Shipping to the US

p90fool

I'm currently selling my Wal Custom fretless bass and have had a serious enquiry from a guy in the States, but I haven't got a clue where to start when it comes to shipping it. 

It's an African walnut body and has an ebony fretboard if that makes a difference regarding CITES. 

Anybody done it recently who can recommend a carrier and insurance etc? 
Cheers

SunDevil

There was another discussion that suggested ebony is exempt from CITES, but I can’t comment on the walnut

I’d be nervous around anything that ‘might’ be covered by CITES being questioned if visually inspected - fairly obvious with maple, but less so with ebony?

Bringjng things from the US to the UK, I’ve used parcelhero a few times - takes an extra day, as they direct everything into and out of their UK hub,  but the prices are good and they use DHL / UPS to ship

guitars4you

should be exempt from CITES - but I'd still issue some form of receipt for 'customs' that details all the wood - they don't know - if they suspect anything out of order, they can hold goods until they are satisfied, so do all you can to minimize such issues

p90fool

Ok, cheers guys. Some sources seem to think that ebony is a bit borderline, I'll do a bit more homework. 

Whitecat

The ebony is only problematic if it’s from Madagascar... which is probably almost impossible to prove at this point. I've never heard of ebony being seized at the border anywhere for CITES, because most of it is West African which is safe to move... for now.

Jack_

Crazy how anal this is getting.

There will be cartels soon who decide it's a safer bet smuggling rosewood than cocaine.

p90fool

Yeah that was my finding too, and I have no idea, I bought it from High Wycombe!

p90fool

Jack_ said:

Crazy how anal this is getting.

There will be cartels soon who decide it's a safer bet smuggling rosewood than cocaine.

Although there's a limit to how much you can fit up your bottom. 

gavin_axecaster

Jack_ said:

Crazy how anal this is getting.

There will be cartels soon who decide it's a safer bet smuggling rosewood than cocaine.

Already are - the whole reason for this is unlicensed poaching of rosewood, the majority heading to China via Hong Kong for their furniture market.
There are perfectly legal sustainable sources of rosewood (EIR) caught up in the blanket ban/licensing, which won't put a dent in the illegal trade.

guitars4you

gavin_axecaster said:

Jack_ said:

Crazy how anal this is getting.

There will be cartels soon who decide it's a safer bet smuggling rosewood than cocaine.

Already are - the whole reason for this is unlicensed poaching of rosewood, the majority heading to China via Hong Kong for their furniture market.
There are perfectly legal sustainable sources of rosewood (EIR) caught up in the blanket ban/licensing, which won't put a dent in the illegal trade.

correct