Question about the postal service...

Can I send alcoholic drinks through the United States Postal Service across state lines? Legally, that is.

We have a friend in Palm Beach, FL, and we were thinking about sending him a birthday gift now in January of a good 1 gallon bottle of Don Q rum or something like that.

Now, I am assuming that it would be legal to just grab that bottle, with a lot of bubble wrap and some foam, put it in a box and mail it U.S. Priority Mail up to Florida... but I ain't too sure... I already have seen how zealous the FAA is of taking that same bottle of rum with you in an airplane to the states. I honestly would not be surprised if they didn't allow it.

It would be as a gift, no commercial thing, or such. Does anyone know wether it can be done or it can't be done? And if it can't be done, can it be done through a private carrier (UPS, FedEx, etc.)?

i doubt it. you can't even send across state lines can you??

I am pretty sure that's a no-no.

Order through a website, they will know the laws in the area you wish to send it. Some parts of the US prohibit the sale or possesion of anything with alcohol in it.

Originally Posted by annabelle33

i doubt it. you can't even send across state lines can you??

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Yes, I can. Since Puerto Rico is a U.S. Territory, it is treated by the U.S. Postal Service as a state of the union. Any parcel coming out of the island, and into any other state or territory in the United States is essentially domestic mail, which will suffer all the same stuff as if we had sent it from Hawaii (Well, we can't send it to the continental U.S. in a truck can we, we have to put it in an airplane. ).

I started calling the toll free numbers of just about everyone I knew sent packages from Puerto Rico.

FedEx was interesting: They told me that they will ship it to any state in the union and to the U.S. Virgin Islands, only if I present a license issued by the Puerto Rican government authorizing me to sell alcoholic drinks.

UPS was similar: They asked me to what state I would be shipping it and from what state I would be shipping it. The instant I said Puerto Rico, they said they could not. They tell me, that depending on what state or territory we are talking about they can send it, as in some states they can, in others they cannot. In Puerto Rico, it would be illegal for them to mail it out of the Territory just like that (I guess its the same law that asked FedEx to see a license).

The U.S. Postal Service was the funniest one of all. They were downright hilarious. They said that they don't allow that, but for the only reason in all of planet Earth that they don't allow it... not because of legal implications and legal wrangling... but because alcohol is flammable. If it wasn't they are afraid the thing will catch fire, they would be by now weighting it to see how much postage is needed.

I am yet to call DHL, but I would be expecting to receive the same answer as the other private carriers.

Shipping alcohol is a state law, I believe. I know some places are trying to make it illegal federally to ship alcohol because there is a lot of money being made by wineries in the states where it is legal to ship out of, while wineries in other states cannot ship.

Basically, if two places already told you that you can't ship from PR...guess what? You can't ship from PR.

That it is flammable isn't as hilarious as you make it seem. Suppose you are shipping a high alcohol content spirit, and the bottle breaks. When it breaks, it getting all over all of the mail that is PAPER! One spark and you could have an airplane crashed, or at least thousands of pieces of mail destroyed. The retail places I'm sure have a lot of regulations on how they are to ship spirits, as well as liability and hazmat insurance.

Originally Posted by valanhb

That it is flammable isn't as hilarious as you make it seem. Suppose you are shipping a high alcohol content spirit, and the bottle breaks. When it breaks, it getting all over all of the mail that is PAPER! One spark and you could have an airplane crashed, or at least thousands of pieces of mail destroyed. The retail places I'm sure have a lot of regulations on how they are to ship spirits, as well as liability and hazmat insurance.

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I agree - its not funny - and when a plane crashes - guess what? People die!

Originally Posted by valanhb

Shipping alcohol is a state law, I believe. I know some places are trying to make it illegal federally to ship alcohol because there is a lot of money being made by wineries in the states where it is legal to ship out of, while wineries in other states cannot ship.

Basically, if two places already told you that you can't ship from PR...guess what? You can't ship from PR.

That it is flammable isn't as hilarious as you make it seem. Suppose you are shipping a high alcohol content spirit, and the bottle breaks. When it breaks, it getting all over all of the mail that is PAPER! One spark and you could have an airplane crashed, or at least thousands of pieces of mail destroyed. The retail places I'm sure have a lot of regulations on how they are to ship spirits, as well as liability and hazmat insurance.

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I think, it is a state law. If the UPS guys could tell me that it all depends on what state I am in, and the instant I said PR they almost hanged up on me, then it is a state issue. In Puerto Rico they might have refused to raise the drinking age and nobody enforce it as long as you don't get drunk, but when it comes to internal revenue and licenses, and safety stuff, they try to take it seriously.

I know it isn't too hilarious. I have seen before rum catch on fire... just that I contacted the USPS thinking "Hey, they are federal, they probably won't give a nickel of what state law says!" and in the middle of all alcohol regulations, moral bible thumping and such, I had thought out just every reason why they might want to not allow it being shipped outside of PR (all the way to the fact that the PR drinking age is lower than the continental drinking age)... except the flammable stuff. I'm such a social drinker I usually have a hard time thinking up any reason why it could be hazardous.

hmm looks like youre going to have to find another pressie!
i posted alcohol from here to england and it got there ok?
But someone stole my parcel in this apparment so tomorrow i will be rinign everyones door bells

I would definitely not recommend shipping alcohol to the states. Find another present that is less troublesome for you. I don't think the poster was laughing at the fact that alcohol is flammable but at the fact that is the only reason it isn't allowed. That the post office wasn't concerned about any other reasons.