Shipping Prop Pieces

[PixelDragon]

Hiya! (Lmk if I'm doing this forum thing wrong orz)

I'm up in Canada, and my partner is down in the US, I have the costuming experience, but he owns the 3D printer.

So! We're planning to start off small, (as he's never used his printer before) and print a pair of sidearms for our personal costumes (A Magnum and a Sidekick). I have a couple questions, mostly just looking for advice or opinions!

Does it make sense for him to print them and ship them to me for finishing/painting? If he ships them (as I have no idea how international shipping works) should I be worried about customs? (since it's... prop gun parts, idk.)

Does it maybe make more sense for me to try and find a more local print place..? Or perhaps to remotely teach him how to prime and paint the models himself? (I don't want to dox myself, but I live in the middle of nowhere and it's a literal journey to get to a print place for me.)

 

[SgtSaint]

> as he's never used the printer before

What is your goal here? You're just doing this for yourselves, right? You're not trying to start a business the day after buying a 3d printer, are you?

I'm not giving you legal advice... I say that again, I am not giving you legal advice. But I can tell you that my shop (Starbase3d.etsy.com) ships prop cosplay weapons from Australia to Canada, USA, and the EU. None of them have ever been held up in customs.

 

[PixelDragon]

> as he's never used the printer before

What is your goal here? You're just doing this for yourselves, right? You're not trying to start a business the day after buying a 3d printer, are you?

I'm not giving you legal advice... I say that again, I am not giving you legal advice. But I can tell you that my shop (Starbase3d.etsy.com) ships prop cosplay weapons from Australia to Canada, USA, and the EU. None of them have ever been held up in customs.

Whoops! Just for personal use, yeah! I'll add that to my initial post.

The dork has had the printer for awhile, but never set it up... I wish I could help him as I have more experience in that department, but oh well.

That's good to hear, though!

 

[PlanetAlexander]

Welcome to the 405th PixelDragon! It's always a good idea to do a deep dive into the laws of both yours and your partner's state, in regards to replica firearms. In Queensland, there's different laws on the types/categories of replica firearms, including what defines a replica.

I do know people from America, Canada and Australia (including the chap above) who have shipped prop guns around. Once you've brushed up on your laws, and if you feel competent to ship it, make sure to include an orange barrel plug (this helps indicate it's a prop), and perhaps include a statement in the package stating where the prop comes from and what it's made of. If possible, try to ship it in multiple pieces and without being painted to show it's a raw, non-functional item.

Likewise, I'm not giving you foolproof legal advise, so don't sue me . These are just the steps I would (and have previously) taken when looking into that kind of thing.

 

[SgtSaint]

Whoops! Just for personal use, yeah! I'll add that to my initial post.

The dork has had the printer for awhile, but never set it up... I wish I could help him as I have more experience in that department, but oh well.

That's good to hear, though!

So sounds like

• he's going to 3d print a bunch of stuff for the both of you...
• Ship it to you...
• You sand and paint everything...
• Then mail back his half completed.

Sound close? If that's the case, (again I'm not a lawyer) - but less issue with a bunch of mixed random plastic parts going to you, than completed items going back. Think about what it looks like to the Xray machine.

PlanetAlexander is completely right about including a note in the box that says "Halloween costume toy" cannot be used to fire any kind of projectile... etc. I should have thought to mention that. Thanks for picking up my slack Alex!

 

[N8TEBB]

Canadian here! I always try to avoid international shipping because of higher prices, duty, and customs. As a matter of fact, it's easier for me to bring things over the border myself and ship it in the US myself than to ship from Canada to the US. Although, I live only 15 minutes from the US, so this is obviously not practical for most folks.

In truth, I've only had issues shipping internationally when shipping expensive items or shipping things with batteries. If you're just sending raw prints or even painted props across, you should be just fine getting past customs. Especially if you follow the tips the folks above me left.

If shipping prices aren't outrageous, then this sounds like a pretty good plan! It's a good idea to package the items at home before going to the shipping place, as they charge way too much for packing materials and tape.

 

[PixelDragon]

Canadian here! I always try to avoid international shipping because of higher prices, duty, and customs. As a matter of fact, it's easier for me to bring things over the border myself and ship it in the US myself than to ship from Canada to the US. Although, I live only 15 minutes from the US, so this is obviously not practical for most folks.

In truth, I've only had issues shipping internationally when shipping expensive items or shipping things with batteries. If you're just sending raw prints or even painted props across, you should be just fine getting past customs. Especially if you follow the tips the folks above me left.

If shipping prices aren't outrageous, then this sounds like a pretty good plan! It's a good idea to package the items at home before going to the shipping place, as they charge way too much for packing materials and tape.

YEAH I'M GONNA BE HONEST PRICE IS SOMETHING I'M A LIL WORRIED ABOUT. o(-(
I don't think we'll be doing more than the pair of guns this way though... doing anything more than that would definitely get expensive quick...
Thank you for your insight!