[bemmu]

I'm far from expert yet on this, but as I understand it depends on whether you are the one bringing the product into the country or not.

For example if I were to go to an anime expo in the US to sell candy there, then I would need to clear the customs and comply with FDA regulations such as the list of ingredients that have to appear in the packages.

But when I am situated here in Japan and people order things from me from all over the world, then they are the ones who are clearing the customs. However when the shipments are really small, customs is not a problem for the person receiving them and many countries have limits where you never need to deal with customs if the order size is small enough.

[famousactress]

That's interesting, but I would think it would have limits. Would you be able to send small amounts of a drug that was legal in your country to a country where it's illegal? I suppose you'd only be subject to the laws of your country in that case, the buyer would be subject to the laws in theirs?

Of course, we're talking about Candy.. I'm just intrigued by the idea of shipping-worldwide subscription businesses in general.

[bemmu]

Yeah, I suppose if you mail-ordered illegal drugs from abroad it would be you who gets into trouble, not the person sending them if they were perfectly legal in their home country unless the country in question had specific rules forbidding sending such items.

I am at least a bit encouraged by jlist.com et al. doing direct-sending including food items from Japan for years apparently with no significant problems.

[jianshen]

I heard that the Kinder Egg in Germany isn't sold in the US because it has a toy in the center and would be considered a choking hazard by US safety standards.

I realize right now it's just a small operation but if you hit it big, what are the approval hoops that you have to run thru for stuff like that?