Moving country...best way to take my bottles?

[omnom]

Hi guys, I already have a few bottles and I plan on having a few more soon, and on top of that I plan on buying a few PVWs at next release...

...but I am then moving to Australia later this year.

Does anyone have any knowledge/suggestions on legalities and best methods to get my collection to Australia safely?

IS there a legal way to ship them? I don't mind paying the price for it if it's doable. If there is a way, I have someone here in the US whose house I can store any number of bottles at if I have to ship them separately or something. I just want to get them to my house in Australia safely and have no idea how to go about it.

I will have a lot of unopened bottles, and I don't think I am able to just ship them from USA to Australia myself legally.

Any information/ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[ILLfarmboy]

Could be Illegal, either way you try.

....and you know me, I'd never advise to do anything illegal.

And....don't even think about tearing those tags off your mattress.

[omnom]

hah. yeah. I do not want to do anything illegal

I just found this out though:

"If you are aged 18 years or over, you can bring 2.25L of alcohol duty-free into Australia with you. All alcohol in accompanied baggage is included in this category, regardless of where or how it was purchased."

I guess my only option is to put it in my checked baggage, which leads to a further question...is this going to ruin my bourbon? Sloshing it around, potentially sitting the wrong way up in my bags for the 20+ hours of flights...

I have no worries about the bottles breaking, will be easy to pack them safely.

[LostBottle]

20+ hours in an airplane should not have any adverse effect on your bourbon.

Contact with the cork for a day or so is definitely not the same as storing them laying down. As far as temp, I know some airlines can take steps with wine to ensure that it is not effected by temperature variations, I would try and get your bottles transported in this manner - that said, even this is probably unnecessary. Transport and storage is another reason I am glad I am into whisk(e)y rather than wine.

Lastly, if you have any George T Stagg - leave it here. I just found out a couple weeks ago it is illegal to put into check-in or ship via air due to the alcohol content being above 70%.

[AaronWF]

Contact with the cork for a day or so is definitely not the same as storing them laying down.

[Old Lamplighter]

Lastly, if you have any George T Stagg - leave it here. I just found out a couple weeks ago it is illegal to put into check-in or ship via air due to the alcohol content being above 70%.

WTH...go ahead and take it with you. If they stop you, make a trade...they can use it for jet fuel.

[camduncan]

I know I'm getting in early.... but... Welcome to Australia!! :cool:

What part of the country are you moving or thinking of moving too?

The quote you found about 2.25 litres per person applies to holiday travel... not migrants taking up residence.

The following site has some good information:

http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/travel/entering-australia/moving-emigrating

As does this:

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/UPE_factsheet.pdf

which also has the quote:

Duty free concessions that apply to alcohol and

tobacco products that you carry with you when you

arrive in Australia do not apply to unaccompanied

goods. Alcohol and tobacco products (cigarettes,

cigars or other products containing tobacco) that

are imported with your UPEs will be subject to duty,

GST and/or Wine Equalisation Tax (WET).

That pretty much says to me that they're going to hit you hard for any alcohol you ship into the country..... and trust me, it isn't cheap.

To give you some idea, shipping a single 12 bottle case of $15-$20 bottles to Australia from Binnys works out costing $50-$60 per bottle (or more depending on shipping costs & alcohol volume per bottle) by the time shipping and tax are taken into account.

[camduncan]

.... and just found this one that might also help:

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/AlcoholandTobaccoFactSheet.pdf

[omnom]

Thank you for the ideas everyone. Putting them into some screw-top bottles is certainly an idea.

Camduncan, thank you I have actually lived in NSW all my life (I am a citizen by birth), but have been living in the US for the past few years. So I'm wondering if I can use the 2.25L thing?

I am in the process of reading those pdfs right now, thanks for digging those up for me!

[camduncan]

So you're heading back to NSW? Which part? There's several members on here from Brisbane, a couple in Perth, but I'm not sure about NSW based members.

Camduncan, thank you I have actually lived in NSW all my life (I am a citizen by birth), but have been living in the US for the past few years. So I'm wondering if I can use the 2.25L thing?

I'd imagine if you're flying home it won't be a problem. Personally I'd be packing as much bourbon into my checked in bags as the airlines weight limit would allow. You'll still pay tax on them when you arrive, but they won't add additional tax on the cost of shipping.

