No matter what you plan on ordering online, we’ve all become accustomed to ultra-fast shipping. For many products, you can easily and affordably ship them in as little as 2 days to most regions in the United States. However, there are certain items such as sparklers for weddings that take a little longer to get there. While it may seem a little frustrating at first, the fact of the matter is shipping sparklers via air transportation is strictly prohibited. There are a variety of reasons for this, and I will cover those a bit later. To fully understand the issue, you need to look at the specific restrictions as well as to legal ramifications for breaking the rules. Here is everything you need to know.
What Are the Laws Regarding Shipping Sparklers Via Air Transportation
In general, shipping sparklers is not a cut-and-dry process. Federal regulations classify sparklers as a “hazardous material” even though they are not classified the same way as other fireworks. Instead, they are regulated as “novelties” which allows you to ship them at all. To comply with the laws, certain markings need to be adorned on the outside of the shipping box. These include the words “flammable”, “1.4g”, and more. Specifically relating to shipping sparklers via air transportation, these notations make it extremely illegal.
Imagine a world where aircraft packed the cargo bay with things that can easily catch on fire. This would obviously be a huge issue to not only passengers, but to package handlers and the flight crew. For all these reasons, it is 100% illegal to ship sparklers of any type on an airplane.
What are the Consequences of Illegally Shipping Sparklers Via Air Transportation?
Of course, many people are still tempted to bend or break the rules for various reasons. Sadly, we occasionally have to report unlawful practices when another company breaks these rules. If someone is promising 3 day shipping on sparklers, they likely will be shut down for violations of the laws in the near future. Here is a full breakdown of the consequences both buyers and sells face when illegally shipping sparklers for weddings.
Consequences for Sellers
Companies that attempt to circumvent the regulations on shipping materials deemed “hazardous” face steep repercussions. First off, their business is likely to be shut down almost immediately. Additionally, they will be blacklisted from most shipping providers for any associated company they operate. Furthermore, their goods and revenues are likely to be seized and they will be forced to pay expensive fines. Lastly, major offenders can even find themselves headed to prison! Overall, shipping sparklers via air transportation is not only illegal; it can ruin your entire livelihood in a big hurry. Bottom line: don’t even think about trying it.
Consequences for Buyers
Fortunately, the ramifications for buyers aren’t nearly as bad from a legal standpoint. With few exceptions, it’s unlikely you’ll be facing any sort of jail time. However, if they can prove you knew that the goods you are receiving were restricted and shipped via air anyway; you could find yourself behind bars. More likely, you’ll suffer less serious consequences like losing the money you spent on your order or not having your wedding sparklers when your event arrives. Though it is less detrimental, it can still be a massive inconvenience, lead to financial loss, or occasionally even worse. Again, if transit times seem too good to be true; you should definitely make the smart play and order from somewhere more reputable.
What is the Fastest Option for Shipping Sparklers Legally?
Now that you understand the consequences of companies illegally shipping sparklers via air transportation, you need to look at what is reasonable and legal. Generally speaking, only ground transportation options are viable for sparklers. This excludes some of the most commonly used methods like express shipping or USPS first class mail since they both end up on planes for longer voyages. In fact, there are really only a handful of options that are legal, and they are the ground services offered from FedEx and UPS. There are a few other courier services that only transport via ground, but those are the two main options. If you use those services, you eliminate the risk of shipping sparklers via air transportation unintentionally.
Can They Be Shipped to Alaska or Hawaii?
Since both Alaska and Hawaii are separated from the lower 48 states, ground transportation is not a realistic option. In the case of Hawaii, there are only two ways to deliver any goods to the islands; air or sea. Unfortunately, sea transportation is prohibitively expensive unless you are importing large quantities. Conversely, if you are planning to use sparklers at an Alaskan wedding, you could theoretically transport them across Canada via truck. However, there are a lot of hoops to jump through in order to get sparklers across international borders. For instance, there are customs paperwork to provide and tariffs to pay at international borders. Additionally, most companies charge a premium to cross not only one but two international borders. At the end of the day, these factors make shipping sparklers to Hawaii or Alaska nearly impossible from the continental US.
Should You Take the Risk and Try to Get Away With It?
Usually, I try not to give out advice about risk tolerance to people. However, in this situation the rules are really simple. It is flat out illegal to attempt shipping sparklers via air transportation. Under no circumstances should you ever buy from a company using these unlawful methods; much less attempt to ship them yourself in this manner. In fact, you can’t even take sparklers on a plane in your luggage, much less ship large quantities. At the end of the day, you may get away with it for a brief snapshot in time. However, it will eventually catch up with you and you’ll be facing some extremely stiff penalties as I outlined before.
What is the Wedding Day Sparklers Shipping Policy?
Luckily, Wedding Day Sparklers is the oldest and most reputable sparkler provider in the United States. Not only do we source high quality products from respectable sources, we follow every law completely. To that effect, we ship via ground transportation only without exception. To help keep delivery times as fast as possible, we ship most orders on the same day they are received. Additionally, we offer an economy shipping method for people looking to save money or upgraded ground options for those who are more eager. Usually, our products are delivered in 2-4 business days. However, they can take a little longer if you live in a more remote region further away from a major city. You can read our complete sparkler shipping information here to get all the details about your delivery.
The bottom line is that when you order from us, you will receive your items as fast as humanly possible within the letter of the law. We will never promise more than we can guarantee, but we work hard to exceed all expectations. More importantly, we will never attempt shipping sparklers via air transportation and risk your order never arriving. For all these reasons and more, Wedding Day Sparklers is the most trusted name in the sparkler industry.
