Your Pool Cue Can Be Confiscated....Is it worth the risk?

The Forum Cops Abound

I posted this thread in this section on purpose. Why?
Because this is the section where a lot of transactions get started.
And being forewarned means the person makes an informed decision.....beforehand.

Got a problem with me, send me a PM.....don't like what I post....report me to the Moderators....but please don't pontificate or lecture me what is appropriate to post. The Forum has turned into a graveyard with nothing for sale or looking to buy threads. Are you posting your gripes & criticism on each of those threads? Of course not.....you prefer to cherry pick using whatever criteria that comes to mind and many times it's just a specific AZer you enjoy ranking on. Have a good time....I don't mind because your opinion is unimportant to me.

I started this thread to just alert others as to what I consider is useful, important information. Thanks Tro for posting about your experience with having pool cues confiscated because the cues contained ivory. And to those who dislike my post, I say unto all of you......."Bavafongou!".........I apologize to any paisons out there.
 
I posted this thread in this section on purpose. Why?
Because this is the section where a lot of transactions get started.
And being forewarned means the person makes an informed decision.....beforehand.

Got a problem with me, send me a PM.....don't like what I post....report me to the Moderators....but please don't pontificate or lecture me what is appropriate to post. The Forum has turned into a graveyard with nothing for sale or looking to buy threads. Are you posting your gripes & criticism on each of those threads? Of course not.....you prefer to cherry pick using whatever criteria that comes to mind and many times it's just a specific AZer you enjoy ranking on. Have a good time....I don't mind because your opinion is unimportant to me.

I started this thread to just alert others as to what I consider is useful, important information. Thanks Tro for posting about your experience with having pool cues confiscated because the cues contained ivory. And to those who dislike my post, I say unto all of you......."Bavafongou!".........I apologize to any paisons out there.

If the mods only knew what that meant... :nono:
 
shipping info for everyone's reference.

There's a Murrell cue posted in the AZ Cue Gallery by "Rudy likes poll" and he lives in Taiwan. His cue is really handsome but read his post. He had his cue shipped to him and the cue shipment had to undergo inspection by US Customs prior to leaving the USA.

He knows this actually took place because when he opened the carton, it had a sticker on the outside of the tube stating that the package was opened and inspected by US Fish & Wildlife. "Rudy like poll" must have been anticipating problems getting the cue into Taiwan, or so it otherwise seems, because he also posted that he deliberately ordered the cue with LBM ferrules instead of ivory and all of the cue's inlays were all mother of peal rather than ivory.

People on the Forum need to be aware that shipping cues into or out of the USDA is a genuine problem when the cue has ivory. You may hear stories from others stating that they never had any problems but truth be told.....they were friggin' lucky. Unless you are prepared to have your cue permanently confiscated, and explaining that you didn't know won't get your cue back either, don't ship or transport cues containing ivory into or out of the USA.

Hi ALL,
The cue was shipped via USPS International express.
7/9 shipped in US and i got the cue on 7/15, it's very fast.
 

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I would say that one got opened due to the declared value . If it said $40 never would have been opened. JMO
 
All of my posts in this thread edited to:

You run a risk of having your packages opened if you ship ivory overseas.

To bring as little attention as possible to your packages, ship them as follows:

USPS Global Express. Gift. Declared value of less than 100.00. No insurance. Pack them in a neat container and write legibly. Pack them tightly.

I had cues confiscated once and will never ship ivory overseas again.

I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience..what you do is precisely how i buy my cues.

Mind sharing where you shipped your cue from? I'm still trying to see if the port of discharge makes any difference. Like if Florida is more prone to inspection than say NY?
 
