This is especially relevant to shipping from overseas, but can also be applied to domestic purchasing and shipping as well.

	Shipping
Corey Chan, Thu, 18 Apr 1996 15:34:15 -0800 If you buy your lion dancing equipment overseas and you can't feasibly lug it back with your luggage, then the makers of the lion heads can probably help you in suggesting ways to get your equipment where it needs to go. For example, in my experience with the company that made my lion, they take the lion to someone that makes the wooden crate (additional charge of course ~US$200). Then the crate gets taken to a shipping company for you. Months later when the ship comes in, you'll get a letter from the shipping company asking you to pay for the shipping costs before they release your paperwork to you. Once you get the paperwork, you take it to customs (if you're lucky, they'll have a customs agent on site), and you'll pay your duties, depending on the contents of the crate. Bring tools like a claw hammer, tin snips, pliers, and a crow bar, just in case they ask you to open the crate. You'll need these tools anyway to get at your stuff, and you won't want to waste any time after waiting so long! Once duties are paid, the customs agent gives you more papers that authorize the shipping company to release your cargo. You may have to pay the shipping company another charge called the forklift charge $25-40, but last year we didn't have to. Bring a van or a truck that can hold the crate, and one or two strong dudes. Actually one guy alone can handle it if he's been waiting for his stuff for over a year! That tends to fill you with superhuman strength. Watch out for your back though, and bring a board to use as an inclined plane if you go it alone.
Chris Low, Apr 19 14:27:59 1996 I've heard that the way to go is to have them packed and sent out as air freight. It's probably more expensive, but safer & faster.
Rob Leong, Wed, 4 Dec 1996 11:28:23 -0500 We were able to avoid the customs tax (on the cloth tail and pants--which is protected by clothing taxes!) by convincing the customs guys that this was "Festive Items for Parades and Cultural Shows".
Tim Lee, Thu, 28 Aug 1997 09:55:50 -1000 You just take the head in the cardboard box it comes in, put it on board the plane as a luggage (FRAGILE, insure it!), and make sure a friend with a van or truck picks you up. Or, if you know somebody going to or coming from HK, and they really like you, you could ask them to help you do this and all you would have to pay for is the head and/or drum and/or instruments (plus an invite to 'cheng keuihdeih yam chah!')
Kirby Lim, 05 Feb 98 08:06 PST I returned from hong kong 2 weeks ago and took someone's suggestion 'bout checking a lion head as baggage. i guess it worked out for only certain airlines. i bought a #3 multi-color with matching tail and pants for US$389. i kept the head wrapped in the plastic bag, but cut away the box exposing the upper lip and above. (i wanted moving support for the handlers, yet let them know what was inside.) United Airlines would not accept the head as packaged and then I had to sign a waiver stating that they explained there's no liability on their part b/c it's fragile. HK customs/security staff helped gather boxes and wrapped the exposed portion of the head and taped it well at the airport real cool of 'em. i was escorted by a customs officer to UA's oversize/oddsize baggage counter. i was not charged extra. they said at least my lion would be manually transferred vs conveyor belt. what a headache, but i guess the hassle was worth it. helpful hint: have one of the floor supervisors radio-in to the basement staff to watch for the lion head. it helped tremendously. in my case, she assigned someone to my lion for its short journey to the plane
Perry D Lee, 06 Jul 2000 20:02:52 -0700 I was fortunate enough to attend the lion dance conference in SF. As a result, some time last year, Trying to be frugal as possible,I attempted to contact Sifu Siow through his student's email and at the two addresses on his business card. I never received a reply. I've since come to learn, that he's got a new address. To make a long story short I was very upset that with all my efforts I never received a reply. Since then I've ordered Lion dance equipment from someone else in Malaysia. If you're thinking about having it sent from Malaysia, it's quite expensive and quite a headache. Here's what you have to do: 1. They like you to wire money to their bank accounts in Malaysia. To do this, you not only need their bank account, you also need a corresponding USA bank that is in Malaysia. Something that the people in Malaysia don't seem to be aware of. The Corresponding Bank is Chase Manhatten, with routing #021000021 You need the usual personal info about the person your sending the money to. There's a fee for wiring money. My bank charged $40 2. The equipment is sent via boat. It takes about 30 days from time of departure to arrival in the US The people in Malaysia will take your phone number and a customs broker in the states will call you when your shipment is close to arrival. 3. You should declare your shipment as PERSONAL use. You can do your customs paperwork yourself or have a customs broker take care of it for you (saves you the headache). Here's where you start spending more money. Customs broker fee $120 If you want a broker to do the paperwork, you might have to get a public notary--paperwork saying you are who you say you are--giving the broker permission to act on your behalf. Banks usually offer public notary for a fee:My bank charged $10 You have other little duties fees to pay, depending on the content of your shipment Mines was only $7.04 Then there's something called a customs entry bond: Mine was $35 There's also a fee you need to pay for the terminal/company who picked up your shipment from the boat and is holding it for you. Mine was $35 4. Freight charge for sending two size 1 lionheads, a drum, two pairs of cymbals and a gong from Port Klang in Malaysia was: $398.64 5. At the terminal, where you pick up your package, they will NOT let you take the crate/box apart. You have to take it off their property in it's original packaging. My shipment came in a very wide, but not too deep square crate. It could not sit horizontally flat in a toyota pickup. Luckily lionheads are fairly light and we angled the box into the pickup bed. I paid $10 to tear the crate apart and dump the wood at a recycle place that was across the street from the terminal. So there you have it. I spent a wopping total of $3,205 bucks to get Malaysian Lion dance equipment. I suspect I may have been overcharged at the onset by the seller in Malaysia. Do the math if you're curious how much it cost before all the shipping. The lionheads are very nice. A little bit different from the picture on the web advertisement. And in my opinion, NOT as nice as Sifu Siows. The drum I received is actually from Sifu Siow's company--Wan seng heng. They like for you to call them on their cell phones even though it's a bad connection. I never realized you can call international on cell phones.
