Quote: Originally posted by elementcollector1  | I hope I have one of the 'claimed' quantities...
Hey, to all you who've sold something before: How difficult is it to ship a small quantity of sodium metal across the country? |
That depends on a lot of things. Mailing it would be illegal, almost certainly. But shipping via FedUp might be possible, but you should be aware
that to ship hazmat material correctly requires a Federal DOT license, in most cases. However, there are loopholes for everything, and one is that
small samples (I think under 35 grams) of many materials are allowed under the "small samples" rule. I have received it from Aldrich, et al, so it
is quite possible to ship it with the correct packaging, but not trivial. I am actually amazed at some of the things that I have been able to order
that were shipped via normal FedUp.
But I would guess that most shipping companies would run screaming if you asked them about doing do via their company, if you are not a big company
with lots of insurance. The DOT requires $5Million insurance for certain hazmat, like explosives, for example. That is why I don't ship Hg
thermometers, it is nearly impossible to do LEGALLY. That does not mean that some people don't do it, just that most are not aware of the laws or
ignore them. I personally would not want to try to ship anything hazardous via a shipping carrier, as they are a pain to work with. It is hard
enough to just ship glassware. |
