Thread: Has anyone heard of the UK postal service banning razors?

The best I can find there is no such legislation here in the UK and said postal person simply over stepped thier line. The post office website clearly states sharp objects are restricted but the restriction only states that they be suitably packaged

It does seem like certain postal persons are enforcing the rules innapropriately, however it will only stop if it's brought to the attention of the post office.

I will of course accept I may be wrong if someone shows me the legislation. But I haven't found it and so went to the source.

Geek

Originally Posted by TheGeek

The best I can find there is no such legislation here in the UK and said postal person simply over stepped thier line. The post office website clearly states sharp objects are restricted but the restriction only states that they be suitably packaged

It does seem like certain postal persons are enforcing the rules innapropriately, however it will only stop if it's brought to the attention of the post office.

I will of course accept I may be wrong if someone shows me the legislation. But I haven't found it and so went to the source.

Geek

Incidentally this does not apply to certain bladed items which are illegal in the UK and therefore can't be posted lol.

Geek

I would say they do try it on in my local post office and ask lots of stupid questions, now rather than get into is your item packed well and all the other crap they tend to ask you, I just tell them it's a shaving brush, so as far as insurance and the claim is concerned should your parcel ever go missing, you can usually get many shaving brushes that will cost as much if not more than many straight razors, so no worries there, but saying that they really are becoming almost paranoid regarding sending items, I know as from July all aerosols perfumes and any pressurised container cannot be shipped to the USA from the UK.

Jamie.

Originally Posted by celticcrusader

I would say they do try it on in my local post office and ask lots of stupid questions, now rather than get into is your item packed well and all the other crap they tend to ask you, I just tell them it's a shaving brush, so as far as insurance and the claim is concerned should your parcel ever go missing, you can usually get many shaving brushes that will cost as much if not more than many straight razors, so no worries there, but saying that they really are becoming almost paranoid regarding sending items, I know as from July all aerosols perfumes and any pressurised container cannot be shipped to the USA from the UK.

Jamie.

I know that I’ve been asked a series of questions when I go to ship a razor via my Postal Service, but they rattle it off so fast I really don’t know what all they are asking. The next time I ship one off, I’ll be sure to take notes and get back to you to compare what's being asked!

I’ve not paid attention as I know that what I’m shipping is well packed and won’t be able to ‘hurt’ anyone.

I’ve shipped razors to the UK, India and all over the USA. Anyway as I’ve posted, I always just list it as ‘Shaving Supplies’ and I’ve never had a problem!!

Bureaucracy is a Fancy Name for ‘A Major Pain In The Butt’ for the majority of people!!

They ask those questions because they are instructed to. It is a policy thing caused by people shipping all sorts of things they shouldn't. "Anything liquid, perishable, hazardous" ....... and what have you. It is not for the person who is deliberately shipping a prohibited item, because they will probably lie about it. It is for the person who is doing it because they are clueless.

If you go to the USPS website, or whatever your country of origin is, under the section giving rates for shipping it will also tell you what is prohibited from one country to another.

Originally Posted by Havachat45

Hi All,

I messaged a guy on EBay about postage costs to Australia and was met with the reply -

"been to post office today not allowed to send in post new law came in today about knives and razor comes in to it would have to check parcel courior"

Has anyone heard of this happening or is he FOS?

Rule number one: don't ask, don't tell.

You'll find that every posting service has a rule against regular shipping for dangerous items.
And if you show a razor to a postal employee, he is going to say that that is a dangerous item, just to be safe.

Good morning, I have just posted a razor to Perth aus, from here in Manchester. It cost £4.50 econemy international and I labeled the customs form attached 'barber supplies'. No problems at all!!

Originally Posted by Manchestertattoo

Good morning, I have just posted a razor to Perth aus, from here in Manchester. It cost £4.50 econemy international and I labeled the customs form attached 'barber supplies'. No problems at all!!

Blimey, that's cheap - not much more than signed-for domestic first class - £2 more in fact.

I usually send items overseas using tracked and insured delivery (because of PayPal 'seller protection' regulations) and a securely boxed and packaged razor sent to Australia with a value of £50 - £100 comes to around £12.60 - massive difference! Heavier items like strops and hones come to more - usually not less than £17.80 to the USA for example, using tracked/insured, and sometimes much more - heavy hones especially so. At this level, even the buyer usually insists on a tracking number, so there is no cheap airmail alternative.

Regards,
Neil

I hear you Neil, it wasn't an expensive razor at all, so I used economy service, and if the buyer asks I use tracked also which is 3 x the price. It's up to the person paying.unless of course it's sold through eBay. Postage costs can run steep! To return to the main issue though I didn't get asked any funny or probing questions sending it to Australia, I have in the past however been asked to look at the sheet of 'offensive' items and let them know if my item is pictured. I.e, fireworks, car batteries, machetes, etc. rob.

Originally Posted by Manchestertattoo

I hear you Neil, it wasn't an expensive razor at all, so I used economy service, and if the buyer asks I use tracked also which is 3 x the price. It's up to the person paying.unless of course it's sold through eBay. Postage costs can run steep! To return to the main issue though I didn't get asked any funny or probing questions sending it to Australia, I have in the past however been asked to look at the sheet of 'offensive' items and let them know if my item is pictured. I.e, fireworks, car batteries, machetes, etc. rob.

Yes, its the tracked/insured delivery that kills it. Some other countries seem to have much more reasonable rates than the UK. With regard to prohibitive items, I think that this excerpt from Royal Mails List of Prohibited items makes it clear that razors are OK:





But in order to prevent any knee trembling reaction on the part of the post master I concede it is best to mark the package as 'shaving supplies' or something similar. With regard to knives, going through the list only turns up flick-knives as being prohibited.

I know the list of offensive items with the little pictures on it you mentioned - imagine my surprise to see a picture of my mother-in-law on it!

Regards,
Neil