Are you a Safari Specialty Importers client?

Guys I'd like to take a moment and thank the SSI team for what they do. As I have posted on here before I am leaving in June for Africa on a DG/PG hunt. I hired SSI to help with the trophy import process after seeing an add here on AH. I had previously spoke with several other brokers and I ultimately decided on SSI and boy am I glad I did. They are a first class company with the best customer service I have ever dealt with. So far everything has been smooth as glass and took the worry and frustration out of getting all the permits, logistics, etc.... Needed to import my trophies. The icing on the cake is that with the new firearm temp export law they have been ontop of it since day one. I tried to obtain the permits on my own which at least for me has been impossible. Words can not describe how ridiculously frustrating it is to try and do this with out assistance. Out of desperation I picked up the phone and called SSI for assistance. Not only are they willing to help but they preform this service to their clients at no charge. They have emailed me step by step directions on obtaining my EIN number and have told me if need be they would walk me through the process. Once the EIN is obtained they handle all the rest. Each and every time I have ever need help they have been there and took all of the stress out of the preparation for this hunt. I don't know what the total bill is going to be for everything that they have done for me but I really don't care what it is. The stress and hassle they have saved me is well worth every penny. They have truely developed a life customer with me and my hat is off to them. I'm here to tell you if you aren't an SSI client you need to be.

Customer service like that is priceless ! Peace of mind when you are preparing for a big trip like that is awesome.

Yes sir, they are truley awesome. I doubt I would have ever been able to do these things on my own and if it weren't for them what is shure to be the trip of a lifetime would have been a miserable pile of paperwork which would have put a huge black cloud over the whole experience. I can't say enough good things about them.

Gizmo, your words here has made my day! My personal thanks to you and all who have contacted us by telephone or email....We really do care about our fellow hunters and together with my team, will move heaven and earth to get things done and done right! This is not a job, it is a passion that keeps growing and our reward is a happy hunter that becomes a friend!
Regards from the SSI Team.....

robertq said:

Gizmo, your words here has made my day! My personal thanks to you and all who have contacted us by telephone or email....We really do care about our fellow hunters and together with my team, will move heaven and earth to get things done and done right! This is not a job, it is a passion that keeps growing and our reward is a happy hunter that becomes a friend!
Regards from the SSI Team.....

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Thank you sir and that is very apparent in the way your business operates. I assure you you have made a life long customer out of me and I will refer you to everyone I know that would be in need of your service. Thank you again.

I'm signed on!

So am I!

Or will be tomorrow truth be told. I haven't been in the office to scan and send the paperwork although it has been ready.

I've talked to Robert a fair amount though and agree with Gizmo that he will bend over backwards for his clients or anyone else here that he can help.

All it takes is one phone call to talk to Rosella and you will find out what type of company they are and you will quickly get the paperwork started. At least that is the way that I felt after calling them. From what I found out in that one phone call is that they take the worry out of your trophies from the PH to the final destination.

JimP said:

All it takes is one phone call to talk to Rosella and you will find out what type of company they are and you will quickly get the paperwork started. At least that is the way that I felt after calling them. From what I found out in that one phone call is that they take the worry out of your trophies from the PH to the final destination.

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And if you get Tara instead of Rosella you will have the same experience.

I'm combining two safari shipments into one and shipping from Zim to SA as well. She asked me all the right questions and even knew my outfitter as soon as I told her the shipping company that was being used. Point being, they know people, as they should to be the best.

I understand that the EIN is for businesses and that there is currently much confusion within the government on requiring EIN s for temporary export of firearms by individuals not business related. Has this been resolved?

Thank you for answering the big question we get asked every day:

WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER BROKERS?

Good Day Sierraone.....
The EIN number is still required for the filing of firearms in AES. You will need to file as a sole proprietor.
I trust this answers your question.
Robert

robertq said:

Good Day Sierraone.....
The EIN number is still required for the filing of firearms in AES. You will need to file as a sole proprietor.
I trust this answers your question.
Robert

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Thanks Robert!

