FedEx does not ship knives from the US to many other countries anymore!

Sphinx3000

Sphinx3000

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I ordered a folder, and FedEx contacted me. First it stayed with customs, who concluded that it was a knife but perfectly legal in the Netherlands. But after FedEx got notified it was a knife, they told me that since this year it is not allowed by FedEx to ship knives (weapons, she called it even) of any size, shape, or form to be shipped by them from the US to the Netherlands and many other countries. They shipped it back to the seller. I never had this problem with UPS.
 
I recieve my orders from Knifecenter and Chicagoknifeworks to Singapore via FedEx. Sounds like the person you are dealing with is an issue.

They are correct they will not ship "weapons" but "camping tools" and "kitchen tools" are fine.
 
Daniel L said:
I recieve my orders from Knifecenter and Chicagoknifeworks to Singapore via FedEx. Sounds like the person you are dealing with is an issue.

They are correct they will not ship "weapons" but "camping tools" and "kitchen tools" are fine.
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Daniel with respect I have had the same problem as Sphinx3000.
A FedEx package from the U.S. to me in the UK was turned back before it even left the U.S.

I would never describe a knife in an International package as anything other than a knife. Essentially you are lying to the shipper and to customs. In some jurisdictions that is grounds for seizure.
 
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Steven65 said:
Daniel with respect I have had the same problem as Sphinx3000.
A FedEx package from the U.S. to me in the UK was turned back before it even left the U.S.

I would never describe a knife in an International package as anything other than a knife. Essentially you lying to the shipper and to customs. In some jurisdictions that is grounds for seizure.
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I would disagree that those descriptions are lies. Some countries are cucked beyond comprehension, the UK has been using "camping tool" on customs forms for ages... and if it's a bushcraft/outdoors knife anyway, so be it.

If it's something super tactical, maybe not.
 
SwissHeritageCo said:
I would disagree that those descriptions are lies. Some countries are cucked beyond comprehension, the UK has been using "camping tool" on customs forms for ages... and if it's a bushcraft/outdoors knife anyway, so be it.

If it's something super tactical, maybe not.
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I respect your opinion but a knife is a knife and in the current UK climate you are sailing close to the wind describing it as anything else.
 
Believe me, this is a huge problem, and it is going to get worse thanks to all the drill rappers with an IQ of 60 who stab each other and knee-jerk reactions from our politicians. Apparently now shipping companies are also caving in to the pressure. It is an expensive knife, so I will never risk it again with FedEx.
 
I'm due to receive a shipment tomorrow from FedEx from a USA knife brand (and received another FedEx 3 weeks ago) so will see if any policy has shifted. In most cases the seller nominates the customs declarations, only for private purchasers I ask for "camping tools".

Quite possibly it's a European policy. I have had silliness before like DHL saying I cannot ship blank carbon shafts (no points, just tubes) used in archery as they are a "weapon." Sometimes it depends on the muppet processing.

I'll eat words if my shipment tomorrow gets rejected :)
 
Perhaps FedEx indeed has different rules for Singapore? You guys seem to have a better justice system that prevents a lot of the crime we have in Europe. Instead of banning knives, you punish criminals as it should. Great that you have your knife. Now I am curious which one you got, lol
 
That is a very detailed description, and I'm glad it was sufficient and worked. I wonder if customs and FedEx looked at it.
It went exactly like this in my case with my perfectly legal in the Netherlands knife. I got a message from FedEx saying my package was with customs. First time ever I got such a message. So I called FedEx, and they said, We will look into it and get back to you. A few days later I get an employee on the phone. She told me my package was still with FedEx and that it could be that I had to provide more information about the package. I said, Sure, no problem. The next day she calls again and says that customs has concluded that there was a knife in it, but a legal one. Then she added, But we don't ship knives, so perhaps it is going to be confiscated and even destroyed, or it is going to be returned to sender.
I was shocked even hearing the word "confiscated," let alone "destroyed."

So I responded that if my knife would not be returned to the sender, I would contact a lawyer. She said, Please hold on while I talk with my supervisor. After a few minutes I got the answer that the knife will be sent back to the seller, who sells many knives and from whom I bought around 10 in the past. They all came with FedEx. Luckily the knife has almost reached the seller. I asked what the problem was, and she answered, We don't ship any knives anymore from the US to the Netherlands and many more countries. I said, But that can't be the case for pocket and kitchen knives. She said her manager told her that they don't even ship a potato knife anymore.

I ordered a few weeks back directly from Buck (two Buck 110s), and the package also got returned but without a reason. I thought perhaps Buck made a small mistake on the paperwork, and that is why they returned it. But looking backwards, I think they returned it because they saw the package contained knives. Buck sent it a second time without making me pay for the double shipping, which was very nice of them, and this time it reached me without trouble. But it does not feel good at all to have to gamble if your knives reach you safely...
 
Wow that sucks. No potato knives would be a national tragedy!
Could well be a European thing - I have zero issues in Singapore with Fedex and UPS other than paying for import tax (which I do online before the package arrives).
I have always wondered how the Customs works with couriers, I assume they have their own teams not employed by the government.

Personally I'd request a copy of this as written policy - sometimes it's up to interpretation especially for someone new or a sheeple.
 
Forgot to add that the FedEx employee said that the decision to not ship knives anymore to the Netherlands and certain other countries was made in the US by FedEx. She also added that it was a very recent change in policy.
 
"Personally I'd request a copy of this as written policy - sometimes it's up to interpretation especially for someone new or a sheeple"

The seller is contacting FedEx since he ships a lot of knives to Europe; he wasn't happy... I will post what comes out of it.
 
"I have always wondered how the Customs works with couriers, I assume they have their own teams not employed by the government."

I was asking myself the same question. I can't imagine that the shipping companies have their own custom teams. That would be a government task, I presume. Perhaps they have customs agents at their facilities, but that they are employed by the government.
 
Daniel L said:
I recieve my orders from Knifecenter and Chicagoknifeworks to Singapore via FedEx. Sounds like the person you are dealing with is an issue.

They are correct they will not ship "weapons" but "camping tools" and "kitchen tools"
Click to expand...

Sphinx3000 said:
"I have always wondered how the Customs works with couriers, I assume they have their own teams not employed by the government."

I was asking myself the same question. I can't imagine that the shipping companies have their own custom teams. That would be a government task, I presume. Perhaps they have customs agents at their facilities, but that they are employed by the government.
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Not just other countries and FedEx. Some companies refuse to ship internationally and to certain states and zip codes. Others will want a copy of your firearms license or law enforcement ID before they will ship. Some will only take orders on law enforcement agency letterhead and drop-ship to the agency's physical address. For example, Palmetto State Armory will not sell/ship any merchandise whatsoever, not even a slip-joint non-locking pocket knife, to Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York City and Hawaii, due to their restrictive weapons laws. They do not want the attorney generals in those states suing them, which has happened to other companies
 
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