hi - new to the forum here and have a rookie shipping question
for the life of me, i cannot fully grasp all of the shipping rules that our wonderful country has
I am in Philadelphia (go flyers!) but also have a NJ shipping address
some are able to ship direct to my home, while others have to ship to my work in NJ
yet, there are some that will ship to neither …this seems to be the case with a few of the estate mailing lists that I am on…the closest alternative state is either VA or NY
I have family in both states that could receive shipments for me but its a hassle in many ways (having them refrigerate, coordinating a trip to pick up etc.)
I know there is an option of having it sent to the wharehouse for storage but that doesn’t really work either.
I guess what would work best would be for an agent to take shipment and then have the agent send on? if such a company exists?
As I understand the laws (which doesn’t mean I’m totally right)…
The PA anti-shipping law was struck down after the Supreme Court ruling, and no law has officially taken its place. So, it should be technically legal to ship to PA, but no common carrier (FedEx or UPS) will deliver wine to PA. At least not if they know it’s wine.
NJ enacted a law that allows wineries to ship wine home to NJ for people who purcahse at the winery. This was done as part of all the post 911 rules changes. Otherwise, it’s not allowed.
John,
It depends on if you’re talking about shipping from wineries or retailers, there are more options for wineries to ship but there are really no good options for PA.
If you want to know some of the compliance laws and I’m not saying they’ll be easy to understand, the Wine Institute gives some insight on who can ship where.
Brian has it right: FedEx or UPS won’t knowingly ship wine to PA. and visitors from NJ (and MA and AZ among others) may have wine shipped direct to them if they purchase wine onsite at the winery. further, it’s my understanding that these onsite purchases must be shipped 2 Day Air vs ground. otherwise, wine can be shipped to you in NJ via the 3-Tier system…it just may take a while to get there.
I have read the laws on wine institute and it is confusing
to add a bit more
I am talking about both wineries and retailers.
I have had retailers (who will remain nameless) ship fed ex and ups ship to my house is Philly.
whether the carrier knew what it was, i do not know.
but i guess what they are doing is illegal ??
i also take shipments at my work in NJ for those that won’t ship to PA
how can 1 company ship from CA to PA/NJ but the next cannot?
that is the part i do not understand …
most recently, i was trying to get a magnum of GTS for a friend who is a Mets (boo) fan but they do not ship to PA or NJ.
oh well, until things change, i will be stuck ;(
my best idea to date is to give my cousin in NY 1 of my wine fridges so he can store shipments for me until I am able to pick them up (assumming his wife is ok with it)
with regard to who will/can ship to NJ or PA (and speaking strictly from the winery side of the equation): i know a number of wineries who simply disregard the compliance requirements and laws in place, and ship the product hoping they don’t get caught. i’m not passing judgement, just saying that it happens.
with regard to the large format: some states have limits on the bottle size they allow to be shipped. for example, Maine won’t allow 500ml bottles to be sent, and NH won’t allow 1.5l to be shipped. i’m not 100% sure about NJ, but i think that’s the case there as well.
From my own limited experience with inter-state shipping I found that many states require license fees and tax payments from the shipper. Not all wineries or retailers expect to do enough business in all states to even want to set up the legalities. Some shippers just ignore them and hope to fly under the radar. As has been said, states that completely control their alcohol distribution themselves (PA, for example) forbid any shipments in at all. The overall picture is, indeed, totally confusing to most consumers. And, as was also said, the laws and court decisions have differed for wineries and retailers.
As Brian and others have pointed out, some wineries, retailers,et.al. ship wines into States whether it’s legal or not. Friends in KY tell me they regularily get wine shipped in, via third party carriers, even though it is a felony. Seems the courts threw out KY anti-shipping laws several years ago. The Legislature refuses to change the old laws or even address the issue. So the old laws are still on the books, but they are not enforceable. Neither FedEx or UPS will deliver there but other carriers will.
So the best thing to do in those States, is to talk with the wineries or people getting the shipments and learn the system.
Carrie
What about retailers shipping. I am in Texas and our legislature has decided to protect me against the inferior products that you, Winebid, K&L etc want to pawn off on me. Assuming I don’t have a local Walgreens is there an entity without a liquor license that will forward wines?
Thanks Bill
There are some shippers & fullfillment centers that I believe will ship to you. I am not sure about Buffalo because they have a liquor license but I think Stagecoach Express in Napa will ship to TX since they won’t try to pawn any of their inferior wares on you, except maybe what’s on aisle 10 of Walgreens.
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