Abalone, MOP, Paua Shell restrictions

T

the_general

I love Ivory.
Silver Member
good day.

i just want to ask if there are strict restrictions by US Customs against cues coming into the US with inlays of either Abalone, MOP, Paua Shell? i just wish to be informed on this issue.

we have some highly-polished, jewelry-grade paua shell, courtesy of a very good customer who helped us secure them.


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It seems now days that everything we do is illegal, by some law that contradicts another law. To be honest I do not know the answer to your question, but I have not heard of any cues getting confiscated over shell inlays. I have only heard of them getting confiscated over Ivory inlays.
 
cueman said:
It seems now days that everything we do is illegal, by some law that contradicts another law. To be honest I do not know the answer to your question, but I have not heard of any cues getting confiscated over shell inlays. I have only heard of them getting confiscated over Ivory inlays.
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many thanks for the insight sir Chris. yes, ivory is definitely a no-go. we have long inhibit ourselves of shipping cues with ivory to the US, even if the customer insists, even if he pays double, triple, whatever. we will never risk customer's safety and convenience over a sale. however, i am really unsure of the shells that's why i asked here. i thought so too, that shells can pass through. moreso, the shells i refer to are likely commercially available. :)
 
HI Les, Paua shell sold in the form you have is legal to send to the US as jewlery.
It is illegal to export non processed paua shell from NZ. This is because of the strict quoata
harvesting system in place. Un processed shell needs proof that it is not illegaly taken shell fish.
Neil
 
conetip said:
HI Les, Paua shell sold in the form you have is legal to send to the US as jewlery.
It is illegal to export non processed paua shell from NZ. This is because of the strict quoata
harvesting system in place. Un processed shell needs proof that it is not illegaly taken shell fish.
Neil
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hi neil,

legal only as jewelry? how would they classify it if they are inlays on a custom cue? moreso, how can i prove that the shells we used were processed paua shell from NZ? it's obvious that the shells we have are not illegally procured - but what proof can i present except for the packaging in the picture i posted? oh well... i hope they won't be as strict as they are with ivory. anyway, based on info from other sources too, just like cueman said, they also never heard of cues being confiscated because of shell inlays. i guess it's safe.


Les
 
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the_general said:
hi neil,

legal only as jewelry? how would they classify it if they are inlays on a custom cue? moreso, how can i prove that the shells we used were processed paua shell from NZ? it's obvious that the shells we have are not illegally procured - but what proof can i present except for the packaging in the picture i posted? oh well... i hope they won't be as strict as they are with ivory. anyway, based on info from other sources too, just like cueman said, they also never heard of cues being confiscated because of shell inlays. i guess it's safe.


Les
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One thing I learned along time ago is the less you state of the custome forms the better. For instance if you put "Custom Pool Cue with Leather Wrap"
It may get held up in customs, because they want to see your declarations proving the leather does not contain any dangerous bacteria. It gets totally crazy what can get it held up in customs. They once held up my Camel Bone slabs for weeks because they wanted the scientific name for a camel. I would just put Billiard Cue and the declared value and never mention shell or leather wrap or leather tip or the type of wood or anything that might get it held up.
 
cueman said:
One thing I learned along time ago is the less you state of the custome forms the better. For instance if you put "Custom Pool Cue with Leather Wrap"
It may get held up in customs, because they want to see your declarations proving the leather does not contain any dangerous bacteria. It gets totally crazy what can get it held up in customs. They once held up my Camel Bone slabs for weeks because they wanted the scientific name for a camel. I would just put Billiard Cue and the declared value and never mention shell or leather wrap or leather tip or the type of wood or anything that might get it held up.
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that is something i would definitely keep in mind. many thanks for your insights sir. :)
 
you have to declare it in shipping, they will ask you to get an additional form that cost another 300. They will hold it in alaska if you ship it fedex.
 
dgem said:
you have to declare it in shipping, they will ask you to get an additional form that cost another 300. They will hold it in alaska if you ship it fedex.
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how about in other States? well, i know FedEx had more monitoring than any other courier in the US because of past incidents, that is why i only ship via DHL all these years. i will try to do a test shipment if my resources permits.
 
Paua shells

the_general said:
how about in other States? well, i know FedEx had more monitoring than any other courier in the US because of past incidents, that is why i only ship via DHL all these years. i will try to do a test shipment if my resources permits.
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I have posted paua shell jewelery to the US and it has not been stopped through the standard postal service.
On the custom form I put Paua jewelery. I am thinking it is either ok or the post people do not know what Paua is and just let it go.It went to Pa. through La.
 
conetip said:
I have posted paua shell jewelery to the US and it has not been stopped through the standard postal service.
On the custom form I put Paua jewelery. I am thinking it is either ok or the post people do not know what Paua is and just let it go.It went to Pa. through La.
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that's great info sir. many thanks.
 
The less you say the better. General description of "Billiard Cue" is best. Anything that raises a flag will get it diverted to Fish and Game in Alaska. They are watching your country for Ivory exports.
 
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cueman said:
The less you say the better. General description of "Billiard Cue" is best. Anything that rasied a flag will get it diverted to Fish and Game in Alaska. They are watching your country for Ivory exports.
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so true.

i'll just be general in description as always.

:)
 
I imported som Mother of Pearl slabs from your country once and it was not the USA that held it up in customs. It was your postal service. It had to be quarantined for a period of time there until the bacteria free certificate could be obtained then it shipped on through to me with no problem. But cues that have shell inlays and are sealed with finish should never cause any health risk.
 
cueman said:
I imported som Mother of Pearl slabs from your country once and it was not the USA that held it up in customs. It was your postal service. It had to be quarantined for a period of time there until the bacteria free certificate could be obtained then it shipped on through to me with no problem. But cues that have shell inlays and are sealed with finish should never cause any health risk.
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that's odd. maybe they just wanted to extort extra money... i never thought of our Customs to be that strict. here, sadly, money talks easily.
 
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