Buying in the States was Re: HP analyzer probes( Actually shipping overseas)

From: McFadden, Mike <mmcfadden_at_cmh.edu>
Date: Thu Jul 1 14:08:09 2004

About 10 years ago I attempted to ship some donated medical equipment
from Kansas City to China for one of our visiting Chinese doctors.
There were brand new but expired medical supplies, needles and
catheters, no chemicals. I used a very sturdy computer monitor box and
packed the entire box full. There was no extra packing just the
packaging the supplies were enclosed in. Well taped and sent express
mail.

First attempt hit US customs in California and was returned because I
shouldn't ship "medical waste" via mail. I made the mistake of
declaring the stuff to be medical scrap, since we were going to trash
it.

I then declared the items to be sterile, stainless steel and plastic,
unused and resent them. They returned in about a week because I hadn't
declared an itemized list of all items enclosed. I then opened the box
and counted every one of the sterile needles, syringes, catheters and
made a total list which was attached to the paperwork. There were over
1,000 items in the box. I still left the value at $0.

The box came back again from California since who would pay over $100
shipping on worthless items. I was mad then. I called up UPS and sent
it airfreight express and it went through without a hitch. The doctor
on the other end ended up paying over $200 in duty since there were so
many items and they must each be worth a least $1.

I think the transport brokers have a lock on the "inside track" which
makes shipping easier.

I was also going to send a complete set of medical journals but I was
tired of the hassle.

Mike
Received on Thu Jul 01 2004 - 14:08:09 BST