How to ship aftershaves from US to Australia?

[murrellington]

First off, I went to USPS and they said they will not ship liquids containing alcohol domestically or internationally. I've heard some people on forums say you can ship domestically as long as it goes ground... But that's weird because all US vendors I have purchased from send aftershaves via First Class or Priority which neither are ground. I follow their lead and ship this way.

But shipping internationally is different, I figure you have to actually list what is inside the package unlike when I ship domestically. I called UPS and the guy said he didn't know the rules but he could connect me to the HazMat team. I then got disconnected and didn't want to call back so I decided to come here. How do you guys ship aftershaves internationally? Let's say a large package with quite a few. I've hit a road block and want advise from those of you who have done it recently or who do it often. I would like to break the law as least as possible.

Thanks.

 

[todas]

A lot of people use shipitto.com and other mail forwarding services.

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

We have been shipping aftershaves for some years now. The person you spoke to at USPS was wrong. Aftershaves do ship via USPS but they must be designated and shipped Parcel Select which is Surface (ground.) The exterior of the box must have an ORM-D sticker which is royal blue. If an aftershave is shipped First Class or Priority this is a violation of USPS regulations and you will be subject to untold finger wagging if found out. I met personally with the district USPS office and laid out on the table what I make and how I pack it. The people at the meeting approved of how it was being done. My posture with them was to just tell me how to be compliant, tell me the rules. Essentially there have to be two seals, one the cap and one a zip lock bag. Then each bottle is bubble wrapped and it floats in packing peanuts.

We have shipped cases to Australia. It ships FedEx Ground to CA. At that point it travels Surface which is via ship. It takes a month. In this scenario each case of aftershave is packed into an exterior box so you have a box within a box. It all floats in peanuts and is slathered with red warning labels. All has gone fine with us for years. If looking for international I can save you some time. Go to FedEx, they are great to work with. UPS and USPS try very hard to find ways to say no.

I hope that helps.

 

[SpeedyPC]

I don't get very much luck at all when I'm trying to order aftershave from the US via online and use Shipito to allow my order to arrived via Australia, and then I got fined twice by the Australian Customs for having liquids containing alcohol when they check every International mail without a proper approval. So I give up.

 

[malocchio]

Shipping from the U.S. I simply label customs tags as " skin lotion " , a stretch ,but accurate......If receiving end customs search the mail that's a different story...

 

[murrellington]

Thanks all for the replies.

Captain, very informative, I'll check with FedEx, I think I need to make an account first.

 

[Venator]

I recently got a bottle of Myrsol from Portugal to Australia. The box was simply marked 'Shaving gear' or similar, without going into detail. Arrived unmolested with no fine from customs or anything of the sort. Good luck!

 

[Venator]

Also [MENTION=107449]SpeedyPC[/MENTION] how much were the fines? Would be good to know so I can decide if it's worth the risk in future.

 

[SpeedyPC]

also @speedypc how much were the fines? Would be good to know so i can decide if it's worth the risk in future.

$650 aud

 

[Venator]

$650 aud

Wow. Guess I'll be sticking to The Stray Whisker from now on. Thanks.

 

[SpeedyPC]

Wow. Guess I'll be sticking to The Stray Whisker from now on. Thanks.

No worries you can order aftershave only from Gifts & Care and they do have 100% approval from Australian Custom.