Shipping to Germany

Troy H

Troy H

I'm always like this.
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Has anybody ever had any problems shipping from the US to Germany?

I'm interested in both sides. Is there anyone here from Germany? What are your experiences with knives shipped from the U.S.?

Thanks in advance,

:D -360
 
I have never had a problem either way except once when German Customs lost an extra sheath which was included with a knife. The insurace paid promtly for the lost sheath.

German Customs open most packages so trying to ship illegal items is a bad idea also mislabeling stuff is a bad idea.

I label knives going to the USA as cutting tool or cutlery and send shipments insured. Shipment from Germany to the USA are NOT automatically insured, (no matter what the may tell you in the post office) insurance must be purhased extra.

Smaller items can be sent as an airmail letter, registered mail. There is no insurance but the shipment is tracable and it is a lot cheaper than an insured airmail package which costs around 50 Euro.

Push daggers and balis are totally illegal in Germany now as are some autos.
 
I live in The Netherlands (that's next to Germany for those with less geographic knowledge :D ) and I have bought several knives from the States. Mostly I have no problems, especialy when shipped with UPS or FedEx, but when shipped via USPS I had a few problems. One knife took almost 7 weeks and my latest order is "missing in action" :thumbdn: . That one is probably stolen and is now under investigation. My advice is use a shipping method with insurance, trackingnumber and a short delivery time. It costs a bit more but it has less risks.

Marcel
 
If you use UPS (United Parcel) from the USA to Germany they will charge a fortune in fuel surcharges and charge you 10 Euro (minimum!!) just for handling the German Customs, which is an outrage. Plus you have to pay Customs and VAT (16%). FedEx is also VERY expensive.

Most all packages I have coming from the USA via US Post arrive in less than a week and the Customs and VAT are passed on without any "provision". Depending on the shipment and your location in Germany, you may have to go to Customs or the German Post in your town and open the package in front of them or it may arrive already having been opened and inspected. The German Post owns DHL so all packages here are delivered by DHL. Be sure the contents of the package are listed on an invoice attached to the outsde of the box.

The Netherlands are next to Germany but they are a different country with their own postal system and laws. Maybe UPS has a different policy there? Here UPS is a seperate corporation based in Cologne. The question was regarding shipments to and from Germany and the USA. I have never shipped goods between the USA and the Netherlands.
 
I've shipped two knives to Germany. One using Global Priority Mail and the other was using Airmail Parcel Post. Both went through fine. I put "pocket knife" on the customs declaration.
 
I confirm that, never had a problem with knives coming from the states, except a few packages I had to go to the customs office to get them, but that's it. I prefer USPS global priority shipment with a tracking or a delivery receipt number, compared to other delivery company like UPS or Fedex that steal a lot of money to do so, without any guarantee to have a trouble-free service...
 
Thanks for all of your help, everyone! :thumbup:

:D -360
 
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