Until 2019, the world was a much friendlier place for sword enthusiasts outside the USA. Back then, there were plenty of third-party services that made it relatively easy to order swords and have them shipped to your home country. These services were a godsend for collectors, re-enactors, martial artists, and anyone else with a passion for swords.
But then, things took a turn for the worse. Swords started getting singled out, and not in a good way. Suddenly, shipping swords internationally became a nightmare. Many US-based sword stores stopped shipping overseas due to concerns about fraud, shipping restrictions, and the hassle of additional paperwork. Even carriers flat out refused to carry swords for no legitimate reason other than they could.
For those of us living outside the USA, this meant dealing with massive local markups on a severely limited selection of swords. We were forced to resign ourselves to paying exorbitant prices for inferior products because it was just easier and sometimes the only way to get our hands on a decent sword.
Mail forwarders, which were originally designed to help US expats and digital nomads receive their mail and packages from the USA, became our only hope. These services provided us with a US address, allowing us to order swords directly from American sellers. However, even these forwarders started showing disdain for their sword-collecting customers. Many prohibited sharp objects and weapons. Even scissors or heaven forbid, shears or gardening equipment..
The situation is changing all the time, and it’s hard to keep up with the latest restrictions and hoops we need to jump through. It’s frustrating to see how something as simple as buying a sword has become so complicated and expensive for those of us outside the USA.
So, to all the sword enthusiasts out there, I say: stay strong, keep searching, and don’t give up. We deserve better than this!
- Paul Southren (/end rant)
