Recent Experience with UPS shipping from Canada

[apedraza]

I recently purchased a blade with mounting from a Canadian dealer. The shipping was through UPS Overnight Delivery. What followed was very frustrating, and I stress here at the start that it was in no way the fault of the dealer.

 

Customs for UPS is clearing through their Louisville facility. Using the tracking info provided by the dealer, I could see that it did in fact clear Customs the next day, but was then held with the following language appearing on the tracking page, "A NON-CUSTOMS GOVERNMENT AGENCY HOLD CAUSED THIS DELAY".

 

Another day passed, and I was then contacted via phone by a UPS rep. She wanted to know what species of stingray had been involved in the wrapping. I gently explained that some of these pieces being very old, you'd need some DNA analysis or a reliable time machine to answer that question.

 

She went on to tell me that the UPS Louisville facility was now a checkpoint for Fish & Wildlife, and that any shipments involving animal byproducts were being flagged for extra scrutiny.

 

She added that she'd place "the most common species of stingray" in the form Fish & Wildlife was requesting we fill out, and hope for the best.

 

A couple of days later, the piece was finally released and on its way to me. A weekend being smack dab in the middle by then, I ended up getting the piece more than a week later.

 

I posted this on the Nihonto and NihontoStudy lists at Yahoo!, and at Brian's request, I'm posting it here, too. Primarily to warn anyone shipping from Canada to the USA about what seems to be a new piece of red tape, which could potentially lead to a sword, or part of one, being confiscated, and also to see if anyone has had similar experiences.

[Stephen]

was wondering, did they open the box or was same listed in the custom form?

[apedraza]

was wondering, did they open the box or was same listed in the custom form?

 

The box didn't look as if it had been opened, and the plastic wrap the dealer used, as well as the bubble wrap around that, seemed to have been undisturbed. I'd say the same was mentioned on the customs form. The form wasn't delivered to me with the package, though, so I'd have to ask the dealer if we want 100% confirmation.

[Stephen]

i find the less on the form the less hassle or flags raised, for thoese shipping in the future.

[Darcy]

Shipping anything internationally is becoming more and more difficult. It's not just Canada to USA, it's anywhere to anywhere. This is long, but worthwhile if you are going to ship or receive swords. It's what I learned over the years, some the easy way, some the long and hard way, but here is the benefit of my experience.

 

The biggest and best thing you can do is to try to get all of your homework done in advance.

 

For anyone shipping Nihonto items over borders, if your item is more than 100 years old, write down and remember the following:

 

Harmonized Tariff Code 9706.00.00

 

Suppliment this with a full but not overly verbose description of the item. This is going to help the clearance agent substantially. If you don't code it, they have to look it up. If they have to look it up, they're going to look at the description and trigger on something... like in your case, somehow focussing on the same.

 

9706.00.00 is an international code, works in all countries, that tells an agent to look up under Chapter 97, section six, for the item in question. 00.00 is an "antique item more than 100 years old."

 

You should substantiate the case for the item being 100 years old by including a copy of the NBTHK or NTHK paperwork (a good reason to have some) and write onto the photocopy where the name of the smith is and add a note about when he worked and a note about the agency making the paper.

 

If you do these things your item will sail through without much difficulty. You really do need to substantiate it.

 

Other benefits of 9706.00.00 are that in some EU countries it will reduce the VAT fees. For instance, an antique under 9706.00.00 will arrive in England charged at 5% VAT instead of 17.5%. If from another EU country it will arrive VAT free I believe. If it is not coded like this, you will not get the preferential rate. Again, be prepared to substantiate it. UK customs will expect a reason to give you the preferential rate, and if you answer this in advance by having the documentation packed in with the waybill or attached on the outside of the box clearly marked, you have much greater chances of going through easily than after getting it stopped and trying to respond to a sloppy paperwork situation.

 

9706.00.00 is I think in all countries duty free, and if it contains parts of endangered species it can arrive under a waiver as an antique. This is what you got caught up in, if it contains animal parts then countries signing onto treaties are responsible to check to see if it is an endangered species and seize the item if so. So basically 9706.00.00 should just nip that in the bud. For instance, Ivory trade is internationally banned so they have to check for this. It is a hassle, but it is a responsibility. It saves Elephants. It's a good thing. If your item was made in the Edo period it has no impact on current demand for ivory so that item should be able to pass in on a waiver, but this may vary from country to country.

 

Do not use this code on a sword or item less than 100 years old. If it is an art sword, say a Gassan Sadakatsu or even a newer made piece, it should qualify under 9705.00.00. This is a "collectable item of historical, ethnographic [...] interest." This has all the same preferential properties of 9706, but it may not discount as much if you have a VAT discount, depending on your country. I am not so sure, hard to remember what every country in the world does.

 

The [...] covers a lot of different fields, like minerals and paleontological specimens.

