Purchasing an automatic knife from Canada... I live in the U.S.

[M.FREEZE]

Is it legal to purchase an automatic knife from Canada? The seller says he "guarantees" the purchase. It's my understanding that autos are illegal in Canada.

- How can a seller "guarantee" a sale/delivery on an item that's not legal for him to own?

- What are the possibilities of it being seized by customs it the knife is exiting Canada?

- Are there safeguards I can take that will at least refund my purchase price if the knife is confiscated?

- Will PayPal "Goods & Services" cover me if delivery doesn't happen?

 

[glistam]

This is a bad plan, for so many reasons. Not only are autos illegal in Canada, it is a violation of US federal law to import them from foreign countries. Know how the feds don't care that when people sell them between states even though it's illegal? Yeah, they care when you import them, because imports are not protected by mail privacy laws. This is what got a lot of US based companies in trouble in past years. And there is a very real possibility it will be intercepted by US customs. Not 100%, but a distinct possibility and you would face charges if this happened.

So no, the seller cannot "guarantee" anything, there are no safeguards you can take and PayPal will not cover this if you get caught because you will be facing federal charges. Though all told, this is likely some kind of scam and the seller merely intends to steal your money or the knife he sends will not actually be an auto.

 

[CapitalizedLiving]

If in doubt, buy an auto from someone else. Good dealers know their laws and probably know yours too (like Kershaw Guy). If you think the transaction is shady, you're going to worry about it the whole time and, even if you do eventually get it (remember, express shipping from Canada takes between eighty seven and four thousand weeks) will it be worth the extra gray hair?

 

[M.FREEZE]

This is a bad plan, for so many reasons. Not only are autos illegal in Canada, it is a violation of US federal law to import them from foreign countries. Know how the feds don't care that when people sell them between states even though it's illegal? Yeah, they care when you import them, because imports are not protected by mail privacy laws. This is what got a lot of US based companies in trouble in past years. And there is a very real possibility it will be intercepted by US customs. Not 100%, but a distinct possibility and you would face charges if this happened.

So no, the seller cannot "guarantee" anything, there are no safeguards you can take and PayPal will not cover this if you get caught because you will be facing federal charges. Though all told, this is likely some kind of scam and the seller merely intends to steal your money or the knife he sends will not actually be an auto.

Thanks for the reply and info. That's a lot to consider. However, I feel confident in the seller. I do not think is a scam. He has a long history on another forum with good feedback. Probably not worth the risk though.

 

[M.FREEZE]

If in doubt, buy an auto from someone else. Good dealers know their laws and probably know yours too (like Kershaw Guy). If you think the transaction is shady, you're going to worry about it the whole time and, even if you do eventually get it (remember, express shipping from Canada takes between eighty seven and four thousand weeks) will it be worth the extra gray hair?

Typically, autos aren't my type of thing anyway but it's a very specific prototype. Never seen one for sale anywhere before. But also not worth losing $$$.$$

 

[Thomas Linton]

The feds don't care - until they do.

"US IMMIGRATION PROCECUTION - $75,000 FINE FOR MAILING BUTTERFLY KNIVES. – US ATTORNEY
Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2007

OAKLAND - LAWFUEL - American Law Newswire - United States Attorney Scott N. Schools announced that Spyderco, Inc., a Colorado corporation, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today to mailing butterfly knives, which are nonmailable, to pay a $75,000 criminal fine, a $125 special assessment, and to forfeit all such knives seized by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement from its corporate offices in Golden, Colorado (estimated to be valued at over $400,000). The guilty plea and sentence is the result of an investigation by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE").

In pleading guilty, Spyderco admitted that from June 2005 through January 2007, it had mailed butterfly knives, after importing the knife components from Taipei, Taiwan, through the Port of San Francisco and the Port of Oakland, to Golden, Colorado. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol had issued a ruling to Spyderco holding that these knives fit the definition of "switchblade knives" as an imported knife "with a blade which opens automatically by operation of inertia, gravity, or both" and were therefore not allowed into the United States pursuant to the Switchblade Knife Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1241-1245, and were further not to be mailed in the United States.

Spyderco agreed to issue a Notice of Recall on its internet site for these butterfly knives and to mail this recall notice to reasonably identifiable customers. Spyderco also agreed not to import, transport, distribute, manufacture, sell, introduce, or attempt to introduce into interstate commerce knives defined as switchblades under the Switchblade Knife Act, in violation of the law.

 

[cbrstar]

I'm from Canada, and what you sometimes run into is people confuse "Assisted Opening" to "Automatic". That being said, my little Brother once bought an Automatic EMT style new from the local flea market, not knowing how stupidly illegal it was. Just having it in your possession, can lead to jail time here. I made him throw it in the trash.

So if Automatics are illegal where you live, and you can't buy them, then DON'T lol.