Airport check in luggage

D

dvsdev

Joined
Jul 4, 2007
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Coming back from my vacation in Taiwan, I will have about 5 knives (in their boxes). I plan on putting them in my check in luggage, but I'm afraid that they will be confiscated.
What is the procedure at the airport to bring these back?
Should I declare them when I get back to the US?
Should I spend around $30 to mail them to be safe?
 
I have brought back knives in my checked luggage and i never had to declare them. My german teacher had a bunch when my class trip to germany was coming back to the US they stopped her because of all the metal but when she explained herself they let her through no problem. As long as they are not gravity knives or switchblades you should not have a problem.
 
If I'm not mistaken, the reason for declaring items in baggage upon returning back to the U.S. is to inform customs if any duty (tax) needs to be levied on the stuff you're bringing home.

Normally, this is stated on the card that you fill out in the airplane about half an hour before it touches down at the port of entry in the U.S. In addition to the total dollar amount of the items you bring back, it also stipulates how many bottles of booze, cartons of cigarettes and so on, that you can bring into the country duty free.

It's a good idea to bring back receipts for items you've purchased so if the customs officer needs to determine the value of the item in question it will be easier for them to determine said value. If you under report the value of any items, i.e., fancy gold Rolex watches or expensive fur coats, customs has the power to confiscate these items.

Unless you are bringing back some very expensive knives from Taiwan, I don't think you'll have any problems.
 
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Assuming that they are not switchblades, or butterfly knifes, or the like, they are no different than importing a fork, a spoon, or a sweater, except, of course, go in your carry on luggage.

Best regards,

Argyll
 
Argyll said:
Assuming that they are not switchblades, or butterfly knifes, or the like, they are no different than importing a fork, a spoon, or a sweater, except, of course, go in your carry on luggage.

Best regards,

Argyll
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Exactly. And you declare them only if they exceed whatever the threshold is, $10,000 as I recall.
 
Do they scan the luggage when it gets back in the US, or do they just scan it when I check it in prior to boarding the plane? Also, if butterfly knives are legal here in Taiwan, will I be able to bring it back with the rest of my stuff, even though they are illegal in California?
 
They will not be interested in the contents of your bag in Taiwan as nothing you have is illegal there.
If the contents of your bag is illegal at your destination then thats that, its illegal.
weather they catch you or not is up to lady luck !!!

I have had my bag emptied when i got home before and they just wanted to see my fixed blade knives. they were not interested in my forlders, one of which was illegal at my destination. I think i may have been lucky but as i say it was the fixed blades they were looking at.

You could always just swollow them i suppose ? LOL

Good luck bro !!!
 
Thanks again for your input Haze. I'll post what happens when I return back to the U.S.
 
I just got back from the airport with all my knives!:D I had to have my bags opened, but not for the knives. They were more worried about the "Moon Cakes" I brought back. I had three Spyderflies sitting next to the mooncakes! Oh, and everything was in their original boxes, so they wouldn't look suspicious.
 
If I remeber right ,anything over $300.00 has to be taxed if you declare it. I brought pelenty of knives (nothing expensive including two large machetes and never had any problems.
 
Gollnick said:
Exactly. And you declare them only if they exceed whatever the threshold is, $10,000 as I recall.
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I hope this isn't too off-thread:
I'm afraid to put anything expensive in my check-in luggage, since we are no longer allowed to lock our baggage. I have heard that baggage handlers constantly steal peoples' property, and that when this happens, the airlines won't do anything about it. :(

Am I wrong? :confused:
 
alejandrino said:
If I remeber right ,anything over $300.00 has to be taxed if you declare it. I brought pelenty of knives (nothing expensive including two large machetes and never had any problems.
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While waiting for my luggage for about 30 minutes, I noticed a sign on the carousel which said, "Acquiring over $400.00 in goods during a trip is subject to examination." On my customs form I put $1,000.00 acquired in knives. They were not concerned about the knives at all. Instead, they wanted to make sure there was no meat in the "moon cakes." With that said, they had me open up all the moon cake packages and actually break open some of the cakes.
 
werwoof said:
I hope this isn't too off-thread:
I'm afraid to put anything expensive in my check-in luggage, since we are no longer allowed to lock our baggage. I have heard that baggage handlers constantly steal peoples' property, and that when this happens, the airlines won't do anything about it. :(

Am I wrong? :confused:
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Thats not entirely true you can lock your luggage as it is with approved TSA locks.
 
cb4life_30 said:
Thats not entirely true you can lock your luggage as it is with approved TSA locks.
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Thanks for the info!

My wife told me that you are allowed to lock your luggage, but they are allowed to cut off your lock. Hopefully only in cases when they see something that they think might be illegal or dangerous. TY again. :D
 
Tiger Dude said:
Unfortunately, TSA-approved locks are openable by just about anyone.

Zip-ties are probably just as effective.
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I carry everything in a sea bag, when its full and packed properly its hard to rumage through quickly. The lock really just keeps people honest, I mean if they wanted in bad enough they could just cut it open. Honestly if it physically possible to drive somewhere I drive, if not then it is usually an AMC flight, and you can use regular pad locks on those.
 
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