 

In our case, a Japanese sword made by a licensed smith working in Japan right now qualifies as a collectible of historical interest. Those smiths are maintaining a thousand year old tradition, they are licensed and tested by the ministry of Education in Japan and their output is controlled by the ministery. This is not the case of a self-taught bladesmith or a Paul Chen situation, neither of those would apply under 9705.00.00 since they in one case do not represent a historical/ethnographic activity and in another case (Chen) are not collectibles.

 

It is up to the customs agent in question, should your 9705.00.00 be stopped to make the judgment call, but if you come prepared with your information in advance, be prepared to fax over a letter explaining this, along with information about the maker, etc., then it goes a long way over trying to react to a situation. I have found them always to be very reasonable, and even if you do not get a response you want, you can always appeal after the fact.

 

A smith like Gassan Sadakatsu, while predating the licensing and post-dating the 100 years old 9706, is easy to to make a historical statement as he was smith to the Emperor. Other high profile gendai smiths should be easy to establish as historical items, I don't think it is very difficult to come to this determination that they were carrying forward the tradition.

 

Non-handmade blades will not qualify as 9705.00.00 regardless of being WWII era, they will fall under 9307.00.00. This is the catch-all category for swords, cutlasses, bayonets.

 

This is the category that your item is going to fall under if your sword is not properly described. This is going to get you hit with a 5 to 10% duty charge depending on your country. This is going to invoke all and highest taxes. This is *not* what you want on genuine Nihonto and it is *not* correct. Once you get assigned 9307.00.00 it is difficult to get it unassigned.

 

I had a Nidai Sukehiro sword come in from Japan described as "Japanese Sword". Bing, 9307.00.00 on a very expensive sword (you know how a Sukehiro can be). 10% duty. I didn't find out until weeks after the sword had arrived when I got the Fedex invoice. I had the shipper write a letter, and lucky for me the sword had a sayagaki that nicely included an estimated date of manufacture of 1666. I provided the information to customs after paying my duty bill, after a six month turnaround (this is standard), the duty was refunded without a problem and the item was reclassified as 9706.00.00. That's the kind of thing you go through *after* the fact and what you don't want to do at all... you want to be prepared in advance so you don't have to cross your fingers and/or wait and hope.

 

If you are sending a sword or iron tsuba, you can use the code 9706.00.00.90 for example. The additional two digits tell customs what the material of manufacture is. 90 is steel. There are subcodes for wood, and others, you can look them up, or just list the materials and let the agent figure that part out.

 

Since I learned how to do this all right, a typical shipping declaration that I would use would be something like this:

 

Antique Japanese Sword, made by Sukehiro ca. 1666 AD. More than 100 years old. Certified and authenticated by the NBTHK (sword museum) in Tokyo Japan (see attached copy of authentication papers). Harmonized Tariff 9706.00.00. Value: $X US dollars (see attached bill of sale).

 

That will pass through almost always without inspection. The papers and the full description indicate that I understand my responsibilities and know what I'm doing and am not trying to sneak anything.

 

Fedex and UPS will have sections in their waybill where you can write down the harmonized code. It should be re-expressed there.

 

For people receiving in the USA, if the item is worth more than $1k then it is possible that a courier like Fedex or UPS will have to hold the item to get your EIN or SS. This can be provided up front by the shipper which will prevent the delay, if you care to give it up. Otherwise they may stop it and hold it until they get this. I think it is for paperwork, though the item is duty free because of the high value the paperwork still needs to be done with the code entered and as a 0 duty item.

 

In Canada, they don't care about your SS but you're going to have to fork over your GST and PST if your province charges that so it will be held until you pay.

 

It is possible that as an out-of-state purchase that you will owe state sales tax depending on your state and its laws. I don't know very much about that, you guys have 50 states and I have enough trouble trying to figure out the provinces here and their regulations :-).

 

It really pays to make sure that all of your information is complete, and fully accurate. It is much easier to do it right when shipping than try to correct it afterwards. I have had a lot of trouble from careless descriptions like "Japanese Sword" or worse... and the last thing to do is to mark something as a gift when it isn't. Some people do this because they think they are helping you out.

 

The receiver of the goods is responsible for the paperwork, even though the shipper is signing off on it. If the shipper launches into flights of fancy, you are the one who is going to have to explain what they wrote to your country's customs agents if it is bizarre. If something is marked as a gift, the question that will be asked is "why is this guy in a far off land sending you a gift..."

 

Customs officers have Google too, and if you bought that sword off a website, it is one click away for them. So it's really important to make sure that you are firm and clear with the shipper, and get them to send you an advance copy of the customs declaration so you can verify it for accuracy. That lets you catch errors before shipping, and will guarantee your item the easiest trip through customs.

 

Why should you care?

 

Because when something is improperly documented, when it is improperly declared, or just sent through sloppy and incomplete the chances become very high that it will be stopped. If it is stopped that means it will likely be inspected, and that means that your sword could be damaged or mishandled or stolen or seized or coded into 9307. The best you can hope for is a delay.

