Sunday, February 7, 2016

How to ship hair spray

So, earlier this week I scored the deal of the year on hair spray. I found 28 bottles of Big Sexy Hair Spray and Play Harder hair spray and Root Pump marked down to $1 a bottle at Wal-Mart. Renewing my couponing addiction now takes me to Wal-Mart on a more regular basis, which is how I ended up there. 
I bought every can on that shelf at that price, and right now I have the lowest price on E-Bay for both products. Even with offering it below anyone else I am still making between $4 and $6 a can after shipping and fees. 

Now, shipping pressurized cans of hair spray is not something I had ever done before. I knew it was considered dangerous, but I didn't know the rules or how to do it. I did a lot of research, I called Fedex, UPS and USPS repeatedly, and here is how to do it:

You can ship with any service offered through USPS. I chose First Class because the bottles are 10 ounces each and it is ok to ship up to 16 ounces using this service. The service is far cheaper than any other, so I use it. 

Each can must be sealed in a plastic bag. I used the thick tyvek ones, but ziplock style are also ok. Each can must have a layer of absorbent material around it. I wrapped each can in its sealed bag, and then created a cardboard box in a triangle shape to surround it. I filled the spaces between can and box with shredded paper (I use shredded paper for all kinds of things, I should write a post about it!). I then put the box inside another large tyvek bag and taped it around so it fit snugly. I taped on my shipping label (I print from my computer to simplify my life), and then I marked each package Ground Shipping Only and ORM-D with a triangle around it written in magic marker. That is it. Simple. Just not easy to find this information anywhere. The last rule is that the packages must be handed to a live person at the Post Office. The UPS store I normally frequent is not licensed to handle ORM-D shipping. 

It took me four hours to get that information. I hope you use it well!!