I went to Zim last August. I didn't shoot a lot. My things are ready to ship.

These include : 10 gun cases made with giraffe skin, an impala skull, a replica tiger fish and a replica nembwe. Guess what the shipping ALONE is ? $3,449.25!

I paid the people in Zim almost $4,000 for their services.

I have to pay the brokers here as well. No idea what that will cost.

My days of shipping things are rapidly coming to an end.

When quoted shipping rates, I abandoned the trophies from my last 2 African hunts. They think they have you over a barrel....F THEM!

I reached the same conclusion last Fall when they sent me the invoice for shipping trophies from Tanzania. I inquired about ocean freight and was told those rates are not appreciably different from air freight. I told them to keep the stuff. I am done bring trophies home.

Must have been a big Tiger!

I recently sent the same weight of oil paintings to Texas and was charged $500 by the courier company.

This is why I quit bringing stuff home 10 years ago. They( the shipping companies) fuck you and don’t even give you a kiss.

We need to get organized and lease our own container or two. Problem is getting someone you trust over there to handle everything.

I’m going to Poland with my bride in September for a stag hunt
and Uganda in March 2024 and will not be shipping anything home- ridiculous prices to ship.
I’m done with shipping.


Cheers

Last two trips I skipped taking anything home.

A lion or bongo would be impossible to leave behind the rest they can keep.

Shipping is crazy, carriers have cut number of “free” days once shipment arrives in US and have increased number and amount of “fees”.
I have one shipment pending from Mozambique and it will likely be my last shipment.
Not only shipping gotten ridiculous, charter flights have gone up dramatically, too. Quote for an upcoming flight from Harare to camp is more than economy airfare from US to Harare.

anything to do with shipping has been terrible for me. Bad hides, not sure if some of it is actually yours, more and more people with their hands out for money. It's mostly a fraud! Africa loves their "Fees".

The best instance for me was when a shipper emailed me about a baboon skull, telling me that it was ready to ship. The problem was is that it was about 6-8 years late from what I can remember. I laughed and told him he could keep it.

I would like to see some package hunts quoted all inclusive, shipping an exporting fees included!

I would not ship anything if I was to go again.

Prices for cargo shipping went through the roof.
I shipped various trophies to clients and occasionally prices were really crazy.

Disrupted supply chains and expensive fuel mainly, added maybe also by some guys trying to make an extra buck....

Once you have a full trophy room it's definitely an option to leave trophies.
Personally i value trophies very highly and even more each year.

Cheers,
Dennis

After getting screwed without the benefit of an orgasm several years ago I gave up on shipping. Now it's pictures only for me. Seems like anyone in Africa who so much as sees your shipment adds on an additional fee. Screw them.

My last shipment, which I received only a couple of months ago, was held in South Africa for over two months waiting on cargo space. Then the same problem in Doha for two-three weeks. When it finally arrived at DFW the company used by Qatar tried to charge me storage for the entire time, over $3000 storage, and that didn’t include the shipping charges. This was for a crate that weighed 21 kilos, a single Buffalo skull. I told them to keep it and they quickly refigured the charges, ended up a little over $600 for “fees”, whatever that meant.

quote:

Quote for an upcoming flight from Harare to camp is more than economy airfare from US to Harare.

And there I was thinking that TZ was the only odd one out on high charter rates.

Ouch!
We're going to hunt in a couple years and now I'm seriously thinking about the downside of shipping.
I have plenty of stuff on-hand still to mount anyway.

Zeke

After the last attempted shipping screw job and fiasco and me bringing hell to bear on some folks over in Africa, I'm finished with taxidermy and shipping from there. My trophy rooms are full anyway. Screw the con artists! Funny how prices dramatically drop when you tell them to keep it and stuff it up their arses! Larry: I'd definitely make sure that they all understand that you are more than willing to share names and facts with those of us on AR in order for others to not make the same mistake. Nothing like Africans cutting off their nose to spite their face. I f--king hate GREEDY BASTARDS!

After having the Ele hunt with Buzz video'd that will likely be the only "trophy" shipped in the future.

Wise up guys.

Don't let the PH pick the taxidermist; and don't let the taxidermist pick the freight forwarder.

At one time I had this idea to operate a "Safari" airline in the hunting season. Lease a plane and crew. Flight crew dress in safari gear. Fly into Windhoek, then connect to JNB, then to Cape Town. On the return flight bring out the hunters that flew in last week (or 2 weeks prior) and the trophies of hunters that flew in last year. Getting landing rights and a slot in the schedule proved to be tricky. All controlled by Governments.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

Quote for an upcoming flight from Harare to camp is more than economy airfare from US to Harare.

And there I was thinking that TZ was the only odd one out on high charter rates.

My air charters in Zim have always been quite reasonable. Seems times have changed.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

My air charters in Zim have always been quite reasonable. Seems times have changed.[/QUOTE]

I’m the past ours have been reasonable, too. Last March charter from Harare/Dande and return was $1600 for Rebecca and me, not bad. Quote for upcoming hunt from Harare to hunting area and return for the two of us is $3200. Not doing that, will get there by road.

A note to myself:

The ONLY thing I would be willing to ship home anymore, would be elephant tusks. Ha, ha - good luck with that!!!!

My Cape Buff skull was so clean that i could have brought it home in a large hat box.
However the shipping $$ was very reasonable and I took that option.
Like some, I have all the trophies I need or want and will bring no more home.

