One of the biggest reasons for getting a high-risk merchant account for your alcohol business is that your particular industry is burdened with numerous rules and regulations governing every aspect of the trade.
As the holiday season approaches, toasting to good cheer and happy new years, you may be wondering how and to what extent these legal stipulations will affect your ability to ship alcoholic beverages to your customers.
As you probably already suspect, there is no simple answer to the question of whether you can send your wares to customers via the U.S. postal service or some other carrier. Each location you want to ship to is likely to have their own, complex set of rules and regulations.
First things first.
Before you can get anything shipped, however, you need to be sure that your business’s payments infrastructure is strong and legal. As a company that sells alcohol, you will automatically be placed in the “high-risk business” category.
This is because your industry is heavily regulated, including age restrictions, and has a higher-than-average number of credit card disputes known as chargebacks. As a high-risk business, you will need to find a payment processor who specializes in serving companies like yours.
Although an alcohol-friendly payment processor will most likely charge you higher per-transaction fees and require you to follow additional contractual obligations, there are advantages to partnering with an experienced processor with specialty industry expertise.
Their expertise in the alcohol sector and their focus on maximizing security protocols will help to ensure that you and your customers have a positive payment experience every time.
Mailing alcohol within your state.
Let’s start with the easiest scenario. When you send your products within the borders of the state where your business is located, you only need to follow that state’s particular stipulations. Therefore, it makes sense to study and understand your city, county, and state laws.
If they allow shipping alcohol, you can start packing those bottles and cans for delivery.
Mailing alcohol out of state.
It gets more complicated when you want to transfer products across state lines. In this case, you need to be an expert who knows not only your own local and state laws but also the ones that apply to each state you want to ship to.
Where is shipping alcohol banned?
There are only two states that totally prohibit the shipment of beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages to consumers: Mississippi and Utah.
If you do business or live in either of these states, shipping or receiving alcohol is one big “NO.” However, even this statement has a caveat: Utah residents who have a wine club subscription can have their monthly shipment sent to an in-state package retailer.
What about the other 48 states?
Since each state is free to decide the nature and extent of their alcohol shipping-related laws, it probably comes as no surprise that they differ greatly. Fortunately, the National Conference on State Legislatures (NCSL) has compiled a handy document that breaks down every one, from Alabama to Wyoming.
Whether you engage in in-person or ecommerce sales of your alcohol products, it is crucial to have a complete understanding of the evolving statutes that govern the shipping and delivery of these products. Regular consultation with a knowledgeable legal expert is a best practice for staying ahead of relevant changes.
How to ship alcohol by carrier.
Let’s assume that you have signed up with an alcohol-friendly payment processor and have fully perused the laws relating to the shipment of alcohol. You’re ready to go; all that remains is to figure out which carrier to use.
You may have already guessed that each has its own rules.
USPS, the U.S. postal service, will not ship alcohol of any kind. You can’t even use a box that once had wine or beer in it if its branding is still visible. In short, using USPS is a non-starter.
On the other hand, UPS will ship wine, beer, and spirits. You do, however, need to enter into a specialized carriage contract and possess all of the relevant licenses for your state and the destination state.
Go to UPS.com for all details and restrictions.
FedEx accepts licensee-to-licensee and direct-to-consumer alcohol shipments. If you want to use this company, you must go through their approval process. Once you do, there are no additional carriage contracts.
Success for a business that sells alcohol products like wine, beer and spirits is possible. While you will need to deal with a complex set of regulations, the potential for profit is great.
Partner with the right alcohol-friendly payment processor who can help you to navigate through the complexities, and your holiday shipments can flow smoothly this Christmas.
