Questions Regarding Liquid Noises

Plus even with your employee discount shipping FedEx is probably cheaper

 

I always give my boxes the shake test before I ship out. I've never heard any sloshing. And I've never had any issues with UPS and sloshing. I guess I just pack the shit out of my boxes.

Unfortunately, I get asked what I'm shipping more times than not. I usually just tell them olive oil or jars of preserves. I haven't had any problems yet. However, I recently created an account with UPS so I can just print my own labels and drop off my boxes and hopefully avoid the whole issue all together.

 

It's never been a problem for me. In the 10ish times I've sent out a box, no one has ever bothered to ask what's in the slightly sloshy box, and no box has ever been stopped. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

I just tell them I am shipping BBQ supplys when they ask. I have had in-depth conversations about marinades and sauces with the workers there. It is quite funny.

 

....my uncle owns a maple syrup conglomerate....yea...

 

I tell them I'm shipping snowglobes. They don't want to ask any more questions to the weirdo snowglobe enthusiast

 

I generally don't use the styrofoam bottle shippers. I've found wrapping each bottle in bubble wrap and placing them in a box full of styrofoam peanuts works great. Any sound made from the styrofoam peanuts is normal, doesn't raise suspicion, is present in a bunch of the packages they ship, and has the added bonus of covering up the sound from sloshing. In fact, I have shaken packages I've packed, and I haven't heard any sloshing sounds at all.

 

From what I've heard, people ship liquids all of the time. Collectible Coke bottles, etc. If you want to draw suspicion to your package, do one of the following:

1) Pack your bottles improperly so they break. Guaranteed to get opened.

2) Do something idiotic to mask the sound to the extent that the UPS/FedEx person thinks something's broken. Guaranteed to be opened.

From everything I've heard shipping liquids is commonplace. Only if 1) or 2) is met, will a courier service bother themselves with opening a "sloshing liquid" package.

 

Rempo is so right..me being a in the biz we hear all sorts of sounds in boxs..some do get excited and become a box **** and hand it over to management or security..as long as the box is package well no leaks or smells coming from the box it should be ok..happing shipping..dont forget to tip your delivery man..

 

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im a DylanHead to..

 

I'm closing in on about 100 trades. Never had any issues with this and I've sent out lots of "sloshing" packages. To further comfort you, I had a single beer break on four occasions (two were noob mistakes, one was a huge ass box that I overpacked, and one still mystifies me) and three of those times I had the remaining contents shipped back to me.

 

I've had a couple of boxes that create quite the sloshing (and I package the best I can) and not one has sparked any issues. The one time I had an issue was when I brought in a box and the guy asked me to wait a sec while he turned it upside down and then right side up again. After hearing no noise this time, he said we were good to go. The week before was a noisy, sloshing box and I think he remembered me as it was dropped off on the previous Sunday. I haven't gone back to that store since, as I don't want dude getting excited again. The other stores I've dropped off at are never nosy. They will remain my go-to stores.

 

My wife & I had a "mom & pop balsamic vinegar business" for a while. I was taking my boxes to a Pak Mail location, where the employees were friendly, but a bit nosey. I put a label on my first box for our "artisanal balsamic vinegars & oils" business. The lady who owns the Pak Mail location said she loves balsamic vinegar, and asked if we had a catalog, a website, and how she could buy some. I told her it was actually my wife's business, that I was just the delivery guy, and that I'd need to get back to her with that info. After I'd visited the store to make 20+ additional shipments (without running into her, and without any problems), she suddenly started asking again, and insisted that I bring a business card in the next time. That's when I set up a FedEx account. Haven't been back to Pak Mail since, do not get asked questions at FedEx, and FedEx is actually quite a bit cheaper... Should have been going w/ FedEx all along.

Regarding the noise, I just try to ship my bottles upright as much as possible.

 

I usually throw a box of mac and cheese in the box, on top. I forgot to lately, but it is a practice I'll resume when I send out my next box. Mac and cheese is cheap, it rattles pretty well, it won't be mistaken for broken glass, and when the guy opens the box .. hey, mac and cheese!

 

At this point in your story, I was hoping that you and your wife actually started up an "artisanal balsamic vinegars & oils" business....

 

Well, I have to admit-- at that point, it did cross my mind to re-label a crappy store-brand bottle of vinegar and have some fun w/ the situation... I would have been in trouble, though, if she would have wound up liking it.

 

I'm always putting food in as extras. There is a place around here that does amazing stone-ground mustard. It's local, and only available within a few miles of my area. It's always a nice little surprise for people(and even if they don't like mustard, a friend or family member always does)