There's also a great site called Yanks Downunder:

www.yanksdownunder.net

It's aimed at US citizens relocating to Australia and might have some helpfull information on getting your posessions shipped back home.

[HighTower]

If you're having trouble you could always send them my way and I will give you QLD custodial cross-border visits! :grin:

Welcome aboard, I hope you stay on here upon your return home.

I think either way, those bastards will probably try and hit you with import duty...:smiley_acbt:

Cheers

Scott

[omnom]

So you're heading back to NSW? Which part? There's several members on here from Brisbane, a couple in Perth, but I'm not sure about NSW based members.

[camduncan]

Sounds like a good idea. I will certainly try my best. Might even put a couple of 'lesser' bottles in the wifes bag just to try my luck. Can't hurt.

Remember it's 2.25 litres per person, so you can claim 3 x 750ml bottles each tax free. Unfortunately if you go over that and they decide to tax you, the first 3 aren't tax free and you get taxed on every bottle (per person)

[HighTower]

In saying that Cam, I have come through customs and had beyond the tax free threshold and when asked if I had anything to declare and I said extra alcohol, they waved me on and said have a nice day. That was 13 years ago, and you would have to strike a customs officer in a good mood, but I think if you're straight forward with them you have a better chance......how many bottles would you have?

[omnom]

how many bottles would you have?

Depends how lucky I get in the next PVW shipment

I am actually researching if there is a way to have at least a couple shipped from a retailer to my house in Australia - I think that is legal. But if so, I still have the problem being able to know that I *will* get some (PVW) at whatever retailer I choose, I know the stuff sells out fast. Paying tax on the shipment does not bother me too much.

For my check-in bags I will probably just stick to the limit...3 for me, 3 for the wife. If I get taxed, so be it. Probably won't be back in the US for quite a while so it is worth it.

I think I will be ok.

[trumpstylz]

Does anyone know how much it would cost to ship a bottle to australia? How much for customs?

[camduncan]

Depends how lucky I get in the next PVW shipment

I am actually researching if there is a way to have at least a couple shipped from a retailer to my house in Australia - I think that is legal. But if so, I still have the problem being able to know that I *will* get some (PVW) at whatever retailer I choose, I know the stuff sells out fast. Paying tax on the shipment does not bother me too much.

For my check-in bags I will probably just stick to the limit...3 for me, 3 for the wife. If I get taxed, so be it. Probably won't be back in the US for quite a while so it is worth it.

I think I will be ok.

Binnys will ship to Australia, but it's not cheap. Expect to double the cost of the bottles you buy, possibly tripple with customs charges thrown in.

Australia has a Van Winkle distributor, but they are costly. Expect to pay $100 or so for a 10/107, $130 for a Lot B etc.... but it does work out to be about the same as if you import yourself :smiley_acbt:

[camduncan]

Does anyone know how much it would cost to ship a bottle to australia? How much for customs?

[omnom]

Binny's will ship to Australia, but it's not cheap. Expect to double the cost of the bottles you buy, possibly tripple with customs charges thrown in.

Australia has a Van Winkle distributor, but they are costly. Expect to pay $100 or so for a 10/107, $130 for a Lot B etc.... but it does work out to be about the same as if you import yourself :smiley_acbt:

[mark fleetwood]

SB Nation, I may have a professional opportunity in next couple months that would involve relocating from Cincy area to Colorado. Aside from figuring out moving the family and dog and selling the house (or maybe move the house and sell family and dog) our bunker of about 250 bottles becomes a concern. I've searched SB and googled for Colorado-specific importation laws and came across the law (linked below), but after reading and re-reading I can't figure out if it regulates personal UHaul importation or just via flying as it seems to indicate. (and I don't even want to consider all the states in between whose laws prob forbid transportation.). Any thoughts if anyone else has moved a personal supply. (I know no one can provide legal advice).

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1191399157575&ssbinary=true

[camduncan]

and ouch! I came across a 10/107 for $30 today! I'll have to get used to Australian prices (for everything) again. I heard about "Nick's" - is this the only source of VW stuff in Australia?

There is another.... send me a PM when you have a chance as this one will save you a bit over Nicks:skep:

[camduncan]

Out of interest, have you made the final journey back to Australia yet?

[camduncan]

Bump.... 'cause I'm curuious to know if you (and your bottles) made it safely back Downunder?