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USPS + FedEx Vape Mail Ban, incoming late March 2021: Discussion, Updates, Info, Venting, Emotional Support

General The Pub
#1

Hey all! Hope this is okay to post here in The Pub, I’m a newer member here & wasn’t sure if I should put the topic here or in Health & Advocacy… :thinking: Loving the ELR community so far :black_heart:

I have seen a lot of talk regarding this upcoming USPS Vape Mail ban, incoming March 2021, and what exactly it may entail, who & how it will affect individual consumers, businesses, DIY, etc. Figured it would be worth dedicating a thread to this awful, stressful situation. All we really know thus far for individuals & consumers is that:

  • we have less than 120 days until potentially being unable to get our vape gear & supplies shipped to us via USPS from stateside companies :exploding_head: (China has it’s workarounds lol)
  • the bill is written to include NO NIC vape juice! basically anything that could even be considered for use in or for vaping, even CBD vaping, is going to be included (stock coils, mods, pods, tanks, no nic & nic ejuice; IIRC this means that nicotine base for DIY use is also included) :scream:
  • Costs will inevitably soar to receive gear & products as companies will be forced to abandon USPS shipping options in favor of UPS, DHL, etc :unamused:
  • FedEx has already stated that they will also be banning vape mail starting in March 2021. :sweat:
  • The worst part about this is that UPS, DHL, etc generally contract out shipments to USPS for rural areas or “last mile” deliveries they just don’t want to or can’t make, so what could this possibly mean for us? Will they hang us out to dry? Will USPS still deliver last mile packages? Will we have to pay extra for signature collected 21+ deliveries, as some states require? :thinking:
  • we will still be able to order from overseas, as long as they have ways for us to pay them :sweat_smile:
  • as the PMTA scare taught us, it would seem that VG, PG, flavor concentrates, wire for coil building, cotton, rayon, batteries/ chargers & similar, related rebuildable & DIY gear will be spared from the shipping regulations, as all aforementioned items have more uses than vaping :raised_hands:t3:

Here’s what I’ve gathered so far regarding the USPS ban & how it may affect businesses/ brick & mortar stores (not individual consumers): Vaping360.com has laid out a basic interpretation of what March 2021 may hold…it seems like any vape online sellers also need to comply with the tobacco based PACT act. Businesses would be required to:

  • Register with the U.S. Attorney General
  • Verify age of customers using a commercially available database
  • Use private shipping services that collect an adult signature at the point of delivery
  • If selling in states that tax vaping products, sellers must register with the federal government & with the tobacco tax administrators of the states.
  • Collect all applicable local and state taxes; affix any required tax stamps to the products sold
  • Send each taxing state’s tax admin a list of all transactions with customers in their state, including names and addresses of each customer sold to, the quantities & type of each product sold
  • Maintain records for 5 years of any “delivery interrupted because the carrier or service determines or has reason to believe that the person ordering the delivery is in violation of the PACT Act”
  • the above requirements have the potential to wipe out even more vape businesses, just like we saw the PMTAs accomplish. the PACT Act will cost businesses in time, labor, resources etc. Not to mention the threat of hefty fines & even jail time for violating may result in some closing shop

I’ve started this thread to give us all a place to vent our frustrations, link articles & information, discuss any info we can find & even come together to find any solutions (or loopholes) to this. If any updates, links or new information regarding the 2021 USPS Vape Mail ban is uncovered, please update us all here. How does this make you guys feel? Are you worried about small businesses & vape shops? What does the future of DIY look like? Does our govt even care that they’re forcing our $$ overseas?

Would now be a bad time to wish you & yours a Happy New Year? :upside_down_face: :partying_face: :crazy_face: :exploding_head: I hope this wasn’t too long & that the emojis weren’t too annoying (they help break up big text walls imo)

EDIT 1/11: What can we do?? As per @muth, here are some great starting suggestions:
Please answer to the Calls for Action that CASAA sends out. Just sign up with them, it’s free. You can all be emailing and or calling your state reps. Everything gets spelled out for you, it’s not hard. I find it hard to make a phone call but they even provide a script for you and the reps never pick up the phone, lol. You leave a voicemail. Edited original comment slightly for this post. Also, start stocking up on things you use, buy some RDAs/RTAs/RDTAs (even if you don’t build), prob some nic base too.

