Not as easy as it seems im aware of shipments ariving late with dead animals,shipments that have been of poor standards,once you have paid your money your stuck with the outcome,is it not better to hand pick from uk breeders?

A very valid point there.

Unfortunately, people do not see the reality of the situation until it happens (although, it may not, but that's the chance you take).

The animals are, often, unseen prior to purchase, therefore, 'cherry picking' the ideal example is out of the question.

The $ or £ sign is all that is before the eye!

Purchasing from a U.K. breeder has its advantages.

Lex

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AVAILABLE SPECIES

Canadians are good too for their balls.[/quote]

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0.1 cinnamon (Rhacodactylus ciliatus tiger morph) R.I.P
1.1 seth and medusa (boiga cyanea)
1.0 cat in the hat (uroplatus guentheri)
0.1 brazilian rainbow boa
1.1 jungle carpet pythons (need help with names!)
0.0 1 Mossy Frog
WANTED! 0.1 Uroplatus Guentheri, Nice phase ATB's, Day Gecko species, Tokay morphs, Different Boigas
Yea I have a Jem7V

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0.1 cinnamon (Rhacodactylus ciliatus tiger morph) R.I.P
1.1 seth and medusa (boiga cyanea)
1.0 cat in the hat (uroplatus guentheri)
0.1 brazilian rainbow boa
1.1 jungle carpet pythons (need help with names!)
0.0 1 Mossy Frog
WANTED! 0.1 Uroplatus Guentheri, Nice phase ATB's, Day Gecko species, Tokay morphs, Different Boigas
Yea I have a Jem7V

I think the absolute most important thing here would be to purchase from a very reputable breeder that imports to the uk regularly. obvioulsy there will be people who ocne the moneys gone through dont care about the snake as it becomes someone elses....but i know if i was to ship snakes, so long as they're in my care I would be 110% responsible for them, so obvioulsy not everyone is going to be like that!

I contacted scott from captive bred, and you do not need an import licence for royals (he imports) you simply need to make sure all Cites are in place, and need to be able to pay for the handling/vet fees at the airport.

These are the total costs involved:

Air shipping fees
air port handling fees
AQS fees
CITES export fees (normally)
Clearance fees
Vet's fees
Plus VAT @ 17.5%

The US sides are as follows : which are figures ive got from Michael Cole at ballrooms south

The US costs associated with an export are $580.00 (£265) this
includes CITES USFW fees.US broker fees US customs packing and Air
freight up to 30 Kilos.

so it simply needs to be calculated for the british side. Hopefully Defra can help with this, if not I shall contact one of the airports and see if i can come up with some figures

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The only animals I'm not comfortable with are parrots, but I'm learning as I go. I'm getting better and better at 'em. I really am -S. Irwin
0.1 albino horned toad
0.1 pixie frog
1.1 adult Royal pythons
2.3 66% het caramel albino royals,2 banded
1.1 Spider Royal
1.0 Pastel Royal
0.1 borneo blood python
0.1 frilled dragon
2.0 desert iguanas
0.0.3 various corns
0.1 burmese python
0.1 Western Hognose
0.0.1 common boa
0.0.1 Panther chameleon (ambanja x sambava)
0.0.1 Leopard tortoise

I agree with the concerns of others that have already posted so no point in repeating them.
However, you do seem to be very thorough in your planning and consideration. I for one have started to become interested given the amount of effort you have put in. I will be keeping an eye on how things develop.

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0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.1 Northern Pines
1.1 Royal Pythons
1.0 Thayers King
3.3 Corns
1.0 Diadem Ratsnake
1.1 Fire Bellied Toads or poss 2.0 but its always the same one on top.
2.0 Green Tree Frogs

e-mailed heathrow animal reception centre to see if they can shed some light. Surprising how little detail there is on the internet!

If this all works out will have to make an indepth document going through it step by step and cost by cost for other people to read

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The only animals I'm not comfortable with are parrots, but I'm learning as I go. I'm getting better and better at 'em. I really am -S. Irwin
0.1 albino horned toad
0.1 pixie frog
1.1 adult Royal pythons
2.3 66% het caramel albino royals,2 banded
1.1 Spider Royal
1.0 Pastel Royal
0.1 borneo blood python
0.1 frilled dragon
2.0 desert iguanas
0.0.3 various corns
0.1 burmese python
0.1 Western Hognose
0.0.1 common boa
0.0.1 Panther chameleon (ambanja x sambava)
0.0.1 Leopard tortoise

I have made a couple of shipments from the US. With prices what they are in Europe now, I would say that 2008 is the year when there will really be no point importing unless you are talking animals worth big big money. By that I mean a shipment of $10k+ where you are getting such discounts that it is worth the hassle. Importing a few albinos or pastels is really a pointless exercise.

If you order from the big breeders for Hamm, you will pay their $$ price.. not the E price at the shows. You must order and pay in advance, but you will get a huge huge saving on the Euro prices.. and it will work out cheaper than export from the USA to the UK, as you will not have to pay VAT as a personal consumer bringing them back to the UK.

If you are buying from a breeder that goes to any of the EU shows it is considerabley cheaper to pick up in the EU than have them shipped to the UK... and no paperwork/inspections for yourself to do!

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I thought that that would be the best way from the consumers point of view. after all we shouldnt have to pay VAT as its personal not commercial! and i am deffo up for this, whatever way it goes whether a private import of show collection. Would be happy to help with any processing and emailing if its needed, am about to go on maternity leave and then i could justify sitting on front of the pc all day long