I had a huge crate(about 3’x3’x5’)shipped from Zimbabwe to the US. The crate contained 2 buffalo skulls, a lion skin and skull, an elephant skull, jaw and tusks, and a handful of warthog tusks. The total cost was $1,700. I cleared it myself.

But that was in 2003.

This shot has gotten out of hand.

My plan was to ship trophies and furniture and curios to the US and tractors, outboards, parts and batteries back. Good plan, but try the paperwork.
I learned that my detail company is worth every penny.

I had 51kg of trophies (blesbuck, impala, kudu, steenbuck, duiker, bushbuck, waterbuck euros and a zebra rug) shipped via SBS Logistics in RSA in mid-March for less than $900 JNB-IST-JFK. I didn't think that was terrible, but that was also before the fuel prices went haywire. Combining costs with space (ceiling) constraints in my house, I'll be sticking with euro's. The alluring portion of non-trophy elephant next year is replica's can be made stateside (Pennsylvania) without the hassle of import and international freight.

Brandon, sounds like a shipping bargain to me. I assume it came on Turkish Air as did a shipment I had during the height of the Covid fiasco. Mine was lost in Turkey somewhere between the two airports for about a month, then the Turkish Air guys in Houston sent it to USDA without an sir waybill. It sat there for a couple of weeks until I found a CBP guy that was willing to look for it. Not completely Turkish Air fault due to lack of cargo space but makes me wish for other alternatives.

I just got an invoice for a a shipment from Pakistan. It contains a Blanford urial. Nothing else. Cost to ship from Pakistan to Florida? $1,085.

I think the Zim, shipment weighs more but not a lot more. Yet, the cost was over 3 times as much.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I just got an invoice for a a shipment from Pakistan. It contains a Blanford urial. Nothing else. Cost to ship from Pakistan to Florida? $1,085.

I think the Zim, shipment weighs more but not a lot more. Yet, the cost was over 3 times as much.

Larry,
I think the Zim shippers are some of the worst. I'm done with them and will just pay the Zim. Govt. the 15% on the non exported trophies and be done with it forever. I should have told them to stick the last shipment up their backside, but my first buffalo was in it.

I got an email today from a receiving agent in SA, they received my trophies today from a hunt last Sept in Mozambique. I was told the shipment consisted of 340 trophies, freight charges to ge divided amongst the various hunters, will find out soon what my “share” will be. In my mind it is good business on their part to consolidate and charge proportionately. I’ll see pretty soon.

I just got some stuff from Zambia, and was reasonably happy with shipping. Two big crates (one was 4X4X2, the other was 2x4x2). Had a hippo skull, big kudu, croc skull and skin, and several different antelope skulls and skins, both crates together took up most of the space in my pickup bed, and were quite heavy, but dont know the weight off hand.

Anyway, total cost was @2600 for shipping. I had coppersmith clear it for me, and the cost for that was $800, which seemed a little steep, but I was too intimidated by the process to try it myself.

This post caused me to review my trophy shipping costs. For three hunts in Zim my costs for trophy preparation and shipping (not taxidermy):
2013 - leopard skin and skull, waterbuck and bushbuck shoulder mounts, bushbuck hide : $4,500

2017 - Buffalo, kudu and eland skulls for European mounts, and kudu hide - $6,700

2021- Buffalo, impala, warthog and eland skulls, steenbok pelt for full body mount, jackal pelt - $8,700.

No more. I can hire a camera man for half that or just take my own pictures. It is too bad that greed is ruining this part of the safari experience.

I just got an email earlier today from Alan Vincent that my stuff from last fall in Tanzania is ready to ship. $2,950 on Turkish Airlines from DAR to SFO. Dip & pack was included in his safari charges, so all that’ll be left is clearing with Coppersmith.

When you work through reputable and trustworthy safari operators, you don’t get hosed.

The only real thing I have against fenced hunts is the operators (and clients) who misrepresent things.

If it is effectively a walk up to Bossy the cow from the car and shoot her, it’s not hunting. I don’t mind that you got your meat that way, but don’t try and sell a “hunt” where there is no element of chase.

Certainly a bullet is a kinder death than what nature has in store for animals, so it’s not the killing that disturbs me.

I feel for the guy who went out and didn’t know any better that he was on a put and take hunt. He lost the experience.

