I have a fellow interested in buying a practice rapier from me. He lives in New Zealand. Will I encounter any problems shipping a sword outside of the US? Also, do I just declare it, "a fencing epee?" Thanks

I have shipped swords to New Zealand. I believe I just declared it as a "reproduction sword." It had a lengthy stay in customs and I believe there was a significant duty with it but other then that no problems.

reproduction or theature prop.

Thanks!

I've found:

"Metal/Wood Craft" to be an adequate descriptor that does not attract unwanted attention.

Putting "Sword" on a box is an invitation to disaster.

Speaking as a New Zealander, I haven't had any problems importing swords, no lengthy stays in customs, and there is no duty on importing swords into NZ, although the importer will have to pay sales tax on transactions over NZ$400. That said, I’ll agree with Thomas that an ambiguous description doesn’t hurt.

I've had a couple of sharp swords delivered to Canada from the US, and both were listed on the declaration as

Quote:

decorative ironwork

! Canadian Customs doesn't appear to have a problem with that!

cheers!

Pat

Things like "decorative iron work" or "Theatrical stage prop" will work. These days customs is getting very picky as you could imagine It's hard to say how they will handle things to be honest.