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

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?

Dunno, I mailed one to Belgium maybe a week ago. I don't list them as 'razors'. I wrote "barber's shaving tool" in the description. Here is the blurb on the official USPS website for restrictions to Aus ;

Prohibitions (130)

Coins; bank notes; currency notes (paper money); securities of any kind payable to bearer; traveler’s checks; platinum, gold, and silver (except for jewelry items meeting the requirement in “Restrictions” below); precious stones (except when contained in jewelry items meeting the requirement in “Restrictions” below); and other valuable articles are prohibited.

Fruit cartons (used or new).

Goods bearing the name “Anzac.”

Goods produced wholly or partly in prisons or by convict labor.

Perishable infectious biological substances.

Radioactive materials.

Registered philatelic articles with fictitious addresses.

Seditious literature.

Silencers for firearms.

Used bedding.

Just checked on Great Britain, switchblade knives is all I see ;

Prohibitions (130)

Any postal item containing enclosures addressed to different persons at different addresses.
Arms and parts of arms, except as noted under Observation #5 below.
Articles, goods infringing British trademarks or copyright laws.
Bullion, coins, banknotes, securities, or negotiable financial instruments of any kind.
Cards decorated with mica or ground glass or similar materials unless they are placed in envelopes.
Citizens Band Radios, walkie-talkies, microbugs, and radio microphones that are capable of transmitting on any frequency between 26.1 and 29.7 megacycles per second and 88 to 108 Mhz per second.
Goods made in foreign prisons, except those imported for a non-commercial purpose or of a kind not manufactured in the UK.
Horror comics and matrices.
Jewelry, precious metals, precious or semi-precious stones.
Obscene articles, prints, paintings, cards, films, videotapes, etc.
Perishable infectious biological substances.
Seal skins except those from an accepted source.
Switchblade knives.

When my friend Tom went to send me a couple of razors from England for cleaning up and honing, he made the mistake of listing what he was sending as exactly what they were as ‘Straight Razors’ it took him about 40 minutes talking to the person in charge to convince him that he wasn’t sending anything hazardous or dangerous!

When I send a straight razor, I always list it as ‘Shaving Supplies’!

So far, no problems!

Don’t tell and hopefully they won’t ask!

The UK does have some pretty stupid "knife" laws so I think it's just a case of a seller not wanting to get caught up in them or find out what they actually involve. I've read stories of people being asked for ID to buy one of those paper trimming devices because they have a tiny, sharp blade in them.

I ship alot out of CONUS,have for years,custom docs are always marked shaving supplys,never an issue

Well I've never had any problems receiving razors via Royal Mail. Combined with the fact this guy appears to have no idea what punctuation is or how it works, I'd say he's talking rubbish.

I checked.

Blades are allowed as long as they are packaged in a safe manner so as not to pose a danger. It makes no distinction of knives or razors.

Geek

Originally Posted by TheGeek

I checked.

Blades are allowed as long as they are packaged in a safe manner so as not to pose a danger. It makes no distinction of knives or razors.

Geek

Makes sense!

A lady sent me a razor here in the UK a few days ago. When she got to the Post Office she was told that a new law (or legislation) had come into effect that day, and she couldn't send it because it was a 'dangerous weapon'. She argued her corner, and eventually had to show how well packed it was, and the post master eventually let her post it.

A 'dangerous weapon'? Really? A razor can be used as a weapon, but so can a host of other things. Even my wife's handbag takes on 'dangerous weapon' status if I annoy her too much...

Regards,
Neil

It happened to me today Neil, I posted a razor to you and the Post Office Clerk asked me what was in it and if there was anything sharp. I said no as it was well packaged and could not cut anyone handling it , so I stated that it was only shaving supplies !

They accepted that, but I agree, the Post Office is getting very pedantic !

Regards
Phil