How To Pack Liquids For Shipping
Alcoholic beverages often come in glass bottles which are significantly more delicate than their plastic counterparts. For this reason, you need to be especially careful when you are shipping glass wine bottles, beer bottles, or liquor bottles, or shipping liquids in other delicate containers.
To safely ship alcoholic beverages, you should use strong cardboard boxes that have trays inside of them that provide sections for each bottle.
This will keep the bottles separate and prevent them from smashing into one another. You can also wrap the bottles in bubble wrap for additional safety. You may want to do this if you are shipping very expensive wine.
After that, you can put packing peanuts into the box and then close the top of the box and tape it shut. Then carefully stack the boxes into the truck.
Why This Is Happening Now
While it is true that the consumers residing in the states that do not permit out-of-state retailers to sell to their residents will no longer be able to order any alcohol from an out-of-state retailer, they technically have never been legally able to do so, Koral says.
Many retailers and wine clubs have been shipping wine across state lines for years, a practice that Koral noted has technically always been illegal. Recently increased pressure from state regulators is casting a spotlight on offenders.For instance, for years both FedEx and UPS have held policies stating that they only ship wine from licensed entities. Only in the past year have both have begun putting more effort into enforcing these policies. Now, carriers like FedEx and UPS will refuse to ship the wine, leaving many retailers no way to fulfill interstate orders.
Why Interstate Wine Shipping Is So Complicated
Direct-to-Consumer alcohol shipping is governed by individual state regulations, and any person or business looking to legally ship wine needs a DTC license. For most alcohol retailers, the license is covered by their off-premise wine sales licenses. A California retailer, for example, can generally legally ship wine to residents of California.
If an out-of-state entity wants to obtain a license to legally ship wine to another state, however, it must apply for a separate, specific DTC license.
According to Alex Koral, industry relations advisor for ShipCompliant, a company that works with wineries to facilitate compliance, there are currently 42 states that offer out-of-state entities licenses to ship DTC in their states. Residents of Utah, Oklahoma, Delaware, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky may not receive any DTC wine shipments, for the most part in Utah, non-compliance is actually a felony.
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How To Mail Alcohol Out
When you cross state lines, the shipment of alcohol becomes more difficult. That its because you now must meet the requirements and regulations in both the state youre shipping from and the state youre shipping to.
There is a loophole that helps consumers ship beer, liquor, and wine to other states if that other state permits the shipment of alcohol to consumers. Instead of shipping a bottle from your state to their state, simply find a retailer based in the state youre shipping to and order it from that retailer. That way the retailer wont need to cross state lines and only meet the rules of their states alcohol regulation board.
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In todays retail environment, consumers continue to seek, and retailers continue to explore, creative ways to deliver products directly to consumers. Consumers can order anything from groceries to clothes to toiletries directly to their door. When it comes to wine though, states are increasingly cracking down on illegal shipments of wine to consumers. This article discusses the direct-to-consumer wine industry and the increasing crackdown that is occurring on companies illegally shipping wine across state lines.
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How To Ship Liquor
Because liquor is an alcoholic beverage, it is subject to the same strict shipping requirements that wine is subject to. This means that you will have to obtain a license to ship it, get a special contract with UPS or FedEx, and only ship it to states where you can legally ship it to.
If you are shipping within your own state, then it is much easier to figure out what the regulations are for shipping it.
Can I Selling Wine Across State Lines
Yes, in short. A 2005 Supreme Court ruling found that states that allow in-state wineries to ship bottles DTC cannot prohibit out-of-state wineries from doing so. In other words, states that allow in-state shipping from wineries must also allow interstate shipping from wineries, making DTC shipping much easier for wineries as well.
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Everything You Need To Know About Shipping Wines Across State Lines In 2017
Last Monday, The New York Times published an article with implications for anyone who likes to buy wine online. Titled Wines Are No Longer Free to Travel Across State Lines, the piece detailed the intricacies of interstate wine shipping. Its conclusion? Consumers from all but 14 states can no longer legally ship wine across state lines.
The repercussions of this are enormous. Consumers in less prominent wine markets, such as Maryland or Montana, cannot access a wider range of top wines via wine clubs, online retailers, and out-of-state retailers. It also endangers wine retail shops that depend on out-of-state markets.
VinePair investigated what this really means for wine lovers across the country. Its complicated because shipping is not federally regulated, and individual state laws include variations and reciprocal agreements.
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Here are the most important things to know about interstate, direct-to-consumer wine shipping. We outline how interstate wine shipping procedures work, why this is happening now, and how all of your favorite wine resources could be affected.
How To Ship Alcohol Internationally
Importing and exporting alcohol across country borders presents even more challenges. Youll now need to meet state, city, and country laws, as well as be familiar with exporting and importing laws.