I don’t expect ranches to tell you “it will be nothing, you drive up and shoot a semitame animal that we put out for you that AM; but they should be obligated to state if they are naturally breeding populations, supplemented, or put and take and if there is some degree of fair chase- that the animal can avoid contact.

Then let the buyer decide what he wants.

I know some folks who actually want to buy a known animal and shoot it off a feed trough. Not my deal while hunting, but I don’t object to it- hypocritical if you eat meat or wear leather if you do object.

I have a new development. We made inquiries today. My things have been shipped. They are now sitting in Istanbul, It is expected they will be shipped to Miami in mid August.

Un-F'ing-believable.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I have a new development. We made inquiries today. My things have been shipped. They are now sitting in Istanbul, It is expected they will be shipped to Miami in mid August.

Un-F'ing-believable.

WOW, did they say why it's going to sit in IST for a month? I was just in IST 2 weeks ago. Nothing seemed backed up at least on the passenger side, unlike Heathrow.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I have a new development. We made inquiries today. My things have been shipped. They are now sitting in Istanbul, It is expected they will be shipped to Miami in mid August.

Un-F'ing-believable.

Did they furnish Vasoline when they fucked you?? This shit is ridiculous….

quote:

I have a new development. We made inquiries today. My things have been shipped. They are now sitting in Istanbul, It is expected they will be shipped to Miami in mid August

Had the same problem with my last shipment from Zim on Turkish Air. Mine was “misplaced” between airports in Istanbul…for 5 weeks. Finally showed up in Houston even though the air waybill showed it to still be in Istanbul. The forwarder Turkish Air uses at DFW tried to charge me $30.00 per day “storage” for the time my shipment sat in Istanbul. I’ll not bring any more trophies home if Turkish Air is the only option.

I left all my trophys from my last trip to S.A. and Zim,,I was still wanting something to fill my walls so I went to the Taxidermy Auction in Texas , there were close to 1000 heads,, LS really nice custom ones to old and a bit rough ones, i paid around $300 for a LS Stebock $400 for a really nice Waterbuck mount , i plan on going to another one soon and try to pick up a few more I have seen LS Bongo go for less than $3K ,,If I get to hunt Bongo id have to ship it, or like others have done,,just a skull or two ,,but for me this is what i do to save my bucks,

I woke up this morning to find a bill from the customs broker . About $2,800.

The total to ship these items all in is about $11,000. I am officially done with bringing things back.

This was for 10 gun cases, an impala skull and 2 replica fish.

quote:

Originally posted by Penetrater:
I left all my trophys from my last trip to S.A. and Zim,,I was still wanting something to fill my walls so I went to the Taxidermy Auction in Texas , there were close to 1000 heads,, LS really nice custom ones to old and a bit rough ones, i paid around $300 for a LS Stebock $400 for a really nice Waterbuck mount , i plan on going to another one soon and try to pick up a few more I have seen LS Bongo go for less than $3K ,,If I get to hunt Bongo id have to ship it, or like others have done,,just a skull or two ,,but for me this is what i do to save my bucks,

If you do get the opportunity at a Bongo, please reconsider how you choose to remember the hunt.

Being one of just a few Antelopes I consider to be one of the Holy Grail of Spiral Horned Antelopes, at least a shoulder but a full mount by a true artist is completely appropriate.

That's insane. I don't blame you.

quote:

The total to ship these items all in is about $11,000.

This has to be some kind of record for 1 skull, 2 fish and some gun bags! Beyond belief!

I get taxidermy work done in RSA for our house in RSA but have stopped sending anything to Europe, the last being the f'up on our ibex trophies in 2019 when the customs destroyed them! Even within Africa the costs are way out of hand.

One day when volumes drop by 30 - 40 % the shippers and others may wake up and realise something went wrong!

.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I woke up this morning to find a bill from the customs broker . About $2,800.

The total to ship these items all in is about $11,000. I am officially done with bringing things back.

This was for 10 gun cases, an impala skull and 2 replica fish.

We received a shipping invoice for trophies from Moz to taxidermist in SA, part of a truckload shipment. OUR part was $1900.00, for a Buffalo skull, red Duiker Orono and Suni. Ridiculous. I’m like Larry, unless it’s something special (both Suni and Red Duiker were), I won’t be bringing anything else home, ivory excluded.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I woke up this morning to find a bill from the customs broker . About $2,800.

