Shipping a 35mm camera to China

bambolero · Jul 19, 2011

Hello,

can a 35 mm cameras along with a few lenses be shipped to China? The last item on the USPS prohibitions list has me confused? " Wrist-watches, cameras, television sets, radio sets, tape records, bicycles, sewing machines, and ventilators..."
http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/ce_009.htm#ep1400280

Has anyone shipped their gear to China successfully?
An ebay customer from China has been asking and I am not sure what to tell her.

tkamiya · Jul 19, 2011

How about calling Chinese embassy or consulate and inquire? It seems the document is saying cameras are prohibited in very plain English. (which sounds strange to me but oh well....) Few (or many) getting through by mistake or omission may not be a proof enough that your particular package will go through. You may lose your camera, money, or both.

bambolero · Jul 19, 2011

Thanks, I find it odd as well to say the least. I will call USPS tomorrow see of they can shed some light on this.

Chan Tran · Jul 19, 2011

China is making lots of those little digicam, no 35mm cameras allowed hehehe.

BrianL · Jul 20, 2011

Maybe a holdover from the cold war and when China was a closed country. Cameras = photographing = information = spying.

Neanderman · Jul 20, 2011

It might also be an intellectual property thing. As with the Soviets, the Chinese manufacturers don't seem to put a lot of stock in patents and will copy anything and everything.

mtjade2007 · Jul 20, 2011

Better not try it. It is clearly stated at the USPS site that shipping cameras to China is prohibited. If you are a seller on ebay and receive payment through PayPal you could lose everything when the buyer says they do not receive it. All the rules will be against you.

Chan Tran · Jul 20, 2011

I believe that they want chinese to buy and use chinese products if someone insist on import stuff should have to pay a very high tax. I think they try to protect their jobs and the fobbiden items are those that they are making.

DaveO · Jul 20, 2011

35mm cameras

It is probably because they are saving their 1 billion customers so they buy Chinese cameras. I know they made 2 1/4 cameras ( tlrs) and I assume they make 35mm also. The tlrs can actually be bought here in the US under the name of
Great Wall, I think. There may be another also.

pentaxuser · Jul 20, 2011

So it isn't possible to legally ship cameras to China? So any non Chinese cameras in the hands of any inhabitant is an offence? All the Japanese/ German/Swedish manufacturers are forbidden to export any cameras to China? The camera section on e-bay should say "No Chinese inhabitant may bid on cameras being auctioned outside of China due to Chinese law"

I'd look into this with USPS to get to the bottom of it. It doesn't stack up to me.

pentaxuser

David A. Goldfarb · Jul 20, 2011

Strange. I've sold some LF lenses to ebay users in China with no problems. Maybe there are restrictions for new equipment that involves software. Somehow, I suspect that wealthy Chinese buyers are able to obtain any cameras they want.

MattKing · Jul 20, 2011

It is probably a remnant from export restrictions imposed when China and the US were much more at odds (think Korean war). It may be that it isn't enforced, and there may indeed be a government directive to that effect.

It might also be that it is one of those things that requires a special export permit before it can be mailed.

Or a combination of the two.

GeorgeDexter · Jul 20, 2011

I've experienced this also

The USPS website is correct. USPS will not knowingly ship cameras to China. If you lie on the customs docs, well that's your business. According to my local US Post Office, lenses, flashes and other camera equipment are not "cameras," and thus not prohibited.

UPS and FedEx do not list cameras as prohibited, but the shipping costs are very high. FedEx recently quoted me $900 to ship a 4lb. camera to Shanhai, and UPS quoted my $325 . USPS, if it hadn't been prohibited, would do it for $50-60via Express Mail International!

Incidentally, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, though nominally part of China have no such restrictions on cameras.

BobD · Jul 21, 2011

It also says you can't send gramophone records which could do political, economical, cultural, or moral harm to the Peoples Republic of China.

I suppose that would that include Chuck Berry ...

daveandiputra · Jul 21, 2011

GeorgeDexter said:
Incidentally, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, though nominally part of China have no such restrictions on cameras.

taiwan is an independent state (of course in PRC still view it's a province) that still insist that they are the real government of whole china.
While hongkong, is part of PRC. But with the British dominion past, they got some kind of special autonomy on some cases.
Sorry for nagging, I'm stuck in a bad bad bad traffic jam here in downtown Jakarta with nothing else to do

eSPhotos · Jul 21, 2011

I don't know about USPS but I sold my Contax 139 to a buyer in China and I sent it via AustPost. I also wrote USED CAMERA on the declaration paper.
No issues.

j-dogg · Jul 23, 2011

Seeing as the Chinese make 99.999999% of all the consumer-grade cameras on the market (as well as everything else, good job NAFTA) I find this appalling.

Graham_Martin · Jul 24, 2011

One time I did ship a lens to a buyer in Hong Kong, and it got through OK. I'm not sure if HK and China have the same rules, but they are the same country.

Richard S. (rich815) · Jul 24, 2011

Graham_Martin said:
One time I did ship a lens to a buyer in Hong Kong, and it got through OK. I'm not sure if HK and China have the same rules, but they are the same country.

LOL! Not for this purpose they are not!!

pentaxuser · Jul 24, 2011

So bamborelo, have you contacted USPS, what did it say and have you discovered how to ship the camera to your Chinese customer?

We await an answer with baited breath as must your customer in China only much more so! We at least are only curious bystanders

pentaxuser

Shipping a 35mm camera to China

bambolero

tkamiya

bambolero

Chan Tran

BrianL

Neanderman

mtjade2007

Chan Tran

DaveO

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David A. Goldfarb

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MattKing

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GeorgeDexter

BobD

daveandiputra

eSPhotos

j-dogg

Graham_Martin

Richard S. (rich815)

pentaxuser

Shipping a 35mm camera to China

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