Youll need to ensure that the distributor sending the shipment has the correct permits or the US government can seize your shipment. Youll also need to be aware of taxes and duties for international beer, spirit, and wine imports.
We recommend not managing international alcohol shipping yourself instead, work with reliable third-party retailers and compliance companies to ship beer, liquor, and wine orders.
Stay on top of the latest alcohol trends and regulations
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Can You Ship Wine To California
For retailers and non-retailers alike, making sense of shipping regulations when it comes to shipping alcohol in the United States can be challenging. Each state not only creates its own regulations regarding alcohol shipments, but individual counties within that state may also have fashioned their own rules. So, the question of the day is: can you ship wine to California?
The short answer is, yes, you can. Individuals or retailers with the proper licensing can ship alcohol to California, or from California to different states. Where you live, where and who you are sending to, and how much wine you want to ship are all questions that should be asked before you take your package to the nearest post office.
Can I ship wine to California? Individuals without the proper licenses are not allowed to send alcohol. USPS prohibits the shipping of alcohol by individuals. People who want to ship wine through FedEx or UPS can do so, but have to have the right license and sign an agreement with their chosen shipping carrier. This typically means you must be a commercial entity. At the other end of the shipment, an adult over the age of 21 must sign for the package to obtain it legally.
States that have banned the shipping of alcohol are:
- Alabama
- Rhode Island
- Utah
How To Ship Alcohol To Another State
When your booze crosses state borders, “you need to consider the laws for both the shipping state and the receiving state,” says Weinberg. So, for example, if you’d like to send a bottle of wine from a visit along Pennsylvania’s wine trail to a relative in Mississippi, don’t waste your time or your money. While it’s perfectly legal to mail wine from this northern state, it’s also perfectly illegal to receive wine shipments in Mississippi.
In other words, Mississippi is not a reciprocal state, a state in which you can receive alcohol shipments from other states or countries, explains Lekkala. You can read more about reciprocal states and other out-of-state shipment rules here.
Of course, there’s an easy way around these convoluted laws, too. Mostthough not allalcohol that can be purchased in one state can be found somewhere in another, so if you’re dying to ship your brother a new brew, hit the web first to see if you can find a retailer in his state that carries the beverage, recommends Lekkala. It will be much easier to provide a credit card number over the phone than try to send that brew between states. “Even state-controlled stores realize they’re losing business to other states and improving the range of inventories they’re carrying,” Lekkala says.
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Shipping Insurance For Wine
Cabrella offers third party shipping insurance for items including wine and other alcohols. Purchasing shipping insurance for wine can help shipment delays, damages, or breakages along the way. Remember, things like temperature fluctuations and pressure changes can affect the quality of a bottle of wine. Purchasing shipping insurance helps protect your investment and can give the customer peace of mind when it comes to ensuring their product.
Cabrella can help get wine to its final destination through tracking analytics, partnerships with domestic and international carriers, and transparent pricing. Users can create a shipment on Cabrella’s easy to use app, compare carrier rates, and print shipping labels all in one place. Cabrella allows users to track their shipments using state of the art tracking technology to see where there may be delays or risks along the way. Finally, Cabrella can deliver your shipment where it needs to go through delivery confirmations.
Cabrella also offers expert packing tips and tricks for getting your shipment ready to go. Cabrella can walk you through the requirements that specific carriers have for liquids and alcoholic items in a shipment that might vary from carrier to carrier.
Wines Are No Longer Free To Travel Across State Lines
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By Eric Asimov
For a golden moment, motivated wine lovers could rely on high-speed internet as a sort of national wine shop. A consumer in Little Rock, Ark., for example, unable to find particular bottles locally, could order them from a shop in New York. It required only a willingness to pay shipping costs.
Those days are no more. In the last year or so, carriers like United Parcel Service and FedEx have told retailers that they will no longer accept out-of-state shipments of alcoholic beverages unless they are bound for one of 14 states that explicitly permit such interstate commerce.
New York is not one of those 14 states, as The New York Timess wine panel learned to its chagrin in the last year.
All of the bottles we sample at our wine tastings are purchased retail. When Bernard Kirsch, our tasting coordinator, could not find the wines he wanted in New York, he ordered from elsewhere, doing regular business with retailers in California and New Jersey, among other places. I, too, like many wine lovers, occasionally bought wine from out-of-state shops for my personal consumption. But that has ended.
Thats one of the happy miracles of the age, said Jamie Wolff, an owner of Chambers Street Wines in New York.
It seems a shame to tell consumers anywhere that they cant freely purchase something they want, he said.
