12 Aug
2014
12 Aug
'14
12:45 p.m.
I have been buying my shipping supplies from U-LINE for years and have
always been impressed with the service and pricing.
When I can't get to the right size box I sometimes use free boxes from an
area liquor store. I went to the post office last week to ship a few boxes
to a list member and was told they could not ship any kind of booze box
unless wrapped in a grocery bag or painted over.
When I had my UPS account, or used fed-ex, they took them. They just
worried about previous shipping info on the box.
I tried another post office and the same thing happened.
Has anyone else had this problem?
Thanks, Paul
12 Aug
12 Aug
12:50 p.m.
State laws can be pretty over-zealous when it comes to shipping booze,
even if the package goes THROUGH a state with more stringent laws.
On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 6:45 PM, Paul Anderson <useddec at gmail.com> wrote:
I have been buying my shipping supplies from U-LINE
for years and have
always been impressed with the service and pricing.
When I can't get to the right size box I sometimes use free boxes from an
area liquor store. I went to the post office last week to ship a few boxes
to a list member and was told they could not ship any kind of booze box
unless wrapped in a grocery bag or painted over.
When I had my UPS account, or used fed-ex, they took them. They just
worried about previous shipping info on the box.
I tried another post office and the same thing happened.
Has anyone else had this problem?
Thanks, Paul
--
-Jon
+32 0 486 260 686
1:13 p.m.
I have always encountered friendly staff at post offices, but they said
even if there was no booze in the bot, and they knew there wasn't, they
could not accept it.
I don't think the states have any say so as to what the USPS does.
I asked what if I shipped booze in a plain unmarked box and they said I
wasn't supposed to do that.
On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 11:50 AM, Jonathan Katz <jon at jonworld.com> wrote:
State laws can be pretty over-zealous when it comes to
shipping booze,
even if the package goes THROUGH a state with more stringent laws.
On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 6:45 PM, Paul Anderson <useddec at gmail.com> wrote:
I have been buying my shipping supplies from
U-LINE for years and have
always been impressed with the service and pricing.
When I can't get to the right size box I sometimes use free boxes from an
area liquor store. I went to the post office last week to ship a few
boxes
to a list member and was told they could not ship
any kind of booze box
unless wrapped in a grocery bag or painted over.
When I had my UPS account, or used fed-ex, they took them. They just
worried about previous shipping info on the box.
I tried another post office and the same thing happened.
Has anyone else had this problem?
Thanks, Paul
--
-Jon
+32 0 486 260 686
1:21 p.m.
On Aug 12, 2014, at 1:13 PM, Paul Anderson <useddec at gmail.com> wrote:
I have always encountered friendly staff at post
offices, but they said
even if there was no booze in the bot, and they knew there wasn't, they
could not accept it.
Just remember that USPS is a government agency (even though it claims not to be), so its
policies contain the amount of nonsense you can expect given that background.
paul
1:27 p.m.
On Tue, 12 Aug 2014, Paul Anderson wrote:
I have always encountered friendly staff at post
offices, but they said
even if there was no booze in the bot, and they knew there wasn't, they
could not accept it.
Covering the box markings with a sharpie has worked for me. No problems
with the counter folks.
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies.
ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!
1:27 p.m.
On Aug 12, 2014, at 1:13 PM, Paul Anderson <useddec at gmail.com> wrote:
I have always encountered friendly staff at post
offices, but they said
even if there was no booze in the bot, and they knew there wasn't, they
could not accept it.
I don't think the states have any say so as to what the USPS does.
I asked what if I shipped booze in a plain unmarked box and they said I
wasn't supposed to do that.
Well, right, that's the crux of the problem. There are a handful of
states with excise taxes on liquor that want to know about it and
have it properly taxed. There are others (MD and PA are two that I
can think of) that just don't even allow importation of liquor of
any sort, including wine and beer, unless you are a reseller. MD
may have relaxed this recently, but as of the last time I lived
there, it was basically impossible to order wine from another state
unless you were asking your local liquor store or wine bar to order
it for you and purchasing it through them.
So no, I'm not surprised that USPS doesn't want to go near the
issue of shipping liquor. I'm a little surprised that UPS and
FedEx seem more lax about it.
- Dave
2:47 p.m.
On Tue, 12 Aug 2014, Paul Anderson wrote:
I asked what if I shipped booze in a plain unmarked
box and they said I
wasn't supposed to do that.
Booze doesn't qualify for "media mail" :-)
As to disks, . . .
"Media Mail", once called "library rate" or "book rate", was
intended for
BOOKS.
It would seem to me, that pre-recorded disks, such as software
distributin might meet those criteria.
But what about BLANK disks, and blank paper?
And, what about used, but not PRINTED, paper, such as hand written
notebooks, and randome floppies?
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com
3:06 p.m.
Oh, if only the Post Office had some way to get a list of what is allowed.
http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#1113509
On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 2:47 PM, Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2014, Paul Anderson wrote:
I asked what if I shipped booze in a plain
unmarked box and they said I
wasn't supposed to do that.
Booze doesn't qualify for "media mail" :-)
As to disks, . . .
"Media Mail", once called "library rate" or "book rate",
was intended for
BOOKS.
It would seem to me, that pre-recorded disks, such as software
distributin might meet those criteria.