 

Getting your information straight beforehand will save you all of those potential pains.

 

These codes should apply to most other collectibles and antiques with the exception of firearms. For some countries, importation of firearms is expressly prohibited. Trying to bring in a gun under 9706.00.00 though it is more than 100 years old will get you into some hot water. Call Customs and ask about this kind of thing. Some countries may have rules on swords too, if in doubt, call customs and ask and make sure you know the codes in advance. "If I buy a 500 year old hand made samurai sword falling under 9706.00.00, will it be allowed through? It has been to the sword museum in Tokyo and received authentication papers."

 

They really do care about papers, even if they can't read them. That shows that you're serious, the piece is serious, and they will make a copy to keep on file if necessary. They don't think that you would be stupid enough to send them a menu from a restaurant in Tokyo (and you shouldn't be so stupid... they can always access a translator to check it :-).

 

Good luck on your future imports. Remember, being prepared, knowing your obligations, and getting your paperwork complete and concise and with you the recipient signing off on the shipper's work in advance will aid you tremendously in your future imports.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Stephan Hiller & I had a similar problem about two months ago when I purchased a lovely wakizashi from him. It shipped from Germany to Hawaii, & took about five weeks to arrive....

 

We're still not sure where the extraordinary delay took place, but it was likely U.S. Customs. But believe me, Customs' computer systems are not very helpful! One of my fellow Rotarians is the head of Hawaii Customs, & even using his in-house system, he was unable to locate or track the wakizashi shipment. It just magically disappeared - only to reappear equally magically at my office over a month later with absolutely no explanation from anyone. Stephan had already started an insurance claim on the blade, while my wife & I were really upset that we had lost a nice addition to our collection.

 

There was no Customs form in the box, although it had obviously been opened, probably more than once. Stephan ships Nihonto worldwide all the time, & he said this was by far the longest a package had taken to arrive. So no matter what you do, sometimes delivery is a crap-shoot!

[Stephen]

I fallow in condensed and layman terms

 

NEVER USE UPS! had swords left on the doorstep, good thing I have trusting neighbors. UPS well tell you in the USA no swords or weapons

 

use Japanese Nihonto antique/ art objects not swords in the item box

 

lastly list the value but say its for Appraise or for authentication when its coming back to you.

[apedraza]

This is long, but worthwhile if you are going to ship or receive swords. It's what I learned over the years, some the easy way, some the long and hard way, but here is the benefit of my experience.

 

Incredibly valuable info you posted. Thank you so much, I'm sure I'll have occasion to use it!

[pcfarrar]

 

use Japanese Nihonto antique/ art objects not swords in the item box

 

 

I tried that once with UPS, they xrayed the package and returned it to me saying they don't ship weapons. Took some work getting my money back.

[Stephen]

UPS theres your answer :lol:

[loui]

That blade was sent by me. Out of the hundreds of times I have shipped blades I have never had this happen - was a real jaw dropper.

 

I have shipped via many methods and here are my experiences:

 

DHL - they open your package before it even leaves the country to inspect the contents - DHL staff does this! They also stole a nice fuchi I sent to P farrar.

 

FEDEX - great when sending from USA to Canada - very quick and never a hassle. BUT, can't send from Canada to USA - seems that any knife (including a butter knife) is a waepon and they won't ship it.

 

UPS - I use them all the time, I ship 1-3day service depending on where in the world it is going. If you ship UPS ground the receiver will pay an outrageous broker fee. I have never had a problem with UPS, I always ask for a signature - I have never had a balde left at a door, if that happens it is not UPS's fault - it is the monkey dropping it off.

 

Canada post - I never use them.

 

Blades still have to be shipped though so we have to deal with idiots along the way - that is life. So my advice is to use the quickest method as possible - never send surface unless you dont care about your sword.

[Darcy]

Louis, for Fedex they will indeed handle them. You often get a droid on the phone who misinterprets what is going on there... the problem is not with Fedex, it is Fedex Trade Networks.

 

This is the in-house broker that Fedex uses for customs clearance into the USA.

 

They will not clear swords into the USA. FTN only is used for shipments over $1,000, otherwise Fedex handles them themselves (there are two different clearance protocols, the complex one gets handled by FTN).

 

So if the sword is less than $1k Fedex will handle them.

 

If it is more than $1k, Fedex will still handle it going into the USA if you choose the broker select method. If you do this, then you appoint your own customs broker and FTN is out of the loop. This of course will cost you money, sometimes a lot... FTN clears for free.

 

To avoid confusion with reps on the phone, just do the whole shipment online.

 

Otherwise, UPS... or Canada Post. I recently have used Canada Post / EMS with much success as the broker thing with Fedex is a pain in the rear. Also have used UPS, but they are definitely a step down in quality from Fedex.

 

I am so happy I won't have to do this stuff anymore. :-).