Importing to US

Hello all,
I am very new to the world of lasers and have been reading up on as much as I can about how they work, safety, laws and such. I am looking into buying my first one and had a question for US residents. I don't mind buying outside of the US but am curious on the import laws and what kind of restrictions are in place. From what I understand lasers over 5mw can be held up in customs but there seem to be plenty of sites that claim they ship to the US.

From hands on experience, has anyone had a problem importing them or is it "safer" to buy from inside the states? (BTW, I am looking to keep my money here on the forums because of all that I have learned from this place.)

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg

Edit: If this has been covered before I apologize. I looked around and couldn't find anything specific.

Edit 2: Aaanndd the post above me has it. Thanks

People will tell you its no big deal to buy outside the USA and yes we have all done it HOWEVER recently the US customs have really cracked down on confiscations of illegal lasers. They are searching ANYTHING labeled as a flashlight or torch. Many members over on BLF have been receiving customs package search flyers in their boxes. This means customs searched their box and were looking for lasers.

In the end it is your choice to buy in the USA or international but I personally wouldnt buy international with lasers ever again. I just dont trust customs anymore and would rather keep my name off the shipping "black list"

Thanks for the reply. I'm currently reading through your sig links found my answer there.

well I think it depends on who is working when your shipment arrives. I just last month received 3 laser pointers through customs from china and they we're labeled 'laser pen" right on the declaration and they are not legal as far as I know. date and wording marked with arrows