Who has shipped cigars to Europe?

[txmatt]

Hello,

our new member shakespeare in Portugul wants to participate in a newbie sampler trade.

Prior to proceeding however I want to ensure I can get his sampler to him properly. I believe a few of the gorillas here shipped to brother El Rey Del Mundo (has anyone heard from him in a while?).

Could someone please fill me in a bit what I need to do or what will be involved in shipping a package to Portugul as I have never shipped anything internationally.

Thanks!
-Matt-

[MocoBird]

Wow!!! That’s a whole new concept. Shipping cigars to Europe! The first thing I would find out is what the customs regulations are when shipping tobacco products to Portugal. I know if you send tobacco products to Canada and customs finds them they will tax the recipient up the ying-yang! Other then that it’s pretty much straight forward. Pack it, put an address on it and take it to the PO. You will have to declare the contents and this is why you need to know customs regulations. Hope that helps......

[shelvingunit]

PM sent

[uncle mikey]

Originally Posted by txmatt

Hello,

our new member shakespeare in Portugul wants to participate in a newbie sampler trade.

Prior to proceeding however I want to ensure I can get his sampler to him properly. I believe a few of the gorillas here shipped to brother El Rey Del Mundo (has anyone heard from him in a while?).

Could someone please fill me in a bit what I need to do or what will be involved in shipping a package to Portugul as I have never shipped anything internationally.

Thanks!
-Matt-

Matt, I ship to Europe once or twice a week. PM me and I'll give you the skinny for a secure shipment. mb

[MoTheMan]

txmatt,

I would see what Uncle Mikey has to say. Anyone who travels to Cyprus to smoke cigars should have good experience at shipping them (LOL).

I recently replied to a PM asking me a similar question. Whether shipping to the US or to Europe, my suggestions would be the same.

Well, my recommendations are these:

1) DO NOT write anyhwhere on the package anything about tobacco (cuban or otherwise). Tobacco importation has a lot of regulation, quota, and taxation lawa associated with it so you want to keep things simple. Keep the package small and label the package personal gift. You can also include a chocolate bar/T-shirt/small book, etc... to make it look legit in case you're worried about the package getting X-rayed, opened, or searched.

2) Declare a low value on the package, but don't overexaggerate. Higher valued items are more likely to get looked at for excise/importation tax. Remember, it's supposed to be a gift.

3) Use priority or express mail for speed, do not overnight it. Again, overnight packages are more likely to get scrutinized and get delayed. Likewise, packages going by courier (FedEx, DHL, UPS) are likely to get more scrutiny.

4) If shipping to the US from somewhere else, you can always take the bands off & send the cigars "generic" to be on the safe side if you're worried about legality issues.

5) Remember to package the cigars well in order to ensure freshness. Also keep in mind the seasons and local temperature. If shipping in summer, high temperatures may cause problems such as incubating beetle eggs or direct damage to cigars due to wrapper splitting from the heat, etc . . .

Good luck. Hope that this helps.

[uncle mikey]

Originally Posted by MoTheMan

txmatt,

I would see what Uncle Mikey has to say. Anyone who travels to Cyprus to smoke cigars should have good experience at shipping them (LOL).

I recently replied to a PM asking me a similar question. Whether shipping to the US or to Europe, my suggestions would be the same.

Well, my recommendations are these:

1) DO NOT write anyhwhere on the package anything about tobacco (cuban or otherwise). Tobacco importation has a lot of regulation, quota, and taxation lawa associated with it so you want to keep things simple. Keep the package small and label the package personal gift. You can also include a chocolate bar/T-shirt/small book, etc... to make it look legit in case you're worried about the package getting X-rayed, opened, or searched.

2) Declare a low value on the package, but don't overexaggerate. Higher valued items are more likely to get looked at for excise/importation tax. Remember, it's supposed to be a gift.

3) Use priority or express mail for speed, do not overnight it. Again, overnight packages are more likely to get scrutinized and get delayed. Likewise, packages going by courier (FedEx, DHL, UPS) are likely to get more scrutiny.

4) If shipping to the US from somewhere else, you can always take the bands off & send the cigars "generic" to be on the safe side if you're worried about legality issues.

5) Remember to package the cigars well in order to ensure freshness. Also keep in mind the seasons and local temperature. If shipping in summer, high temperatures may cause problems such as incubating beetle eggs or direct damage to cigars due to wrapper splitting from the heat, etc . . .

Good luck. Hope that this helps.

All good advice except the candy bar. It is a perishable item and is restricted in found for possible bacteria. Please send all candy bars to me for disposal. Seriously, don't send any kind of food item. Otherwise everything MoMan says is correct and good. mb