Trading Pet Peeves

I am at 300 plus with USPS without any sound coverage. Like @Bum4ever , mine are always sloshy. You are allowed to send liquids.

 

I am probably 100% more concerned with noise-makers alerting someone that "something is broken" than I am concerned that a sloshing package will raise alarm.

 

This happened to me once about a year and a half ago. I think I'm still picking up rice up off the ground.

 

Not sure if he is talking about www.TheBeerExchange.io but it sounds like something they do on that site. I honestly prefer the setup on that site to Beer Advocate. Light years more user friendly and is geared towards trading only, no beer articles or beer reviews/forums. Definitely worth checking out for those out there not already familiar with the site.

 

Congrats for having been lucky.

 

It’s an art, a small amount of noise makers to muddle the sound... not enough to make it sound like something is broken.

 

That’s the site that I was talking about, it just doesn’t work.

 

You should give the site another try and skip the pairing option. That feature would be much better if people actually kept better track of their inventory and also if there weren't so many inactive accounts that pop up. If you could filter the results to show only pairings with people who have been active it would be much nicer. I do find that its easier to find trade partners with stuff I want on that site than here on Beer Advocate.

 

Add another 300+ trader. No noise-makers, ever, in a decade of trading.

At best, it's a psychological comfort.

It's not luck. Noise makers are pointless, my friend!

 

Whenever I send bottles, there’s minimal sloshing sound with the heat/ac and noise in the store. Whenever I send more than a few cans, the employee almost always asks what’s in the box? Most FedEx employees recognize me and appreciate my business, but sometimes there’s a new employee who grills me about the sloshing sound. Something to consider.

 

I felt like that's what they meant as well

 

I have no doubt that to do it "right" it is an art. But usually it sounds like something is broken to me. Every time you turn the box you have something moving around the box, falling from one side to the next, shifting, etc. Someone once set me an old prescription bottle with a few coins or nuts(as in nuts/bolts) or something in it. Was shocked about that.

I think you may be more concerned/at risk since you are in PA, though. I'm pretty hesitant to ship to PA these days.

 

I am always curious why some people think the postal person gives a crap about the noise in a box. They just want to finish their route and go home like everyone else. Maybe someone at the sorting place would care, I guess, but with USPS liquid is allowed.

 

Had my first outgoing box go missing after being scanned in PA a few weeks ago. The box was just going through PA on it's way to OH. I've heard about problems in PA and VT for a while, but this is the first time I've had an issue.

 

If I ship to/from PA, Ideally I'd like it to be for a small trade, and I'd like to send my box via USPS. Just personal opinion from everything I've read.

 

Isn’t the cardinal rule of beer trading to never use USPS?

Because it only take one curious person to wonder what is making that noise. Is it dangerous? Is it illegal?

 

It used to be.

From all the stories I have read, USPS often delivers even after packages break, without any problems. While UPS and FedEx either won't, or will on occasion in some areas.

I've yet to hear of a person get in trouble for USPS, while I have heard of many people having issues with UPS and Fedex.

 

This is just not the case. Twice I have had USPS boxes delivered to me soaked and rewrapped, with a note saying sorry they broke something. The box smelled like beer, but they didn’t care at all.

3 times boxes coming to me from fedex have had a break and all 3 times fedex says they destroyed the box for having beer.

Technically it’s illegal to use usps to send beer, but who is going to enforce this. The post office would have to refer it to law enforcement in your area and they would have to charge you? No one is doing that to stop a guy sending a buddy a few beers.
Now if your selling for huge profits maybe? I doubt it though.

 

It’s just the prudent thing to do, because I want my shipment to make it without issue. I don’t want to answer questions about the slowshing sounds. It has nothing to do with living in PA, which seems to be way overblown.

 

That’s an awful lot of breaks. I’ve receiced two broken shipments in ~100... and one really poorly packed price of glassware once. One was delivered broken via UPS, one was confiscated by fedex.