Why Can't The US Post Office Ship Beer And Wine?

A Time Magazine article today (04/30/2012). I must say that I've never paid much attention to the fact that the USPS has not been allowed to ship beer and wine thanks to a pre-Prohibition law dating back to 1909 that is still on the books (but may be eliminated in the not-too-distant future):

http://moneyland.time.com/2012/04/3...er-and-wine/

An interesting piece of postal trivia I never knew before.

Here is a reference to a senate bill to allow the service to do just that. This particular one was proposed last November.

http://www.carper.senate.gov/public...-service-act

just curious, but would it really change much? I know that here in KY, it is illegal (state law) to have any form of liquor/alcohol/spirits shipped into the state, without some kind of license/permit, which cannot be acquired by individuals (only retailers & distributors can get them) I found this out when I moved here from St. Louis, and my wine club cancelled my membership when I changed my address on my profile. (but on the bright side, they refunded my membership dues for the whole year, and also gave me several vouchers to use at a local wine shop)

I don't think it would change much, the point is that the USPS can't be competitive with the likes of UPS or FedEx if they can ship such items as beer and wine, when the USPS can't. I'm sure it's not enough of a volume that it will pull the USPS out of their financial mess -- and the Time article did recognize that some State Laws would prohibit transport anyway -- but it was just another archaic rule on the books from more than a century ago that limits the competitive edge the USPS has compared to other carriers.

Actually, I find it very interesting when the USPS keeps reciting the idea that they are not a Government-funded organization, yet they have to abide by what Congress tells them to do, so the idea of competition from privately run shipping companies is always claimed as being their downfall.

Here's an interesting (although unrelated) side note I've always wondered about: The USPS claims to have one of the largest vehicle fleets in the US, yet while they claim they do not get any Government funding, most of their vehicles do not need to carry license plates or inspection stickers as private vehicles do. That alone must account for some major savings in the operation of their fleets of trucks.

Hi wt1

As far as I know nothing with alcohol, or narcotics, can be mailed via USPS. I just got a prescription from a compounding pharmacy and they have to use FedEx or UPS because of ingredients that are not allowed by the USPS regulations.

Back in the 50's my parents owned a candy store. They manufactured chocolates, hard candy, etc. With the resident candy maker helping a process was developed (patented) that took pure Courvoisier cognac, solidified it and covered it in chocolate (looked like chocolate covered cherries). In a couple of weeks it reverted back to pure cognac ( as a kid 2 or 3 pieces of candy and you were looped ).

The US Postal service would not allow this chocolate to be shipped by parcel post because of the cognac. At first it was mailed but one day a package got damaged, or put next to heat, I forgot which, and the smell of cognac was all over the post office. That is when they informed us that it can not be mailed because of regulations and rules. So, rather than taking a risk of inspection, it was shipped by a private delivery service.

Jerry B

Can non-potable alcohol products (e.g., rubbing alcohol, denatured alcohol, fuels and cleaning agents, etc.) be shipped in the mail?

the fuels and many of the cleaning agents would probably fall under the "combustibles" restriction. not sure about the others you mentioned.

Excerpt from USPS regulations right off of their website:




For an extensive list of most chemicals that cannot be mailed, check out this link:

http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52...htm#ep688877

Actually I would venture a guess that some of these prohibited materials actually do get to go through the mails, they are just undeclared as hazards, and unless (until) someone gets caught shipping them, it goes through.

I read the U.S. Code section on non-mailable materials (referenced in the article). I like the archaic reference to explosive devices as "infernal machines."

Cheers, Robert