Brett Breakin' Rocks Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 Hello Everyone, I'm shipping a few of my finds from the East Coast across the pond to the UK and was curious about customs declarations. There is not really anything remarkable really, and I know that customs officials are screening tons of parcels daily and looking to intercept larger fish so to speak. I'd still like to make sure it sails across the pond smoothly, do you guys just mark the fossils as minerals ? Or just just a catch-all fossil description ? It's mostly fossil shark teeth, ray teeth, sting ray barb, cetacean ear bone etc ... a hodge podge of the typical finds from beaches ,creeks, rivers on the East Coast essentially. Thanks, Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 Brett, I write ( under suggestion by MalcolmT), " Geological samples for educational studies" haven't had a bit of trouble with that at all. It is also telling the truth as to what is contained. The words "Fossils", "Teeth" or " Bones" tend to raise a red flag with some customs agencies. Keeping it sounding more like rock is the best bet. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Breakin' Rocks Posted August 12, 2018 Author Share Posted August 12, 2018 1 minute ago, caldigger said: Brett, I write ( under suggestion by MalcolmT), " Geological samples for educational studies" haven't had a bit of trouble with that at all. It is also telling the truth as to what is contained. Perfect .. I knew there was some safe wording I just wasn't sure. It's for a young boy in the UK and his fossil museum. Definitely educational. Thank you sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 I always count the number of items and list it as- i.e. (35 Rocks) and I put a value of $10.00. I have never had a problem. On one auction that I put up for the forum, one of the items was a bag of ash from Ash Fall Fossil Beds that I had purchased from that site when I visited years ago. I put “ash” on the custom form and had a problem, I then changed it to “sand” and did not have an issue. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 2 hours ago, Nimravis said: I always count the number of items and list it as- i.e. (35 Rocks) and I put a value of $10.00. I have never had a problem. On one auction that I put up for the forum, one of the items was a bag of ash from Ash Fall Fossil Beds that I had purchased from that site when I visited years ago. I put “ash” on the custom form and had a problem, I then changed it to “sand” and did not have an issue. Yea, They probably thought you were mailing aunt Gertie's remains! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 8 hours ago, caldigger said: Yea, They probably thought you were mailing aunt Gertie's remains! I agree- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sseth Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 I do a lot of shipping internationally and have never really had any trouble with the UK. As for me, I label exactly what I am shipping. If it is a ray tooth I will label it as a Geologic specimen, fossil ray tooth. You want to be cautious with customs because customs violations and customs fraud do come with prison sentences. Just something to think about. To the UK you should be just fine. Seth 1 _____________________________________ Seth www.fossilshack.com www.americanfossil.com www.fishdig.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 My favorite declaration is “fossils for study, no commercial value”. Since I only ship gift fossils and not fossils for sale, I have had no issues. 1 Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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