When shipping alcohol, to comply with regulations you often need to specify that your shipments contain alcohol/are age-restricted so that courier drivers will check the customer's ID. Not all couriers support shipping alcohol so if you're ever unsure, we recommend speaking directly with your courier account manager to confirm this.
Packaging requirements
Many couriers will have specific requirements for how you must package your order to ensure the safe delivery of your product. Some requirements typically include:
- Ensuring there is separation between the bottles in the package
- Ensuring bottles are facing upright
- Including a sticker/indicator that the package contains alcohol
Please refer to your courier as they will be able to provide you a full list of requirements.
Carriers that support alcohol delivery with Starshipit
Startrack on Demand
ID Check with TONID Service
- Navigate to Settings > Couriers > Startrack Settings > Advanced tab > Ensure Call the API directly is ticked to avoid using legacy settings.
- Add TONID to your product codes.
- Select the desired behaviour from the delivery types drop-down.
- Typically, ID25 no ATL (Alcohol Delivery) is used, meaning anyone looking younger than 25 must show ID, and the package cannot be left in a safe place.
- When you ship orders with TONID, these settings apply automatically.
Australia Post
Specific wine/alcohol services
Speak to eParcel about loading specific alcohol service codes onto your account such as:
- 3O85
- 3P85
- 3V85
- 7O35
- 7O85
When processing orders with these codes, Starshipit will flag them as containing alcohol, prompting the courier driver to verify the recipient's ID upon delivery. These options combine with signature required/safe drop settings, allowing customers to opt for packages to be left in a safe place.
No additional setup will be required from your end. Simply print the order with the service code, and the rest is handled automatically.
Australia Post has a wine guide available here if you'd like to learn more.
Sherpa
Alcohol (18+) delivery option
- Tick Alcohol (18+) on each order to ensure ID is checked.
- Alternatively, set Alcohol (18+) as the default for Sherpa shipments. You can do this by:
- Navigating to Settings > Couriers > Sherpa Settings > Advanced tab and ticking the Alcohol (18+) box.
Rendr
Alcohol (18+) delivery option
- Tick Age Restricted on each order to ensure ID is checked.
- Alternatively, set Alcohol (18+) as the default for Rendr shipments. You can do this by:
- Navigating to Settings > Couriers > Rendr Settings > Advanced tab and ticking the Alcohol (18+) box.
Uber
Age Restricted delivery option
- Tick Age Restricted on each order to ensure ID is checked.
- Alternatively, set Age Restricted (default) as the default for Uber shipments. You can do this by:
- Navigating to Settings > Couriers > Uber Settings > Scroll down to Delivery Options and tick the Age Restricted (default) box. You can also specify the minimum age requirement.
NZ Post
Please reach out to NZ Post and request that the following services are added to your account:
- CPOL18R
- CPOL18RA
Once added, you'll see an Age Restricted option on your NZ Post orders in Starshipit.
- Tick Age Restricted on each order to ensure ID is checked.
- Alternatively, set Age Restricted (default) as the default for NZ Post shipments. You can do this by:
- Navigating to Settings > Couriers > NZ Post Settings > Advanced tab and tick the Age Restricted (default) box.
Requirements
NZ Post have the below requirements for your shipments:
- All cartons must have a board weight equivalent of B Flute.
- All cartons must include arrow up and fragile stickers/printed labels on all sides of the carton.
- All alcohol shipped must have corrugated dividers in between the bottles (to prevent label and product damage).
Best practice for alcohol deliveries with Starshipit
Setting up rules in Starshipit
You can create rules on checkout to only show certain courier options when alcohol products are in the cart. For example, if an item SKU contains R18, set the carrier for checkout to Australia Post.
Customer notifications
Notify customers that they will need to show ID for their alcohol deliveries. Consider including this information in your email notifications.
Turn on the Out for Delivery notification so customers can be prepared to sign for their order. You can set this by:
- Navigating to Settings > Tracking and notifications > Scroll down to Configure your customer notifications > Tick the box in the Out For Delivery row.
