Just got this from UPS:
“This package contains alcohol, and we are unable to deliver or return it to the sender. We’ll contact the sender.”
Anyone have this happen to them? What winds up happening? They just return it to the sender and that’s it?
1 Like
Call and re-route it to a pickup location.
I dont think this was an authorized alcohol shipper???
Correct - my friend sent me some wine.
So then - they actually followed the rules? Egads . . . 
You do know that it’s not ‘legal’ to ship alcohol without a license right? But it is legal to ship olive oil 
Cheers
1 Like
I am aware… I have shipped a bunch of “olive oil”… never had a problem…
2 Likes
Once back in the early 90s, I shipped “yeast in a liquid medium” which was technically true and I didn’t have any issues.
2 Likes
As long as it was a hefeweizen.
Home brew
1 Like
UPDATE: UPS told me that they had DESTROYED THE PACKAGE.
6 Likes
Ask for a proof/picture!! Some staff member(s) is having a merry Christmas…
Yep that’s the risk you take when not shipping legally. Personally I always use FedEx because they seem to look the other way more effectively.
2 Likes
I haven’t shipped wine like this often, but when I have I always used bankers boxes, and made sure that what was visible through the hand-holes on the side were manila envelopes. If you ship in a shipper, it takes no imagination for them to catch you out. It would take an especially industrious UPS employee to catch you in a less obvious container (or one using an xray machine I suppose)
1 Like
Last week I ordered fresh jumbo Stone Crabs from George’s in Florida for overnight delivery to LA. UPS had a fire at its facility in KY and the crabs were delayed a day. ALL of the crabs George’s shipped that day were delayed.
Last Friday, I refused delivery of the late and spoiled crabs, as George’s refused to cancel delivery with UPS (I couldn’t do so as the sender).
Yesterday, I received a notice from UPS that the crabs were on their way back to George’s, a full week after I refused delivery. Should be interesting if/when someone opens the box containing weak+ old and spoiled crab claws.
2 Likes
And, no squeaky styrofoam!
1 Like
Bubble wrap around the bottles and then newspaper to fill the box tight.
I have totally given up on UPS for any wine deliveries. They are not consistent from store to store. Fedex is a much better way to go.
3 Likes
Inthe early 2000’s UPS in Maryland did not have the necessary license to transport alcohol. A bunch of us used UPS in Martinsburg, WV as a destination. It was used by dozens of people all over the East Coast. If the package passed through the Hagerstown, MD UPS depot on the way to WV and they discovered it was wine they destroyed it per the law at the time.
They told me I could go get it at the depot but the person in charge of alcohol regulation in MD at the time was a real cretin and I half expected to be arrested if I did. He used to monitor wine message boards for information.
Didn’t want to see how the crabs paired with some smoke-tainted wine?