I ordered and paid for at Int’loutdoor a Shadow JM26 and a Kingkong 26650 for airmail shipment. About 3 days later Hank informed me that the package was seized by the customs because of the lithium-ion cell inside. I’ve heard talk about this issue regarding USPS not allowing such items months ago but didn’t expect that Asian postal carriers have obviously followed the same policy. Hank has already refunded me in the meantime he’s waiting for the Return-to-Sender package.
Does anybody here have the same experience? Don’t you think it’s quite discriminatory to bare Lilon cell user? (almost all cell phone, laptops, etc. are Lilon-powered and yet allowed on all flights!)
I would gladly wait an extra week if packages are sent safely by cargo ship. Of course I’d rather prefer a faster delivery time if it’s also done safely. A quick reading shows it can be legal to use air mail with lithium batteries within the USA, but not internationally. Hmm…
Lets hope this is not going to be standard procedure, cause then we swedish flashoholics will be f*ed as the li-ions is nowhere to be found here in Sweden….
Might as well order some new 18650:s and 26650:s before it’s a total stop…
Since September Hong Kong post have had restrictions on Li-ion batteries. See here:
I think this has generally been ignored, but obviously some packages have been checked and returned to sender. I would imaging other carriers will follow suit.
Hey Im curious about the meeting and vote that was to happen on the 18th. What was it about specifically and was
anything decided ? I know the postal union is supposed to revisit the li-ion issue in 2013 so wondering if its related.
Manafont just refunded me $34.50 I paid two weeks ago for a DHL express shipment of all sorts of lithium batteries. UPS, Fedex, DHL out of China will not carry cells says Ella @ Manafont. Also the last several of my shipments have come through Singapore Post instead of others HK. Maybe that is dealing with the same problem?
A friend who flies for FedEx tells me one of their 747-800’s departing from HKG recently had an emergency landing when a pallet load of lithium ion batteries caught fire. He says this type of scenario has happened more than once in recent years.
My Shadow JM26 and a Kingkong 26650 (the subject of this thread) has finally arrived via registered air mail…It passed customs on Hank’s second attempt! According to tracking records, the route taken was Shanghai, HK, Singapore then finally to the Philippines.
It's really a big loss.