Shipping Daggers from The UK to the USA

Can anyone tell me the best shipping company to use to ship two ss daggers from London to Boston, Massachusetts in the USA?

Thanks in advance.
Ed

Ed, as you likely know, there is FedEx, UPS and the postal service. There are probably others as well. I have never had a problem with the postal service, either here or in Europe. I'm sure there are horror stories involving all, but, if I were shipping to the UK, I would definitely use the postal service.

Ed, I use Royal Mail Parcel Force and pay for a priority tracked service. You can monitor your package's progress and get a signed for receipt on-line. Not cheap, but you get to sleep at night.

Thanks Grumpy...and Barry...I am shipping from London to the US. It looks like Royal Mail Parcel Force with priority tracked service is a good consideration.

Thanks again guys,
Ed

Here's a silly question. Can I mark the package cutlery?

Ed

You can mark it anything you want, but you should seek the agreement of the guy in the US as to who is responsible if the fuzz open it. Better still, ask him what to put on the declaration.

I have marked them "collectors' knives" and had no problem. Saying they are daggers, especially in today's climate, could mean. unnecessary delays and other problems. I now of someone who has marked them as "letter openers," but that is a bit of a stretch.

Thanks Dave and Grumpy. Great information!

Ed

I have seen descriptions such as :

Old cutlery
Theatrical props
Old wall hangings

In today's hyper sensitive world, you would want to avoid anything that says or indicates 'weapons'.

And, I, too, find that the postal services fo most Western World countries are the safest and easiest way to ship items. The courier companies will find a way to make money on both the shipper and the receiver... they call it customs clearance for the buyer.

John

Thanks John. Good info. I appreciate it.

Ed

I have another question regarding insuring the package. If I mark the package "Old Cutlery" as an example I am assuming I must state a "declared value" since the package is being mailed to the US and I also assume would go through customs. One dagger is a mint chained SS and the other is a nice M33 Herder. The value is �7,200 or $11,380 (what I paid). My guess is if I used "Old Cutlery" with a declared value that high that that would be a "red flag". I bought the daggers from a private collector here in London and will be shipping them to my home in the States since they are part of my collection.

My guess is it would make good sense to insure them.

Sorry, about all the questions on shipping but I've never shipped anything this expensive or valuable to the States. I just want to get them there safely.

Thanks for all your replies and help with this.

Ed

By the way John..I like the desription "Old Cutlery" and I like Grumpy's " Collector Knives" description. I had one shipping company quote me 679 British Pounds for shipping. That doesn't include insurance. They said also expect to pay 3% of the value of the daggers. They do pack and crate the items. They said they can include the 3% in their bill with the paperwork that they complete with the shipment. It just sounds very expensive to me.

Ed

Ed,

Why not fly over with the items yourself for that price?

You hit the major issue with that point. Insure it for true value with a phoney description and invite Customs to look at it? They are not dumb.

Here is what I advise in our "For Sale" Forum "On international sales, sellers are advised to fill out customs declaration forms factually. If the buyer requests specific language or declared value, any fallout from this is the buyer�s problem."

I agree about avoiding "daggers" but "antique edged weapons" or something similar might be better. Ask the buyer. If he wants something other than a reasonably factual value, tell him that it is HIS risk. And, get you money up front.

Dave

Dave,

Thanks for the advice. I like to do things above board so your advice makes good sense. I do want to avoid any potential problems with getting these back home safely.

Thanks again,
Ed

Fly them over to be safe. If you decalre as old cutlery and $20 value and they go missing you loose the lot. If you insure them you will pay a fortune and get stiffed for duty charges as well. It's a tough one. Alternatively ask a buddy to bring them when he visits MAX or SOS , luckily I've been able to do that in the past for the cost of a few beers :]

Ed, as a general rule, Customs in the US does not collect duty on packages to individuals. I have probably received close to 100 packages form over seas and I have never paid duty on any of them.

Of clourse, that being said, if you rely on it they will for sure charge you.

I believe Dave's advice has been developed from years of watching transactions. You should certainly go with that and since you are doing absolutely nothing wrong, why not just be straight forward and above board.

Jon and Jim W, Thanks for the additional advice on shipping.

Ed

I declare them as a hobby knife and never had any problems , if you declare it under $100. then customs wont stop it and add any extra charge but it is safer to have tracking incase of unforseen problems.

Thanks Wes.
ed