Hello everyone, I'm posting today to see if anyone has any advice regarding shipping a sword internationally from Australia to America (or anywhere else for that matter).
I purchased a sword from the United States about 6 months ago and have recently sold it on ebay to a US buyer but can't find any air freight company that will touch it. It's not an Australian or US Customs issue, it's the freight companies them selves. Although many of their 'dangerous and prohibited weapons' lists say nothing about swords, when booking the item in, as soon as they know it's a sword they balk and that's the end of it.
The sword was originally shipped to me by the United States Postal Service but they don't ship from Australia unless you have a business account with them. The same goes for TNT. Australia Post's only restriction is that the packed item must not exceed 105cm long and fit their 'edged weapons packing specifications'. Mine is 119cm long.
Many freight forwarders use DHL which, in America, has no problem shipping swords but the Australian counterpart wont touch it with a 20 foot pole.
Can any one suggest a solution other than sea freight? I've got some quotes from them and they are outrageously expensive and take 3-4 months delivery.
Thanks in advance, Euan H. :confused:

I've had the same problem in NZ, even with the companies that boast about dealing with dangerous goods. For some reason they get very precious about swords.

The best thing I can suggest is, visit them and show the person you are dealing with exactly how you are making the packaging safe for the parcel handlers (which is their main concern), and it is harder for them to fob you off.

Euan, if you haven't already, try Pack&Send. They use DHL to forward on to the US, and DHL are fine for shipping swords.

You can also book and pay for your item online - and swords are not on Pack&Send's restricted list. In my experience, it's a straightforward process.

Put the blade in a piece of PVC pipe, then box it up. Label it “sports equipment” or fencing equipment” you should be good to go.

I've used the label 'medieval wall decoration', so far so good.

Jon