Warning About Shipping Knives Overseas

dogman

dogman

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Jul 26, 1999
Messages
1,103
This is not a slam on anyone. I took responsibility for my end of the transaction.

Those of us that have sold or traded knives on a personal basis with our overseas friends have done them the favor of not insuring the package for the full amount so things do not get caught up in customs or a large import tax is added to the item. I have done this a few times. Well it appears I got bit. A knife I sent about six weeks ago has never shown up. I sent another one after that to the same general area and it arrived within two weeks. I take full responsibility, but from now on, if I ever do business like that again, it will be full insurance or nothing. The best I can do now is get $25 back on a $325 investment. There is a slim chance it is stuck in customs, but I consider that very slim.

Once again, no slam on anyone but myself. I just wanted to share the experience so others may learn and understand the consequences.

Good thing I just got my Broadwell fighter in the mail. It softens the blow.

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Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
 
When I buy from overseas, I usually, request undervaluation. Australian import costs can add up to 90% to the cost of an item. BUT I carry the risk. Of course, I only buy from reputable dealers.
When I trade, I mark the customs label "second hand" and request the same from the other end.. If you are trading with a private person, the goods are bound to be second hand.
Trading has its own dangers....a little over a year ago, I made a series of trades with US people. All went well, except for one deal.
I sent $400 US worth of knives to a bloke I had dealt with before in exchange for some military stuff. He was getting the gear at serving members' rates and the deal would have favored him financially. He asked if I would wait ...the package was large and the airmail cost would have been high and he was strapped. I said ok.
After a while, I suggested he use surface mail. He said OK. After some more time (months) I suggested that I send some $ to help with the cost. He said "no way...stuff is as good as on the way".
Couple of family problems later, still no package and he no longer answers email.
The saddest part was we had become friends and exchanged email and ICQ messages several times a week. I miss him more than the knives.


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BrianWE
ICQ #21525343


 
I've both sent & received several knives internationally. My suggestion is describe the contents as "hand tool" on any required customs declarations. You wouldn't be lying and, IMO, a hand tool is less likely to attract the attention of a would-be thief. When sending a piece for refinishing I added "...for warranty repair" to the hand tool description, making it even less likely to attract a thief.

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Cheers,

--+Brian+--

I may be goin' to hell in a bucket, Babe, but at least I'm enjoyin' the ride.


 
I sent a package to the PI and it disappeared. It was insured properly and sent by the US Postal Service. They refuse to reimburse me because the PI Postal Dept claims it was received, although no proof has ever been forthcoming. I am still in the midst of all this mess, and if I ever receive my $375.00 for the lost goods I will be amazed.

Our fine Federal Govt. in action.

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James Segura
San Francisco, CA


 
Hi Guys....

Yes,, this can become a problem,,but if insured properly,, there is not much to worry about...

I usually over insure..
Any statements that are misleading might get you into trouble,so always be as honest as possible..

Customs around the world now use X-ray machines and scan everything,, so it's hard to get away with anything...

Have a look at my shipping instructions to my customers..
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel/shipping.htm

ttyle Eric....

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Eric E. Noeldechen
On/Scene Tactical
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel
Custom made, High Quality
Concealex Sheaths and Tool Holsters
Canada's Only Custom Concealex Shop!

 
What is the best shipping method??
U.P.S. costs an arm and a leg.

Thanks

John Yeackley

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<A HREF="http://www.toptexknives.com/yeackley.htm

My" TARGET=_blank>http://www.toptexknives.com/yeackley.htm

My</A> contribution to the world of knife fanatics.
 
I read , here, that UPS will no longer ship knives......true ?

Anyone shipping to Australia, don't use Fedex or UPS. Seems that ALL of their packages are subjected to close Customs scrutiny.
Apart from the tax problems, Aus customs can (commonly) take 4-5 days to release the package. Postal Service stuff has a good chance of being passed through without delay.
So any advantage in paying the arm and the leg to get quicker delivery through the private carriers is lost.
This is based on considerable personal experience.

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BrianWE
ICQ #21525343


 
Hello!

Dogman - the insurance is the buyers choice imo (of course two people can agree about it anyway they wish, but generally...). I think the buyer is the one that accepts the chance of loosing the knife (very slim) or paying much more. Keep on shipping outside USA, but ask the buyer if she/he is willing to pay more for the insurance.

USP or FexEx has not been any better than USPS (actually worse). USPS is cheaper and almost as fast. Cheap knives in plain padded envelope as normal airmail (not insured) - more expensive ones... no good choice.

Anyone from EU thinking about buying knives, or anybody sending knives to EU... feel free to email me for more information.

Hugo.

[This message has been edited by Hugo (edited 15 December 1999).]
 
I have bought many knives in the US but for the same reason as is explained in original post I had the knives sent to my friends in US. Then they took them home for me. Yes, I had to wait longer (sometimes months) but this is IMO the safest way to transport knives overseas.

My first knife I am getting by mail is the one from Staffan from Finland. I am wondering whether it will get here OK or not.

