Hoping someone will have advice, thanks, John.
Pack well, sealed in a bag to help maintain humidity, and stick it in An Post with a customs form. Probably want Express Post International service for a packet, as it should have tracking and higher value insurance limits. Should arrive through your local US Post Office without any fees due.
be aware not to ship flutes with Ivory bits… that could be source of troubles.
Good advice Francesco. They seem to be ruthless in the U.S. when it comes to ivory, and will not hesitate to confiscate any flute with ivory, regardless of the instruments age. Let’s hope this does not apply in this case.
A word of warning: Make certain you know who is going to handle shipping once it arrives in the U.S. A few years back I bought a flute from a fellow in Ireland. He shipped in a way that Fedex was the delivering agency once it arrive in the states. They hit me up for a hefty import tax based on the declared value of the instrument. Really sucked as it added a lot to my total price for the flute.
Obviously it’s a huge trip and a lot of extra expenses, but the very best way is to go to Ireland and pick it up yourself.
That way, you can see the instrument before it’s halfway around the world;
you meet the maker/craftsman/seller yourself
you get to spend some time in Ireland to try out your flute in some nice sessions here and there.
Of course, this will be out of reach for most members as the trip would quite often set you back moren then the flute itself, but…
if you’re planning to go there sometime anyway, it might be worth waiting to combine the two.
(Of course this applies only if you have a flute made for you and the maker can hold on to it for some time. If you buy a used flute, the seller will most likely not be amused if you say you’re going to pick it up a year later 
.)
Ps. I shipped my flute to Eugene Lambe a few years ago, well wrapped in it’s original case with some bubble-wrap around it.
I send it by regular mail and it came back, fully serviced of course, without a problem.
Then again, I live in the Netherlands and things may be a bit different than in the US.
Or maybe I was just lucky that it all went well.
I always mark flutes going to the US as bagpipe parts as there is no tax on bagpipes.
If you search on here you will find the tax code.
Also you can mark returned for repair US made no sale.
Ive only been charged once in all my many flute dealings.
According to the seller, there is no VAT fee from Ireland to the USA. Is there an import fee on the USA end? Thanks, John.
This:http://www.dutycalculator.com/dc/189347773/musical-instruments/wind-instruments/woodwind-instrument-flute-or-piccolo/import-duty-rate-for-importing-used-wooden-flute-from-ireland-to-united-states-is-4.9/ may help.
Looks like 3.2% Duty and 23% sales tax. There is no Duty on antique (over 100 years old) flutes. I paid no duty nor any sales tax on an antique sent over from England. The package was examined by Customs but forwarded with no charge. The Duty and the Sales tax are computed on the sale price.
Your seller is correct insofar as there being no VAT on sales to outside Ireland.
Make sure you have no problems with CITES, such as various rosewoods and of course ivory.
HS commodity code 9205.90.4060.
I am at a loss as to why I was not charged a sale tax.
I would be loath to label a flute a ‘bagpipe’ since penalties may then be applied. 
Bob
“I would be loath to label a flute a ‘bagpipe’ since penalties may then be applied”
Well you’re options are to be honest and pay the 27% (or whatever it is) duty.
Or you get a little creative.
mark the flute as 'bagpipe parts" “antique flute” or “repaired flute no sale”
These have worked for me and many others I know who do the same.
Ah, Well. . .there are penalties, and then there are penalties. . . .Herself would never hear of me mis-labeling. . . and if I did, I would never hear the end of it
Bob
Um, not sure where you get those numbers. I went to that site, and the duty listed is 4.9% (new or used), plus sales tax (if collected by carrier or self-reported on State Use Tax in the particular state in the U.S. - Maximum would be about 10% for state & local taxes; 5 states have no sales tax) + carrier handling fee. Actual experience, though, indicates that duty & etc. are collected for merchant bulk imports, rarely for individual purchases. If they are assessed, it’s often due to using a carrier such as Fed Ex, DHL, or similar, which is why I advised using postal service, with delivery by the US Postal Service.
Agree about using regular post. Only problems I’ve ever had were using couriers…
Ah, the 3.2% + 23% tax is the rate for IMPORT INTO IRELAND. We’ve been talking about import into the U.S.
Pack well, sealed in a bag to help maintain humidity, and stick it in An Post with a customs form. Probably want Express Post International service for a packet, as it should have tracking and higher value insurance limits. Should arrive through your local US Post Office without any fees due.
An Post does not offer any significant insurance cover. The maximum cover for a registered package is €35. Registered post comes with tracking.
Express Post International does not provide any cover at all.
- Express Post International does not offer inclusive insurance cover
- Compensation for delay: compensation of the cost of posting the Express Post item will be paid if the item is not delivered within the time given
- Compensation for loss or damage: no compensation for loss or damage is paid on Express Post items
- Consequential loss: no compensation is paid, however it arises
- Contents: cash and coins, bank drafts, vouchers with a monetary face value*, jewellery, passports, precious metals such as platinum, gold or silver, whether manufactured or not in the form of a finished article or other valuables should not be sent using Express Post International. The Express Post International service is provided for under the Foreign Postal Regulations 2008 (as amended)
Wow, that is SO weird. I only made that post after getting on a mail site and doing a calculation. Perhaps I inadvertently ended up on a different country’s site.
Added note: Maybe it was Australia’s Postal site, which does offer a Courier service, that has tracking and insurance coverage to $5000 AUD. Oops.
Having another look, there is the An Post express courier service (as opposed to Express Post international, that’s probably where our wires crossed) that does provide an option for insurance cover up to €350. It is an expensive option though (at €80, plus insurance, for the package this thread is concerned with). FWIW, the postoffice didn’t offer that option when I asked when sending the flute in question.
€350 doesn’t cover a lot of flute. The R&R I received from Australia was $2K USD, so I’m glad it was covered.
I’m glad it was covered
Did it get lost?
No, but still…gave us both some peace of mind.