Thinkpads Forum

There is no problem. Japan have the same ban. They send battaries in the second package, hided through catalogues.

santacluj wrote:There is no problem. Japan have the same ban. They send battaries in the second package, hided through catalogues.

That works until you get caught in an inspection and thereafter the post office inspects everything you ever mail.

It's assinine, i had a package sent to me returned because it was a computer with the battery. Still waiting for it to arrive without the battery.

Here's the gobbledygook from the USPs site. kowtowing to the EU again

International standards have recently been the subject of discussion by the International Civil Aviation Organiza­tion (ICAO) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU), and the Postal Service anticipates that on January 1, 2013, cus­tomers will be able to mail specific quantities of lithium bat­teries internationally (including to and from an APO, FPO, or DPO location) when the batteries are properly installed in the personal electronic devices they are intended to operate.

Until such time that a less restrictive policy can be implemented consistent with international standards, and in accordance with UPU Convention, lithium batteries are not permitted in international mail. The UPU Convention and regulations are consistent with the ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (Technical Instructions). The Technical Instructions con­cerning the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Post do not permit “dangerous goods” as defined by the ICAO Techni­cal Instructions in international mail. The prohibition on mailing lithium batteries and cells internationally also applies to mail sent by commercial air transportation to and from an APO, FPO, or DPO location.

cadillacmike68 wrote:Here's the gobbledygook from the USPs site. kowtowing to the EU again

Wtf is your problem with EU?? I didn't see any source of EU in your quote and I can regularly send and receive batteries within EU and from all over the world but surprise: not from and to US! Take a break and have chill pill, beer or whatever you prefer.

cadillacmike68 wrote:Here's the gobbledygook from the USPs site. kowtowing to the EU again

Raceboy wrote:Wtf is your problem with EU?? I didn't see any source of EU in your quote and I can regularly send and receive batteries within EU and from all over the world but surprise: not from and to US! Take a break and have chill pill, beer or whatever you prefer.

No beer allowed on my deployment.

You need to read between the lines. This is definitely the EU, and / or UN (dominated by the EU)

UPU is HQ'd in CH, and both orgs are UN creations.

Go back and read up on the R314a fuhrer directive the EU "proclaimed" some time ago.

http://ecomodder.com/blog/eu-will-ban-r ... ant-by-20/

http://www.acr-news.com/news/news.asp?i ... +in+car+ac

I still have one car that uses R-12 and I do not relish the thought of ever increasing service costs on my autos because some EU proclamation.

i am so lucky that my trusty 701c is so old that it doesn't need air conditioning to keep it cool.

This conversation is getting a little bit off-track. The USPS ban on mailing of Li-ion batteries is what it is.

cadillacmike68 wrote:
That works until you get caught in an inspection and thereafter the post office inspects everything you ever mail.

This is exactly why I can't ship a battery. I know of many people who continue to ship them and have even seen ebay sellers that do it openly, but once you get caught they have your name flagged and any package containing electronics will get inspected, any package large enough to have a battery... virtually anything that's not a 1oz envelope will be delayed by a week or more and opened and inspected... it's just not worth it, but it's only a couple months until this ban is (hopefully) lifted.

Perhaps I should have a battery sale on January 1st

It's now over!!!


http://about.usps.com/news/national-rel ... 12_128.htm

Cool! Good for us...

Why is it over? What did make change their minds? (Sorry, it's late here and I'm too lazy to read the whole text )

I don't know the reason, but I can think of none other than the fear of lost revenue is greater than the fear of a battery exploding.

They had been pressing for a change in the law ever since they were forced to impose the ban. Normally new laws go into effect on jan 1st, but I think they wanted to move it up so the christmas shipping wouldn't be restricted.

The usps was one of the only goverment owned businesses that was self sufficient, with revenues paying all the bills, but with recent changes in global communications, much of their revenue was lost. Very few businesses are using direct mail advertisements and they did little to prepare for this other then petition for rate increases. They have been doing a lot to compete with fedex and ups, like free shipping materials with priority and express mail, free carrier pickup, etc... but there is so much more they could be doing and aren't.

For example, one of the first things I would have done is setup a website where I can type a letter, click "send" and it would be printed at the destination post office where they deliver it the same day. I'm sure people would gladly pay a dollar for this service instead of printing it themselves and paying $0.45 to mail it, in which case the postal service would have to transport it across the country, where if it was sent over the internet it would cost them much less, and make more money, but lets not stop there, they could do the same with cards... christmas cards, birthday cards... even sending money orders. Why would we need to buy one and mail it, just buy it and have the destination post office print and deliver it.