David Lei, 07 Jul 2000 15:22:41 -0700 There are many pitfalls involved with importing. Adding to Perry's comments: if you are buying from China and plan to ship goods back, be sure the person you buy from has an export license to issue the proper receipt to allow you to export otherwise you will have to "buy" a legal export receipt at the going "market price". China customs will not allow shipment to be exported unless it is accompanied by a legitimate receipt issued by firm that has export license. if you crate the equipment in a wooden crate, be prepared to get the goods fumigated and get a fumigation certificate for U.S. customs entry. If you do not have the time to pick up the goods from the piers, local trucking will cost you around $100 to $150. If they are large crates, they might even charge you $35 for fork lift usage. Two years ago a good friend visiting Vietnam on a whim purchased a lion for me saying it was only a $150 gift. The catch was it was still in the shop in Vietnam. Cost me $900 to get it here! It is better to pay excess baggage charges (normally around $100 per bag/head) and bring the head(s) back with you on the plane. Or send it back by Federal Express or UPS with door to door service (normally $300 to $500 per head depending on where and size/weight of head and what discount you can get from UPS and Fedex). When you calculate UPS and FedEx prices, pls note lion heads are light in weight relative to size so will probably be charged by "size weight" (higher charges) and not the actual weight. If you send by door to door service, be sure you include an invoice showing the purchase price in U.S. dollars describing the goods as either: "religious regalia for institution" - customs harmonize code 9810.00.1500 - duty free or "papier mache mask" - customs harmonize code 4823.90.20 - 1.2% duty rate If you send by regular air freight, you will still have the hassles and costs with clearing U.S. customs and picking up from the air terminal so I highly suggest door to door service. The down side is risk of transit damages.
Dai Goh07 Jul 2000 19:01:18 -0700 (PDT) To clarify what David was saying re: shipments to the US: Wood crates need to be certified by the US Dept of Agriculture (That's usually US$50-100 extra.) This green document must be with you to clear the items through US Customs. Excess baggage charge: meaning that you will transport the lion heads as "check-in" luggage. Most airline carriers will MAKE you sign a waiver that they are not responsible for possible damage to your lion heads. Most likely the lion heads will be carted off via "oversize baggage" counter. So you'll have to make 2 stops at for checking in for your flight. FedEx/UPS: Not all lion head makers have a P.O. to use those couriers, so work out the shipping details before ordering. Some HK makers like to truck the lions across the border into Kwangtung and then ship it off to your destination b/c it's easier for them to fill up a WHOLE shipping container w/lots of stuff. Freight is sold off by volume, not weight. I've learned the following from personal experience: 1) depending on the airline (inquire before arriving to the airport!!) take the lion to the airport without the cardbox or shipping box and put it in a clear plastic bag (double bag it!). Label the bag clearly in CHINESE and ENGLISH (paper mache lion head, please be careful; ching siu sum see tao) 2) have the airline HAND CARRY the lion to the plane and HAND LOAD!! PERSONALLY observe that it is being done that way so that the heavy, over-size baggage doesn't crush the lion; you won't be allowed to the whole process but at least watch it pass the counter area. Remember-- you've signed the waiver prior to this so now you rolled the dice. 3) some airline carriers may charge a fee for said over-size items. But I've been lucky twice... so far. 4) know your airlines and see which ones will accomodate you. Then patronize them for future travel. It seems to work.....
Willy Le, Fri, 10 Nov 2000 18:55:07 -0600 Oh, here's a tip for going through customs. I told the officer (this was in Detroit) that I had 'papier mache masks' and 'religious regalia'. Neither of these descriptions really got things going. But then I said that they were sort of like 'artwork' (which is how Master Siow described them at the conference) and the customs officer said: 'That's the magic word!' and he crossed off my entire claim and let me through for free. So if anyone is bringing equipment to the US, if you can claim it as 'artwork' it will make things much easier on you. I did have problems with my airline, though. As soon as they saw the four big cardboard boxes they said no way those were going on the plane without even trying to fit them through the x-ray. Luckily, Master Siow and Albert were with me and we assured them that they would fit through the x-ray machine and that they had done this in the past. It was only after a little bit of tense reassurance that we finally got the lions on board. I did have to pay for two excess baggage items, which cost $117 each. No problem there. Oh, my carrier was Northwest and they are quite strict about baggage. When I went to Indonesia we flew on Malaysia Airlines and there was no problem at all. Hehe, and since I switched airlines when I got to the US, they lost my lions for about 24 hours before finding them again and delivering them to my house! I wasn't that worried since I had already gotten them past customs, but it was just a case of the previous airline bringing my stuff to Houston instead of the last airline I went on. No biggie.
Hotstuffchef23@aol.com, 14 Feb 2002 00:20:58 EST If traveling overseas and bringing back a lion, here's what i did. From the shop in china, i wrapped my lion in plastic wrap...over and over again. Leaving the bottom exposed. I brought it to the airport, and checked it in as luggage. Nowadays most people use the #3 heads...mine was a #2. No problem. They checked it in and it came back with me to US fine as could be. When purchasing a lion from overseas, it helps to have friends or relatives that are in that country. I usually wire money to my relatives, and have them send/buy the lion for me. Then they get it and wrap and pack it. The shipping is between 100.00 and 200.00 depending on the way the send it. Last time my cousins sent it DHL to me here in the US and it cost about 140.00 U.S. The lion itself only cost about 175.00 for the whole tail and head set. So all in all it wasn't a bad deal. Happy new year guys!

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