EDIT 1/16: The USPS ban that was bundled in with the recent spending/ stimulus package was officially signed into law on 12/27/20 meaning the ban will be imparted on (or before) March 28, 2021

EDIT 1/24: A few days ago (around Jan 20, 2021) I received an email back from Heartland Vapes reassuring me that as of now they’re aware of the upcoming ban & will just remain using UPS. I asked them to keep their newsletter subscribers informed of any changes if possible, they said they would. I can imagine that many companies will just switch to UPS, if they don’t use UPS already (many do).

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Good Deals 2020!
#2

Thank you for breaking this down fir everyone …Greeat Thread to start . I didnt realize Liquid Nicotine was included … Go figure right ??? It’s Bullshit that they can ban something especially from companies that follow all regulations like those Companies that have spent money on PMTA . This kind of thing is exactly what the Govt , Big T and Big P needed to help destroy Vaping . I feel sorry for those who vape that arent hobbyist , these people will have the hardest time staying away from Combustible Tobacco. I do wonder what will happen with One Shots ? Only thing I can suggest is tostock up on Nicotine ! Im certain that they will eventually come after that in a major way smfh …We have had these scares since 2016 but this time it’s real , things are gonna get hard

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#3

thank you! I hope it can help someone out there like this community has already helped me! I’m a bit obsessive about researching & preparing for stuff like this (my friends thought I was insane talking about the PMTAs & the California flavor ban, which was supposed to take effect yesterday 01-01-21, but got pushed back a bit for a vote).

& I’m not 1000% certain that nicotine base is included, although everything I’ve seen/ read leads me to believe this to be true! I actually haven’t gotten any nic base shipped via USPS anyway before, as anything over 50mg/ml (IIRC) can’t be shipped via USPS or air mail methods anyway, only ground. I’ve gotten my 100mg/ml nic from 3 or 4 different vendors now & all have come via UPS or FedEx. Hopefully companies will be able to use UPS or DHL after March, but tbh who knows if UPS will jump on the bandwagon like FedEx did?? & I’m honestly expecting that friggin nicotine tax to come through sometime during 2021 anyway. The language of the bill is written to include literally anything that could be used to vape CBD or nicotine, which I’ve read includes 0 nic juice as well as nic base. :roll_eyes: One shots could be included or they could be spared, srs can go either way! More information could be coming out soon & I will definitely update this if I get new info!

I seriously cannot believe that they’re doing this after the PMTA crap they forced businesses to go through!! I mean wtf, well I totally can believe it but damn, freakin heartless & a very bad business move if you ask me. All the $$$ small businesses, vape shops, USPS/ FedEx & other US companies will lose bc the $$ will have to be spent overseas. Bet it won’t do crap to stop the 6% of kids that get their stuff online anyway, which is their BS reasoning for all of this anyway. I’m getting fired up lol.

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#4

It’s all a bit infuriating. I don’t really need anything anymore but still. I rather liked collecting things and following the evolution of vaping. These MF’ers are just threatened so they want to kill it. Better health and longer lives be damned. Let’s tell the public how awful it is to use e-cigs, while there’s 40 different kinds of cigarettes at every convenience store in the country. Those are okay to use though.

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#5

Sheesh. Isn’t that just a kick in the teeth? I just got into DIY as a fun way to expand what I am doing and I got sick and tired of buying overpriced garbage from brick and mortar chains in my area 25$ a pop for 2 weeks of e-juice really hurts the wallet. I can’t imagine how this is going to affect everything moving forward. Hopefully, we find ways to work around it.

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#6

We can storm the Capitol…oops sorry, guess that’s not funny. I’m exhausted so what comes out of my mouth may be off color. I encourage everyone to sign up for CASAA alerts for Calls To Action, for starters.

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#7

Also, years ago I signed up CASAA on Amazon, as an eligible non profit, to receive a donation percentage. I registered CASAA on iGive so technically any merchant who participates in the iGive program will offer you the chance to donate a portion of your purchase. It doesn’t cost you a dime, the merchant kicks in. It’s been awhile but I think you need to download the tiny iGive button which will appear at the top of your browser. You may or may not want to do this but it’s a free way to support CASAA and funding is essential to keep fighting.