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Dtc Shipping : A Survival Guide For The Beverage Alcohol Industry
Learn the basics of direct-to-consumer shipping for wineries, breweries, and distilleries.
Additional resources
Direct-to-consumer shipping is a fast-growing business for wineries and other sellers in the beverage alcohol industry. Whether youre just getting started or want to make sure youre not missing a step, this is a handy reference guide for todays DTC best practices.
Todays consumers are living in the golden age of convenience, whether by simple desire or true necessity. Groceries, household goods, electronics, almost anything can be purchased and delivered at the click of a button. Its likely only a matter of time and some key state legislation before alcohol is delivered everywhere as seamlessly.
Wineries, with their popular wine clubs and online wine shops, have been at the forefront of this growth. Breweries and distilleries currently face more legal restrictions than wineries, but the direct-to-consumer market is expected to grow substantially as laws evolve.
This whitepaper breaks down the basics beverage alcohol sellers need to know to not only get started, but also remain compliant.
Youll learn:
- Who can legally sell and ship alcohol directly to consumers
- A quick history of the legislative complexity surrounding shipping in the beverage alcohol industry
- The essential best practices every DTC seller needs to know to remain compliant
How To Ship Alcohol Overseas
You’ve fallen in love with a Bordeaux produced at a small French vineyard, and you can’t imagine life without it. Unluckily for you, however, “once you’re changing countries, gets exponentially more difficult,” says Weinberg. First, Weinberg advises, you will have to “make sure the product can be legally shipped into the destination without a permit.” You can check this guide to see your state’s individual regulations. If you don’t, your “product could be seized, quarantined, or destroyed,” warns Weinberg. And no one wants that, do they? Shipping out of the U.S. into another country will require you to brush up on state and federal export rules and the import rules of whichever country you’re sending it to . Good luck. Once again, it’s probably best to go through a retailer or distributor.
Weinberg also recommends that you confirm with the retailer or distributor if any taxes or duties need to be paid on the product you intend to ship. If so, they should be able to advise you on how to pay them, and how much they will cost you. Lastly, “purchase from a reputable dealer who knows the ins and outs of laws, and ideally has experience shipping to your destination of choice,” Weinberg advises.
In short, as much as you might like to personally pick up, wrap and send a bottle of booze as a gift, this is one task better left to professionals.
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In Which States Is It Illegal To Mail Alcohol
Only two states have blanket bans on mailing alcohol directly to consumers: Mississippi and Utah. If you live in one of these states and value the convenience of having your favorite brews or bubbly shipped directly to your doorstep, its time to move.
Regulations on how to ship alcohol in the remaining 48 states vary from relatively relaxed to very restrictive. The National Conference on State Legislatures has a very helpful resource on their website that explains each states current regulations on shipping alcohol in detail.
Laws Vary State By State
It is generally not against the law to bring alcohol into a state. However, there are a few exceptions. In California, you can bring alcohol into the state as long as it is for personal use. Generally speaking, this means you can bring in around 60 liters, or the equivalent of five cases.
In Tennessee, until ten years ago it was a crime to bring in alcohol from other states. As of 2009 the law was overturned and now you can take alcohol into the state for personal use. Pennsylvania also had laws against bringing in alcohol from other states, but those were changed in 2015. However, anyone bringing in alcohol to another state is required to pay Pennsylvania state tax on said alcohol.
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What About Independent Wine Clubs
Wine clubs that are not run by wineries, such as the Wall Street Journal Wine Club, Wine Awesomeness, and International Wine of the Month Club, will be affected differently based on how they operate.
Wine clubs that source juice from producers and then bottle it under their own labels can technically apply for a winery shipping license. Alternatively, wine clubs might partner with local retailers or operate local warehouses to fulfill orders, rather than shipping them across state lines.
While there are legal ways for independent wine clubs to operate, these businesses are far more likely to be affected by stricter shipping regulations.
Wine clubs must understand the requirements which are constantly changing otherwise, they risk acting in non-compliance without even knowing until they are caught, Koral says. Though we cannot condone it, there are always some out there that do understand and are still willing to risk violating laws.
Of the wine clubs that VinePair reached out to, Logan Lee, CEO of Wine Awesomeness, noted that its members will not be affected, while Wine Access declined to comment.
Specialized Luggage For Transporting Wine On Plane
âHow many bottles of wine can I bring to the US?âTechnically there is no federal limit on how much alcohol can be brought in for personal use, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection will likely flag you if youre carrying more than a case in your luggage. There is no TSA-regulated quantity limit on beverages with less than 24 percent alcohol, such as wine. Airline-created checked baggage limits still apply, but passengers are free to use the entirety of their quota for wine transport.Below are some amazing options which provide a safe, economical, and sensible solution to bringing your wine with you.
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