F@#$ers opened my package and saw it was beer because the woman saw me wearing my YHB shirt and asked me what was inside. I told her “glass ware and promotional items”. I didn’t find out until a week later when my packages (one of them was for extremely important promotional piece) didn’t show up.
Make sure you have a story ready if you are shipping UPS.
That sucks…good thing your weren’t wearing your “Gun don’t kill people…” shirt.
Luckily, I can drop my boxes at work and get them picked up with all the other stuff we send out UPS.
Could of been an x-ray. People in the stores really shouldn’t care.
Did you get the box back?
Not yet. I kinda cussed at the snarky idiot on the phone 'cause I was so pissed off. I’ll go get it tomorrow.
next time it’s “100% Nascent Vinegar”. very expensive, very rare, and delicate. Delicious by the pint.
I believe you can print a label at home and leave at your door for pickup. Any weight variance will simply get charged to you when it ships.
+1 to have an account and print beforehand. I drop off with a wave and a “have a great day!”
also, “Gifts” is my standard answer but I haven’t had to say it in a long time.
and finally, for anyone running a homebrew competition, I prefer putting things on the label that are less overt than “beer competition”… ya know?
Another good tip is to not say anything about Brewing Competitions but rather a name of one of the judges or people running the event so they don’t get the hint from the name of the organization. just say its for a friend, always works
Is it state/ federal law that beer can’t be shipped or UPS policy? If its the former it seems the anger is misdirected.
UPS policy
It could violate laws in some states, which is why I think the companies try to avoid it.
I don’t see how me shipping to you should be an issue. I do know that some states prohibit out-of-state retail shipments, but I think that’s a different animal.
Taxes. States want their cut. I know with Texas, the max amount is 288 ounces of beer in a 30 day period.
This is pure SWAG on my part but I’d guess the limitation on shipping alcohol is born (at least partially) from the following topics:
many others I’m sure.
Bare minimum an insurance company somewhere has stated that they will not cover damages caused by alcohol and the ban offers at least some cover if something happens.
It all seems kind of dumb but we live a community that is not very comfortable with our social norms. Prohibition proved you can’t stop the flow of booze in this country but the government and corporations still try to control the people with odd ball rules and, of course, taxes.
Paul
You can’t tax gifts. I can ship just about anything anywhere and there’s no issue with respect to taxes.
I’ll buy the insurance argument that Slowbrew threw out there, though.
False, but there is an annual exclusion amount for gifts.
Also, when it comes to sins, normal rules don’t apply.
Just to assess blame where blame is due - this is a UPS Store. Which, FTR - I’ll never go in one again. The woman was very quick (and, coincidentally correct) to jump to conclusions on what was in my package by examining my attire and then asking questions. She went a little “over the top police woman” on the gig. She wanted to find a reason to open and not ship my package.
To make matters worse, the Prick (with a capitol P) on the phone when I tried to ascertain what became of my property was all too gleeful when he found out they didn’t ship because “It contained alcohol” (complete with a snarky little chuckle.) Guy was a REAL ass hole. And, quite frankly, I told him so. Which I’m not completely proud of. Just sayin’.
OK, I’ll give you that. But that doesn’t explain any different treatment of alcohol for shipping reasons.
Why can’t we make booze (legally)? Why can’t we buy pot at a corner store (outside of Colorado and Washington)? Why is Jack Daniels made in a county where it can’t be sold. Why can’t I buy booze on Sunday only until 9:00pm on other days, and at a special store. Because nobody wants to let us have a good time. And if they do let us, they will be sure to take their cut.
Shipping companies would gladly accept our shipments if it was easily done. Liquids weigh a lot and therefor carry a hefty charge especially over the counter rates. But for whatever multitude of reasons, it’s too much of a PIA and they just put out a blanket “no” policy.