The total to ship these items all in is about $11,000. I am officially done with bringing things back.

This was for 10 gun cases, an impala skull and 2 replica fish.

Larry - who is your customs broker? I am awaiting a bill from my US guy....no idea what it'll be.

quote:

Originally posted by SCLawyer:

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?

I would be curious to know as well.

quote:

Originally posted by SCLawyer:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I woke up this morning to find a bill from the customs broker . About $2,800.

The total to ship these items all in is about $11,000. I am officially done with bringing things back.

This was for 10 gun cases, an impala skull and 2 replica fish.

Larry - who is your customs broker? I am awaiting a bill from my US guy....no idea what it'll be.

Omega .

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by SCLawyer:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I woke up this morning to find a bill from the customs broker . About $2,800.

The total to ship these items all in is about $11,000. I am officially done with bringing things back.

This was for 10 gun cases, an impala skull and 2 replica fish.

Larry - who is your customs broker? I am awaiting a bill from my US guy....no idea what it'll be.

Omega .

I used Coppersmith on my hunt in 2005, 5 skulls and capes, they charged $1600.00 to clear. Talked to USFWS inspector and figured out how easy it is to clear my own stuff. I know some are too busy or have no interest in clearing their own trophies, but it is really simple. And I think $2800.00 to clear the items listed is crazy.

Who is the exporting company from Zim?

I have had good experiences with:
Outbound Trophy & Cargo Exporters
in Bulawayo

quote:

The total to ship these items all in is about $11,000. I am officially done with bringing things back.

WOW - I stopped bringing back anything but pictures many trips ago and the costs I incurred back then were not nearly as high as yours. I have a much younger hunting buddy who I'm trying to talk into going with me on an African hunt. The main thing that is stopping him is the cost of bringing home trophies.

He's young enough to not have accumulated much in the way of taxidermy so he wants to get his animals mounted but not at those ridiculous costs for shipping etc.

I was in business shipping 4-5 full containers per year from Europe to the West Coast. Ave cost, all in, per 40' High Cube container was about $10K. The same stuff, same route, is now over $20K.

My first class flight tomorrow to Arusha via AA and Qatar was $6700 (invoiced in May '22), but the charter flight from Arusha to camp near Mbeya is $10K each way, unless there is a passenger for the return trip, in which case it's $5K. I seriously considered renting a Land Cruiser and driving to camp.

Costs have certainly gotten wildly out of hand.

LEDVM

I used Outbound last month; chargeable weight was 90k, shipment included two Buff skulls, one Eland skull, one Wildebeest skull and tail-fly swat, and a Bushbuck cape and skull. Bulawayo to Chicago cost was $2100.00 via Turkish air.

From what others are saying, I could have done worse.

Over the past 9 years I have hunted Africa 11 times I quit shipping anything back after the fourth trip. The safari industry as a whole is little more than a pack of money sucking leeches, from the time you step into a terminal upon arriving until you visit the same wash room on departing everyone has their hand out for good old USD!
I am a generous tipper both here and abroad because I recall the days of working thru college waiting tables.But when camp staff expect 30% of a $40k safari an the Ph expects another 30% plus all the various tips I begin to get fed up. Shippers, brokers,etc. etc. It only seems to get worse!
I can afford to hunt anywhere I wish though lately it seems I am starting to enjoy Pa. and Texas deer hunting a lot more.

11,000 Gs?! Holy shit!
Im plannng on taking my son on a plains game hunt for a surprise high school graduation gift in 2023. I make a decent living but by no means would I consider myself wealthy. I was planning on just having euro mounts done for myself because as of now I don't have a dedicated trophy room and let him get shoulder mounts done in the states. But with the costs Im seeing of late, everything may stay oversease. Which sucks. Hard to tell a young hunter, hey we're going to a place you have dreamt about, but we aren't bringing anything back because they are sticking it up our asses with shipping and other bullshit costs.
Pictures will get the job done, but IMO, seeing and touching the taxidermy really take you back to the experience.

Shipping costs really has me thinking about other hunt options.

