Attack on Tobacco Products

[kaitlyn3837]

My boss informed me yesterday that FedEx is no longer shipping tobacco any kind after the start of January. I didn't see any topics on it, so I didn't know if any of you had heard about it.

I hadn't heard a word about it until my boss mentioned he got an e-mail regarding it.

This article has some good info. And what it says about merchant/banking services is true. We have had the same problem at my shop.

http://www.stogieguys.com/2015/09/09292015-cigar-news-fed-ex-announcent-to-stop-cigar-shipments-part-of-stealth-attack-on-tobacco.html

 

[Richard Burley]

No problem--when this plays out to its inevitable conclusion the Mafia will deliver. And I will be a customer.

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[bosun1]

American ingenuity, capitalism, and the Mexican cartels will surely fill the void. Bastiches!

 

[daveinlax]

No biggie, in my close to 30 years in the hobby I've never gotten any tobacco via FedEx. I'm set but if mail order is your only option I can imagine a day without any mail ordered tobacco if your lucky to be working for employer still has not banned tobacco/nicotine or priced you out of the market. :shock:

 

[fsu92john]

The handwriting has been on the wall for several years now. A ban on mail order of any tobacco products is likely a matter of when rather than if. The powers that be will probably cite the difficulty of ascertaining the recipient's age if any justification is needed.

 

[Hermit]

The handwriting has been on the wall for several years now. A ban on mail order of any tobacco products is likely a matter of when rather than if. The powers that be will probably cite the difficulty of ascertaining the recipient's age if any justification is needed.

I can't believe we're still able to buy online.
I'm all set if I never order again.

 

[DrT999]

The handwriting has been on the wall for several years now. A ban on mail order of any tobacco products is likely a matter of when rather than if. The powers that be will probably cite the difficulty of ascertaining the recipient's age if any justification is needed.

Despite lots of attempts, that never worked with banning wine deliveries, but it does mean that the person who takes delivery to has to be of age and sign for the package.  I can see that happening easily

 

[RDPipes]

Just why would I want FedEx to deliver me Anything knowing there history negligence? :scratch:

 

[daveinlax]

The handwriting has been on the wall for several years now. A ban on mail order of any tobacco products is likely a matter of when rather than if. The powers that be will probably cite the difficulty of ascertaining the recipient's age if any justification is needed.

Despite lots of attempts, that never worked with banning wine deliveries, but it does mean that the person who takes delivery to has to be of age and sign for the package.  I can see that happening easily

LoL! That's not how I remember it. Before Wisconsin repealed their out of state mail order ban no winery or dealers would sell to you. In the phone order days the order would stop when they heard Wisconsin. An individual might risk sending an occasional "gift" but No dealer will mark a trail for the Feds and risk a felony. :shock:

 

[DrT999]

The handwriting has been on the wall for several years now. A ban on mail order of any tobacco products is likely a matter of when rather than if. The powers that be will probably cite the difficulty of ascertaining the recipient's age if any justification is needed.

Despite lots of attempts, that never worked with banning wine deliveries, but it does mean that the person who takes delivery to has to be of age and sign for the package.  I can see that happening easily

LoL! That's not how I remember it. Before Wisconsin repealed their out of state mail order ban no winery or dealers would sell to you. In the phone order days the order would stop when they heard Wisconsin. An individual might risk sending an occasional "gift" but No dealer will mark a trail for the Feds and risk a felony.  :shock:    

Note your own caveat, before the mail order ban was lifted.  Now it would work as I mention in those states which allow such sales.  Note also that those bans were allowable under the amendment which repealed prohibition and gave states the right to regulate alcohol sales

 

[szyzk]

No biggie, in my close to 30 years in the hobby I've never gotten any tobacco via FedEx. I'm set but if mail order is your only option I can imagine a day without any mail ordered tobacco if your lucky to be working for employer still has not banned tobacco/nicotine or priced you out of the market. :shock:

Ah, but it could be a biggie.

With FedEx no longer shipping tobacco of any kind UPS has a monopoly. If a manufacturer no longer receives a competitive rate to ship his product because UPS no longer needs to offer a discount, he'll charge the retailer more. If the retailer is charged more, you'll be paying more for the end product.

I already know of a few retailers who lost small shipping discounts with UPS as soon as this was announced, and have had to raise their rates to the consumer (the shop I work at is one of them).

 

[RDPipes]

No biggie, in my close to 30 years in the hobby I've never gotten any tobacco via FedEx. I'm set but if mail order is your only option I can imagine a day without any mail ordered tobacco if your lucky to be working for employer still has not banned tobacco/nicotine or priced you out of the market. :shock:

Ah, but it could be a biggie.

With FedEx no longer shipping tobacco of any kind UPS has a monopoly. If a manufacturer no longer receives a competitive rate to ship his product because UPS no longer needs to offer a discount, he'll charge the retailer more. If the retailer is charged more, you'll be paying more for the end product.

I already know of a few retailers who lost small shipping discounts with UPS as soon as this was announced, and have had to raise their rates to the consumer (the shop I work at is one of them).

All my tobacco products get shipped USPS and half the time for FREE so I don't see any monopoly.

 

[szyzk]

All my tobacco products get shipped USPS and half the time for FREE so I don't see any monopoly.

The store you're buying from - unless it's the big boys exclusively - are more than likely paying more, or will be paying more, to stock the tobacco, because that stuff isn't coming via USPS. In most cases that added cost will get passed on to the consumer. Obviously there are exceptions.

Furthermore, USPS isn't a perfect solution for every retailer's outgoing mail. If the retailer isn't big enough to qualify for bulk discounts, in many cases depending on the weight of the package or distance it will travel, UPS may be cheaper - but still more expensive than before.

You and I agree that the easy solution is to order enough to meet the free shipping requirements, as that's what I do when I spend my money at some place other than my store. But, speaking as someone who ships out anywhere from 500-800 packages a week, not every shopper works on that mindset.

 

[MichaelM]

I could be wrong about this, but I seem to recall that USPS now subcontracts with fedex. I wonder if this could be a wrinkle in the story.

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Sounds like I need to build another greenhouse....

 

[daveinlax]

I could be wrong about this, but I seem to recall that USPS now subcontracts with fedex.  I wonder if this could be a wrinkle in the story.

Yeah, USPS delivers for FedEx Ground and FedEx ships and delivers for USPS Express. :shock:

 

[kaitlyn3837]

Sounds like I need to build another greenhouse....

Haha, Ozark, you are awesome.

And I didn't know that Fedex and USPS work together. That could definitely make it interesting.

 

[idbowman]

The cellar is at 37# and growing...this is a BIG reason why!

 

[WarlockBob]

Sounds like I need to build another greenhouse....

Haha, Ozark, you are awesome.

And I didn't know that Fedex and USPS work together. That could definitely make it interesting.

From what I remember, and speaking in internet terms, it seems that USPS acts as Fedex' 'last mile' in most places (at least, they do here). I'm not sure about the big boy logistical stuff, but I do know that FedEx has some serious back-end fleet stuff figured out. It'd be cheap for the USPS to rent bins from FedEx on their cargo planes and have FedEx fly their packages across the country.

Regardless, this still could change things significantly for most tobacco sales in regards to delivery.

 

[Jevverrett]

I would guess that the high risk end of tobacco sales is most likely something to do with the ghetto smoke shops run by shady characters who may be selling largely stolen merchandise. Also the cigarette clubs that pop up here and there. They sell loose tobacco and tubes, and with your membership fees you gain access to an industrial tube stuffer. Bad juju on the tax end of life. Most of these guys end up with huge fines and maybe jail time.