Just simply a big fat no no?? Forgive me. I'm new to shipping beer. Only one trade so far but it was with the tour guide at CCB. Old friend of mine.
BIG FAT NO! (Sorry, I couldn't resist ) It is illegal to send alcohol via the USPS. Always use UPS or FedEx. If they discover you're shipping beer, they'll probably just take (and enjoy) it.
Only use usps for international, Alaska and Hawaii shipments every other else use a private carrier. Its not to say that you can use Usps but to be honest their not to particularly carful with your package.
Dude....I work inside at UPS. You want to see abuse??? LOL Insane what I see now and again. I asked because I set up a label with FedEx and get a price, then I enter CC info and it jumps a buck or so, then my email notification tells me the charge went through and it's like 3 bucks higher than first viewed price. I hate them all! LOL shipping my niece DirtWolf 4 pack and she's sending me 6 Pliny. I want to try the RR sours, but the prices are a turn off. And no, UPS does not give us discounts on shipping.
Alaska and Hawaii because using Fedex/ups to those states is like shipping internationally, the prices can get steep so Usps is the more economical way to go. Chances of getting caught depend on how well you pack but that goes for both usps and private carrier. Again I'm not advocating usps since they're not to careful.
Pfft, I do it often on smaller trading partners when I'm only shipping out, like two or three bottles. The flat rate boxes save you a solid five bucks or so if you pack them in right. With having said that, it's like riding dirty. Nothing saying it's completely wrong - shit, shipping with UPS or Fedex is against company policy if you don't have a license to ship, so it's really a question of where you draw the line of following the letter of the guide, if you will. Is there a bigger risk in getting caught or busted? I don't think so. UPS has busted up more of my bottles than USPS will ever dream to.
Wasn't USPS considering to start to shipping alcohol since their business is suffering? Not sure the progress of that. IMO shipping through the USPS is fine. Especially when shipping "homemade pickles" Only advice is let them know there is liquid as it's a red flag if they hear it and you didn't disclose it.
I've never answered YES to them asking if it was liquid, fragile or perishable. I mean, people send snack treats all the time, but what do they actually say if you say yes to it being liquid? Either way, those flat rate boxes, man. great stuff.
I'm perfectly happy with UPS, but I also ship a lot better now than I did with my first trades too. Now I pack for a 10 foot fall and a few well placed kicks across the parking lot. I truly believe other than getting run over by the truck even rough handling wouldn't put that box in jeopardy. UPS= Fed Ex, pack it well and it doesn't matter, no to USPS.
I never ship USPS but have received boxes coming in that route. Still, I would always suggest using FedEx (my preference) or UPS for the reason already stated above.
I complete my FedEx order online and print the label at home. I don't recall having to list or identify contents.
I always ship Fedex (with an account to save a little money) because it's closer to home & the packages that I have received USPS always look like they've been beaten to hell & back.
