The Woes of a Liquor Entrepreneur: Or why liquor laws suck hard.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

Correct, and it is plenty legal under other states' laws. But the very state where we produce most of America's native spirit is stuck in the dark ages of alcohol regulation. And it's not just with distribution and shipping. Distillers get hit hard with taxes and fees that are unique to Kentucky.

Pulled this from website. So they are shipping from indiana but saying the transaction happened in the state of Kentucky? So they must be transporting the bottles to Indiana for shipping? Or they could simply be putting an Indiana return address in case they come back since shipping to KY is illegal.

T​he Party Source, a licensed retailer in the State of Kentucky, transfers ownership of your alcohol beverage products, and any other products that you purchase, to you immediately at the time you place your order. All purchases are being transacted in the State of Kentucky. If this purchase is for delivery outside of the State of Kentucky, you authorize us to have your alcohol beverages or other purchases shipped on your behalf by a common carrier for delivery as requested by you. You understand that this carrier is acting as your agent as the owner of the alcohol beverages or other products.

[MauiSon]

Let's not nag a workhorse to death. I've had a good amount of locally unavailable whiskey sent from there to here and don't want anyone to entice curtailment of the practice.

[TheOakMonster]

Their shipping gets better with additional bottles. I think you need to order a minimum of 6 to make it worthwhile unless it's a bottle you just have to have. Their handling is pretty impressive. They pack their stuff in very thick cardboard and surround each bottle with a ton of bubble wrap. They do a good job.

I'll also add, that Party Source is hardly making extra money off their shipping charges. As someone who handles shipping orders at a liquor store, i'll point out the UPS fees are greater for alcohol than a standard package. Alcohol requires "over 21 delivery confirmation" which adds $7-8 before even weighing a bottle. Factor in liquid-filled glass bottles and heavy-duty packaging and the shipping costs climb.

I think amazon.com and similar online vendors have spoiled us, because they absorb some shipping costs and negotiate cheap rates with carriers. But smaller stores can't do that. I mean, if our store charged $10 flat shipping or similar we'd lose so much money it would be pointless to sell online or ship.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

I'll also add, that Party Source is hardly making extra money off their shipping charges. As someone who handles shipping orders at a liquor store, i'll point out the UPS fees are greater for alcohol than a standard package. Alcohol requires "over 21 delivery confirmation" which adds $7-8 before even weighing a bottle. Factor in liquid-filled glass bottles and heavy-duty packaging and the shipping costs climb.

I think amazon.com and similar online vendors have spoiled us, because they absorb some shipping costs and negotiate cheap rates with carriers. But smaller stores can't do that. I mean, if our store charged $10 flat shipping or similar we'd lose so much money it would be pointless to sell online or ship.

Not to mention Amazon fills up a UPS semi truck trailer and delivers to the local UPS sorting facility themselves, effectively cutting out an entire step in the shipping process.

[ramblinman]

Yeah, its true. I've been Amazon prime member as long as they've offered it and I'm very spoiled.

Their scales are nuts, my boss has a side business that deals with mail order and he says due to how much business they do they can send next day cheaper than normal biz can do ground.