Quote:
Originally Posted by PlinyTheElder
For beer shipping/trading, using USPS is illegal while FedEx and UPS is just against their terms of service.
I could go into more but this link is the definitive beer shipping guideline.
I've seen this asserted many times, but I don't believe it. I think shipping alcohol over state lines (and possibly within the state) without a license is illegal, regardless of how you ship it. I think that, in practical terms, you're less likely to face any criminal action from UPS and FedEx if they find alcohol (they'll just return the box, have you pick it up, or destroy it rather than contacting authorities). So I think there are some practical reasons to use UPS and FedEx rather than USPS. But I don't think there's any legal distinction.
That's why I refuse to do any trading that requires shipping - the risk of a really bad outcome is very small, but the costs potentially very high. And I don't feel like playing Pascal's Wager.