[Martin Buckley]

Hello,

It’s been a while since I’ve bought anything from outside the UK. I just wondered what people’s experiences importing swords (in particular) from mainland Europe and the US were?

From past experience I’ve always found British customs a little erratic, one item could be delayed for weeks whilst a similar item skips through.

What changes have people experienced in recent years? Is there more red tape now?

Thanks in advance.

[Graham Shearlaw]

It's not a sword but my last pocket knife came in the post just fine.
So for all the anti knife crime talk, i had a knife in the mail all the way from china an not even a knock on the door.

[Leo Todeschini]

Hi Martin,

Other than the almost inexhaustible list of self harms it has and will continue to perpetrate it has changed things massively for small companies and shipping for the outbound parcels, but less so for inbound. For the record we have lost maybe 80-90% of our European business even though it is only 23 miles away. Rant rant.

Knife laws have also coincidentally tightened up since Brexit and that can complicate things a bit and generally just make customs a bit more skittish, but the biggest problem is that you now have to put customs codes on everything so a sword can no longer be 'sports equipment', it is now a sword.

As a guide, you are entirely within rights to import a sword as long as it is not curved as that complicates things, but assuming it is straight, get it shipped by DHL as all the other couriers refuse to take swords so will return them (as a rule).

That said, customs sometimes flex their muscles just because they can even if they don't actually have the right to.

Regards

Tod

[Adam Bodorics]