David
 
I agree with david on this one. Whenever I buy anything from the USA now, I have it shipped to a colleague over there who holds it till my next visit. It can be a long wait but the savings can be worth it (I just bought 3 The North face shirts over the web at less than the price of one of the same garment in the UK).

Also, UK sales tax, import duty and admin costs can amount to 30+% of the value of the item so it really isn't worth it.

I now look for reputable web dealers since I have been bitten once (not with knives) and if you want a good dealer there are comments all over the forums on the service people have got from certain dealers. And BTW, I have ordered from the Bladeforums store and my colleague got the goods very quickly.

Regards,
Gerry
 
dogman: i'm sorry that the knife didn't show up yet... and i'm glad that our deal worked out so smooth...

john: i'm still interested in a custom knife stand, sent you mails, please reply if we can make a deal or not

Ray
 
Dob, I think that our deal went quite well.

Buyer must be patient. Once it took over 3 weeks for the shipping to reach me instead of one week.

If shipped uninsured BUYER takes the risk (imo). I think that underestimating the value may reduce the risk of theft. Someone may be interested over 300$ knife but if value estimate is 80$ that same thief may not take the risk. Too bad that in USA there are problems with postal workers honesty as I had newer heard of such before I started reading this forum.

David, I think that the biggest problem is in USA not the overseas part. In old continent there have never been problems (that I had heard of).

If one is afraid to send in normal airmail, USPS global priority mail (flat rate envelope) is better. Faster than UPS (only two to three days to Finland!) and up to three times cheaper. I have only good experiences with USPS G P M f r e.
 
tommi: i agree with you... i lost one knife and a check in the last 3 years and both things were lost in the usps... never ever had problems here in austria or europe...ok our customs are stupid and the need up to 4 weeks unless you get a notice that they need an invoice or similiar to declare your express mail package, but at least all packages shows up... and i believe too that usps priority or express mail is the best way to ship overseas. express takes 3-4 days to europe from the us and they deliver from 7am morning to 9pm every day. ups is worst IMHO, guaranteed 3 day express packages were never been delivered in time because ups here in austria did not deliver after 5pm...and when they deliver next day not before 11am when every body is out for work... my experience
 
OK guys and girls this is my aproach.
If a knife costs for example $ 300 I'll ask the seller to declare it $ 100. I'expect to pay 32% (tax+ duty).
So if everyting works out fine I pay $30.
If the knife is lost I think i loose only $100. If the knife is declared the full value I'll losse $ 100 to the customs, which reduces the value of the " underinsured knife" from $ 200 to $100.
So I risk $100 to win $70. This is the risk I take.
Greetings
red

I hope everybody is confused right now.
smile.gif
 
So far I have had great luck with usps shipping to Australia, Germany, and Canada. They have for the most parts got knives there earlier then expected. It is up to the customer, on out for country orders about how I ship. If they chose no insurance and and a devalued amount on the package, it woudl be there risk. I would however feel terrible, if anything happened, probably as bad or worse then them. In the US all orders are sent insured for there actual value, no matter what. My hopes are that one day soon we can send packages without barriers, the same we can e-mails. Perhaps the online world will serve as an example to the offline world.

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Lynn Griffith-Knifemaker

My website
GriffithKN@aol.com


 
Hi, I live in Holland and I know of one way that won't get you into trouble.
Ask for whoever sends the knife to you to indicate on the declarations form "RETURNED under warrenty repair" and have them include a pro forma note saying first they received your "warrenty" knife and they credit you e.g $400 for it, then charge you for $400 for the "repaired" knife so the total charge for you is $ 0 . They can then have the knife insured for the full amount without the receiver getting into customs problems.
Honest?, well I sort that out later with my creator
wink.gif

Cheers, Bagheera

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[This message has been edited by Bagheera (edited 15 December 1999).]
 
Right now, I am currently waiting on a knife to be returned to me by Andre de'Villers. To avoid any problems, he agreed to just bring it with him to a show in Florida in January. This way, I can rest more assured that I will see the knife again
smile.gif
The only downside of it, is that I will not have seen the knife for 10 weeks, but that beats losing it all togeather! Maybe I will get my Milenium Apogee and the de'Villers the same week, that would be a happy knife week
smile.gif
 
I have ordered several thousands of dollars worth of knives over the past few years from the USA and have had all of them shipped out by USPS. I generally receive prcels within 5 working days of shipment.

They arrive at this end (UK) by Parcel Force carrier.

I have never had a box go missing but have been caught by the customs for duty & VAT a couple of times, they go by what the invoice in the box says not what the declaration of value was on the outside of the box.

[This message has been edited by bagman (edited 15 December 1999).]
 
Hi Bagheera!
Doe the people at the customs in Holland understand this?

Hi David1967!
What I tried (so desperately) to explain is: if the knife is declared the full value I'm going to loose $100 anyway. That leaves a value of $200 of a $300 knife. So if the knife is declared $100 and is lost I loose "only" $100.
All in all it helps me during the time waiting for the knife.
A better way is as you mentioned having a friend bring you the knife.
Greetings
red
 
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