Greetings all,
I am in the process of preparing my NHC entry for Philly but UPS doesn’t recognize the address. When you try to verify it through USPS (Not actually shipping through USPS) it doesn’t recognize the address for Keystone either.
Anyone else have this issue, or have any suggestions?
I kinda remember this happening to me before with Keystone’s address. I’m pretty sure you can just ignore the the recognition of the address part and proceed along as-is. Just make sure it is going to 435 Doylestown Rd, Montgomeryville, PA 18936.
If you still aren’t comfortable with that, then contact the competition official for clarification. I’m just going to ship mine to the above address, if that’s any consolation.
Thanks for the info. That’s pretty much what I’m doing as well. Just gonna go with it. It’s funny that according to Google, the fire station next door has the same address. I think as long as it gets to the correct zip code, they should know the area.
Just got back from UPS where they said: “as of last Friday we will not accept sealed packages.” The lady said I have to open your package up and verify the contents. Then she saw the beer bottles and declined to ship the package.
I’m sure this is a result of the Austin bombings.
This was at a major ups hub, not a ups store. Also, I’m not sure what Fedex is doing, or how ups handles packages they pick up from your house.
I’m going to drive my entries to Keystone. However, If this becomes an industry wide practice, then I’m not sure how shipping entries to the final round is going to work.
I didn’t have any problems shipping to Chicago, but I went to a UPS store. I think you need to wait for the least motivated employee. The guy I talked to was kind of annoyed I interrupted his texting. Or maybe he was writing a novel on his phone?
I ended up simply over riding the verification of address on ups website. Everything arrived just fine. I think you are correct that some UPS employees are less than Stellar in the performance of their duties. Lucky for me I have a wife who is somewhat of a shipping genius. All I know how to do is Brew. I’m definitely a unitasker.
That’s crazy! I can’t imaging the logistical bottlenecking nightmare that UPS would endure if they had to open every package that they ship. I shipped UPS on Monday, and had no problems at my local hub. Wonder if it’s a temporary or local thing that they are doing, as you said, due to the recent issues. Hope so anyway.
I had a scare at the fed ex store. The guy shakes the package and says “Is this liquid?” I told him, yes it was soda. He had to check with the manager. He came back and asks if he can open it. So he opens it, sees that it’s packed very tightly and never saw the labeled beer bottles.
If they ask, I say “it’s glassware that I’m shipping back to the seller”. They don’t need to know it’s not necessarily the original seller. Honestly though, your best bet is to create a label online, tape it to the box and take it to a hub. They almost never ask what’s in the box… at least they haven’t for the past several years… The difference might be that I have an account with UPS, even though I pay as I go.
I have an idea. Why doesn’t the AHA use their lobbying money to have the USPS and state regulations modified to allow shipping comp entries? Or work with the major carriers to negotiate a deal and develop sturdy leak resistant packaging. Seems like a better way to go then to continue being dishonest.
Yeah I was kinda dumbfounded by it. They said that from now on bring your package to them open, and let them seal it. However, this doesn’t work for us because it’s illegal to ship alcohol without a license. Which got me thinking (uh-oh…), if the legality of shipping is what makes shipping entries so sketchy, why don’t we (AHA) get a lobbying effort going to end the shipping ban. I understand why the law is in place, but we are not the target of it. We could propose a work around like the temporary liquor licenses that have been necessary for NHC’s. Basically ask for a legal way (like a temporary license code) to ship entries from verified entrants, only to the drop off locations, and only within the shipping window. This would take the illegality away, which is a problem that should be addressed anyway.
Johnny Mo if you see this, I’d love to know your thoughts, and offer my help in any way possible.
Totally agree, great idea. At the very least, it could be a minimal license assigned to a homebrew club that allows you to ship under their banner to another homebrew club or licensed entity. Now… how to do it. ugh… I predict that this will be an issue in the future as the sheer number of homebrew competitions seems to be skyrocketing. We seem to be in the ascendancy of great things…
FedEx or UPS account
pre-printed and pre-attached label
at my usual dropoff spot they just smile and say thank you when I drop it on the counter and tell them to have a nice week. They like that they have to do less work. Occasionally I get a “need a receipt?” so I preface with “I’m all set” at this point.
at an alternate spot across town they like to ask “what are you shipping?” “Gifts. Thanks, have a good day.”
I feel like some people are going in there looking guilty, and it shows. ;D
It was pre printed and pre attached. I’ve never had issues shipping bottles before. She said it just started this week, so past shipping successes don’t really matter.
I’m sure it wasn’t that I looked guilty, she said this to me before I said a word to her.