Inter-provincial shipping?

nickw · Post by **nickw** » Sat Jan 04, 2014 2:02 pm

A friend of mine in Vancouver and I decided to start trading beers last summer. Our first shipments with Canada Post were fine and I got to enjoy great west coast beer. Come fall, we had new packages to send to each other -- mine got there fine, but his was caught up in the undeliverable mail warehouse in Mississauga, and eventually returned to him weeks later in a "soggy mess" as a couple of bottles had broken. No big deal, right? He repacked super well (individually packed each bottle, box well-padded, everything possible really) this time, and reshipped, only to find it in the undeliverable mail warehouse again in early, mid-December.

Well, he finally was able to find out what happened, and it was flagged and destroyed because its contents were "prohibited", meaning he's out $150 and I have no beer to show for it

So, any idea what could have happened, and -- to those of you who trade across the country -- what do you do to prevent this sort of thing?

Kekumba · Post by **Kekumba** » Sat Jan 04, 2014 3:14 pm

They must have flagged him after finding out the first box was alcohol.

Use Fedex next time, I guess.

liamt07 · Post by **liamt07** » Sat Jan 04, 2014 3:14 pm

a) Purchase bottle shipper.
b) Wrap bottles in bubble wrap, and place in bottle shipper.
c) Ship bottles.
d) Revel in your ability to trade properly.

boney · Post by **boney** » Sat Jan 04, 2014 4:48 pm

Interesting. I've had 2 soggy box experiences with Canada Post, but both were delivered to me in big, clear plastic bags. One was a styro shipper, so anything can happen. I've shipped many times since, both with and without styro shippers, so I can't imagine I was ever flagged (i was recieving beer from myself or my wife from out of provance both times). A good question is what happens once you are flagged by Canada Post? Will every package get inspected and or x-rayed? Once on a "naughty list" do you ever get off and if so after how long. It would probably be difficult to ask Canada Post directly, without getting flagged further.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:25 pm

liamt07 wrote:a) Purchase bottle shipper.
b) Wrap bottles in bubble wrap, and place in bottle shipper.
c) Ship bottles.
d) Revel in your ability to trade properly.

This is the answer. I don't know why anyone risks shipping without styro shippers (aside from being cheap and/or lazy). It's not worth the risk. Then again, breakage is still possibly with a styro shipper and for all we know your friend used one.

Now, to answer the question, because this really sucks. Either he was flagged or he actually had breakage in the second shipping effort too. I would guess that it was the latter.

My only shipping experience with Canada Post was similar (haven't used them since). I sent a box to Quebec, two of the 8 bottles broke. They repacked and send the remaining 6 bottles back to me. I spoke with Canada Post and was informed I could not file an insurance claim because the contents were beer and it was illegal to ship beer. I simply re-purchased the two broken bottles, re-packed the box and sent it via Canada Post again (probably stupidly) and it got there just fine.

iguenard · Post by **iguenard** » Sun Jan 05, 2014 8:14 am

TheSevenDuffs wrote:
liamt07 wrote:a) Purchase bottle shipper.
b) Wrap bottles in bubble wrap, and place in bottle shipper.
c) Ship bottles.
d) Revel in your ability to trade properly.
This is the answer. I don't know why anyone risks shipping without styro shippers (aside from being cheap and/or lazy). It's not worth the risk. Then again, breakage is still possibly with a styro shipper and for all we know your friend used one.

Now, to answer the question, because this really sucks. Either he was flagged or he actually had breakage in the second shipping effort too. I would guess that it was the latter.

My only shipping experience with Canada Post was similar (haven't used them since). I sent a box to Quebec, two of the 8 bottles broke. They repacked and send the remaining 6 bottles back to me. I spoke with Canada Post and was informed I could not file an insurance claim because the contents were beer and it was illegal to ship beer. I simply re-purchased the two broken bottles, re-packed the box and sent it via Canada Post again (probably stupidly) and it got there just fine.

+1

ercousin · Post by **ercousin** » Sun Jan 05, 2014 2:18 pm

Where do you purchase one of the styro shippers?

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Sun Jan 05, 2014 4:08 pm

ercousin wrote:Where do you purchase one of the styro shippers?

http://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplies/Box ... ts?mid=169

cfrancis · Post by **cfrancis** » Sun Jan 05, 2014 10:50 pm

I do styro shipper trades all the time within Canada. I've worn out a couple of them. Only problem I ever had was a Canada Post employee dropping the box from about 5 feet walking into my office.

Don't really do anything special. But if you are having issues, I'd suggest switching shippers for a bit.

zombi69 · Post by **zombi69** » Mon Jan 06, 2014 9:20 pm

I've been using Canada Post to trade with a friend on Vancouver Island for the past year. There has been roughly 10 exchanges between us. 5 each and not one issue. I always use bottle shippers, bubble wrap the bottles and put then inside a jumbo ziplock bag tucking then in the styrofoam shipper. Use fragile marking tape to close the shipper up with.

zombi69 · Post by **zombi69** » Mon Jan 06, 2014 9:23 pm

I would avoid trading across Canada through the sub-zero temps as you stand the chance that a bottle or two might explode.

Bobsy · Post by **Bobsy** » Mon Jan 06, 2014 9:40 pm

There is no such thing as a naughty list for canada post sorting. Its fascinating to see the journey a parcel takes once it enters the system, but at no point would a scan pick out an individual shipper because its all done on postal code, which covers multiple addresses. X ray scans would only occur on some international packages, and that is handled by customs, not the post office. They actually have a separate part of a plant where special clearance is needed to enter, so if something gets seized blame customs!

Pack the hell out of anything. You want to enjoy a good trade, and the people handling the shipping don't want something dripping booze and full of broken glass.

cfrancis · Post by **cfrancis** » Mon Jan 06, 2014 11:53 pm

zombi69 wrote:I would avoid trading across Canada through the sub-zero temps as you stand the chance that a bottle or two might explode.

+1

I'm on hiatus until some better weather.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Tue Jan 07, 2014 8:59 am

cfrancis wrote:
zombi69 wrote:I would avoid trading across Canada through the sub-zero temps as you stand the chance that a bottle or two might explode.
+1

I'm on hiatus until some better weather.

I will third that. Same goes for anything that is coming from the west coast in the US. I have a box en route right now that I am sweating about but it looks like I am going to get lucky and be ok. That'll be the last one for me until April or so...

cveerman · Post by **cveerman** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 6:08 am

I lost approx. $300 (6 out of 12 bottles broke) due to a soggy box shipped from Denmark.

Instead of paying $16.95 + shipping for a wine shipping box. http://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplies/Box ... ts?mid=169

I'm going to buy a cooler http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/coleman-16- ... 0082735998

Added bonus it's insulated.