Sending Electronics to US from Japan

[fingersmaloy]

So I stopped by the post office today because I wanted to ask about the cheapest way to send stuff back to the US. I'll be returning there later on in the year.

When I mentioned I wanted to send back a guitar, the lady at the post office said "Is it an electric guitar?, because electronic goods with batteries and such are prohibited now. You can't send them period."

Is this some new security measure to counter terrorism? I know there are some people on this forum who send a lot of consoles and stuff to the US. Is that still allowed? Will they reject my Sega Saturn because it's got a lithium battery in there? Or my PS3 because there's one o' them button batteries buried somewhere inside? Anyone who knows the deal please fill me in!

Thanks!

[Niode]

Well unless it has active pickups then an electric guitar wouldn't normally have a battery in it. Surely it's not that hard to remove the battery anyway. I have to replace the batteries quite often in my EMG pickups in all my guitars. It's a 5 minute job. Just remove the battery then ship it.

You can remove the batteries in most consoles pretty easily. I suggest removing the battery and then sending it anyway if that's the case.

[Ziggy]

I have to replace the batteries quite often in my EMG pickups in all my guitars.

Do you mean you have to constantly change the batteries in all the guitars? Or do you mean because you have many guitars with active EMG's it is often that one of the guitars need a battery change? lol, because I put EMGs in one of my guitars back in 2005 (I think) and the original battery is still working.

because electronic goods with batteries and such are prohibited now. You can't send them period.

What exactly does that mean though? Does that mean just batteries can't be sent, or electronic good at all? If it just the batteries, then yeah, it's easy to remove them for shipping. And yeah, most electric guitars wont have batteries unless they have active pickups or some sort of on board EQ/effect type of deal.

[winds]

You may also want to check with your airline. I moved to England for a year in 2005 and the airline I used allowed me to bring 1 instrument on board for free. I think it was Air Transat, but I could be mistaken.

Also, unless that's a brand new law passed within the last month or so, it isn't true. I have electronic goods shipped to me from Japan quite often using online auctions. Though, I live in Canada.

[MrPopo]

When I mentioned I wanted to send back a guitar, the lady at the post office said "Is it an electric guitar?, because electronic goods with batteries and such are prohibited now. You can't send them period."

Certain types of batteries are consider a hazmat item depending on the country, and cannot be shipped through the standard postal service. It isn't a prohibition on sending electronics, it's the batteries. You should be able to look in to the regulations for both relevant postal systems and determine what specific criteria there are for batteries in the mail.

[Hobie-wan]

If you look at the hazmat poster in US post offices, it mentions the lithium batteries that will be in cell phones. This will of course apply to portable equipment and systems with batteries or cordless controllers. I'm sure this is what they were referring to. If you ship with batteries taken out and tell them such, I would think you could manage. Maybe take the specialized batteries on the plane with you. Heck, take the battereies to the post office so you can show them you took them out.

[pepharytheworm]

I have to replace the batteries quite often in my EMG pickups in all my guitars.

Do you mean you have to constantly change the batteries in all the guitars? Or do you mean because you have many guitars with active EMG's it is often that one of the guitars need a battery change? lol, because I put EMGs in one of my guitars back in 2005 (I think) and the original battery is still working.

because electronic goods with batteries and such are prohibited now. You can't send them period.

What exactly does that mean though? Does that mean just batteries can't be sent, or electronic good at all? If it just the batteries, then yeah, it's easy to remove them for shipping. And yeah, most electric guitars wont have batteries unless they have active pickups or some sort of on board EQ/effect type of deal.

He probably leaves his guitar cord in his guitar, which will drain the battery fast if left like that. I let some one play my bass and forgot to tell them to unplug it when done. The battery was dead next time I wanted to play. I

[Niode]

I have to replace the batteries quite often in my EMG pickups in all my guitars.

Do you mean you have to constantly change the batteries in all the guitars? Or do you mean because you have many guitars with active EMG's it is often that one of the guitars need a battery change? lol, because I put EMGs in one of my guitars back in 2005 (I think) and the original battery is still working.

because electronic goods with batteries and such are prohibited now. You can't send them period.

What exactly does that mean though? Does that mean just batteries can't be sent, or electronic good at all? If it just the batteries, then yeah, it's easy to remove them for shipping. And yeah, most electric guitars wont have batteries unless they have active pickups or some sort of on board EQ/effect type of deal.

He probably leaves his guitar cord in his guitar, which will drain the battery fast if left like that. I let some one play my bass and forgot to tell them to unplug it when done. The battery was dead next time I wanted to play. I

Nope. I have EMGs in all my guitars and I play at least one of them for at least 2 hours when I'm not teaching. When I am teaching I'm doing at least 3-4 hours throughout the day. When not in use they don't have a cable plugged in. The batteries rundown due to use. That's it. When I say all the time, I mean once or twice a month, usually when I change my strings.

[Ziggy]

That still seems like a lot, compared to how often I change mine. I only have a pair of EMGs in one guitar, but they've been in there for a few years and I've never had to replace the battery. Pretty weird. The 9v in my wireless system dies after just a few hours, on the other hand.