List of prohibited items and restrictions you must check before making any purchases in the USA from abroad

Before making any purchases in the USA for International shipping you must check the customs list of prohibited articles on the Universal Postal Union (UPU) web-site. However this list is not the only one you must pay attention to. You must also learn about restrictions, prohibitions,... that your postal service or your courier has.

I use USPS Priority Mail Express Internaional (former USPS Express Mail International) also known as EMS most of the time, so I check the prohibitions, restrictions and other information on the USPS web-site. The information provided there is country specific. If you need Country Conditions for Mailing to Russia (Russian Federation) by USPS Express Mail, see here.

Now I will explain why it is important to follow the restriction on the USPS web-site. I have shipped a dozen of jewerly items and a couple of watches to Russia by USPS Express Mail. I got them without any problem. The customs of the Russian Federation allows these articles to be sent to Russia. However if your insured package with prohibited items is lost, USPS refuses to pay the insurance. So if your lose a package containing a $17 watch or a $10 jewerly item, USPS will refuse to pay the insurance not only for the watch or jewerly, but for the whole package!