Beer Shipping question

I live in PA and you are not aloud by law to purchase beer online and have it shipped. I am just curious if the same goes for trading by mail? Anyone know. I am thinking these laws are only for purchasing.

I think UPS/FedEx will not allow shipment of beer. Of course, that doesn't stop most people. I'm not sure about USPS though.

USPS doesn't allow it. Fedex or ups shouldn't be a problem.

If FEDEX/UPS ask you what is in the box, tell them it's "Live Yeast Samples".

I will personally drive it to and from wherever you're looking to ship it, as long as I can stop at my place and drop it off in my fridge first.

I think if shipped by usps it is breaking the law. Fedex and ups wont ship alcohol but if caught nothing happens. I send beer via ups all the time. I just say its glassware and they ship it no problem.

arnoldk2 said:

I think if shipped by usps it is breaking the law. Fedex and ups wont ship alcohol but if caught nothing happens. I send beer via ups all the time. I just say its glassware and they ship it no problem.

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Arnold is correct. Shipping alcohol via USPS is a federal offense, do not use them.

It is against policy for UPS or Fed Ex to ship alcohol, however they do not seem to try very hard to find out.

Use UPS or Fed Ex. If asked what it is then lie.

TheMan said:

Use UPS or Fed Ex. If asked what it is then lie.

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It's not much of a lie to call it a yeast culture!

I figure it's best to steer clear of describing it as anything that could be associated with beer/alcohol. Hot Sauce works.

TheMan said:

Arnold is correct. Shipping alcohol via USPS is a federal offense, do not use them.

It is against policy for UPS or Fed Ex to ship alcohol, however they do not seem to try very hard to find out.

Use UPS or Fed Ex. If asked what it is then lie.

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Funny...

I'm part of 2 "wine clubs" out in California. they make 2 shipments a year and auto-charge my credit card. they box them up, and mail them all over the US. some states are more difficult than others according to the winery owners, and are forced to ship to a distributor in a state, and the customer then has to go to said distributor and pick it up, but pretty much they ship to all 50 states.

legally.

only stipulation is that when the fed/ex guy delivers the package, he makes me sign saying that I'm 21 years old.


I've shipped a couple bottles of my home brew across the country too. just put the bottles in zip lock bags, then fill the boxes with packing peanuts. never had a problem shipping...although I suppose technically I should have had to declare what was in the package, but nobody ever asked, and I never told.

the way I see it, is if I'm shipping home brew alcohol for free to a buddy, that's the same as if I give it to him for free in person. I'm not charging for it, so it's not subject to liquor laws/taxes. when I pay for wine from the wine clubs, they are making a profit on it, and must pay the appropriate taxes to the state that it is being delivered to.

I just shipped a bottle to Maryland. Never thought it might be illegal (based on my past teenage life when I never realy cared if anything was illegal ) I think the bigger issue is cost. I had to pay $7.90 to ship one bottle. Since it was a special occasion, I paid. But that's the last time I'll do that. UPS or FedEx might be cheaper, but still ...

Shipping ups or fedex is not cheaper. I shipped 3 bottles via ups and it cost me $17 to do so.