It would also be nice if first class parcels weight limit was higher then 13oz. Even raising it to 1lb (16oz) would be a hugh benefit.

In any case, they still have really great service and rates, far better then any other alternative. The way they deal with problems is still lacking, but all things considered, they are by far the best option.

Speaking to my friendly neighborhood Post Office Lady, she told me that battery-shipping to (only) GERMANY is still prohibited, even after the change-of-heart!
Possibly because the main hubs for UPS, Fedex, DHL, etc. are located in Germany...

I think it's about time to "un-pin" this topic and let it fade away into the dusty basement of our forum. Hopefully bans on shipping batteries overseas are over now and no need to have this pinned as an important topic.

TuuS wrote:Hopefully bans on shipping batteries overseas are over now and no need to have this pinned as an important topic.

Don't be surprised if they re-appear. New international regulations are coming into force soon, which may change the picture yet again.

Cheers,

Bill B.

Perhaps you're right Bill, it just seemed to me that since the ban isn't in place (at the moment), that there is no reason to have it stickied on the top of the forum. I think having it here may even give a casual browser the impression there is currently a ban if they don't open the topic and read, but you have the "red coat", so it's your call, I was just putting in my dos centavos

I still can't buy a battery and have it shipped here through amazon.com so some orgs are slow to react or just stubborn...

Sorry to hijack this, but on the reverse of the equation ... I live in Australia and I've got a few old ThinkPads I want to sell, I should look at shipping with FedEx/UPS/DHL instead given that our AusPost here has an international shipping ban? (Though how does this work anyway, if USPS doesn't ban it, that means you can send to me, presumably using the same airplane provider, but I can't send to you? Sounds completely absurd.)

Is there any way to send to Spain?

dbilbao wrote:Is there any way to send to Spain?

I wouldn't have a problem shipping a battery to spain, it's not listed in their prohibited or restricted materials list, however each seller has to decide for themselves as some of these laws are interpreted differently by each inspector.


Customs info for shipping usa>spain

Prohibitions

Arms; ammunition; weapons; parts and components of weapons; and other related equipment.
Coins; banknotes; currency notes (paper money); traveler’s checks; securities payable to bearer; platinum, gold or silver, manufactured or not; precious stones; jewelry; and other valuable articles except in insured Priority Mail International parcels.
Foodstuffs containing saccharine in any amount.
Human remains.
Live plants and animals.
Perishable infectious biological substances.
Playing cards.
Radioactive materials.
Tobacco (admitted only to the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla).
Restrictions
Used clothing must be accompanied by a certificate of disinfection.

TuuS wrote:

dbilbao wrote:Is there any way to send to Spain?

I wouldn't have a problem shipping a battery to spain, it's not listed in their prohibited or restricted materials list, however each seller has to decide for themselves as some of these laws are interpreted differently by each inspector.


Customs info for shipping usa>spain

Prohibitions

Arms; ammunition; weapons; parts and components of weapons; and other related equipment.
Coins; banknotes; currency notes (paper money); traveler’s checks; securities payable to bearer; platinum, gold or silver, manufactured or not; precious stones; jewelry; and other valuable articles except in insured Priority Mail International parcels.
Foodstuffs containing saccharine in any amount.
Human remains.
Live plants and animals.
Perishable infectious biological substances.
Playing cards.
Radioactive materials.
Tobacco (admitted only to the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla).
Restrictions
Used clothing must be accompanied by a certificate of disinfection.

No sacchrine eh?

And no Playing cards ?!?

Must be because they all play Mus over there and it uses a different traditional) deck.

I sold my W530 to someone international. I shipped it by USPS, they returned it after 10 days telling me its battery is a hazardous material. This sucks.

I don;t want to spend friggin $200++ to ship my laptop, so I'm thinking of shipping him hte laptop + charger and the battery separately.

oeuvre wrote:I sold my W530 to someone international.

What country, if you don't mind me asking? There's a reason for this question...

I don;t want to spend friggin $200++ to ship my laptop, so I'm thinking of shipping him hte laptop + charger and the battery separately.

You are not allowed to ship a battery on its own internationally.

Sri Lanka