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#8

I registered CASAA on iGive so technically any merchant who participates in the iGive program will offer you the chance to donate a portion of your purchase. It doesn’t cost you a dime, the merchant kicks in. It’s been awhile but I think you need to download the tiny iGive button which will appear at the top of your browser. You may or may not want to do this but it’s a free way to support CASAA and funding is essential to keep fighting.

@Muth, this is amazing & thank you for mentioning that! I realized that I didn’t add in a “what can we do?” segment to my post, so I really appreciate your additions! Hopefully we will be able to add in some updates to this situation soon. I truly cannot believe they’re going to force the already struggling USPS & other shipping services to turn away $$. Why can’t they just force vendors to charge a bit more for 21+ signature verified delivery or something? :rage: We’ve already been doing that in CA for awhile, the shipping fees for 90% of my vape-related purchases from US vendors have cost me either $16.50 or $5 (some places honor their free shipping promos & only charge extra for the signature verification delivery, while other vendors charge for both shipping & signature delivery).

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#9

Well, they do here in MA but I’ve noticed not all vendors are enforcing it. Please answer to the Calls for Action that CASAA sends out. Just sign up with them,it’s free. Some US vendors are also posting the links on their sites directly to the Calls. You are emailing and or calling your state reps. Everything is spelled out for you, it’s not hard. I find it hard to make a phone call but they provide a script for you and the reps never pick up the phone, lol. You leave a voice mail.

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#10

Reposting this in the original post for new viewers to easily find! thank you (I’ve been signed up for awhile; they’re an awesome, helpful resource & not spammy at all)

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#13

Everything I’ve found thus far points to USPS imparting the ban on March 28, 2021. I’ve also read that legally, it could technically go into effect sooner as 120 days (from the bill being signed into law) is the absolute maximum time limit. I highly doubt the USPS will start earlier than the 120 day limit though.

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#14

I am new to the DIY community, but decided to mix my own juice because of the multiple efforts to ban or regulate vaping. Though the USPS will not ship vaping products, I hope FedEx and UPS will continue to ship. It is a shame to see the anti-smoking and anti-tobacco movements include vaping in their agendas. Harm reduction is not in their vocabularies. Who knows, if vaping becomes almost impossible to indulge in, there may be a whole bunch of folks going back to smoking because cigarettes won’t be banned (too much tax revenue will be lost). CASAA is a good advocacy organization and I am grateful for their (our) efforts.

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#15

First of all welcome to the community, and good luck in your diy journey. Unfortunately usps is not the only one that will no longer be shipping vape products, as of March 2021 FedEx will be joining in, this is a FedEx corporate decision. I am sure there is some sort government influence. We all need to join as many advocacy groups (CASAA) as we can, write, email and call representatives.

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#16

Jmars, thanks for the info. I didn’t know that FedEx would no longer be delivering vape supplies. Sounds like I may have place a large order and find the best method for long term storage. I’ll have to research here and find out what has worked for folks in our community. Much appreciated.

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#17

I had italicized that unfortunate fact in my original post (re FedEx also refusing to ship) due to how important/ crummy/ scary it is :scream: Not sure if FedEx was pressured to make the decision or if it was “willing”. Kind of concerning if you ask me tbh! No worries if you missed it, it was a long, probably overwhelming post lol.

However the good news is that with USPS & FedEx both imposing the ban, I hope that UPS would want all of that extra business. It’s completely possible they’ll end up on the vape mail ban bandwagon, but for now we can remain hopeful.

A few days ago (around Jan 20, 2021) I received an email back from Heartland Vapes reassuring me that as of now they’re aware of the upcoming ban & will just remain using UPS. I asked them to keep their newsletter subscribers informed of any changes if possible, they said they would. I can imagine that many companies will just switch to UPS, if they don’t use them already (many do though).

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#18

I updated the post title to now reflect it’s officially a USPS + FedEx vape mail ban :pleading_face: :weary: thankfully we still have UPS for now :crossed_fingers:t2::crossed_fingers:t3: :crossed_fingers:t4: :crossed_fingers:t5: :crossed_fingers:t6:

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