Help, anyone live/work near Newbury, Berkshire?

[Roger Payne]

That's interesting Paul. I tried to buy some SMLE wood off them a couple of years ago. They told me the same as they told you. I was very polite & accepted this, but pointed out that they'd had some SMLE front guards on 'that internet auction house' not long beforehand. I was the winning bidder & they'd shipped them to me without any issues. Whoever I was dealing with then got a bit snotty with me so I just let it drop - I wasn't going to get anywhere. I suspect they may have goofed with the online sale but weren't about to admit it......or maybe it was acceptable as it was under 100 USD. It wasn't worth losing any sleep over anyway........

[Lance]

A friendly member has offered to pick it up for me, to which the auction house has no problem. They have been paid and do not have to ship. Will advise the final outcome in the future! Thanks everyone.

[WillSarchet]

Paul, Roger, there are value limits - I think $100 US for most, $200 for shipments to Canada - on exporting firearm parts. Most companies don't want to deal with toeing the line so they simply say no sales out of the US. Import rules are similar - anything over a certain value in a single purchase must be imported through official channels with paperwork. Rarely an issue with small amounts of parts, for example I have never had an issue with my furniture sets from Prestigious in Canada.

[ssgross]

A friendly member has offered to pick it up for me

Way to go milsurps! Another reason why this is the best corner of the internet.

[Flying10uk]

It's probably current Post Office rules;

My reading and interpretation of Post Office rules is that the only knives that they won't ship are the ones that are banned under UK law? (Which shouldn't be shipped anyway to/within the UK.) Obviously any knives still have to be packaged safely, like in a scabbard. All other UK laws and Post Office/Royal Mail rules still have to be complied with so reading the relevant rules and understanding which laws apply is imperative.

A guide for business customers

[Mk VII]

Can't buy knives by mail any more, this changed fairly recently. Has to be face-to-face sales so they can see if the buyer is under age.

[Flying10uk]

Can't buy knives by mail any more, this changed fairly recently. Has to be face-to-face sales so they can see if the buyer is under age.

Could you provide some evidence to back-up this statement, please?

WWA Ltd ask for photo I.D. to confirm age. Knives

[Alan de Enfield]

Can't buy knives by mail any more, this changed fairly recently. Has to be face-to-face sales so they can see if the buyer is under age.

It appears to be up in the air at the moment as to what is law and what is not.
The relevant sections of the Act (which has passed into law) is

Another consultation was run from August to October 2019, the feedback from which is apparently being analysed. As things stand, there is some hope – the following being taken from the Aug 2019 Statutory Guidance:

“There are defences available to the seller, under section 40 of the Act, including where the company took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to prevent the item being delivered to an under 18. The effect of this is that where a seller is sure that the bladed product will not be handed to an under 18, they can deliver it to a residential premises. Where no such arrangements are in place, the item will have to be collected in person at a collection point.”


“Under section 39 of the Act, it is an offence for a delivery company to deliver bladed products, sold by UK based sellers, to an under 18 at a residential premises or to a locker.”

[Simon P]

I would have thought the auction house would have a Parcel Force account that covers the age verification service.

Introducing our Age Verification service | Parcelforce Worldwide

[Alan de Enfield]

Next step. it'll be banning forks and then they'll only be spoons left to stab folks with.



Man storms into Lincoln shop and holds fork to woman's neck
He demanded cash from the till



A robber pressed a fork into a shop assistant's throat as he stole money for more drugs after blowing £270 on crack, cocaine and whisky three days before Christmas.

Blake Wallis, 26, held up Keddington Stores on Lincoln’s Ermine West estate and asked his taxi driver to wait as he went inside. He went to the counter apparently to pay for a tube of Pringles but then grabbed hold of the assistant around the neck.

Kevin Jones, prosecuting at Lincoln Crown Court, said: "He put a fork to her throat and demanded that she open the till.”


The court heard the shop assistant remained calm, opened the till and Wallis grabbed £55 and ran out of the store.

Mr Jones said the victim’s daughter, who also worked at the store, had gone outside to smoke and witnessed the attack.


He said: “She screamed and shouted for help but she was too frightened to use her mobile phone.”

Man storms into Lincoln shop and holds fork to woman's neck - Lincolnshire Live