I work in shipping and while the container shipping rates are the highest they have been for several years, what you guys are being quoted plainly has a substantial margin built into it either by your outfitter or taxidermist and whoever they are using who claims to be a customs or shipping agent.

I would advise to get a quote from an international freight forwarder who has an office or agency in the country you are exporting from. Don't do your shipping through your outfitter or taxidermist or any agents that they put you onto.

.

Larry, Out of interest could you send gun cases (tanned and processed and basically luggage items) and the replica fish (fibre glass or moulds) by Fedex or DHL ? None of the items are licensed exports. And sure that DHL would be way cheaper.

Me, I keep a lot of taxidermy stuff in the house in Joburg and get it all done at local SA rates. What I have saved in shipping and fees likely paid for the house a few times over

Not shipping anything to Europe nowadays. Crazy prices!


.

I've shipped (4) African safaris home in the last year and a half. I feel your pain, Larry!

I know someone that brought a buffalo skull back through check in luggage. He put a price tag on the skull and said he purchased it at a store. I have brought back shields that were made out of hides. The drying period would be the issue.

I can certainly emphasize with the complaints about outlandish shipping charges. I shot a HUMONGOUS Waterbuck in Namibia in 2019 and told my PH Jan du Plessis that I’ve run out of space to display trophies on my wall. He came up with an ingenious solution: have it Euro Mounted locally for $150 US and he’ll display it with a plaque with my name on it outside his guest chalet. That’s what we did and I’ll see the mount this July when I return for my sixth hunt with Jan.

I like what a previous poster recommended. Post the names and companies of these crooks.

Someone is making a ton of money on shipping

Yea, the shipping broker.

I quit shipping stuff back about 15 years ago. My wife told me if I shipped any more back, be sure and mount them on casters so she could shove them where she wanted them to go.

After our last shipment of trophies, nothing but pictures is ever coming home with us, unless it is an outstanding trophy. Our stuff from 2019 was delayed due to Covid shutdowns. Had to pay Zim another $200.00 for a new export permit. as the old one expired. Went back to Zim in late 2020. Both crates finally made it here in 2022. Total cost was around $7500.00. Customs broker fees have stayed the same, the storage and clearing fees have gone through the roof. Broker fee was $400.00, total bill for clearance and shipping to tannery was $1600

Awful!! I can fly round trip for $1500 but you need TRIPLE that to send a damn BOX ONE WAY???

From my '21 Zim safari, I have a huge leopard so they'll have me over a barrel on this one.

My Mozambique hunt over a decade ago, I told the shipper to throw my trophies in the dumpster and she cut the rate IN HALF. At which price, I presume they still turned a profit.

Sad to hear, I know costs are up, but this does not encourage me to bring more stuff back. I have a store full already. I guess I will buy the better camera and take more pictures.

Just back from a 2 1/2 week trip in Botswana and Nam - road trip from Kazungula across Moremi, Magadagadi and GKGR to Bushmanland - brilliant trip.

We had a 5 day low key hunt on a ranch near the Bots border. Nothing outstanding taken - warthog, duiker, steenbok, springbok and a whole shitload of sandgrouse - max fun, zero pressure. A lot of G&Ts and laughs.

When we finished I popped the warthog, the steenbok and duiker (which were fine, old but by no means great trophies) into my holdall - straight from the salt.

All arrived fine in Edinburgh - but after having been opened - I suspect in Windhoek. Apparently it was not worth somebodies time to pursue further....

I considered it worth the risk - I was correct.

I guess it horses for courses......

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I went to Zim last August. I didn't shoot a lot. My things are ready to ship.

These include : 10 gun cases made with giraffe skin, an impala skull, a replica tiger fish and a replica nembwe. Guess what the shipping ALONE is ? $3,449.25!

I paid the people in Zim almost $4,000 for their services.

I have to pay the brokers here as well. No idea what that will cost.

My days of shipping things are rapidly coming to an end.

Larry - who are you using?

Traveling at the moment . It is all in my office .

I recently got back from Kodiak. I was quoted $1500 to ship the bear hide to a tannery and then to my home by an expeditor. Tanning extra. I put the skull and frozen hide in a tote and paid $100 for an overweight checked bag on Alaska Air. I dropped it at the taxidermist on the way home from the airport. This stuff is crazy.

Well unless these businesses get a grip on it, it is going to hurt the safari operators and outfitters over the long haul. It is nice that there are guys who have shot all sorts of species on numerous African hunts that can afford to go on more hunts and pay trophy fees and then just abandon their trophies and not take them home...but that is not most hunters.

If I go back to Africa it will be to shoot species I have not taken and I sure as heck would not pay all the money required to go to Zambia to shoot a big sable and a leopard and then not take them home. I simply will not go.

In the future I can see that the only outfitted hunts I will be doing will be ones I can drive to or hunts in countries where I can get the paperwork before leaving and take the trophy(s) with me as excess baggage. This is often doable in a lot of Asian and European countries, assuming the trophy is not so large it cannot be checked baggage.

I may soon decide to specialize in roe deer...even a monster can fit in a box and in my suitcase.

Captain,

I looked into getting into the shipping container game a while back. Thought was bringing stuff back from Africa and shipping stuff they need back.
Seemed like an opportunity, but the red tape makes it pretty impossible, at least on a small scale.