On Sun, 7 Nov 2004, Fred vociferated:
}On Sun, 7 Nov 2004 15:38:48 -0500, "Spec" }wrote: } }>Im thinking about creating a website for private enthusiasts to exchange }>bottles amongst themselves in exchange for other bottles or cash. "Creative }>Gifting" services really... }>
}>Are there any legal problems with this? Last I checked private sales were }>still ok, however Im completely unaware of how state borders would affect }>this. } }Shipping alcoholic beverages to some states is a felony, with limited }exceptions (I live in Georgia where this is the case). Some states }allow reciprocal deals (if we can ship to you, you can ship to us). }Every State is interested in getting tax money on alcohol and most }want to protect their wholesalers from any competition.
Having homebrewed for years I did some research in this area re shipping homebrew to various friends and family out of state. The situation is, to say the least, complex. The laws not only vary between the federal government and the state, but from state to state, county to county, and sometimes even from town to town.
Shipping alcoholic beverages via the US Postal Service is just illegal, period. UPS and FedEx will ship, but only from certain places to certain other places.
I found, for example, that (several years ago, at least) it was illegal to ship alcohol /out/ of Oregon, but it was OK to ship it in (e.g. 'beer of teh month' clubs). Conversely, it was illegal to ship it /in/ to New York state, but OK to ship it out. Thus my option for sending a case of brew to my brother in New York was given as "you can go to Idaho and ship it from there to Pennsylvania, and he can go to Pennsylvania and pick it up."
I opted instead to go the "more easily forgiven than permitted" route -- I packed the brew so that it could be drop-kicked out a 3rd story window and land undamaged, then I mailed it from Oregon to NY. On the 'description of contents' part of the label I wrote "organic juice."
I guess the moral of the story is, while I wouldn't recommend this for any kind of ongoing business, the best approach for the odd shipment now and then is to pack it well, lie about the contents, and ship by the most economical carrier available at the time. ;-)
Dr H