Great story. I haven’t had any major problems with any of the carriers so far. Knock on wood. Haven’t received any beer through the Postal Service. I will never use The UPS Store to send anything. They treat you like you are shipping something illegal until proven otherwise. Thats why FedEx online accounts are great. Just drop off and run. No questions asked. I’ve never had to make a claim, so I can’t comment there. I can, however, comment on the way packages are handled. As a Letter Carrier for the USPS, I’ve seen some messed up packages. A good majority of those were poorly packaged. If I have to deliver a damaged package, I apologize even though I didn’t damage it. Just good customer service. I would bet 99.9% of all packages are delivered safely and to the right address.
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The only problem with shipping USPS is thus: if you get caught shipping alcohol with UPS or Fedex, it’s against their policy. If you get caught by the USPS, it’s against the law.
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True. However, I’ve delivered live snakes before. I’ve also delivered boxes leaking. If it makes it to the carrier (me), it’s going to get delivered. I’ll bag it or tag it (slap a damaged sticker on it), and deliver it.
Most of us traders know how to package beer for shipping.
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I’ve used a general shipping outlet. They can ship DHL, UPS, Fedup Ex and USPS. The only thing the lady asks is if it is ebay for an extra tax code for shipping. I just tell her there is some good root beer from Cave Creek and hot sauce in the box if any question it.
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Well I thought I would post an update for anyone who cares. I got a call from the guy at the UPS Store that handles their claims earlier this week. He said that he was in touch with UPS and that it would be highly unlikely for them to track down my box of "hot sauce".
The way things work is I guess the UPS Store puts in a claim with UPS Corp. In my case since I packed the box UPS originally said they were denying my claim. Before I even had a chance to complain the guy at the UPS store did and said that UPS lost my box and that it was packaged in the manufacturers packaging. So he kind of helped me out there with a bit of a lie on his part.
They did ask if I had receipts and I basically just went on to tell them that I had purchased the "sauces and marinades" over a long period of time and some of it was even homemade. He told me that was fine and he would just look up some hot sauce online and say that was the stuff I had in there.
So bottom line is that while it was pretty much a lost cause to get the lost package back. The UPS Store did help out the best they could getting my insurance claim back. They cover you up to $100 and obviously give you your shipping costs back. Although they did tell me it would be close to 3 weeks until I see a reimburshment check. Turns out UPS ships those checks via the USPS.
As for Andy I have a few retired beers in my cellar that he was looking for and will hopefully help make up for the beers he was expecting to get from me originally.
I think I’ll give FedEx a shot next time around though.
Tom
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