Shipping whisky from UK to US ?

@robomina I've received whisky/liquor successfully from The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt multiple times. I've tried one or two other places, but ran into problems with UPS due to a customs declaration filled out awkwardly by another store. In that case, all that happened was UPS called to ask whether I had a liquor license. What store did you use? Power of Attorney seems a bit extreme/excessive to me, but I defer to other posters or people involved in these types of transactions.

@numen I was on the phone with Fedex all day and they claim that P.O.Att. letter is their "requirement", they are also asking for my social security number (customs "requirement") and refuse to let me clear the package with customs myself (it has to be a "customs broker", like them). So I think I will try to call customs and see what they say, because the whole fedex attitude is unbelievable, they don't give a rat's ass about it. Oh, I used store called Kosherwineuk.com (the price lured me in), and from the start it was a rocky boat, I emailed them after ordering and they said the web site charged me to little for shipping, that they will increase the shipping charge, and they claimed the custom duties in US are around 40%.

Thanks for warning us! I would probably consider cutting my losses before battling customs (well, if you didn't spend too much).

@robomina, 40% sounds like total BS. More like 15%, and that's if they put everything on you they can find to charge you with.

This sounds very much like the website not 'doing things properly' - shipping to the US is Hard, and most of the larger UK websites have upped their game since the regulation changes earlier this year, or have stopped shipping to the US entirely.

From the little I know from asking lots of questions at work while we (he Whisky Exchange) were working out how to get things over to the US with the minimum of hassle, Fedex are telling the truth (although the I'm not so sure about the customs rates - that might be including their fee for doing the paperwork).

Getting stuff through US customs requires a lot of moving parts and it looks like the folks you ordered from didn't line everything up properly. Unfortunately the only advice I can offer is order from one of the bigger sites next time - while I know we're sorted (we include customs charges in advance if they are required [which they aren't always], get the paperwork done and don't charge UK sales tax for US orders) most of the other reputable companies do similar.

We are, of course, best ;)