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Flashpoint of fragrance oil and mailing???

post #1 of 15
11/23/12 at 6:32pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

Just curious if the flashpoint of a fragrance oil changes when it is used in body mist, cologne and perfumed oil recipes?
I was planning to use the usps flat rate as my shipping method for customers. but may need to reconsider due to flashpoint issues.....

Thanks!
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post #2 of 15
11/23/12 at 6:59pm
"If it fits, it ships". The US Postal Service ships all of the products you named. You should be fine.
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post #3 of 15
11/24/12 at 2:37am
The flashpoint of a fragrance will change depending on what it is dissolved in. If it is dissolved in alcohol then the flash point will tend towards that of ethanol. If it is dissolved in a carrier oil then the flash point will tend towards that. seasplash, you DO know what the flashpoint measures, don't you?

And I don't know what the regs are in your country, but in the UK there can be problems with transporting flammable materials.
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post #4 of 15
11/24/12 at 7:11am
I would like to revise my answer...While I have received several perfumes via USPS, it is one of the items on their HAZMAT list: https://www.usps.com/ship/can-you-ship-it.htm?showtab=2

In order to comply with the law, anything containing alcohol must be sent by surface transportation.
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post #5 of 15
11/27/12 at 7:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by racuda View Post

In order to comply with the law, anything containing alcohol must be sent by surface transportation.

That may be so in the US, though it seems unlikely.

In the UK, Royal Mail operates a general rule that if the ethanol content is lower than 80% then they will carry it, if higher they won't. That is obviously based on the other 20% being composed of something less flammable - the rules are designed for drinking alcohol and in practice mail in the UK travels by surface means anyway.

For international air transportation the rules are set by IATA
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post #6 of 15
11/27/12 at 8:15am
It's true, perfumes with alcohol (as opposed to water-based, like CB I Hate Perfume's water perfumes, or fragrance oils) must go by ground in the USA, per regulations.
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post #7 of 15
11/27/12 at 8:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 30 Roses View Post

It's true, perfumes with alcohol (as opposed to water-based, like CB I Hate Perfume's water perfumes, or fragrance oils) must go by ground in the USA, per regulations.

So they can fly into and out of the country, but within the US they have to walk? Classic: only a Government could come up with such a plan . . .
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post #8 of 15
11/27/12 at 8:38am
Actually, they can't fly out of the country either. If we declare perfume on the customs label, the P.O. doesn't let us mail it.
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post #9 of 15
11/27/12 at 3:53pm
After what seemed like hours of searching, I finally found a chart that spells it out. This chart says that "Perfumery products with flammable solvents" are prohibited to be shipped by air and can be shipped via surface mail provided certain guidelines are followed: http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52apxa.htm#ep688877

Somewhere in all that gobbledygook says that flammable liquids can't be mailed internationally.
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post #10 of 15
11/28/12 at 2:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by racuda View Post

Somewhere in all that gobbledygook says that flammable liquids can't be mailed internationally.

And yet thousands of passengers a year routinely ship alcohol based perfumes internationally by air both in carry-on and hold luggage. Duty free anyone?
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post #11 of 15
11/28/12 at 3:48am
I pointed this out at the P.O. once and was told that since USPS doesn't know how much perfume aboard an airplane is safe, they don't allow any.

TSA is another agency, with its own rules. Just be glad they still allow perfume.
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post #12 of 15
12/8/12 at 6:02am
Changes to Royal Mail terms and conditions


Only a couple of days ago, I became aware of new severe restrictions in the U.K. in the near future.

Royal Mail starts these Regulations in January 2013 for commercial accounts and in July 2013 for regular customers.

See this link, originally posted by Persolaise:

http://www.royalmail.com/customer-se...livery#danger1


Small businesses will suffer and are bound to lose half of their international customers.

This is big. And this sucks.

On the one hand, via the Internet I can view the merchandise offered in the U.K. and on the other hand, I hesitate to order anything after that window closes in July 2013 - being worried that the item may be seized in transit before it ever gets to me. Meanwhile, when paying with a credit card, the purchase price is already deducted, and where is my item ??

Just imagine the flood of angry e-mails. Customers already send off an angry e-mail when their item is only late.

So then, perfume merchandise is transported via Ground inside the U.S.A. - that is already in force.

Next year, perfume merchandise is transported via Ground inside the U.K. - oh, dear, gone all these good deals from U.K. shops for us international shoppers.

What about the perfume pals in Australia and Malaysia and Japan ? They are English speaking and often ordered from the U.K.
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post #13 of 15
12/8/12 at 8:00am
I don't think you need to panic. The changes to the UK rules actually represent a significant and useful relaxation of existing rules, with the exception that they will now transport 'beverages up to 70% ABV' where before it was up to 80% ABV.

The difference may be that Royal Mail will now take more steps to enforce their existing prohibitions and that may become a problem for international customers.

Also note that it is still possible to use an authorised HazMat courier service to send dangerous goods anywhere in the world. I use FedEx when I need to ship fragrance (either concentrated or ready diluted in ethanol) to wholesale clients for example. The additional administration is a pain and it does cost more, but with larger amounts it's not prohibitive.

A more significant factor as far as small businesses are concerned is product liability insurance, which in the UK costs 200 times more to cover North America than for the whole of the rest of the world. Few small businesses can afford that kind of outlay unless they do a great deal of transatlantic business. I certainly can't.
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post #14 of 15
12/8/12 at 11:07am
Chris Bartlett, your words are re-assuring when you know what you are dealing with.

But, like you mentioned, more awareness of those new Rules at the point of the post office will make for difficult encounters for regular people using regular mail service.

Usually when I send stuff to Japan, I don't state on the customs sticker what it really is, and just white-lie and write: Body Lotion. That is using the U.S. Postal Service.

I imagine that the U.K. regular chums can use a white lie also when they are mailing out stuff to swap partners at an international location.

What makes me wonder is - how are the small businesses going to solve this problem ? Shipping out merchandise costs money, and if they are forced to use FedEx now, then the shipping costs will be higher, and that will discourage international customers from ordering.

It is a J A R R I N G CONFLICT if merchandise that is widely available and advertised on the Internet, now cannot find its way to the consumer who has viewed it on the Internet, and wants it.

Bigger entities will step around somehow, it is the small business that is severely affected.
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post #15 of 15
12/9/12 at 7:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ClaraAus View Post

And yet thousands of passengers a year routinely ship alcohol based perfumes internationally by air both in carry-on and hold luggage. Duty free anyone?

Love this. LOL. They even sell perfumes and alcohol on board. So yes, it makes one wonder who made up those rules, and for what reasons.
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