Delivery to (non-European) countries?

Godot · 2010-03-31T15:07:32+00:00

Hallo, bevor ich den Email-Support von Fotoimpex so kurz vor Ostern mit dummen Fragen nerve, möchte ich die schon mal ganz unverbindlich hier stellen. Das i...

Godot

Hello, Before I start bothering FOTOIMPEX’s email support with silly questions so close to Easter, I’d like to ask them here first, with no obligation. It might be helpful; perhaps someone here has experience of sending analogue film abroad. If I understand the Fotoimpex website correctly, they deliver pretty much anywhere, including Yemen (where I’m currently based). DHL delivers here without too much hassle, though the parcels are almost always opened by customs. Does anyone know if customs officials often tear open photo paper packages as well? Also, the parcels are apparently X-rayed (yes, they like to both open AND X-ray them). Are the X-rays from reasonably modern scanners actually a problem for film or paper? I’ve never actually noticed anything negative when my luggage is X-rayed at the airport. According to the DHL website, no liquids are allowed to be sent – is that really impossible? Where would I get the Rodinal from then? Thanks in advance and best regards from Sanaa, Stefan.

MirkoBoeddecker

Hi Stefan, So far, only one customs officer has ever opened a pack of film, and he was a sharp Bavarian bloke who probably found the Croatian delivery van from Fotokemika very, very suspicious. After one pack of 9x12, however, he stopped, and he would have let even that one through if the Croatian hadn’t told him not to (because he was afraid of getting stuck otherwise). So if your Yemeni customs officer is in a bad mood, you might be out of luck, but statistically speaking, there’s a good chance it’ll work out. I hadn’t heard about the liquids rule before. Does that only apply to Yemen, or where did you get that from? We can do things differently: if DHL goes on strike, there’s always UPS or a freight forwarder. So far, we’ve always managed to get everything delivered everywhere – though it can, of course, end up being a bit more expensive. Best regards, Mirko

Godot

Hi Mirko, Thanks for the prompt reply straight from the source. The information about liquids is on the DHL website: http://www.dhl.de/de/paket/privatkunden/in...iten/jemen.html Under ‘Important information from the foreign postal service’ – I’ve no idea how seriously this should be taken; regulations tend to be applied rather flexibly in this country. So, for now, I’ll go ahead and place an order without worrying about it, and if the liquid restrictions prove too much of a hassle or too expensive, I’ll take them with me in my suitcase at the next opportunity. Regards, Stefan.