Thread: Ordering Brass from overseas

Hi Guys,

I've heard of people ordering brass from the US and am keen to do the same. (no dramas if I need to get an import permit but my understanding is its not essential)

What is required? i want to order from Alpha munitions, they don't seem to send international but am sure someone does.

the price converts to much cheaper than from our importer and currently ozark doesnt have any stock of what i want anyway.

Much appreciated.

Its a BALLACHE, order from Ozark and wait....that's probably the best and fastest way

Have a look at Reloading International. Not sure what their stock levels are currently like though. They were suffering the same as others there.
I imported 284 Norma from them when it wasn't available in NZ. Also heaps of projectiles.
Shipping is now the killer for anything ex USA but if the item is not available here suck in......
At least gst doesn't kick in so soon.
Big orders up to the new gst kick in spreads the shipping cost.

Originally Posted by kiwi303

Hi Guys,

I've heard of people ordering brass from the US and am keen to do the same. (no dramas if I need to get an import permit but my understanding is its not essential)

What is required? i want to order from Alpha munitions, they don't seem to send international but am sure someone does.

the price converts to much cheaper than from our importer and currently ozark doesnt have any stock of what i want anyway.

Much appreciated.

Currently, there are no restrictions importing either brass or bullets into NZ. A big and high value parcel may prompt a gst invoice from NZ Customs.
Sometimes shipping can be slow - typically around 4 - 5 weeks. I recently bought and shipped some Barnes bullets from Texas. Shipping took 8 weeks - unusually slow. I followed tracking and eventually saw my package had been intercepted by US Customs for inspection. Apart from the delay there was no problem. The box was closed with US Customs tape but they released it and it arrived, eventually.

As Zimmer said, shipping is the REAL killer. I leave funds in the US traditionally but they're damn near useless now, the way freight has gone. How come stuff from China is freighted damn near free while stuff from the US can end up double the price once you add freight?

Originally Posted by 6x47

As Zimmer said, shipping is the REAL killer. I leave funds in the US traditionally but they're damn near useless now, the way freight has gone. How come stuff from China is freighted damn near free while stuff from the US can end up double the price once you add freight?

Even posting my own ( not gun related) stuff from the US is expensive, really gone up over last 2-3 years.

Get in touch with Reloading International or Grafs.
I haven't imported any reloading components but I ordered a chassis through Reloading International and they were great to deal with.

I asked about projectiles at the time and said it was no problem to export.

Originally Posted by 6x47

As Zimmer said, shipping is the REAL killer. I leave funds in the US traditionally but they're damn near useless now, the way freight has gone. How come stuff from China is freighted damn near free while stuff from the US can end up double the price once you add freight?

Shipping from the USA is pretty crazy alright, I order stuff from the UK all the time and its both far cheaper and quicker than the US.

Australian post is also stupidity expensive everytime I've ordered something from over the ditch.

I regularly order from Brownells, their postage rate is only $65usd which is reasonable when spread across multiple items. Unfortunately they are very low on stock for brass and bullets at the moment.
I will be ordering from Grafs very soon. Grafs require a minimum order of $250usd for international orders, and I am not sure what their shipping price structure is yet.
You don't need any import permits for inert components such as brass and bullets, but the US exporter needs to have the appropriate export licenses so not all US suppliers will ship internationally.

Originally Posted by -BW-

I regularly order from Brownells, their postage rate is only $65usd which is reasonable when spread across multiple items. Unfortunately they are very low on stock for brass and bullets at the moment.
I will be ordering from Grafs very soon. Grafs require a minimum order of $250usd for international orders, and I am not sure what their shipping price structure is yet.
You don't need any import permits for inert components such as brass and bullets, but the US exporter needs to have the appropriate export licenses so not all US suppliers will ship internationally.

Correct.
If I understand correctly, the USA shipper obtains an Export License specific to you, which may be a separate thing to any general export license he holds. For the one time he obtains the customer specific Export License the shipper may charge you for that. Or he may not if somehow it's cost is built into sales prices. I know when I dealt with Reloading International I was charged the Export License cost each time I had something sent. Wasn't a biggie though in the overall shipment cost.

I was charged around $30 USD postage for two Anschutz action screws a couple of years back. They wouldn't send the items in an envelope packet but insisted on a small box that would've held 100 action screws. Can't remember the U.S. company name but they made custom action screws.

Originally Posted by 10-Ring

I was charged around $30 USD postage for two Anschutz action screws a couple of years back. They wouldn't send the items in an envelope packet but insisted on a small box that would've held 100 action screws. Can't remember the U.S. company name but they made custom action screws.

I had a better experience. I needed one only 21st Century shellholder. I created an order and completed to the checkout stage and was given an automated shipping cost something like the value of yours. Bloody hell! Sent 21st Century an email re excessive shipping cost for a small item and they willingly reduced the charge to letter rate and it arrived in an envelope. -

The times I have used Reloading International they have charged the export licence fee as a percentage of each order.
Initially when they get the licence for you they ask for you for a summary of your future orders which I provided but was probably "bloated". I never did purchase up to what I had estimated.
Whether they fully recover the cost of the licence I don't know.