Thread: Ivory scaled razors

Is there any problem importing ivory scaled razors into the U.S.A. from other countries? What has your experience been with border fees and customs when purchasing razors and having them shipped to the U.S.? I've been looking at some CVH's outside the U.S and am wondering what the process has been like for others?

It is against the law to import ivory into the USA, or even within Europe, unless you can document that the ivory is pre-ban. IOW, if you have a seller who is willing to sell it and ship it, if customs checks and identifies it they will confiscate it, and not return it. There may be criminal prosecution to follow if they want to go there. After 7-1-2014 we will not be able to sell undocumented ivory within the USA via interstate commerce. Same caveats as above applying. At leas that is the way I understand it.

Jimmy has it right. No irony imported into the US unless it is pre ban. And even then certificates are required. You should contact the seller to ensure all certificates are available. And you can always contact your local customs and border protection office or a local customs broker for more thorough answer. I work for cbp but have no experience with ivory importing.

Originally Posted by Saxxon

Jimmy has it right. No irony imported into the US unless it is pre ban. And even then certificates are required. You should contact the seller to ensure all certificates are available. And you can always contact your local customs and border protection office or a local customs broker for more thorough answer. I work for cbp but have no experience with ivory importing.

that typo is funny.

We make enough of our own,,we don't need no one elses,,,,

Originally Posted by Hirlau

We make enough of our own,,we don't need no one elses,,,,

You can't make it either, IT"S BANNED

Lmao. That is a great typo. My bad.

You would need a CITES permit, which I've heard is quite difficult to get.

Some have said that importing small amounts, such as razor scales, is highly unlikely to get seen by customs, and if if it is, the worst that is likely to happen is confiscation. They'd be unlikely to go through the trouble of prosecution just for two thin slices of ivory, though that's not to say that they won't. I'm not condoning this method, but you can take the risk if you wish.

If you want ivory scales, you can also ask one of the custom makers, such as Robert Williams, who deal in pre-ban ivory and he's based in the US.

There's also mammoth ivory available, which has no restrictions at all, but it's possible that customs will think it's elephant and confiscate it. I've never heard of this happening, but I have heard that mammoth ivory is very identical to elephant, unless you get bark ivory. Bark ivory is ivory from the outer parts of the task, and has had a lot of it's material replaced by minerals in the earth over the past thousand years, often giving it variating colours and whatnot. I personally prefer bark ivory over the normal type.

Question is would Robert risk selling elephant ivory after the new regs go into effect ? My guess is anyone selling ivory goods after July 1st would only do so face to face.

Aware of the possible risk of confiscation, I "rolled the dice" on a nice pair of very old razors out of France a while back. Seller was willing to ship...arrived fine. Customs label stated "used razors." I seriously doubt prosecution of the buyer. First of all, they would have to prove that you knew the scales were ivory without you ever seeing or handling them.