Beer Shipping Questions

@chipawayboy snarked it and @Mothergoose03 nailed it. Just pack it well.

 

I only hesitate to ship in the extreme cold, heat no. If you pack it well it's incredibly well insulated. I can't even imagine the shipping cost to SD overnight. Is it beer or gold? Not a chance, ground is more than adequate. The only lost beer I've sent has been in the winter into Chicago.

 

I wouldn't worry about keeping it cold. Also, USPS flat rate gets it there in 2 days for a lot less money if it is a small amount of beer. I use it all the time for west coast shipping.

 

Air conditioned facilities. Lol. Where have you been? Itll likely sit at the philly facility from 5pm to say 9pm. Then onto Memphis and then onto Sd. It'll likely reach SD early am and then go through processing. At best 18 hours un refrigerated with cooler conditions in the plane. So it'll vary quite a bit over just a one day period.

I too have never worried about shipping temperatures and this is with ground in May from here to NY. 6 days total in varying degrees and never a complaint about the beers quality dropping off.

 

If you really want to get picky with your shipping temperatures, I'd pick up a Styrofoam wine shipper, place your beers in each slot (rolled in bubble wrap), and then put an ice pack at the top (cold air sinks). Just make sure to wrap each bottle/can, bubble wrap, and ice packet in a plastic shopping bag or trash bag to prevent leakage. It's important to prevent any breakage leaks, but in this instance, it'll also keep run-off or condensate from the ice bag from seeping out of the box.

That seems a little hardcore, but considering how many folks use wine shippers, it'd really just be another couple bucks per beer for a few more hours of temperature regulation. If it's a regular trading partner, you could exchange the cold packs in future trades.

Otherwise, I'd say don't worry about it. I just avoid shipping when the box can sit over the weekend, and extreme temperature one way or another.

Cheers. Enjoy the trading journey.

 

He said it's going next day , so if it's packed right it's also well insulated. So there's no worries there at all. I give some thought to hot weather, but I opt for smaller trades or bigger boxes, dense foam is a nice insulator. Depends where the west coast is 7 days till delivery. I've never had a summer ship go bad and ive has 2-3x the trades listed. Cold weather is a different animal though, if it's under 25 I might not ship.

 

What exactly are you sending? If youre sending a box full of crazy whales, it might be worth trying to keep the temperature stable. If you're just sending a standard beer trade, I wouldnt bother.

Some tips:
1) Coordinate with the other end of your trade. Make sure you have tracking and that they are ready to grab the box when it arrives, and not let it sit on their porch for 3 days because they are on vacation and didnt realize you already shipped.
2) Avoid trading during the hotter parts or the summer and the colder parts of the winter when beer could potentially freeze outside.
3) Worry more about packing it well. The temperature of the beer doesnt matter all that much if it arrives dripping out of the sides of the box from a broken bottle.

Question for everyone else: Has anyone sent a trade with dry ice or lots of ice packs? I worry that it would call a lot of unwanted attention to a package if it was strangely chilly to anyone handling it.

 

8 cans fits perfectly in a USPS Medium Priority mail box. For $13 it will arrive in 2 or 3 days. You just need a little bit of bubble wrap to keep everything from bouncing around.

 

The more you ship, the less of an impact, financially.

If I ship to NY, even just two cans, its something like $18 GROUND. If I ramp it up to say 20 cans, its really no more than $30-$35.

Scaling is essential in trades. Its the only way I find value in doing such a thing.

OP, I'd send more than 8 but thats just me

 

I always use FedEx Ground and have had no issues. I've received beer from all three, also with no issues. I'll probably try the eight cans in a medium USPS box at some point. That sounds cheap and easy.

 

Overnight FedEx is going to be around $75-$100 depending on weight and the size of the box. I have shipped frogs and corals overnight for years and the cost is enormous for FedEx overnight.

Also isn't illegal to use USPS shipping for alcohol? If so that's a huge risk....Better to use ground shipping UPS or Fedex...

 

One other suggestion to avoid sitting in inclement weather at the recipient's location...

Just ship to their nearest FedEx or UPS store with their name and phone # included in the store's address. The store will hold it for them provided they pick it up in a timely fashion.

 

I have had a couple damaged shipments via FedEx ground, and I have my own account setup so I can create my own shipments and drop off at a FedEx spot to have shipped. I have shipped man boxes, but one time I thought I was out the $100 as I got the dreaded damaged delivery notice and thought for sure I had to eat the cost of beer but I got a claim check a couple weeks later...guess I was lucky. I ship all the time and my advice is but the wine shipper kit from U-Haul and I recommend the 6 bottle shipper it gives you the most bang for your buck.

 

I expect ground shipped packages to occasionally get rough treatment which is why I bubble wrap each can or bottle, double box and line each of those with a tightly bound garbage bag in case of leaks, then add as much padding needed (little twisted donuts of plastic grocery bags work well) to fill any remaining space in the large shipping box.

 

It's illegal shipping alcohol using any of these services. It's why I ship homemade pickles.

 

The only reason I dont like using USPS is I find there tracking dates are always very optimistic and rarely accurate. The Priority 2 day mail isn't a guaranteed 2 day mail but best case. Priority express (bigger cost) has guaranteed delivery.

 

your typical beer trader is shipping cans and /or a mix of cans and bottles -- the uhaul package is great but how often does the typical trader need that kind of capacity? Love this thread btw -- so glad it's back.