3DRobotics temporarily stops shipments outside of US and Canada

Hi,

I have received the following email from 3DRobotics last night, my Iris quadocopter was already in France, at Fedex office for a delivery at home on monday. 3DRobotics say they cancel my order and will refund me, rhis mean they will ask Fedex to send back to product to the US, why such a decision for all customers ? Why cancelling a shipement when the parcel is nearly at your home ?

Here is the email I have received from 3DR

************************************************************************************************

Thanks for your order with 3DR. We're writing to let you know that, due to a temporary change in our shipping policies, we're unable to ship orders outside of the US and Canada. We'll be cancelling and refunding your order immediately. We're very sorry for the inconvenience, and we'll let you know when we can resume shipments to your country.

If you have any questions or would like to make modifications to your order, write to us at help@3drobotics.com or call our support line at +1 (858) 225-1414, Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm PST.

Sincerely,

The 3DR Team
************************************************** *******************

Here the most probable cause, excerpt from this link:

Even small- and medium-sized UAVs that were never meant for military use are subject to ITAR control. To export any aircraft capable of flying beyond line of sight, whether over the horizon or around an obstruction like a building, requires a license from the State Department, Slack said.

If a UAV is capable of autonomous or pre-programmed flight, it is controlled by ITAR, McClafferty said. An exemption to the export rules exists for hobbyist aircraft that are specifically not for commercial use.

“If you are selling these things as anything other than toys, you are going to need a license to export,” he said. “What most people would consider to be relatively benign products, the U.S. [government] still considers those to be sensitive goods.”

Many companies are unaware of the restrictions on smaller UAVs designed for civilian use. They are subject to “national security control” and require a license for export to virtually any country other than Canada. Failing to abide by the guidelines can be painful for large companies and potentially fatal for startups that lack the resources to navigate the red tape, McClafferty said.

Criminal penalties for failing to obtain an export license for a controlled item, even a small UAV, include jail time. Civil penalties run to $250,000 per occurrence, he said.

Replies

- - - - Matthew Kerle > Bill Bonney May 13, 2014 at 6:35pm
        
        I don't have that experience, but I do have a lot of paranoia about the US Government stifling free enterprise to maintain it's security. I'm glad Vu has commented on here, but why else do you think they would have to cease exports and maintain such silence? this is killing their business, there's no way they would do it unless they were compelled to.
Zr_Flyer May 11, 2014 at 2:01pm

Perhaps this applies...

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2014/May/pages/Expor...
- MR60
  
  Hugues > Zr_Flyer May 11, 2014 at 2:28pm
  
  Here the most probable cause, excerpt from this link:
  
  Even small- and medium-sized UAVs that were never meant for military use are subject to ITAR control. To export any aircraft capable of flying beyond line of sight, whether over the horizon or around an obstruction like a building, requires a license from the State Department, Slack said.
  
  If a UAV is capable of autonomous or pre-programmed flight, it is controlled by ITAR, McClafferty said. An exemption to the export rules exists for hobbyist aircraft that are specifically not for commercial use.
  
  “If you are selling these things as anything other than toys, you are going to need a license to export,” he said. “What most people would consider to be relatively benign products, the U.S. [government] still considers those to be sensitive goods.”
  
  Many companies are unaware of the restrictions on smaller UAVs designed for civilian use. They are subject to “national security control” and require a license for export to virtually any country other than Canada. Failing to abide by the guidelines can be painful for large companies and potentially fatal for startups that lack the resources to navigate the red tape, McClafferty said.
  
  Criminal penalties for failing to obtain an export license for a controlled item, even a small UAV, include jail time. Civil penalties run to $250,000 per occurrence, he said.
  - Matthew Kerle > Hugues May 13, 2014 at 5:46pm
    
    Sounds like it's time for 3DR to spin off it's UAV program as a separate entity that manufactures and ships from outside the US. I'm sure China will be happy to have them.
    - Developer
      
      Bill Bonney > Matthew Kerle May 13, 2014 at 6:01pm
      
      3DR is based in San Diego, California, US. Manufactures mostly in Mexico, using parts from China and other places worldwide. So your suggestion helps exactly how?
      - Matthew Kerle > Bill Bonney May 13, 2014 at 6:32pm
        
        >is based in San Diego, California
        
        that's the problem right there, it makes them vulnerable to the vagaries of the US Government. If they were based in, say, Hong Kong or Panama, then they wouldn't require State Department (or other..) approval, and they wouldn't be bound by NDAAs.
        
        Developer
        
        Bill Bonney > Matthew Kerle May 13, 2014 at 7:26pm
        
        The product is shipped from Mexico, not SD. It's a weak argument that you have. In all cases an export/import license is obviously required. My point is that location is not the issue. Its just these tech advancements have popped up on some bureaucrat's radar and needs to be addressed. Resolution will probably be announced this week. With conspiracy theorists denounced.
        
        The US is the biggest market in the world, followed by Germany and China, not sure who's number 2 at the moment. If you think it would work manufacturing in competition in Panama, there is an opportunity for you. Why not try your native Australia, major software developments happen there, with Altassian making the news this week.
        
        Ps: not done an android version yet, but if you have the last known coords and an iphone check out http://appstore.com/findmydrone
        
        Matthew Kerle > Bill Bonney May 13, 2014 at 7:44pm
        
        ok, I'm trying to understand so help me here, if 3DR spun off their civilian PixHawk unit, and relocated it to, say, Belgium, manufactured in China, and shipped via Switzerland, how would they still be subject to export controls? they might be subject to import controls then, but I doubt that would be as much of an issue?
        
        Understandable that the US being their biggest market they might prioritise them over the rest of the world, but the rest of the world is a big market too. I'd love to take up that offer, but I'm a software developer, not a hardware entrepreneur, and my country of Australia is pretty anti-business unless you're a mining company, we don't do much innovation except by accident (Atlassian is a rare exception).
        
        ps - I'm getting bombarded by email notifications from this post now, but I can't tell when people are replying to me and when they're just replying to other posts, also I can't see people's replies from my page, just the replies I've made, am I missing something? (new user)
        
        Euan Ramsay > Matthew Kerle May 25, 2014 at 10:53pm
        
        Lol...don't ship it via Switzerland...:-)
        
        Actually, no, please do - would be good to have customs sit on someone else's parcels for 5 weeks for no reason then charge them for the privilege, instead of me...
        
        :-)
  - Zr_Flyer > Hugues May 11, 2014 at 2:37pm
    
    Yep, I'd give pretty good odds that this is the issue.

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3DRobotics temporarily stops shipments outside of US and Canada

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