But what about BLANK disks, and blank paper?
And, what about used, but not PRINTED, paper, such as hand written
notebooks, and randome floppies?
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com
3:40 p.m.
On 8/12/2014 2:47 PM, Fred Cisin wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2014, Paul Anderson wrote:
Media Mail is actually pretty restrictive and probably overly abused
especially by ebayers, based on what I see going via the service:
http://about.usps.com/notices/not121/not121.htm
Relevant computer-ish language:
"Sound recordings and video recordings, such as CDs and DVDs."
"Computer-readable media containing prerecorded information and guides
or scripts prepared solely for use with such media."
Nothing about executable program media, blank or otherwise. I don't
ship floppies Media Mail any more because of that. Besides, it's just
about as expensive to ship as Priority by the time things get heavy.
- David
I asked what if I shipped booze in a plain
unmarked box and they said I
wasn't supposed to do that.
Booze doesn't qualify for "media mail" :-)
As to disks, . . .
"Media Mail", once called "library rate" or "book rate",
was intended for
BOOKS.
It would seem to me, that pre-recorded disks, such as software
distributin might meet those criteria.
But what about BLANK disks, and blank paper?
And, what about used, but not PRINTED, paper, such as hand written
notebooks, and randome floppies?
3:55 p.m.
Thanks for the reply, Fred. I hope you are feeling better. I know all
about not being able to move and cabin fever.
Paul
On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 1:47 PM, Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2014, Paul Anderson wrote:
I asked what if I shipped booze in a plain
unmarked box and they said I
wasn't supposed to do that.
Booze doesn't qualify for "media mail" :-)
As to disks, . . .
"Media Mail", once called "library rate" or "book rate",
was intended for
BOOKS.
It would seem to me, that pre-recorded disks, such as software
distributin might meet those criteria.
But what about BLANK disks, and blank paper?
And, what about used, but not PRINTED, paper, such as hand written
notebooks, and randome floppies?
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com
3:57 p.m.
And I thank everyone for their replies.
Paul
On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 2:55 PM, Paul Anderson <useddec at gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks for the reply, Fred. I hope you are feeling
better. I know all
about not being able to move and cabin fever.
Paul
On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 1:47 PM, Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2014, Paul Anderson wrote:
I asked what if I shipped booze in a plain
unmarked box and they said I
wasn't supposed to do that.
Booze doesn't qualify for "media mail" :-)
As to disks, . . .
"Media Mail", once called "library rate" or "book rate",
was intended for
BOOKS.
It would seem to me, that pre-recorded disks, such as software
distributin might meet those criteria.
But what about BLANK disks, and blank paper?
And, what about used, but not PRINTED, paper, such as hand written
notebooks, and randome floppies?
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com
1:08 p.m.
On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 12:45 PM, Paul Anderson <useddec at gmail.com> wrote:
When I can't get to the right size box I sometimes
use free boxes from an
area liquor store. I went to the post office last week to ship a few boxes
to a list member and was told they could not ship any kind of booze box
unless wrapped in a grocery bag or painted over...
Has anyone else had this problem?
Yes. When I was shipping personal goods home from the South Pole, we
were told by our postmaster that *nothing* indicating this was
formerly a liquor box could be seen. We used spraypaint.
-ethan
1:21 p.m.
On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 11:45:10AM -0500, Paul Anderson wrote:
When I can't get to the right size box I sometimes
use free boxes from an
area liquor store. I went to the post office last week to ship a few boxes
to a list member and was told they could not ship any kind of booze box
unless wrapped in a grocery bag or painted over.
[...]
Has anyone else had this problem?
Not specifically booze and it was 10,000 years ago, but yes I was told the
box couldn't have *any* markings and they wouldn't let me send it until I
wrapped it in a grocery bag. I think the box had been for chili peppers
or something (this was in college so I got it from behind the dining hall).
Obviously this is insane (unless there really are two address labels), and
anyway would it mean that illegal untaxed booze is fine as long as the box
is unmarked? I think what they're telling you is that USPS hates existing
and wants to lose their remaining business.
John Wilson
D Bit
2:11 p.m.
On Tue, 12 Aug 2014, Paul Anderson wrote:
I have been buying my shipping supplies from U-LINE
for years and have
always been impressed with the service and pricing.
When I can't get to the right size box I sometimes use free boxes from an
area liquor store. I went to the post office last week to ship a few boxes
to a list member and was told they could not ship any kind of booze box
unless wrapped in a grocery bag or painted over.
When I had my UPS account, or used fed-ex, they took them. They just
worried about previous shipping info on the box.
I tried another post office and the same thing happened.
Has anyone else had this problem?
I'm in post offices quite a bit because of my ebaying. Every one of them
has a poster by the counter explaining those various markings on boxes
that need to be blotted out before the package will be accepted. It's
never been a problem for me. I always keep some kraft paper on hand for
that.
--
David Griffith
dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu
3632
days inactive
3632
days old
14 comments
11 participants
participants (11)
-
cisin＠xenosoft.com -
david＠attglobal.net -
dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu -
ethan.dicks＠gmail.com -
fraveydank＠gmail.com -
geneb＠deltasoft.com -
jason＠textfiles.com -
jon＠jonworld.com -
paulkoning＠comcast.net -
useddec＠gmail.com -
wilson＠dbit.com