How to ship toys to the US that don’t have country of manufacture noted on the item?

[thegrandtoywizard]

Has anyone figured out how to ship loose Legos or action figure accessories that DO NOT have a country directly marked on the toy? I have lots of loose mini figs and such that I’d like to post. I mainly ship with ChitChats at this time.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

You'd be better contacting Chit Chats directly to get the answer to this because they have pretty strict standards for how you label or declare things and they also impose hefty fines on any packages that result in their trucks being turned back. 

Most Lego is made in China, Mexico, or Denmark. You should explain to Chit Chats that you want to sell a mixed lot of pieces all from different sets, and ask them what they think you should do.

Most action figures are made in China. You might even be able to find the "Made In" stamp somewhere on the foot or leg. You would be better off figuring out where they are made and lotting them together by country. Otherwise, you would have to declare them as multiple line items. 

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

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@thegrandtoywizard wrote:
Has anyone figured out how to ship loose Legos or action figure accessories that DO NOT have a country directly marked on the toy? I have lots of loose mini figs and such that I’d like to post. I mainly ship with ChitChats at this time.

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I think Chit Chats won't allow that unless it's marked, but what Stallion (my shipper) has accepted is a ziplock bag of tiny little things and a sticker on the bag with the "made in". If you say made in China and pay that tariff, likely there won't be any further problem. They're more interested in finding things that are sneaking through tariff free. 

I ship coins and tokens and they've been OK with what I put so long as it's logical (like a papal token being made in Italy even though it doesn't actually say Italy).

C.

[byto253]

Suggest reading threads in the Facbook Group:  Bricklink & BrickOwl Lego Stores of Canada 🇨🇦

They are using COO Denmark, and pretty well sticking with CP/Zonos.  One seller shipping Stallion is using Lego Denmark HQ as the manufacturer info.    Just no way to unknot the COO for specific bricks.

I am shut down until the new year but prior to Aug. 29 I always used CP with COO Denmark for lego without an issue.   But the folks in the Facebook Bricklink forum have recent experience.

I would use CP/Zonos though, Chitchat trucks seem to be more prone to hold ups and scrutiny. 

[thegrandtoywizard]

I just got a very positive email back from ChitChats. Looks like I’m back to shipping to the States!

“Thank you for shipping with Chit Chats! We’re happy to help.

You don’t need to apply a sticker to each individual LEGO brick or small part. As long as all the items are manufactured in the same country, you can package them together in a bag and label the bag with the appropriate Country of Origin (COO).”

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@thegrandtoywizard wrote:
I just got a very positive email back from ChitChats. Looks like I’m back to shipping to the States!

“Thank you for shipping with Chit Chats! We’re happy to help.

You don’t need to apply a sticker to each individual LEGO brick or small part. As long as all the items are manufactured in the same country, you can package them together in a bag and label the bag with the appropriate Country of Origin (COO).”

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@thegrandtoywizard 

@sapphyres-designer-jewellery 

According to a google search on the topic IF country is unknown you basically have duke it out with customs. 

When the country of origin is unknown, you typically can't mark it as such and must investigate further to determine the correct country of origin based on the rules for marking goods, which often involve where a product was significantly transformed. If the country of origin cannot be determined, the product may need a specific mark like “Unknown” or be subject to a ruling from a customs authority to clarify. 

Marking of Country of Origin on U.S. Imports

Acceptable Terminology and Methods for Marking

Every article of foreign origin entering the United States must be legibly marked with the English name of the country of origin unless an exception from marking is provided for in the law. 

 For more information please see determining the correct Country of Origin to use under the Customs Regulations, 19 CFR Part 177. Please be aware that in addition to this information, certain products are subject to additional labeling requirements. For example, clothing must have labels indicating fabric content and washing instructions. Other products with special labeling requirements include tobacco (the Surgeon General’s Warning Statement), food and pharmaceuticals, and automobiles.

The why's and wherefor's:

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2020-Jul/ICPMarking-of-COO-onUS-Imports.pdf

Of note many of the google results were ebay users asking what to do when Coo is unknown.

[thegrandtoywizard]

I know the country of origin, it’s just not marked on each Lego brick. In the case of action figures, the main figure is marked so I know where it was made, but the weapons or accessories held by the figure are not marked even though they are made in the same country as the figure.

