Banner Sponsors

Butterfly Bears Sep 25, 2008

Hi everyone!
Its a long while since I posted on here, but need a bit of advice if anyone can help!

I have a bear listed on ebay which I have stuffed with a small amount of wood wool (along with polyester and shot). I have had an enquiry from a lady in Australia, who thinks that as the wood wool is a fine wood product, it may be an issue with quarantine laws if shipped to her from the UK.

I personally have never heard of this being a problem, and I have contacted the suppliers who thnk not too - has anyone got any ideas about this?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Louisa

Butterfly Bears Sep 25, 2008

Thanks for that Lisa, that has helped a lot - and has made me more aware!

edie Sep 25, 2008

toys filled with straw

but WOODWOOL is not the same thing as STRAW!

Woodwool is wood shavings and straw is dried stems of grain plants - so maybe that is why you have not had trouble getting bears through with woodwool filling, Lisa.

Linda Sep 25, 2008

Australian Customs can be really funny with alot of things. My sister sent some of her dolls to the US for exhibition, one of which was filled with sand, which customs almost insisted on enptying out until she pointed out that it was Australian sand and the doll was returning. I can't really see that wood wool would be a problem, I mean what about all those antique bears that have come into the country over the years! Having said that, the customs people CAN be very officious and it can often depend on who's on duty at the time. I would definitely check with them, to find out whether they consider wood wool is straw, as many people do think so.

BFB-Lyn Sep 26, 2008

I got caught too! Bought a bear from a bear maker in Germany and when I eventually got it I thought this box feels light and a bit beaten up - knew Customs had been at it because of sticker. Opened the box and it was empty! Just the wrapping paper and a note from Customs to say that they had ceased the item. If I didn't want the bear destroyed I had to pay something like $48 for radiation treatment which of course I paid up and I eventually got the bear back about 6 weeks later - all this because the bear had sand in him. Like Lisa says it all comes down to who is on duty at the time and she is right because I've had bears come through without any hold ups and they had sand in them. A lot of German bear makers tend to use sand as part of the bears stuffing.