😈 Naughty Lists: What Not to Mail

Postcards & Mail Mail, stamps & postal info
23

There is no specific prohibition for these but a general one. In their Terms and Conditions (AGB) it says in section 3 subsection (4):
“Der Absender hat das Gut so zu verpacken, dass es vor Teilverlust und Beschädigung geschützt ist und dass auch der Deutschen Post keine Schäden entstehen (§ 411 HGB).”
Translation:
“The sender must package the goods in such a way that it is protected frokm partial loss and damage and that German Post also does not suffer damage.”
That prohibits anything that could damage their machinery. As it is unspecific, the post officer you try to mail your items with can decide what to accept and what to reject.

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24

Postcards (and letters) must be automation compatible due to the postal standard.
In this guideline on page 24 it is written:

“Bei Verzierungen mit Stoff, Stickereien, Pailletten etc. ist der Versand nur im Umschlag als Kompakt-, Groß- oder Maxibrief möglich.”

(“If decorated with fabric, embroidery, sequins etc. shippment is only possible inside an envelope.”)

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25

Thank you @Oo_Hawkwind_oO! I knew I had seen it written somewhere but couldn’t find it quickly. :smiley:

26

I have had very bad experience with musical cards here in Bosnia - Rep.Srpska. Every time someone sent to me a musical card, it “got lost”. Even though I think it is not officially forbidden, over the years I´ve got the impression that they were checked or even destroyed. The same happens with cards in which a sender wants to enclose a small gift, like a tea bag. Those regularly disappear!

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27

In Switzerland nothing out of the ordinary except you can’t send salt…

Salt monopoly is still a thing here.
Foreign salt can’t be seen in stores and there’s only one company selling salt for the whole of Switzerland.
Until 2014 there were 2 companies : 1 for 25 cantons and 1 for canton of Vaud (produced in Bex). Salt produced in Bex couldn’t be sold outside Vaud (and vice-versa).
The monopoly was mainly done to ensure stable prices and enough storage capacity for the winter months.

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28

Don’t tell the Norwegians about Potato Parcel or Mail a Spud. :shushing_face:

Americans really have a thing for mailing potatoes.

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29

@shugal, YES! :partying_face: I was secretly hoping that you would reply, because you always have such thorough and thoughtful responses! I certainly understand the justification behind many of these prohibitions; what I find most interesting is the degree of specificity. Much like when you see an oddly specific rule posted somewhere, or a law protecting Bigfoot, it makes you wonder: what the heck happened here? :rofl:

@bom_dia, “obscene and immoral publications” was a popular prohibition! I chose not to include it in my list because it was relatively common. I always wonder what the threshold is for “obscene and immoral”, and how it varies from country to country.

@thibcabe, salt came up several times as a prohibited item–South Korea bans it by mail, too.

@Feuerstuhl, again, it’s the degree of specificity that I find curious! Deutsche Post doesn’t mention it in their list of prohibited items, but absinthe was listed specifically in the USPS Postal Explorer (in fact, it tops the list). Notably, not alcohol–just absinthe! :laughing:

Edit: Thank you, @paulo, for relocating the topic to a better category! :pray:

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30

An interesting thread!

I have sent many cards from Germany (without envelope) that include fabric-glued-to-paper or other embellishments without an envelope and without any problem at all. I have recently made a “test” card entirely of felt to send, but haven’t done so yet. I’ll still do it, just to see it it gets through or not. Wooden, cork, and metal postcards are also sold in stores and configured so that you can send them as is, without an envelope and for the postcard rate (if you are to believe what the seller says). I haven’t tried any because they are ridiculously expensive. I have, however, received wooden postcards sent from Germany at the postcard rate without problem.

Also, the rules in Germany about sending goods a year or two ago got more strict so that you cannot technically send anything other than a letter (or postcard or other document) in an envelope and still pay the letter rate. So, teabags, coins, stamps, etc. are forbidden unless you pay for sending goods and fill out a customs form for them. I still do this and haven’t had a problem, but it is technically forbidden as far as I know.

So I think that Germany is probably like many countries – the official rules reflect the most restrictive interpretation, but unless it causes a problem it probably will go through.

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31

Did you say anything?! :rofl:

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32

@PinkNoodle: :blush::blush::blush:

Absinthe: The German Post rules you link to are their general terms (their specific list is hidden elsewhere, sorry, can’t find it on the spot), and they are for mail sent from Germany. It is perfectly fine for you to send German-bought absinthe with German Post (unless the import is prohibited in the recipient’s country). Absinthe from abroad can be an issue: Germany (and all of the European Union, it’s a harmonized legislation) has limits on the thujone content of vermouth-containing beverages. For absinthe, which is classified as bitter spirit, the limit is 35 milligrams per liter. If US laws allow a higher content, these cannot be imported into the EU, and in that case the warning makes sense.

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33

Thanks for the topic! :heart:
Previously I looked through a similar guide on our Postal Service and had a question about one of the prohibited items to Russia Page 7.

newspapers referring to the ‘snow-ball’ process or other similar process;

Can anyone enlighten me on this :thinking:

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34

@iamfromhk: Most likely the snow-ball process means the pyramid scheme (in German we call it Schneeball-System, snow-ball scheme). Russia may have specific legislation against this.

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35

@shugal: I see! Because the Chinese version of the same document translates the “snow-ball” process literally as “effect of rolling a snowball” instead of the common name we know :woman_facepalming:t2::woman_facepalming:t2::woman_facepalming:t2:
I thought they meant rolling snowballs are dangerous in winter…:stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

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36

Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs are still banned from import to the US, sadly. Our government is afraid people might eat the toy inside.

Kinder Joy eggs (cream paste with crunchy balls) are legal here, but very disappointing. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

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37

Sadly, Kinder Surprise egg is also changed to the new version here in Hong Kong :persevere::persevere::persevere: though we can still buy the traditional one at some retail stores that sell imported snacks.

I also miss opening the capsule to discover a toy inside and the joy of assembling it according to the instructions :partying_face:

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38

@shugal, good catch! I thought I was still in the “to Germany” section. Well, the USPS doesn’t allow any mailing of alcohol (and private shipping companies have very strict rules against it, too), so I guess I won’t be sending you any absinthe, anyway. :disappointed:

@iamfromhk, in case you ever feel compelled to mail an actual snowball, don’t send it to the UK, where “frozen water (including bags of ice)” are on the list, too! :snowflake: (And if you ever successfully manage to mail a snowball, please tell us about it.)

@aerobear [spits out plastic parts] …What do you mean?

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39

The receiver would have got a large envelope with Quarantine tape all over it telling them about the issue with brochures/invoice etc.and offering it to be irradiated for that outrageous fee.

40

How about banknotes? I often see those in Postcrossing profiles (“please send me the lowest valued banknote from your country”), but they are generally prohibited from being mailed, aren’t they? At least in Israel they are…

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41

Coins and currency were another commonly-prohibited item among many countries, so it’s worth checking beforehand! If your coin-swapping partner is in Taiwan, you just have to make sure the coin is not over 100 years old. :slightly_smiling_face:

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42

Also, the lowest Israeli banknote is 20 ILS (about 6 USD), which I am a bit reluctant to give away to a stranger…:face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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