Trophy shipping help

[BLJC30]

Hello everyone,

My family and I went on our first trip to RSA last year and our mounted trophies are finally ready to ship.

I will pay the balance for the taxidermy this week and I am lost when it comes to getting them here. She said that Safari Cargo Systems would be picking my crate up in the next week or two and we have a price to ship to Baltimore, MD.

Where do I go from here? I live in WV but I don’t know anything about the clearing process and don’t want to get charged a ton of airport storage.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Hunt anything]

Hire a customs broker, coppersmiths is a good one that many on here have used. They have imported 3 crates for me and have always kept me in the loop and informed. They stay up to date on any new laws and regulations. Just my 2cents.

 

[Stetsonham]

Hire a customs broker asap. They will work with the shippers to get it where you want and make sure you all customs paperwork is processed.
I recommend


Matt Mayers
Genus Logistics
Tel: 718 790 0216
Fax: 516 400 9787
matt@genuslogistics.com
www.genuslogistics.com

 

[BLJC30]

Thanks. Any idea what the brokers charge?

 

[Stetsonham]

Mine was $500 per crate

 

[Stetsonham]

Mine was dip pack might be different for finished Taxidermy. But I doubt much

 

[bashaw]

I just cleared my mounted trophies in Portland, Oregon.First go to thehttps://edecs.fws.gov/ create an account fill out form on the site, when the customs agent approves the form then go to the warehouse that they were shipped to after arrival, take the paperwork from the warehouse to customs, customs stamps it go back to warehouse and load trophies.

 

[PARA45]

If you look on here, you'll find sponsors who clear trophies. Depending on what airlines your shipper uses, you may end up paying up on warehouse fees. My last shipment came out of RSA, and flew on Turkish airline, and the warehouse fees was over $1400. More than the actual airfare. Whomever you use, make sure you get the quote in writing.

 

[JimP]

For a first time I would suggest that you get a importer. All it takes is for one period or comma to be misplaced on your import forms and you will be in for a long fight, storage fees, and other things.

I use Safari Specialty Importers. They have their own bonded warehouses and you won't incur any storage fees that some others charge, some of these fees can amount to thousands of dollars.

 

[Stetsonham]

For a first time I would suggest that you get a importer. All it takes is for one period or comma to be misplaced on your import forms and you will be in for a long fight, storage fees, and other things.

I use Safari Specialty Importers. They have their own bonded warehouses and you won't incur any storage fees that some others charge, some of these fees can amount to thousands of dollars.

I’ve heard great things about these guys aswell. Where is their main hub?

 

[JimP]

I’ve heard great things about these guys aswell. Where is their main hub?

Originally they were out of NY, then Wyatt Fetner took it over. I believe that he is based in Tennessee. However they have a number of facilities to import trophies. My first hunt was brought through LA, my last one was through NY. Both times it was a outstanding service. My last hunt flew into NY, then to Denver where it was transferred to a ground shipper to my home.

They charge a little bit more but then they do a lot more. They are on top of all the regulations for trophy shipping out of any country that you might hunt in. There are also on hidden fees for storage or other services.

 

[JimP]

One thing that others who come across this thread is that the importation and shipping process should be thought about while you are doing the initial planning for your safari.

While shipping cost may change you'll at least know about what is going to happen to your trophies. There are way too many members here that leave it until it is time for their trophies to be shipped home and then they are surprised at the cost to get it done. That along with thinking of doing the importation process by themselves thinking that it is a simple process. It may be but in my book the importers earn their money and then some by knowing the ins and outs of the process along with knowing the pitfalls of paperwork that isn't correct.

 

[SETH RINGER]

COPPERSMITHS ARE GREAT

 

[375Fox]

Thanks. Any idea what the brokers charge?

Brokers charge a flat fee for their services. Coppersmith is $400 per shipment they clear not per crate, but they will bill you for the other miscellaneous charges to clear. I use coppersmiths in Chicago to ship to western Pennsylvania. I could use New York as well. I’d choose one of those two locations for yourself over Baltimore. This was my last invoice from coppersmiths a few months ago. One day airline storage seems unavoidable now but the rest was at their bonded warehouse no charge while waiting on inspection. Final shipping from them is obviously based on size and destination. I recently compared invoices with another member using SSI and was very comparable charges. Any broker you choose make sure they have a bonded warehouse at that location to avoid excessive storage charges. Most of my recent shipments have taken 2+ weeks to clear.

 

[shootist~]

Coppersmith-DFW this summer was $2k, which included >$400 in USDA fees (IIRC). Four finished trophies including a warthog shoulder mount and a Cape Buff Euro, which may have added some. There was 0 storage fees even though it took several days to get the crate to Coppersmith's warehouse.

Then ground freight to ABQ (booked by Coppersmith, btw) added another $2k.

 

[Hunt anything]

USDA has really hiked their prices! Last time I cleared anyone was 2022 and it was something like $25 for the first 6 animals and $5 for each animal above that if I recall. I’m going to try and dig up my paperwork and make sure.

 

[Arctic97]

Here is a pretty good thread where a lot of us posted our costs on taxidermy, shipping, clearing agent. It is maybe worth a read to give you a guess on what these costs run....

https://www.africahunting.com/threa...2023-safari-with-kubusi-with-questions.83845/

 

[ArmyAV8tor]

I have used Trophy Shippers x3. $400 for service. I am in central PA so I drove to Baltimore for pickup. Very smooth and good comms. I believe there is a $50 discount for AH members.

 

[375Fox]

I have used Trophy Shippers x3. $400 for service. I am in central PA so I drove to Baltimore for pickup. Very smooth and good comms. I believe there is a $50 discount for AH members.

I’ve used trophy shippers in past, but I won’t again until they get a bonded warehouse at more locations. It was my understanding they only had one in Houston. Any delays (such as for warthogs) could really add up to a lot of airline storage fees. I think that was their primary issues in some of the bad reports they received here a few years ago.

 

[ArmyAV8tor]

@375. Thanks for the heads up. I will keep that in mind.