Interesting Peru Postal Restrictions

We’re rounding up our week of postal restriction posts, about items you can’t send to countries around the world, with a look at Peru, which prohibits the import of lots of products through the international post system. It goes without saying that anything illegal, such as drugs or weapons, will not be allowed into Peru, but along with this there are some other interesting restrictions which would be useful to know.

Clothing

If you’re an eBay seller and are having a wardrobe clearout, remember that you can’t send any clothing, footwear or accessories to Peru as they will not be allowed in. This includes everything from gloves to coats to hosiery to boots, and while no clothing is allowed, it is specified that fur products are also not allowed, so it might be best to avoid Peruvian buyers of your prized fur coat.

Contraceptive products or apparatus are also not allowed into Peru. As a religious country, this is understandable. However, there are some stranger items on the list, including carpets, suitcases, shoe waxes, wooden utensils and interior ornaments, including artificial flowers. And if you’re thinking about sending any communist propaganda, don’t – this is also prohibited and will not be allowed into Peru.

Interesting Italian Postal Restrictions

For such a laid back country, you might not expect Italy to have so many restrictions on the items you can send to it. However, on top of the usual items which we hope you wouldn’t dream of sending internationally (illegal substances, weaponry etc.), there are lots of other surprising products on the list that will not be allowed into the country through its postal system.

If you have relatives or friends in Italy and you’re thinking about sending Christmas presents to Italy, you might need to get a bit creative, especially where children are involved. You can’t send toys unless they are made entirely of wood, and you can’t send any type of footwear, along with a wide range of haberdashery and sewn articles. The golden rule, as always, is when it doubt, leave it out.

Perfumed goods apart from soap are also not allowed, and while we’re on the topic of scented items, nutmeg, vanilla and saffron should also be left out of your package. You can’t send clocks or clock parts, artificial flowers, leather goods, playing cards or, bizarrely, ribbons for typewriters. There are many other prohibited items for Italy, so make sure you check an official Italian postal service source before you send anything.

Interesting Israel Postal Restrictions

All this week, we’ll be listing some of the stranger items you might not realise you can send internationally to various countries, and today the spotlight is on Israel. In a country of such political unrest, you should make sure you’re extra careful about what you send to Israel to minimise the risk of any security alerts, but there are a few things you might not realise will be a problem.

Lottery ticket

Israel is a deeply religious country, which may explain why games of chance and anything relating to lottery games are not allowed. In an attempt to minimise fraudulent activity, blank, headed invoices will also not be allowed into Israel.

Lots of the restrictions apply to food and agriculture. Tools used for farming are prohibited through the international postal system, as these may be contaminated by plant or soil diseases in the host country; likewise, organic fertilisers and soil and sand. But for something you might not expect, used beehives are not allowed into Israel, so if you were thinking of sending your old beehive to a friend living in Israel, unfortunately this won’t be possible.

Interesting China Postal Restrictions

Following on from yesterday’s post about the things you can’t send to Afghanistan, today we are replicating this with a list of some of the more unusual things you won’t be allowed to send to China. Some of the items China don’t allow are very sensible. As with many other countries, you will not be allowed to send any meat products to China, as if these are contaminated they could affect the native livestock supplies which could be catastrophic. However, once again, there are a few things you might not expect to be a problem that are on their prohibited items list.

Used clothing and bedding are important things to note for eBay sellers. If you’re selling your beautiful designer coat but it’s been used, remember not to send it to China. Also, you may not send any material which might do harm to China on a political, economic or any other level, whether this is a book, a magazine, a video tape, a CD or even photo negatives, so check everything thoroughly before you send it.

Sewing machines are another unusual prohibited item, along with other basic machinery and electronics such as radio sets, wrist watches and tape records, so steer clear of sending anything along these lines.

Interesting Afghanistan postal restrictions

This week, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the more unusual postal restrictions that apply when you send a parcel internationally. It goes without saying that weapons, drugs or anything dangerous should be omitted from your package, but there are lots of things you might never have considered that are prohibited from entering the country by international mail.

Chessboard

Today we’re looking at sending a parcel to Afghanistan. Probably the most unusual is chessboards. We’re not entirely sure of the reasoning behind this, but just remember not to send a chessboard if you’re trying to think of a way to keep soldier friends and family entertained in Afghanistan. The same applies to children’s toys with the exception of sporting goods, so don’t send any dolls, board games, action models or anything else which could be considered a toy.

Also on the list are tapestries and lace, silk products and books and any other publication which could be offensive to the people of Afghanistan, whether this is their morals or religion or anything else, so double check that what you’re sending won’t contain any material considered offensive to the people of the country.