[intimewithmusic]

   Gouda addvisa Lotsa. CBP cozzed myself, an orkastra andda a festivus pro motor hell over an undizklosed COO. I dona thinna any Chitta Chatta msg wooda saved my butta inna datta predicktamint. 

  Bugsy

[intimewithmusic]

   At this time I suggest only listing items in compliance with the CBP no matter what your  courier's personal agenda is. 

   To justify Trump's drug excuse (currently under the Court's microscope) the border is looking for red flags in small packages.  

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@thegrandtoywizard wrote:
I know the country of origin, it’s just not marked on each Lego brick. In the case of action figures, the main figure is marked so I know where it was made, but the weapons or accessories held by the figure are not marked even though they are made in the same country as the figure.

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The main problem being there are loads of sellers on a multitude of platforms selling items out of package, vintage, mfg long out of business. Up until recently "Unknown" was permitted in specifics with in. In my case (2000+) listings a large percentage are unmarked. I marked when I knew for sure. Guessing now is not an option. In the past...pre Cheeto Burrito as long as you made an honest attempt customs was fine. (That knowledge was as per speaking to my customs broker and customs officials for confirmation.) Even back then if you fudged on value...you were likely to have problems. Same went for a harddrive  as  a computer cable. (Xray scans see the truth.)

They understood Joe and Judy Shipper were not experts of the fine intricies of customs mumbo jumbo so there was leeway. Due to that thing called a de minimus going adios a river der chee that leeway went poof daddy. Heaven forbid NOW if you send something in a B-Day card without documents out the yazoo!!!😮

[intimewithmusic]

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@thegrandtoywizard wrote:
I know the country of origin, it’s just not marked on each Lego brick. In the case of action figures, the main figure is marked so I know where it was made, but the weapons or accessories held by the figure are not marked even though they are made in the same country as the figure.

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  Some thoughts about moving forward with un-marked COO but otherwise identifiable collectibles.

   It would help to have more context for your Lego parts. Knowing the value of the items would help determine the effort and/or risk involved.

   You have two entities to satisfy, eBay and Customs. From what I can see so far eBay is only "strongly suggesting" sellers comply with all COOs. I may be wrong but I don't think eBay has penalized sellers for non compliance or statements with no provenance. A COO marking is provenance.  The CBP is another story. I mentioned elsewhere things are  possibly volatile with respect to suspicious (non compliant) packages or those with no markings.  Someone here said "They can't check every package" and that is probably correct but I myself would rather throw some provenance in the package. Depending on the value of your sale you have to decide if a risk is warranted.

 First Option: Suppose, instead of Lego, you sold knives. If knives are your "thing" you know you can't sell any sort of knife to the UK not even butter knives. Eventually you will end up in trouble with eBay or Customs or both. That said selling unregulated knives to the USA is acceptable.  No ivory handles, no switchblades, no yadda yadda yadda.  Flogging Grannie's old butter knives is fine so you have a specific business policy just for knives that excludes the UK. 

   If toys are your "thing" you could make a business policy for the items that don't have COO marks.  Until the US border cools down sell them when and where they are compliant to be safe.

 Option #2: Throw some COO provenance in the box and into the listing.  Some of what I sell is unmarked. Musical instrument parts for example. That's my thing. I don't plan on opening that up to the US until the dust settles. Over the years (I'm older than dirt) I've ammassed a huge research file. It includes most manufacturers' catalogs dating back to the 1920's in digital form. If necessary, depending on the item value I may include a photo of the part in question shown in the catalog AND a photo of the location of the factory illustrating the item's provenance. I'll also include a photocopy in the box when I ship out the part.  I will put something like "catalog not included" in the listing as not to confuse the buyer into thinking the cat comes with the part. (See photos below.)

  Definition of provenance is "the place of origin or earliest known history of something.
 ...the beginning of something's existence; something's origin."

   If I say "Made In Cleveland Ohio USA" I include something to back that up. This may or may not help with either eBay OR Customs but it's better than nothing.

     If toys are your thing and you haven't already done this establishing a research file of some kind will help a lot with your business. You may find vintage catalogs made for toy distributors for free online. You may find provenance for when and where the unmarked Lego bricks that do have numbers on them were made.

   It's not limited to catalogs. What you can find online from patent offices, collector's websites and and other sources is amazing. Most of it is free. 

  Granted these ideas are not proven but I love to see passion for anything. Having a name on eBay like "thegrandtoywizard" really says tons!

  Best of luck!

IT