Shipping knives to Russia? USPS lady tells me it won't go through.

National_Knives said:
Shipped Express. Just received a phone call minutes ago on this one from USPS, my hunch was correct - missing contents. They sent insurance paperwork yesterday.
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Can you send me tracking number by e-mail? I will check weight difference on customs and upon delivery?

Thanks
 
tillias said:
Can you send me tracking number by e-mail? I will check weight difference on customs and upon delivery?

Thanks
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Hi tillias,

I get the impression that you may question my credibility. If so, I can't necessarily blame you. As a Russian knife enthusiast looking to purchase knives internationally, this thread, (specifically, what I have wrote), isn't going to convince sellers that their parcels are going to be delivered to their customer(s) in Russia unmolested. It is not my intention to convince sellers to stop shipping to Russia, but to send those parcels with tracking and insured for the full amount. I fully intend to resume shipping to Russia, hopefully in the near future. Suspending sales to Russia is not a decision I made easily. The only two countries I send more parcels to are the USA and Canada. I will reevaluate shipping to Russia again after all the current orders I have going there are either delivered or ???

Unfortunately, I will not provide you with the info you have requested, BUT I will provide a moderator with any thing they would like to see regarding the parcels mentioned here and they can validate what I have wrote.

Rob
 
tillias said:
You get me wrong Robert. I just wanted to call Russian Postal Service locally and help you with parcel.

Anyways... thanks
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Hi tillias,

Then you have my most sincerest apologies. I do truly appreciate your offer to help, Thank You! :)

Rob
 
ThievesLikeUs said:
Sorry to Hi-Jack your thread, but.....You wanna hear a horror story.

My buddy decided to take a very large offer on a 1 of a kind custom...$6000

Buyer said he would take responsibility for the item once it left the states, so my bud shipped it priority with no insurance.

Lo and behold it just disappeared or was delivered but since there was no proof of delivery who knows...

The buyer reneged on his offer and set up a PP claim, got his $6000 back and most likely has the folder as well.

So my buddy is out $6000X2.

Always use a service with end to end tracking and insure.
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Two words, Wire Transfer.

I'm 99.9% sure the insurance would not have paid. My surety is based on experience.
 
No wonder people are reluctant to do international sales. Seems like a huge spectrum of experiences.

Odds are in my own future dealings, I'll require the deal to go through express, no exceptions. If the other party doesn't want to pay for it, deal's off. But even express ain't foolproof.
 
Don't send knives to Russia. Period.

I had pretty good luck for awhile but my last experience has made me stop shipping over there altogether.

I shipped a sprint Spyderco PM2 via USPS Express Mail with insurance to a guy over there that I had shipped to before. Everything was legit on the customs form, etc. Long story short, the knife disappeared and I got a letter from USPS saying that my package was damaged or received with missing contents. But then USPS denied my insurance claim by saying that I had shipped a prohibited item and then they quoted this:

Country Conditions for Mailing | Russia
Firearms of all kinds, including parts thereof, ammunition, swords, cutlasses, bayonets, lances, and similar arms.
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USPS has denied my appeals stating the same law. I even called and talked to them and they say that a pocket knife, a folder, falls under that list of prohibited items because it is similar to the items listed.

Sorry, my Russian brothers, but I am done shipping over there. It's just not worth the risk. I hope my story helps someone else.
 
tillias said:
FedEX / DHL doesn't work good for Russia. In fact it is much more worse then USPS Express.

Russian Post is a big monopoly here (in fact the only one international carrier) and it simply prevents other carriers working normally. This includes "difficulties" with customs...
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I don't use DHL. Not a chance. They pretty much close their US operations. I've had no problems with FedEx. It gives me peace of mind and assurance as a seller. Not cheap it cost an average of $150 and up but buyer pays shipping with full documentation. Otherwise, it will most likely end up a lost/stolen parcel and PayPal charge back dispute.
 
creativeguy said:
Don't send knives to Russia. Period.

I had pretty good luck for awhile but my last experience has made me stop shipping over there altogether.

I shipped a sprint Spyderco PM2 via USPS Express Mail with insurance to a guy over there that I had shipped to before. Everything was legit on the customs form, etc. Long story short, the knife disappeared and I got a letter from USPS saying that my package was damaged or received with missing contents. But then USPS denied my insurance claim by saying that I had shipped a prohibited item and then they quoted this:


USPS has denied my appeals stating the same law. I even called and talked to them and they say that a pocket knife, a folder, falls under that list of prohibited items because it is similar to the items listed.

Sorry, my Russian brothers, but I am done shipping over there. It's just not worth the risk. I hope my story helps someone else.
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Not a pleasant story for you.

But I feel that USPS is trying to worm off the hook. The wording is similar ARMS not similar items. Officials very often give an instinctive no to all enquiries....
Most of those things listed are antiquated or even antique arms anyway!
 
willgoy said:
Not a pleasant story for you.

But I feel that USPS is trying to worm off the hook. The wording is similar ARMS not similar items. Officials very often give an instinctive no to all enquiries....
Most of those things listed are antiquated or even antique arms anyway!
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I totally agree with you which is why I keep appealing. What point is there in buying insurance when they will not honor their side of the contract? They've pocketed the money I've paid over the years for insurance but then will not pay out when the need arises. It's really lousy and not only for us in the USA but for international buyers as well. There, I'm done whining :thumbup:
 
creativeguy said:
I totally agree with you which is why I keep appealing. What point is there in buying insurance when they will not honor their side of the contract? They've pocketed the money I've paid over the years for insurance but then will not pay out when the need arises. It's really lousy and not only for us in the USA but for international buyers as well. There, I'm done whining :thumbup:
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Can you send me tracking number in private? I can check weight for you before passing customs, after passing it and upon delivery. So there will be some information to base your insurance claim. Have you written "camping tool" on the parcel?

Thanks
 
tillias said:
Can you send me tracking number in private? I can check weight for you before passing customs, after passing it and upon delivery. So there will be some information to base your insurance claim. Have you written "camping tool" on the parcel?

Thanks
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Tillias, thanks for your offer but I'm not sure what good it will do. USPS acknowledges it arrived damaged or missing (it was missing) but they will not pay the insurance claim based on a pocket knife being a "prohibited, or restricted item." I put the actual value on the customs form with the description of "pocket knife" which is what I've done in the past.
 
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