Just finished my EEI, received my ITN by e mail in less than 5 minutes after completion. I want to express my opinion on this whole matter, unless you are a glutton for punishment then thank Robert and Rosella for their offer and take advantage of their services. If you must pay a third party broker to complete and secure that ITN for you...DO SO. My son has many years in the export division of a Fortune 500 firm, he signed up for his EIN this morning , took the AES Test, cold, and passed and had it not been for his help I would still be struggling. SSI offer is way beyond any other broker for providing this service to their clients, at no charge.

From one hunter to another...... Thank you !!!!!

Areaonereal said:

Just finished my EEI, received my ITN by e mail in less than 5 minutes after completion. I want to express my opinion on this whole matter, unless you are a glutton for punishment then thank Robert and Rosella for their offer and take advantage of their services. If you must pay a third party broker to complete and secure that ITN for you...DO SO. My son has many years in the export division of a Fortune 500 firm, he signed up for his EIN this morning , took the AES Test, cold, and passed and had it not been for his help I would still be struggling. SSI offer is way beyond any other broker for providing this service to their clients, at no charge.

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Agree 100%
I have nothing set in stone yet for the handling of my trophies except a recommendation from my taxidermist and an estimate from a shipping company.
But the way SSI got on top of this whole mess so quickly and competantly has left me 2nd guessing my taxi's recommendation.So I'll give this mess a couple of days to settle down and call SSI to see if their services are a fit for me.
At this point I really know nothing about Robert or SSI other than how they have handled this debacle but as long as they offer the services I need(and I can afford them)I believe I would feel very confident with them handling my trophies.

Good job Robert........you'll be hearing from me

Trap, I am also a first timer safari hunter myself. My taxidermist also recommended a different importer for my trophies but after talking to Rosella at SSI I quickly decided that they would be the importers for me. She asked all the right questions and had all the right answers. They have worked with the taxidermist that I'll be using in SA for the dip and pack and mentioned them by name. I then did a little home work finding out who my taxidermists tannery was and after talking to the tannery and asking for some identification tags from them and then letting Rosella know who they were the tannery sent me my laminated tags with all my information on them. Rosella had contacted them and had them include SSI as the importer.

All I can say that they have gone above what you would expect a business to do on a customers behalf and it looks like they will even do a lot more.

One thing is that when I mentioned to my taxidermist that I was not going to use his recommended importer he was cool with it and said that he is always looking for any importer that will make it easier on the hunter, and I think that I have found the one for me.

So try them, you'll like them from the first phone call to them.

Trap123 said:

Agree 100%
I have nothing set in stone yet for the handling of my trophies except a recommendation from my taxidermist and an estimate from a shipping company.
But the way SSI got on top of this whole mess so quickly and competantly has left me 2nd guessing my taxi's recommendation.So I'll give this mess a couple of days to settle down and call SSI to see if their services are a fit for me.
At this point I really know nothing about Robert or SSI other than how they have handled this debacle but as long as they offer the services I need(and I can afford them)I believe I would feel very confident with them handling my trophies.

Good job Robert........you'll be hearing from me

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Give them a call, I promise they can help you out. From our discussions they are very reasonable in their pricing. I'm not a rich man but considering the cost of safaris this is no place to try and save a buck. The satisfaction of a cheap price is forgotten long before the stench of a bad experience. From the research I did they are the same price give or take a few bucks as any other brokerage firm. Personally even if they were more expensive I would still use them and shoot one less animal to insure what I do take gets home where it needs to go with no trouble. Just my opinion but I think you will be very pleased after speaking with them. First class operation and I can't ever see using anyone else.

So I will add to my already positive experience.

I sent my paperwork in and had a response within just a few minutes with the information of what to do to get the EIN and subsequent ITN. That I expected based on the conversations I'd had.

But I also have trophies on the way to SA from Zim from last year's safari as i said earlier in this thread. I'd told them this as part of the information I gave them when we talked. Tara has already reached out to the SA importer to let them know they will be taking over and asking for an update. Nice touch....