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puca bearsMy little Bluebottle arrived home yesterday from his visit to Japan for the TITAs..........
and oh joy (!) the parcel was covered in Deutsche Customs tape and stickers - my heart sank!
The parcel had obviously been opened by them with something like a Stanley knife - YIKES! Fortunately, Bluebottle
had suffered nothing more than squashed antennae.........
but the parcel had been covered in Japan Teddy Bear Co tape, and carried a sticker saying that it was a "Returning Product, which had been in Japan for an exhibition" - so why did the customs have to open it??????????
Then I peeled off a customs sticker to find that the contents of the parcel had been described as a "STUFFED ANIMAL"...........can you imagine what would have happened if it had been sent to Australia?? Instant incineration????????????????????????
Now Bluebottle embarks on his final journey to England and his new mum - poor little chap's wings must be getting really tired..............
huggies
Maria
Aaaah ! Maria - I felt like covering my eyes ! The poor little chap ; hope he gets royally spoiled
at his new home ! 
:hug:
Ruth
Posts: 222i hope he gets spoiled too and his feet rubbed
Waggle BearsThat sounds really scary for Bluebottle and you. God forbid, what would have happened if customs had destroyed or damaged him? Glad he's safely back to you...you might want to give him and yourself a valium before he takes off to England.
Teddybears SwedenOh my, I'm happy bluebottle is home thoug! Stuffed animal? HA, that's so funny! 
Posts: 3,540Well, they're called stuffed animals here in the US, so I could easily see the mixup 
Its so horrific when they have to go through customs because people do not understand that they are art....not a teddy bear plush to fling about like a discount rag. 
Which I find unacceptable no matter what!
I'm relieved Bluebottle's made his journey safely. Keeping eveything tightly crossed as he wings his way to his final destination 
Posts: 8,574So does the 'stuffed animal' designation mean lower customs taxes?
one can only hope....
Beaurocracy at work.....
dilu
puca bearsThanks for your commiserations! I dread sending or receiving bears out of the country - you just never know what the customs are going to do. One wonders how they select parcels to investigate.........every tenth? or "that one looks interesting"????? Wouldn't be so bad if they were quick about it, but a parcel from say, the USA can take anything between a week or two, up to a month or two, to arrive.
And yes - I don't imagine they have any concept of artist bears, dolls, you name it.............
Hopefully Bluebottle will be able to put his feet up very soon - and have them rubbed!- I'll pass that instruction on to his new mum!
big huggies
Maria
I also received my bear back from Japan. Not opened and with the wonderful troffee!
My name, and the bears name is printed in the troffee.. I am so happy with this troffee, didn`t know how it looked as it is my first 
I am so sorry your package was opened Maria, happy though the bear was fine. I do not know why some countries are more strict then others, I hear German customs are very strict lately with ALL packages.
See you soon in Rheda.
Hugs,
Berta
Seamore CollectiblesO'h Maria,
Hopefully you gave Bluebottle a BIG Huggie!! and fixed him with lots of lOVE.
Berta, thank you for sharing the picture of your new trophy and winning piece. They both look fabulous!!!
Past Time BearsGood luck, BlueBottle! Very nice award, Berta! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
So does the 'stuffed animal' designation mean lower customs taxes?
one can only hope....
Beaurocracy at work.....
dilu
Hi Dilu,
I imagine that was the thinking behind the Japanese wording, yes. However, they should also have put the universal tariff code on the box, which might have saved poor Bluebottle his slasher movie moment!!
For anyone exporting outside of their own country, the tariff code is: 95034100 and the description of contents should be something like: "Stuffed animal soft toy".
This does not guarantee a free ride as far as Customs are concerned - unless you are exporting TO the USA, in which case your customer will have no duty to pay. But the right code and description should at least speed your bear's progress and lessen the chance of the box being ripped open.
Hugs,
Chris
Posts: 3,540That's interesting, Chris. I usually use the description '' teddy bear, jointed'' for my bears. If its a bigger shipping label I detail even further with the copper coated steel shot, but I want the customs to at least know the bear's got metal in there intentionally.
:clap: :clap: Congratulations on your beautiful trophy Berta!! :clap: :clap:
puca bearssome interesting comments...........but my first thought on seeing "stuffed animal" was the implication of some sort of taxidermy (perish the thought!).
With bears containing metal parts there is always the worry of someone getting suspicious when xraying a parcel or bag - if I am flying anywhere with bears, I always carry a ziplock baggie with joints so I can explain just what is showing up on the x ray.
and BERTA - super trophy!!!!!!!!!! Well deserved, too........
see you very soon - just 2 weeks and we'll be THERE! Can't WAIT!
big huggies
Maria
Hi guys,
You need to put 'stuffed animal' in there as that is what the code refers to and it helps Customs to find it in their big book I always add 'soft toy (teddy bear)' for clarification, so that they do NOT jump to the concusion that it is a piece of taxidermy. I guess that would be a different tariff code anyway, but the more help you give the Customs boys and girls, the smoother ride your bear is likely to get.
Hugs,
Chris
