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Post by honjo7 on Nov 14, 2023 19:09:51 GMT
I recently purchased a basket hilt and dagger from a chap in the states. I had instructed him to use UPS, since I've used them successfully in the past. However, the seller has now informed me that they have told him they can't or won't ship swords, which is a bit odd, since several people in the sword community have told me they've used them recently.
Does anyone have any advice? DHL customer service informed me they don't ship swords. I know Fedex return everything as a matter of policy.
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Post by fester on Nov 14, 2023 21:19:32 GMT
I can't really help other than I know DHL will ship swords from the UK to the USA. But the reverse may not be true.
I have received blades from Tod Cutler and Workshop with no problem. But it could be how they are labeled as well.
Tod usually labels them as props which may be making the difference.
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Nov 15, 2023 6:30:14 GMT
Have them label them as wall art, it's what I do with USPS.
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Post by honjo7 on Nov 15, 2023 8:06:56 GMT
Fortunately, I received an update shortly after making this thread. It seems his local Post Office has agreed to ship the package as "sports equipment". I'm still waiting for an update, but I assume that would be through USPS? Several people have said they're usually fine for UK shipping.
Fingers crossed it all works out.
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Post by iulius on Nov 20, 2023 1:19:11 GMT
Does DHL will help transport swords to other countries. Their customer service said it's not possible. I bought some swords from the UK and want to send them to Canada, but I can't find any courier companies.
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Post by honjo7 on Nov 28, 2023 17:55:52 GMT
Does DHL will help transport swords to other countries. Their customer service said it's not possible. I bought some swords from the UK and want to send them to Canada, but I can't find any courier companies. I've never exported a sword from the UK, so I'm afraid I can't offer any advice there. It's surprisingly hard to get answers to these questions. I've sent emails to several people in the sword community, many whom ship swords routinely, and most never respond. Back in 2022, Kult of Athena agreed to ship an Albion for me, despite not being purchased directly through their store. I sent a couple of emails over the past few months to ask if they would be willing to do the same again, but I sadly never heard back from them. Tod of Tod's Workshop was one of the few kind enough to offer any advice at all, despite being very busy.
On the plus side, the sword I bought has finally turned up in the UK, courtesy of USPS. However, the tracker states it is currently "on hold". Whether that's normal or not, I can't say. I hope it doesn't indicate a problem.
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Post by mrstabby on Nov 28, 2023 19:33:08 GMT
I think the problem is that even the authorities aren't really sure about the rules and regulations, you'll get as many different answers as the number of goverment/import-people you talk to. Though this is the same everywhere I guess, but in the UK with the really murky laws concerning blades it's worse. I think I saw Matt Easton saying he has some swords getting disappeared at customs as well, so it probably depends on who is on shift that day and how narrowly they interpret the laws. So even if someone like Tod or Matt had answered, it would not be a guarantee that it would help unfortunately.
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Post by honjo7 on Nov 29, 2023 7:01:08 GMT
I think the problem is that even the authorities aren't really sure about the rules and regulations, you'll get as many different answers as the number of goverment/import-people you talk to. Though this is the same everywhere I guess, but in the UK with the really murky laws concerning blades it's worse. I think I saw Matt Easton saying he has some swords getting disappeared at customs as well, so it probably depends on who is on shift that day and how narrowly they interpret the laws. So even if someone like Tod or Matt had answered, it would not be a guarantee that it would help unfortunately. Yeah, I'm sure that's a factor. I have a suspicion that many vendors are also possibly exploiting some "loopholes" in order to import regularly, and don't want to rock the boat by having too many people doing the same thing. I understand if they can't offer any advice, depending upon the reason, but it's common courtesy to at least respond.
I spoke to Parcelforce yesterday about the package, hoping to pay the VAT, but they told me I can't do that until it's been processed. At the moment, I have no idea why it's on hold. Hopefully, it's just a matter of calculating the import fees...The last time I made such a purchase, KOA filled out the forms, and all I had to do for customs was confirm the contents with a brief description, and provide a receipt. The whole process probably took no more than a day or two.
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Post by bwaze on Nov 29, 2023 7:54:32 GMT
Apparently it just got more complicated recently. I don't know if it's the new arms export ban or something else, but I have an order from Kult of Athena for a very expensive sword which I ordered more than a month ago, it went back to the sender, and it took Kult of Athena almost a month to figure out the new paperwork for exporting to EU. It's on it's way now, and I can only hope it will go through.
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Post by mrstabby on Nov 29, 2023 8:29:45 GMT
EU wide, unless you live in a country that has it's own blade restrictions (like Italy), it's all in the paperwork. Normally you need to have a bill of sale on the package, which states content and value, and many outside the EU don't do that. Then you need to send customs a copy of this, but if you don't or they don't contact you, it just goes back to sender within one or two weeks. Especially annoying if it's china, because the chinese customs tend to destroy objects that are sent back, so it's a total loss when it happens. For UK though there is much more red tape.. Is it hand made, is it curved, what do you need it for etc.
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Post by honjo7 on Nov 29, 2023 8:33:09 GMT
Apparently it just got more complicated recently. I don't know if it's the new arms export ban or something else, but I have an order from Kult of Athena for a very expensive sword which I ordered more than a month ago, it went back to the sender, and it took Kult of Athena almost a month to figure out the new paperwork for exporting to EU. It's on it's way now, and I can only hope it will go through. That doesn't bode well for my package. Typically, the UK are even stricter than Europe. If this one is sent back, I'll likely be out of options. I suppose I just have to wait and see.
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Post by mrstabby on Nov 29, 2023 8:39:46 GMT
If you got contacted, it should be fine unless they have some problems with the items themselves. EDIT: Sorry, I misunderstood, you contacted them! How long has it been stuck now?
