Alright guys and gals, This is an important issue, and one that shouldn't be guessed about over a pint or around the water cooler. Ivory is covered by CITES, and as such its shipment is carefully regulated whether on the piano or in a box. DON'T try to get away with sneaking it in. It is a federal offense and not worth it. At best it will all be confiscated and you may get a whopping fine. Pianos are typically impounded, and the ivories stripped off and confiscated. To run salt in the wound they WILL charge you for their time and the storage. You CAN ship pianos with ivory keys to a foreign country IF you can prove the ivory is pre-CITES, i.e. you have an antique piano and document it properly. Most pianos with ivory keys qualify. You need to get special permits both from the exporting country and the importing country after filling out stacks of forms. It typically takes 6 months to get an ivory export permit. In the U.S. you contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If just type Ivory, export, fish and wildlife...you'll find what you need to know. OR you can make it easy on yourself and hire a proper import/export expediting agency. You'll be dealing with customs and the like anyway, so it is a wise decision unless you are experienced and/or willing to wade through the bureaucracy and paperwork. The last antique piano I drove into Canada created a 2" thick stack of forms that I showed on both sides of the border. I figure it took me about 3 hrs. of my time to do all the work. It took only 4 months for the permit, but I have a business license to import and export ivory, so that sped it up a bit. Oh, and to make it more complicated, you can only bring ivory in and out of the United States through a few ports. Go to an un-authorized port and you will NOT get it through. So, tread lightly and do your homework before shipping. or, gag, you could replace the keytops with plastic...more gagging... once you've had ivory, plastic is like switching from driving a Jag to a Kia. AA Anne Acker Historic Keyboard Specialist http://www.anneackerkeyboards.com http://pianogrands.com
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