Who remembers," you can hunt Africa for a couple trophy animals for less than a good elk hunt out west"? Depending on the animals killed that may be true today....BUT getting those trophies home is the cost of a good elk hunt out west now!

quote:

Originally posted by Biddleman:
11,000 Gs?! Holy shit!
Im plannng on taking my son on a plains game hunt for a surprise high school graduation gift in 2023. I make a decent living but by no means would I consider myself wealthy. I was planning on just having euro mounts done for myself because as of now I don't have a dedicated trophy room and let him get shoulder mounts done in the states. But with the costs Im seeing of late, everything may stay oversease. Which sucks. Hard to tell a young hunter, hey we're going to a place you have dreamt about, but we aren't bringing anything back because they are sticking it up our asses with shipping and other bullshit costs.
Pictures will get the job done, but IMO, seeing and touching the taxidermy really take you back to the experience.

Shipping costs really has me thinking about other hunt options.

Consider filming the hunt .

quote:

Originally posted by Biddleman:
11,000 Gs?! Holy shit!
Im plannng on taking my son on a plains game hunt for a surprise high school graduation gift in 2023. I make a decent living but by no means would I consider myself wealthy. I was planning on just having euro mounts done for myself because as of now I don't have a dedicated trophy room and let him get shoulder mounts done in the states. But with the costs Im seeing of late, everything may stay oversease. Which sucks. Hard to tell a young hunter, hey we're going to a place you have dreamt about, but we aren't bringing anything back because they are sticking it up our asses with shipping and other bullshit costs.
Pictures will get the job done, but IMO, seeing and touching the taxidermy really take you back to the experience.

Shipping costs really has me thinking about other hunt options.

The costs vary also quite a bit between different countries. Some countries are more expensive when it comes to shipping then others, a crucial part to keep in mind when doing a cheap plains game hunt somewhere remote.
Namibia has been cheaper then other destinations, at least my experience.

quote:

Originally posted by K Evans:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by SCLawyer:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I woke up this morning to find a bill from the customs broker . About $2,800.

The total to ship these items all in is about $11,000. I am officially done with bringing things back.

This was for 10 gun cases, an impala skull and 2 replica fish.

Larry - who is your customs broker? I am awaiting a bill from my US guy....no idea what it'll be.

Omega .

I used Coppersmith on my hunt in 2005, 5 skulls and capes, they charged $1600.00 to clear. Talked to USFWS inspector and figured out how easy it is to clear my own stuff. I know some are too busy or have no interest in clearing their own trophies, but it is really simple. And I think $2800.00 to clear the items listed is crazy.

I have yet to see the details. I suspect I have been charged a bunch for things sitting in Istanbul for a while.

Can you tell us which company in Zim did the exporting and arranged the shipping?

[/QUOTE]I have yet to see the details. I suspect I have been charged a bunch for things sitting in Istanbul for a while.[/QUOTE]

You might be correct, my last shipment came by Turkish Air and sat somewhere between airports in Istanbul for over 30 days, the receiving agent at DFW tried to charge an additional $600.00 “storage” even though the airline was responsible, I told them they could keep the crate and they removed the storage fee.
Shipping and charter fees are not-so-slowly killing the goose that lays golden eggs for Safari operators.

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
Can you tell us which company in Zim did the exporting and arranged the shipping?

I will have to check . I am on my way home from Ireland . It will take me a day or two.

There were 3 invoices . One from Zimbabwe for their services . One for transport. One for clearing .

My shipment sat in Istanbul for quite a while. I suspect the customs brokers bill included charges for storage .

I just got my shipment from last November’s Tanzania hunt with Alan Vincent. He included dip & pack as part of hunt charge, but had it broken out at 1,500 for whatever I took on 16-day hunt.

Turkish Airlines was $2,900 IIRC and Coppersmith charged me $450.00 for their clearing services. The only thing that really pissed me off was being charged $150 per day storage fee by the customs impound warehouse from date of arrival at SFO until cleared by customs and shipped out. Freight from SFO to Sacramento was a couple hundred bucks and I picked up at local freight terminal.

Coppersmith San Francisco has provided excellent service at very reasonable rates. All in, including dip & pack, it cost me about $5,300.00 to get my stuff home.

The problem is I can't keep track of one safari from the other. You keep getting bills, but which safari is it? So you just pay it.