Okay, so I’ve been getting into perfumes lately, right? And I wanted to send some to my friend across the country. But then I got to thinking, “Can I even do that?” You know, with all those rules about shipping liquids and stuff. So I did some digging, and here’s what went down.
First, I hit up the USPS website to see what the deal was with shipping perfume. Turns out, there are some rules. Like, you can’t just throw a bottle of perfume in a box and call it a day.
So, I learned that perfume is considered a “flammable liquid” because of the alcohol content. That means there are restrictions on how you can ship it. Basically, you can’t send it through the air, like with Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express. You gotta use ground transportation, like USPS Retail Ground.
Next, I had to figure out how to package this stuff. I found some guidelines on the USPS website that said to use a leak-proof container and to cushion the perfume really well. I didn’t want any spills or broken bottles, so I was extra careful with this part.
Packing it up
- Leak-proof container: I used a small plastic container with a tight-fitting lid for each perfume bottle.
- Cushioning: I wrapped each container in bubble wrap, like a lot of bubble wrap. Then I put them in a sturdy box and filled all the empty space with packing peanuts. I made sure nothing could move around in there.
- Labeling: This is important! You have to label the package as containing “Surface Only” or “Surface Mail Only” since it can’t go on a plane. There should also be a DOT marking on the box which indicates that you have a flammable liquid. I also wrote “ORM-D” on it, which is some kind of code for limited quantity hazardous materials.
After all that, I took the package to the post office. I made sure to tell the clerk that it was perfume and that it needed to go ground. They weighed it, I paid for the shipping, and off it went!
It took a little longer than usual for the package to arrive since it was going by ground, but it got there safe and sound. My friend was super happy to get the perfumes, and I was happy that I figured out how to ship them without any problems.
So, yeah, you can ship perfume through USPS, but you gotta follow the rules and pack it up real good. It’s a bit of a process, but it’s totally doable.
