Has anyone had trouble with shipping reborns overseas? I have had no problem shipping to Europe - every baby has arrived safe and sound. I have sent babies to Kuwait and Qatar, and while they have taken a while to clear customs, they have eventually gotten to their destination. I sent one to Brazil in November and it is still sitting in customs…not lost, just not moving. They have been in communication with the buyer but have not released the package to her. HOWEVER, I sent one to Egypt a couple of weeks ago and customs pretty much destroyed it. She sent me a picture of how he arrived. I was stunned.
Here is a photo of how he looked when he left for Egypt.
Here is a photo of how he looked when she took him out of the box.
He has a Cameron Michaels body with a Cutie Rubert head. Because the head is not designed for that body, I used a cloth body as a liner along with the internal connectors. He has a neck ring and the head was secure inside the body. I actually tested it by holding him by the head and shaking him to make sure it would work properly. Okay, that sounded terrible, but that’s what I did and he held together just fine. The buyer told me that the customs officials told her that they had pulled the head out to see what was inside. REALLY??? Do they not x-ray stuff? I am absolutely livid. And the paint is missing from his cheek. It looks like they got ink on him and tried to clean it off. I just told her to send him back to me and I will fix him and ship him back to her at no charge. I just had to vent. I have never seen anything like this. Have y’all??
Oh mercy, I have never seen anything like that before but I have stopped shipping to any countries other than here in oz, usa, canada and new zealand. I don’t even do the UK any longer because of their customs taxes being so high and even though I state in my auctions to check your country for any charges or custom fees, they don’t and of course you have to try to sooth them when they have to pay an extra $100 - $150 before their babies are released to them and they want to take it out on you…Fortunately they have been happy enough with the baby that they got over it but it is just too much stress…I am just shocked at what they have done to your baby. That is appalling…They won’t do it again when it goes back through the next time I hope???
I hope it goes back through okay. I’m especially worried because she has ordered a second one from me that I will be shipping next month. I was in tears when I saw the condition of this little guy.
I have just been listing the contents. Thanks for the tip, though. I will start doing that because I have a lot of babies yet to ship to various countries.
I am going to open a case with USPS. The package was fully insured but I anticipate them saying its all on Egypt. Its a nightmare. Your shipment to UK will probably be fine. I have sent lots of babies there and have never had a problem. I think the sample of the contents is a good idea.
I do basically the same as Sony72 and put an example of each item that is inside the doll in little plastic labeled baggies for reborns that I am shipping international. I staple the bags to a sheet of paper that has “Customs: Example of material inside of doll” in red print and lay it on top so it is the first thing that they see. I have never had a problem so far.
I am going to start enclosing samples of the materials, but I have never had a problem in any country shipping with only a list. I’m thinking this is the result of an over zealous customs worker…at least I hope that is the case.
I think I will put Egypt on my list of countries to NOT ship to. I picked up small jewelry bags from walmart…I think they were 100 for a few dollars. I put a bit of each weighing/stuffing material in a separate bag then put them all in a sandwich bag with the note FOR CUSTOMS OFFICIAL / FRAGILE HANDMADE DOLL-STUFFING FOR WEIGHT AND FILLING. I put the note and bag on top of my tissue paper at the top of the box so it’s the first thing they see if they open the box. So far my biggest problem was a very long wait over Christmas holiday a few years ago in the UK. I agree that this was an over eager official with no conscience taking a search a bit too far.
I have heard about things like this happening, and the last one went to one of the Nordic countries - Sweden or Norway. Baby arrived in pieces and with pen marks on its face.
I also do the sample bags for dolls shipped o/s, and insure for the whole value to protect myself. The insurance should pay out, it is irrelevant where or how the damage happened.
My customer in Egypt just sent this photo. She was able to reattach his head and will work on repairing his cheek where the paint is missing. I gave her some pointers on what to try. She was afraid to ship him back because he will just have to go back through customs and she will have to pay customs tariff again. Anyway, he looks pretty good so far considering what he has been through.
As long as she is aware that import fees will be high for her, I don’t think you’ll have any issues with customs in the UK ruining your baby. I send a lot of things to the UK. The only problem has ever been the length of time it takes, and twice- it didn’t ever arrive!
