried by a commercial airliner.)
The other major hubs (UK, France, Germany, Italy) restrictions (relevant items extracted from the country lists.)
UK: Arms and parts of arms, or any component classified as munitions of war; imitations and antiques; paint-ball or toy guns; taser guns; air rifles, air pistols, components of firearms, and all other items similar to or resembling the foregoing.
Switchblade knives (also knows as flick knives) and gravity knives.
France: Arms, ammunition.
Germany: Arms and weapons, including firearms, parts of arms, ammunition, and imitation arms.
Italy: Arms and weapons.
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Post by Siward on Apr 14, 2019 12:38:42 GMT
Ok so via UPS a sword that Christian Short was sending me has cleared UK customs.
This is the second blade shipped from the US using UPS that cleared customs without issue (other was via KOA).
Cost was $140 rather than the $80 it is for USPS so a slight increase but not prohibitively so.
So SGB and Ronin could offer UPS without scaring away cost sensitive customers.
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Post by Darth Paunch on Apr 14, 2019 14:38:59 GMT
sword from "fabulous_sword" from ebay.com arrived at local custom office; came from China. Can pickup on tuesday i guess. Was rerouted via Hongkong becaus vendor said Shanghai customs "swallows" all swords... O.o Was quite fast with two weeks. Last sword from USA was KOA two month ago via USPS; takes long, but no problem. Just realize they dont offer USPS anymore, pity. :-(
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Post by Darth Paunch on Apr 17, 2019 8:08:09 GMT
UPDATE: sword from "fabulous sword" is here, around two weeks, no problems.
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admin
Site Admin
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Post by admin on Apr 19, 2019 1:48:59 GMT
Seems you got lucky there Darth - we were using Hong Kong as a routing point until about a month ago and then were told its no longer possible..
I did receive some information from a French customer of ours via email that suggests a route cause for all this as follows: Not sure if its just another rumor, its quite maddening that some packages seem to be okay and others are hitting a brick wall or disappearing. Worst part is, as a vendor we can't take a risk that we will lose the package as we don't make enough profit to cover it.
Wish I still had a punching bag.. Lol
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Post by nddave on Apr 19, 2019 2:26:36 GMT
Well at least its not a ban and just lazy administrative and or government work. Seems getting the right butts in gear would eliminate the problem and get shipping back to normal.
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Post by Darth Paunch on Apr 19, 2019 9:49:34 GMT
Well at least its not a ban and just lazy administrative and or government work. Seems getting the right butts in gear would eliminate the problem and get shipping back to normal. Wouldnt that be super? Kicking government bureaucratics butts to get things running? Should be a legal option everywhere...
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Post by Darth Paunch on Apr 19, 2019 9:52:33 GMT
Seems you got lucky there Darth - we were using Hong Kong as a routing point until about a month ago and then were told its no longer possible..
*heavy headscratch* on all that stuff... well, next thing i try next month is use "shipito" for one of the SBG swords from SBG store; we will see how that works!
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Scott
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Post by Scott on Apr 19, 2019 10:12:03 GMT
Seems you got lucky there Darth - we were using Hong Kong as a routing point until about a month ago and then were told its no longer possible..
*heavy headscratch* on all that stuff... well, next thing i try next month is use "shipito" for one of the SBG swords from SBG store; we will see how that works! Given that shipito lists weapons as prohibited items, good luck. They used to be a good option, but changed their rules without any warning and did not even announce these changes.
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