Hi all. Interested in trading but was wondering about potential legal concerns of shipping beers. I have read some faqs but did not see this addressed. Are there any dos or donts?
Don't ship USPS. Use Fedex or UPS instead. Create your own account online so that you don't have to answer questions when dropping your boxes off (or just use the home-pickup service).
Do not use USPS. FedEx and UPS Don't allow the shipping of alcohol by non-authorized shippers (i.e. you and I) but they will give you nothing more than a slap on the wrist and a stern talking to if they catch you in the act, which is very rare. I get the sense that these companies don't really give a shit, but they try to play the part. You won't find yourself in any legal trouble as long as you avoid USPS is what I'm saying.
If you want to be completely free of legal concerns, don't ship alcohol. If you want to be like the rest of us, pack well and avoid nosy employees.
It's not necessarily that much cheaper, though it depends on the size of the box and where you're shipping to. Also, Fedex is cheaper once you hit a certain size.
I always use FedEx for my trades but out of curiousity has anyone ever used DHL? I'm not even sure they work with the general public.
DHL stopped shipping within the US back in 2008 I believe. You can still ship out of the US to international destinations through them though.
As far as I know no one in the history of BA beer trading has ever had any real consequences, except for the one guy who got reprimanded by his boss for shipping under his work acct. You're fine.
Fedex found out that I shipped beer but only sent me a warning letter. That's pretty it. I haven't heard from then since then.
FedEx once found I had a broken bottle in my box. They re-packaged my entire box, re-packaged the bottle themselves into different cardboard holders and shipped it back to me. I never got a note, nothing. I just had to replace the bottle and ship again to the other trader.
I recently got a box shipped Fedex that they removed a broken bottle of beer, repackaged the whole thing in a fresh dry box and delivered with no mention made to either the shipper or myself. Obviously as long as your shipping with them, they want to keep you as a happy customer. Kudos to Fedex!!
apparently, it is about as illegal as jaywalking so if you worry about getting caught for things like that, then avoid trading.
Same here. They only cared because the 32oz. Swingtop growler broke. They did confiscate the rest of the bottles though but it was luckily just 12oz. bottles.
