trading this time of year

So I am not trying to cause any trouble here for anyone but I have a serious question. What happens if you receive beers that have frozen and broken or leaked and are now effectively ruined? Is it just considered bad luck, mother natures fault or is the shipper responsible just like they would be if a bottle broke due to poor packaging?

Is there protocol/ettiquette/expectations for this?

 

in my case, i sent him a message to let him know what happened. He replied asking what he could do to make things right, offering up to send a few more plinys or something else. I left it up to him. Granted, if he would have shipped on the same day as me it probably would have arrived before the subzero temps hit the midwest, but on the other hand, if i had looked at the forecast a week out, i could have asked him to delay shipping until it warmed up a little.

I'm not going to consider him a bad trader if I don't get some new beers sent. Hopefully he enjoys the beers he got and life goes on...

 

Just lost my first bottle possibly due to the cold. Receiver said it was cool to ship since he never had an issue but he got the box with one busted bottle which again may not have been from the cold.
He said to chalk it up to the beer gods but I will make sure to toss something extra in our next box. Wouldn't feel right not doing so. Just happy it was something I have an extra of and can still send in the future. This is a good reminder to me to always keep an eye on the weather and if I think there are enough packing peanuts shove some more in.

 

I actually had a box show up on Wednesday night when the temps were less than 10 all day, and the day before, and subzero when it showed up. It should have made it before hand, but there was a mix up at FedEx in regards to holding the package at a FedEx Office. Had a couple beer slushies (nothing completely frozen), but no leaks or broken bottles (thanks to them being being packed well). Let them all thaw in the fridge, and they should be fine now. If some had broken I wouldn't have blamed the sender. I totally spaced checking the forecast before we agreed on a deal. Luckily, the forecast was caught before I shipped his....I fear the C&C'd lower ABV Sours I am sending him would not have made it out of the Midwest alive...

 

It depends. If the receiver said don't ship and they sent anyways then definitely the sender is on the hook. If the receiver was fine with taking the risk well thems the breaks.

 

Hey Guys,

Got an update for you on my bottles and how the other trader and I are handling all of this. First, I thawed the bottles slowly and in the fridge, upright, turning every couple hours or so. It took about a day or two for the bottle to thaw completely.

West Ashley was amazing. I got the chance to try it side by side with Fou, never noticed any off flavors in WA at all. I did have a Map of the Sun that froze and leaked a good bit. We tried it out as well, it lost all the carb and the taste was affected some. Over all if thawed correctly and there wasn't much leakage, all is good.

I messaged the guy I received them from. He was as bummed as I was and has been very gracious about the whole thing. He has offered up another bottle for trade and said he would send some nice extra's. Looks like we will trade again and I hope to continue trades with him in the future as he is a A+ dude.

It ultimately boils down to wrapping everything well(bottles straight up and insulated materials), don't ship if temps will be super low(20 or lower) and if they do freeze try to help the other BA out. IMO this type of generosity typically will be returned exponentially in the future, either from the BA you help out or others down the road.