The problems also depend A LOT on the postal service you use. Never had any customs issues with DHL, with UPS every time (delays, people not knowing what I need to send them, e-mails not getting recieved and "no contact" issues)
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Post by honjo7 on Nov 29, 2023 8:47:10 GMT
If you got contacted, it should be fine unless they have some problems with the items themselves. The problems also depend A LOT on the postal service you use. Never had any customs issues with DHL, with UPS every time (delays, people not knowing what I need to send them, e-mails not getting recieved and "no contact" issues) It's a straight sword and dagger, so it's perfectly legal to import in the UK, but I've heard it can often just depend on the knowledge of the individual who inspects your shipment. This one was sent via USPS, and I believe the chap I bought it from labelled it as "sports equipment" on the advice of the clerk at his local Post Office. Parcelforce handle the UK side of things, providing the package clears customs, but they've yet to reach out to me for any information, and it's going on five days now. Since I don't know what he put on the forms, I can't say how likely it is whether there will be an issue or not.
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Post by bwaze on Nov 29, 2023 9:04:01 GMT
To clarify, my sword wasn't stuck or got sent back by customs in my country - Slovenia, or on any other part of journey in EU. It got sent back by UPS only a day after it started it's journey, well in USA:
"Returning to Sender
The receiver had no invoice information for this package and has refused the delivery. / The package will be returned to the sender."
And it took a long time for KOA to even find out what was wrong and what they have to change.
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Post by mrstabby on Nov 29, 2023 9:06:18 GMT
If you got contacted, it should be fine unless they have some problems with the items themselves. The problems also depend A LOT on the postal service you use. Never had any customs issues with DHL, with UPS every time (delays, people not knowing what I need to send them, e-mails not getting recieved and "no contact" issues) It's a straight sword and dagger, so it's perfectly legal to import in the UK, but I've heard it can often just depend on the knowledge of the individual who inspects your shipment. This one was sent via USPS, and I believe the chap I bought it from labelled it as "sports equipment" on the advice of the clerk at his local Post Office. Parcelforce handle the UK side of things, providing the package clears customs, but they've yet to reach out to me for any information, and it's going on five days now. Since I don't know what he put on the forms, I can't say how likely it is whether there will be an issue or not. Have you tried contacting USPS or the customs office, they might know more. 5 days, it could still be in the process, but try to make contact. Also do it over the phone, it's much faster and a bit more reliable, nothe the name of the person you are talking to as well, just in case. My guess parcelforce has nothing to do with the process itself and can't really help anyways. Either USPS or, if you know what office it is stuck at, call the customs office there.
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Post by mrstabby on Nov 29, 2023 9:09:35 GMT
To clarify, my sword wasn't stuck or got sent back by customs in my country - Slovenia, or on any other part of journey in EU. It got sent back by UPS only a day after it started it's journey, well in USA: "Returning to Sender The receiver had no invoice information for this package and has refused the delivery. / The package will be returned to the sender." And it took a long time for KOA to even find out what was wrong and what they have to change.
Yeah, that's probably not an import issue but an UPS issue. No contact, not knowing what they want of you = UPS
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Post by honjo7 on Nov 29, 2023 9:16:55 GMT
It's a straight sword and dagger, so it's perfectly legal to import in the UK, but I've heard it can often just depend on the knowledge of the individual who inspects your shipment. This one was sent via USPS, and I believe the chap I bought it from labelled it as "sports equipment" on the advice of the clerk at his local Post Office. Parcelforce handle the UK side of things, providing the package clears customs, but they've yet to reach out to me for any information, and it's going on five days now. Since I don't know what he put on the forms, I can't say how likely it is whether there will be an issue or not. Have you tried contacting USPS or the customs office, they might know more. 5 days, it could still be in the process, but try to make contact. Also do it over the phone, it's much faster and a bit more reliable, nothe the name of the person you are talking to as well, just in case. My guess parcelforce has nothing to do with the process itself and can't really help anyways. Either USPS or, if you know what office it is stuck at, call the customs office there.
That's a good idea. I'll give USPS and Customs a ring. I suppose it's possible the seller put down the incorrect contact info on the forms.
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Post by bwaze on Nov 29, 2023 10:47:04 GMT
To clarify, my sword wasn't stuck or got sent back by customs in my country - Slovenia, or on any other part of journey in EU. It got sent back by UPS only a day after it started it's journey, well in USA: "Returning to Sender The receiver had no invoice information for this package and has refused the delivery. / The package will be returned to the sender." And it took a long time for KOA to even find out what was wrong and what they have to change.
Yeah, that's probably not an import issue but an UPS issue. No contact, not knowing what they want of you = UPS
Yeah, but Kult of Athena arent't really newbies with international shipping, even the Balaur sword I ordered this spring came through without problems. I don't know the details, but they said they haven't run into this issue before, and even on the second try they said they "think we have it all figured out."
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Post by honjo7 on Nov 29, 2023 14:25:07 GMT
I received a letter from Parcelforce this morning. It contained a C160 form. Basically, they just want me to provide proof of value for each item in the parcel. I have a PayPal invoice for the transaction, which included shipping and insurance, but it doesn't list the value of both the sword and dagger separately, or even describe what the payment was for, since it was a private sale. I've sent in everything I have available. Hopefully, that will be enough. They state that they can only hold a parcel for 28 days after arriving in the UK, so the clock is ticking.
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Post by mrstabby on Nov 29, 2023 14:39:31 GMT
Lets hope it works! Both items should have the same tax identification number, so should be OK. Unless they need to know how much shipping alone was, since it is taxed differently or something. Keep at it, it's better to ask too often than not being informed that something is still missing. Good luck though!
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