Import & Export

How We Export

With about 95% of all orders we use the postal office for shipping. Air mail, registered Air, EMS or land/sea freight are most commonly used. For very large (physical dimensions and/or weight) orders we will use a shipping company to ship it to your nearest PORT (not to the door), at which time you need to clear customs and shipping cargo etc.

We can provide the following documents for plant/seed sales: Phytosanitary certificate, invoice, supporting identification information (copies of books).

We CANNOT provide the following documents for plant/seed sales: CITES.

What the Importer needs to do.

Figure out all the finances of customs/duties/tax/inspection etc on their end, those fees are not included in our price.

Obtain all required permits/documents and send us any required documents to include in the package. It is the responsibility of the importer to know their laws on importing various species/items into their country, we cannot refund/replace orders lost due to incorrect/missing paperwork. We will work with you to try and get all paperwork in order prior to shipment.

Make sure the order-to-be is legal! We don't know other country's laws and won't make a point to try to. Know your laws, then order. Items confiscated by customs/postal services are not replaced/refunded.

When the package(s) arrive, the importer must pick up, or arrange to pick up, the package from wherever it was delivered.

General procedure for plants crossing international borders.

Please be aware that some countries allow seeds to be imported paperwork free, or without certain documents that whole plants need. Other places have a limit either by weight or quantity on the amount allowed to be imported with or without paperwork. So in this section we simply state "plants" as whole plants or parts of are fairly universal in some respects. Please check with your government agencies to ask about specifics to your order, especially about seeds, herbs and other non-whole living plants.

1. Confirm order and species of interest along with quantity. Decide if you need plants, cuttings or seeds. These make a difference!

2. Obtain permission to import, any import permits/letters you need. Its best to do this first as if you are declined you have not yet spent any money on us getting paper work going.

3. When your permits are OK, mail to us to include in the package. Only some countries require this, if you do not ignore this step.

4. We will obtain phytosanitary certificate (if needed) and have all the contents inspected by plant quarantine here prior to shipping.

5. When package(s) are shipped via registered air or EMS there will be a tracking number. Registering is required by law here for packages over 1-2kg (depends on country). Small package Air mail has no tracking customs slip etc, only an address and stamps.

6. Packages shipped registered/EMS will be shipped to the address provided. These shipping methods require a signature. If there is no one home, packages are often sent back to the post office to wait for pickup. You will need to go in person to pick it up.

7. Larger orders are often held in customs (varies a lot as to contents and country) for unknown amounts of time. Most developed nations clear packages pretty quick, once appropriate fees are paid. If you have tax numbers, tariff codes etc you would like on the invoice, please tell me when you first order.

Last Updated: March 27, 2012

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