Well I would agree that this post is probably in the wrong forum, but my point in responding is that you risk a LOT more than simply having your cue(s) confiscated - ask Joe Barringer over at CueComponents - FBI raids, fines and lawyer fees to fight it all.
And is it really moral to kill an elephant so that we can harvest a husk to odorn a cue? They don't shed them.
But I digress. . .
My 2 cents,
Gary
 
Well I would agree that this post is probably in the wrong forum, but my point in responding is that you risk a LOT more than simply having your cue(s) confiscated - ask Joe Barringer over at CueComponents - FBI raids, fines and lawyer fees to fight it all.
And is it really moral to kill an elephant so that we can harvest a husk to odorn a cue? They don't shed them.
But I digress. . .
My 2 cents,
Gary

I totally agree with you, this would be super simple if the problem just stop at cue confiscation, but in fact it stretches to much more than that.

I myself never want any elephant ivory or ear warp on my cue, or any other stuffs, they are nice, but no thanks.
 
Agree

This topic directly relates to sale and wanted threads in order to protect both buyers and sellers. To those of you whom have nothing better than to troll posts where fellow AZrs are trying to give good advice to those it would concern most, please relax and think to whom the post might affect before blowing it up.

My feelings exactly, this is a big help for buyers and sellers.There seems to be too many nitpickers lately.
 
This is old news it has been like this for years is their anyone out there shipping cues with ivory that is not aware of these laws? I mean really!
 
I swear this place is like a DAMN soap opera. I think the reason that it was payed in this section is because it DOES relate to buying and selling. There are way to many forum cops . I do understand the rules but I also think there should be a little wiggle room in cases like this

Stay on topic, you mudda fugg...:grin::grin:

If you are in the business of transporting cues with ivory across borders, or if you travel with your personal one, you are taking a significant risk.

Gonna get popped sooner or later, and your 'pre-ban' or other justification is gonna mean zero to the gate-keeper.
 
Funny thing is abut FEDERAL LAW, it is ENFORCED, and the Agents of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service do remove article from the mail all the time, and store this stuff , until a federal judge say it can be DESTROYED by Burning. Yes they burn Ivory Tusks

I know a gentleman who has Switchblades Knives made for him in Taiwan, it is legal in AZ Under State Law to Own, Sell, or Process a Switchblade. He sell his knives at Gun Shows in AZ.

But he recently lost a inbound shipment to U.S. Customer Service of about 1,000 Knives to U.S. Customer Enforcement, s they found his knives in a shipment, as it is against Federal Law to Import them into the USA.

Also he told me a while back Federal Agent showed up at one of the Gun Shows, and collect all the Switchblades for sale. Dealer were told to give em up, or face arrest.
 
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value.

Declaring that cue with a $750 value was just asking for trouble. What was that point of that?

Kevin

i had bought several cues from USA, declaring them at $1,000 ~ 1,500.
never got inspected like this time.
so i've been thinking the value declared on the shipping document is just a reference.
just my own thinking.
 
But when pressed about who loses if the cue is confiscated, they all will admit that it will be the buyer's loss. That's not acceptable to me to lose 6-8K without recourse.

Anytime I ship overseas the Buyer MUST accept ALL responsibility for the cue.
I tell them if the cue gets Lost, Stolen, Damaged, Confiscated, etc................... it's their problem to deal with.
Every overseas buyer wishes to have the Cue listed as being worth $250 or less on the custom's form which means
I can't buy insurance for a $4K cue and expect a payoff if something happens to it not to mention possible Customs issues.
I ship it, you Own it period. :thumbup:
 
Well I would agree that this post is probably in the wrong forum, but my point in responding is that you risk a LOT more than simply having your cue(s) confiscated - ask Joe Barringer over at CueComponents - FBI raids, fines and lawyer fees to fight it all.
And is it really moral to kill an elephant so that we can harvest a husk to odorn a cue? They don't shed them.
But I digress. . .
My 2 cents,
Gary

Gary If I'm not mistaken Elephants do die from time to time naturally. Should we not make use of their skins & tusks?
 
Stay on topic, you mudda fugg...:grin::grin:

If you are in the business of transporting cues with ivory across borders, or if you travel with your personal one, you are taking a significant risk.

Gonna get popped sooner or later, and your 'pre-ban' or other justification is gonna mean zero to the gate-keeper.

That's news to me! I was under the impression that you could carry your personal cue containing ivory overseas and it would not be confiscated. Are you sure about that?
 
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