Buying Beer Online

I... have bought beer online. You're not going to save much on shipping between sites. Some are better than others. Some have strange limits (i.e. only multiples of 6 bottles/cans per order). Either way, you're still paying to ship a fragile, heavy item (water is about 3/4 pounds per 12 fluid ounces), so not much room to save on shipping.

 

i've purchased beer online from a place in MN. great selection, stuff was always fresh and prices were good. shipping is the big issue by far

i usually get 2 day shipping (especially in the summer) and it's at or above $100 in shipping alone. with that being said, i don't buy online often but when i do i get a fair amount so i'm ok spending $100 on shipping

 

You may just have problems finding a place that ships to PA. For a very long time it has been illegal in PA for us to have beer shipped into PA without state taxes having been paid on it. While recent changes in State law may have changed things a bit for wine shippers, I think that it still involves someone paying state taxes. I don't think that the PA law on beer has been changed when it comes to shipping beer into PA. You might want to check.

 

Shipping beer is illegal in general. I dont know how sites get away with it.

In general though, even if you buy just 2 bombers, shipping may be $30. Ramping up to say 12 bottles, shipping may only get near $50. So more is always better on a shipping front IMHO

 

They can ship to all states except South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, New Hampshire, Utah, and Massachusetts. Please cite the federal law or regulation that prohibits beer sales in general.

 

I am under the impression that my state needs a distributor or a valid liquor license seller/receiver which also require a valid state ID. My state barely allows discounted beer, let alone outside states to ship to third parties. That has never made sense to me.

I feel these websites are finding the states that are least strict and just making bank, compared to the more complicated states. But in general, it is all ILLEGAL from my understating.

My state is so damn strict in so many regards, I do not see how a outside company is allowed to ship beer to a house. Maybe I'm whistle blowing here. but its total crap in general.


I get the whole USPS = federal = a real crime vs. fedex& ups = against policy.

Trades w/o $$ being involved is also a whole other legal issue, which I have taken part in, along with thousands of other traders. Its just that these Tobacco and Alcohol branches exist for a reason and so many take advantage. I dont like the up charges these websites choose to charge. I have never personally ratted them out. But I do show my disdain for them, however tempting I am in wanting so many of those beers

Wine is a whole different beast (althought I dont agree that it should be). So maybe im just ratting out my fellow BAs

 

Shipping beer without a license is illegal.

Online shops can get a license through FedEx or UPS to ship to customers. Each box includes an identifying sticker that shows its contents. They also require an adult signature to get the package.

Now there are still laws about who can ship where, but in general, online shops can ship most places thanks to their license.

 

It's unclear if online beer dealers have legal ground to ship to every state they do, or whether they ship to states unless specific laws exist or until they are contacted by the state. I got excited for about an hour once when I found online beer sellers, until I found that South Dakota specifically prohibits it. I imagine distributors in smaller states fearing it impacting business and pushing for legislation.

 

Final note:

What you feel and the reality are different. State laws also come in to play when selling beer across state lines. For example, PA law prohibits someone living in PA from having alcoholic beverages in their possession if tha PA taxes have not been paid. So if I go beer shopping over in NJ, their taxes get paid. But as soon as I drive back in to PA with that beer, no PA taxes have been paid and I'm in violation of PA state law. The same state law applies if I accept delivery on beer purchased by mail from another state and PA taxes have not been paid. Furthermore there is no way in PA for me to arrange to legally pay those state taxes myself.

The laws can vary from state to state. So effectively there are are 52 different sets of laws in the US. Selling or receiving alcohol sold across state lines require compliance with both the federal laws and the laws of the two states involved in that sale.

The trading activity involves no money changing hands and so falls under different sets of laws. Thus it is currently illegal to ship using the USPS. In addition it is a violation of company police for both FedEx and UPS to allow shipping of alcoholic beverages by private citizens using their services. This is why the beer trader sending their package through that service has to lie to the shipper or possibly not be allowed to ship in the first place if they do not lie. That is also why the contents of the package may be confiscated by the shipper if they find the trader has lied to them about the contents of the package. But in PA it would still be illegal for me to accept delivery on those beers when no PA taxes have been paid.

 

This is all true. I order online 3 or 4 times a year when I just have to have Deschutes, Odell, Great Lakes, New Holland, Alesmith, and on and on. It costs about $30 S&H a mixed case, about $1.25 a beer, no sales tax, 3 day FedEx delivery. I stay away from the hot months, and order on the weekends for Monday shipment and Thursday delivery. The boxes have stickers as noted, and someone needs to be home to scribble on the iPad. I have never had a problem with freshness or damage. My only real problem is deciding what to suck up first. I will add that the folks I buy from, when requested, will check for package dates before shipping. Nice. Cheers!

 

If they also sell prepared food for on site consumption and have the required seating to also allow for on-premises consumption. But you must use a separate register fo purchase alcohol than you can use to pay for groceries. So a few other stores besides Weis are now selling beer and wine as well. Even a few service stations in PA are now also being allowed to purchase an unused license if they qualify.

 

Craftshack will ship to pa fwiw

 

Illegal sounds ominous, like the Corelone family is involved and the beer will be delivered in an unmarked van driven by a guy named 'Big Tony'.

I prefer to say it's simply a violation of laws currently in place in every State. It all goes back to the deal brokered by politicians to end Prohibition whereby power devolved to the States to make their own liquor laws and all of them have. Moral issues aside the one thing in common with these laws is the desire to collect taxes. In short, money.

In our State all alcohol beverages pass first through the Alcohol Beverage Control Board who collect a sales tax when beer is sent from their warehouse out to distributors, another sales tax when distributors send it to the retailer and more sales taxes are charged when the retailer sells it to me. This tax revenue is shared by State, County and local authorities and none of them are willing to let me receive an untaxed 12 pack from an out of State source.

It would seem that enabling legislation could be passed allowing online sellers to simply collect individual State sales tax but in politics nothing is simple because all politics is local. Collecting a State tax would only flow money to the State and no politician is willing to go back home and tell a group of businessmen he just voted for a bill that would cut into their local sales tax revenue.

 

Shipping and handling are always ovenwhelming its part of the deal. You'd better want test beer badly and order enough to justify the shipping costs.

And a bigger problem is that Pa is not a ship to state, it's illegeal to ship in beer, no retailer will risk his license to do so.

 

It's not illegal, the places that ship pay for a permit and pay taxes. Certain states do not allow shipment of beer, PA is one of those. They do allow wine shipments, my dad belongs to a wine club.

 

I have tried at least 5 different online options for beer and none of them will ship to me in upstate NY.