
Originally Posted by
barclaydetolly
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I'm sorry, but I totally disagree with this. I agree it's your choice to decide whether to lie and ship by air. I don't judge anybody for what they do. But please don't imply that everyone is recommending people lie and ship by air, or denigrate people that choose to follow the law. I follow the law and recently have not experienced any special problems, after initial glitches. It takes longer and isn't cheaper, but that's life; often government regulations are frustrating and stupid. Welcome to life in America.
And this is not the same as "going a mile over the speed limit," which is an analogy you've used in a prior post. Sorry. From a legal standpoint, what's the penalty if you speed? A fine of maybe two hundred dollars at most, with no lawyer involved? Well, if you ship perfume by air, you are breaking a federal law that can land you in jail for a year. And though federal sentences for a first offense are not usually the statutory maximum, you absolutely face possible jail time and absolutely will have to pay many thousands of dollars in legal fees in the admittedly unlikely event the government decides to make you the example, and will carry a federal criminal conviction with you for the rest of your life. And we all know that this is a hot issue for the postal service, with a new regulation, new training, and a public campaign to inform people about the new state of affairs. Do you know any federal prosecutors? Would it surprise you that sometimes federal prosecutors make decisions to prosecute to set examples, and do so especially for laws that are relatively new or are receiving a lot of publicity?
A better analogy would be: let's say your city decides to up the fine for speeding a mile over the limit to a year in jail. And let's say it then announces, very publicly, that the new law is on the books, and you'd better comply; and it puts up signs at the major highways reminding motorists about the new law. Ask yourself: are you still going to go a mile over a the speed limit? Your choice.
Look, chances are nobody will get caught and nobody will get prosecuted; I'm not stupid, and don't want to overstate this into a giant deal, or create drama. People break laws every day and never get into trouble, and it is probably overwhelmingly likely -- overwhelmingly -- that none of us will ever get caught, and if perfume is shipped by air, the government at most will just destroy or confiscate it if it's discovered, end of issue.
But it's foolish to close your eyes and say that there's no chance this will ever come back to haunt you. And I find it insulting to tell people that if they follow the law, they're stupid and shouldn't tell their "sob stories."
I'm not advising anyone what to do, just giving the facts. Me, I tell the truth and ship by ground.