What Plastics Can You Bring In to Aust and What Is Not Acceptable?

[Chimo]

I noticed in a thread a while ago that customs don't seem to let some stuff in.

I'm thinking of buying some plastics to give it a go so,
1 I'm seeking advice on plastics to catch Snapper Flathead etc on the Gold Coast and
2 what Not to try and bring in so I don't loose it to the customs at point of entry into Aust.

Thanks

Cheers
Chimo

[Richo1]

I have only ordered plastics from overseas once through Bass Pro. Ordered Strike King Garlic & Salt sented, Zoom Flukes, Berkley Powerbaits, Mr Twisters as well as 2 x 200ml bottles of sent/Oil and had no problems with the order. Made up an order recently with Bass Pro and at checkout the postage was quoted a shipping fee of $40 or 40% of the total order - so cancelled the order. With a 40% shipping fee I lost the value in buying overseas. Went through Mo tackle instead.

Flathead love plastics, recently white 5" snap backs have been the best for me, work the plastic slowly with a sudden jerk lifting it off the bottom then allow it to drop back down and hit the bottom again. Pink is also a good colour. Vary the size till you find the one that works best.

Good luck
richo

[Horse]

Look at the Tackle warehouse site in the US. They do small orders with minimal freight costs. If the store can include the MSDS sheets for each lure you will be pretty well right importing them. The sticking point with plastics like Gulps is that they could be biological in origin and Berkley will not provide adequate MSDS info

[NAGG]

It's a bit of a lottery - I've never had an issue but I pick plastics that are not flooded in some type of scent or sauce. Swimbaits seem to be trouble free.
From experiences of others Gulps are one of the worst for getting picked up . Try to get the sender to describe them as fishing lures on the customs declaration .

Chris

[Defore]

The problem would be with plastics that have additives (scents and oils), probably be alright unless it leaked or had a really strong smell.

The only other plastics that might be banned is plastic explosives, I'm pretty sure that customs don't let it through. Guaranteed to catch fish, sharks, turtles, dolphins, scuba divers.

Ian

[Chimo]

I'm looking at buying from Canada so thanks to those who replied, my concern is what will customs grab on the way in and it sounds like Gulps and Berkley cann be an issue but a little conflicted by "Ordered Strike King Garlic & Salt sented, Zoom Flukes, Berkley Powerbaits, Mr Twisters as well as 2 x 200ml bottles of sent/Oil and had no problems with the order."\

I guess I'll just have to play it safe and see what happens, "Canadian Tyre" seems to have a monster range so I will have to have a good look at their stock.\

Thanks again guys.

Any more thoughts will however be appreciated

Cheers
Chimo

[outwide1]

Without getting into a sh*t fight but whats wrong with buying Australian?
Im guessing the range here isnt as good or is it price driven?
I find it funny that we as Austalians want and need to earn a good wage to live here but dont want to
pay the prices.
Cheers Mick

[Richo1]

Price driven, we don't like getting ripped off!
Nothings wrong with buying Australian, my last 3 internet orders were Aussie tackle suppliers. But i guess most of us don't like getting ripped off either, and when you see it advertised at a half or less of the price overseas, compared to what it is sold here you start to wonder! Don't get me wrong if it is made in Australia I will buy it over any overseas brand, but if it is made overseas and someones importing it, doubling the price I will look elsewhere.

[darylive]

I buy most of my stuff here but have got some stuff from Cabellas when it was not available here and have never had any problems with Cabellas US.

[Horse]

Without getting into a sh*t fight but whats wrong with buying Australian?
Im guessing the range here isnt as good or is it price driven?
I find it funny that we as Austalians want and need to earn a good wage to live here but dont want to
pay the prices.
Cheers Mick

I only buy from the US where workers are paid much the same as here and yet I can buy some lures, pay another 25% premium in shipping and land them for about 1/2 Au price. Someone somewhere is ripping Australians off and I don't think its the tackle stores

[Blythy]

I don't know if it is the importers or their buy price that is driving the prices, but as the trend towards internet shopping continues, it is going to need to be addressed, I bought 20 packs of 3" gulps for $50 delivered, to buy the same thing here would cost me at least $120. Hopefully people will realise the amount of money that is being shipped overseas and will correct the large differences in prices. Back to the original question, I have brought in over 60 packs of gulp, probably closer to 100, and haven't had any problems bringing them in. The Z-man plastics would be a safe bet and have been turning some good numbers lately, the 5" jerk shads and the 4" grubs are worth looking at.

[mattooty]

What sites does everyone use? I know its not the best to be promoting OS buying but I've been picking up a handful of bargains or up to 50% cheaper landed than I could find in Aust.

[Chimo]

Had a couple of looks, No Z man plastic to be seen, lots of other weird and wonderful choices by much of it with scents and still more in pots of "witches brews" with all sorts of attractants etc. If I were in customs I doubt I would let much of it in either. I need an on site expert as the prices dont seem too bad but what will travel successfully is the question?

Are you guys sure this stuff beats a spoon or a normal lure or a pilly?

34C today; its going to be a long, hot summer by the time we add them together!

Cheers
Chimo

[FishHunter]

I only buy from the US where workers are paid much the same as here and yet I can buy some lures, pay another 25% premium in shipping and land them for about 1/2 Au price. Someone somewhere is ripping Australians off and I don't think its the tackle stores

Really?? Last time I looked minimum wage in Australia is near $16/hr vs around $8 in the USA. IMHO all of you who make a habit of buying overseas are short sighted hypocritical fools.

[dayoo]

Really?? Last time I looked minimum wage in Australia is near $16/hr vs around $8 in the USA. IMHO all of you who make a habit of buying overseas are short sighted hypocritical fools.

The US wages vs cost of living are compatible with Aus wages vs cost of living.
Most large US tackle stores buy direct from the Manufacturers whereas in poor old Aus we have middle men called importers/distributors which mostly accounts for the price differences.

The Australian importers/distributors get to decide which items they will import into Australia but we only get a fraction of the stock that is available to US customers.

I buy plenty of gear from the USA which is NOT available in Australia. I don't think I am a hypocritical fool.

Cheers
Barry