Shipping large fixed-blade to New Zealand

Erin Burke

Erin Burke

KnifeMaker...ish
Joined
May 19, 2003
Messages
1,330
Hey guys,
I recently had a gentleman from New Zealand express interest in purchasing one of my knives. I've never shipped to NZ before... do any of you have experience shipping there? Any recommendations about which shipping service to use? Insurance? Etc?
Thanks in advance.
Erin
 
Never shipped to NZ but I have shipped to Australia. It's a pain.

You can find the info you need for USPS international shipping here.
There are several things you need to make clear with your customer, which he may or may not already know. First ask if he's bought from a US maker before, and how that went.
Make sure your knife is legal to own or import there! There may be a whole slew of forms that need to be filled out.
It's gonna be pricy.
Do whatever you can to track it, get signature-required delivery, etc.
All customs fees, taxes, etc are his responsibility.
You can and should insure the package to the hilt, but once it leaves the US you have basically no recourse if it gets lost, stolen or seized in customs.
Be careful how you accept payment; no matter how many hoops you jump through and how many agreements you have with the customer, if the knife disappears the customer could still do a chargeback. They're really hard to fight and you could end up out the knife and the money.
Pack it like it was a human child (except it doesn't need airholes :p) - I recommend getting a piece of pink foam-board insulation; cut one piece with a hollow in the middle to hold the knife, and two more to sandwich it on either side. Then pack the whole thing normally.

Many makers simply refuse to ship to certain countries. Do your homework, and Good Luck.
 
Hopefully, one of the Kiwi's will chime in.

IIRC, Australia and New Zealand have strict laws on fixed blades. Only certain sizes and shapes are allowed. Check this carefully before shipping.

One easier way to handle this is to only ship to a US/Canada address. If the New Zealand person has a friend or relative over here that you can ship to, ship it to them insured and with signature. Once they have the knife it is no longer your problem. If they send it to NZ and it disappears or is confiscated....that is his problem.
 
I ship quite a few Bubble Jigs to both New Zealand and Australia. I've had problems with stuff arriving late or not at all. I have trouble maybe 20 percent of the time. Sent a big box of cookies to Australia once and they showed up three months later. I'm sure they were stale, the guy said they were good, "I'll bet they were even tastier 3 months ago is what he said.
 
I have bought many fixed blades from the states (and sent some stateside!) and have only had one drama. In Aus, the only fixed blade that we cant bring in is double sided blades (Daggers) of certain sizes.

Any regular fixed blade is fine (In oz). Folders are a whole different kettle of fish. We are charged double to triple the MRRP of most folders here. Its insanity!

Matt
 
Matt Brook said:
I have bought many fixed blades from the states (and sent some stateside!) and have only had one drama. In Aus, the only fixed blade that we cant bring in is double sided blades (Daggers) of certain sizes.

Any regular fixed blade is fine (In oz). Folders are a whole different kettle of fish. We are charged double to triple the MRRP of most folders here. Its insanity!

Matt
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Does NZ have the same knife laws as AUS?
 
NZ law is very similar.
Customs documents specifically mention gravity knives and autos, double edged knibes, throwing knives and easily concealed knives.

Your basic fixed blade wont have any trouble getting into Australia or NZ
 
"double-edged" can be tricky. Both the knives I sent to Oz were bowie types with sharpened clips, hence, two edges; we had to send pics and have a Customs official sign off on them being OK. It was extra hassle and delayed things for several days, but it worked out.

I don't mean to discourage anyone, just saying mind your p's and q's.
 
Just a follow-up. I was nervous about shipping to the other side of the world, but everything worked out great. I ended up shipping via USPS priority... which cost nearly $50 including insurance.
I got a note this morning that said the knife arrived safely and am pleased as punch.
I like to thank all you guys for the info... and give a big shout-out to Duncan for my first order from the other hemisphere.

Erin
 
Erin Burke said:
I ended up shipping via USPS priority... which cost nearly $50 including insurance.
Click to expand...

That sounds about right, and $50 is pretty reasonable when you think about it. Glad it all worked out.

Erin Burke said:
...a big shout-out to Duncan for my first order from the other hemisphere.
Click to expand...

Pretty cool, huh? Now you can add "Internationally-Known" to your business cards and whatnot. :)
 
I sell a lot of knives to customers in NZ, so far so good! I find I can usually ship priority for under $20 or insured for $40-50. I prefer to ship insured but that can be a lot for some knives. I figure I will insure it at my risk or no insurance/buyers risk.

Lately I have been sending a blade a week to NZ or Australia, it is cool to have knives all over the world.
 
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