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I've been interested in several items in the Marketplace over the last couple months, only to see the sellers state they will only ship to Continental USA and not AK and HI. As a point of clarification, Alaska is continental USA (North American), though we are not contiguous (connected).
Since the postings I'm interested in state the sellers are using the USPS Flat Rate box which ships to and from AK at the same rate, I'm curious as to why Alaska is excluded from purchasing. While it does save me money, I'd like to be able to purchase some of the bulb lots listed...
I don't know why anyone would not ship to Alaska.It's Arizona and Hawaii that are a big pitb.In both of these cases it's the phyto requirements.Alaska has no such requirements.
It could be they just don't know that they can ship to AK for the same price as anywhere else, without knowing any better I definitely wouldn't have been surprised for it to cost more. If there's something you're really interested in, why don't you dmail that seller and let them know that they can send to AK for the same price as anywhere else and see if they'd be willing to sell it to you?
ecrane3...That was my original intention until it became a matter of more than one seller. In the first case, I decided I really didn't need the bulbs and the fact I'd have to dmail to ask if they would please take my money gave me my excuse not to purchase. (LOL)
As the issue arose with other sellers, I decided to make a general post to clarify shipping to Alaska, as it IS my guess that people think it always costs more. If the items are not being shipped Flat Rate and the cost is more, we like to be given the option and are accustomed to paying any difference.
I hope no "bad attitude" is coming through in my posts, as none is intended...Frustration that we are frequently not considered part of the US, yes...bad attitude, no...
Oh, I don't think it came across as bad attitude, I can definitely understand why you'd be frustrated. I think it's just a misunderstanding, lots of people have in their mind that AK and HI are different than the rest of the country so they assume shipping would be more. Or it's possible there are other reasons--I was looking around and it seems that there are some mail order nurseries that say they can't/won't ship to AK--I'm not sure if it's because of the requirements like phyto certificates for shipping plants into AK, or if they're worried that the time in transit would be longer and the plants might not make it, but that tells me there could be something real going and not just misconceptions about shipping costs. Either way, if you see something you really want there's no harm in dmailing the seller to ask if they'd consider shipping to you (not everyone who sells on the marketplace follows this forum, so it's very possible some of them might not see your thread here)
I've shipped to Alaska before with no problems and there was no more of a charge than from here to CA or here to FLA--not flat rate boxes either. I also have a regular seed customer in HA and don't have any problems sending seeds there to him either--its plants only they have a problem with. For HA you just have to put a notice on the outside of the bubble envelope that says: this contains seeds of x, y, and z (and list them). This also works for New Zealand too.
I can ship all over the world, phytosanitization is a must for alot of places over seas. In certain states, according to my inspector, the plants have to be completely free of soil, due to possibility of transmitting diseases and pests, a few plants should be okay, alot require a nursery license, which I do have. It is possible with your zone that they would not guarantee the survival of certain plants, but I would think that they would specify that. Really all it is that certain states require completely clean plants and nothing noxious, like weeds. I guess some sellers have had inspectors inspect plants when they arrive and were unacceptable so they buyers never recieved their plants. I only sell iris, so I know that according to your zone that they would not survive, they need zones 3-8, so there would be no guarantee.
I agree, of course you are apart of the states, as well as HI. It may just be your zone for some perennials.
Continental United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term continental United States refers to the 48 contiguous states located on the North American continent south of the border with Canada, plus the District of Columbia, but excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Because Alaska is also on the North American continent, the term, if interpreted literally, should also include that state, so the term is sometimes qualified with the explicit inclusion or exclusion of Alaska to resolve any ambiguity.
Some other terms which are equivalent in common usage, but which have less ambiguity in their meaning, include:
Contiguous United States
Coterminous (or Conterminous) United States
The Lower 48[9]
The U.S. military also has a term which is equivalent in common usage:
CONUS
On the few occasions I listed items on the Marketplace, I checked postage to Anchorage . . . It was always comparable to Los Angeles, New York, and Miami.
Yeah, I don't get that either? We were just in Alaska last week and caught a bunch of Salmon. It was processed and shipped Fedex to Florida (next day) with no excess fee. Cost less than me shipping a product to California from here??? (ground)
For us here in Florida, the cost to ship to Alaska is the same as CA, Guam, and Micronesia. All are zone 8 rates from Florida.
When shipping via Priority Mail, you can get away with not documenting material as the US Mail can't be randomly opened and inspected by the States Department of Agriculture. USDA can randomly open and inspect, but not the State. This only apllies to packages sent through the US Postal mail. Packages sent via DHL, FedEx, UPS, and airfreight are all subject to inspection by the local authorities.
The same holds true for US Territories and Commonwealths, but some tend to disregard this, Guam in particular. Guam will open and inspect if its clearly marked that its plant material or came from a shipping address that clearly has the name of a nursery on it. If the package bares no such marks, it sails right through.
The Bahamas are another place that's easy to ship to. While a phyto is necessary, you don't have to ensure all of your t's are crossed and your i's are dotted like you do some other countries. Any discrepancies are usually fixed on the receivers end with $20-$50.
Very rarely (my experience is NEVER) are packages opened...it is up to the recipient to take their box to USDA to be inspected. Right...like that is going to happen. We jump thru hoops to send out of Hawaii...but coming in is no problem. I was told by a shipper that the additional 27$ they have to charge to send anything to Hawaii was because they had to wrap it better. Give me a break!!! Some people DO think we are a foreign country...AK too.
There are some restrictions in Hawaii...like we can't import bananas or grasses and stuff because of possible diseases and because the grasses become so invasive... Most of us selfpolice ourselves...
Each container must be clearly labeled with names and addresses of shipper and consignee, the
contents, and the state of origin. Possession may not be taken unless each container bears a tag,
label or stamp to indicate that the article has been inspected and passed.
This action shall constitute a permit by the Department of Agriculture authorizing its entry into Hawaii.
I attach a copy of my permit and shield to the bottom of my packing slip.
Hmmmm I do that when I import from Australia or a foreign country. USDA only really cares about boxes leaving Hawaii. I tried to get them to inspect the first box I ever received from the mainland...they told me to go to Hawaiian Ag, Hawaiian Ag. told me it was USDA...end of effort. Don't believe everything you read...it is governmentspeak, not real life.
According to what I have heard , it is due to state regulations as to the types of flora that can be sent in.They don't want anything that is not indigenous to the areas brought in. There are several states that hace that, Cal, arizona and a couple others that are listed that way.
You can ship just about anything into California except for citrus (and probably certain things that are considered noxious weeds) as long as you have the appropriate phyto certificates. There are definitely no rules about things having to be indigenous--I order non-indigenous plants from out of state mail order nurseries all the time.
I am surprised that you can do that cause here where I live there are certain things that we can't bring into the state. I imagine you can do it as long as the state doesn't find out. Who knows ? I know I bought something that I didn't know that we weren't suppose to have and I have kept my mouth shut about it just in case. I just happen to go in to our DNR and was reading some stuff there, is how I found out about it.
There are always a few plants that are restricted because they can be noxious weeds, we have that too I just don't know which plants those are off the top of my head. Citrus is forbidden because of the huge citrus industry here, I guess they don't want to take a chance on bringing in any pests that might hurt the citrus trees here. But most stuff is fine as long as it has the appropriate phyto certificates.
Grasses are not allowed in...and most know it. It is difficult to hammer on the residents to be law abiding...Home Depot brings in and sells anything they want, as long as it is NOT one of the 12 plants on the NO list. The most noxious weeds are sold by the flat there: ageratum, strawberry guava... Most people do NOT bring plants in, but nurseries and growers do, and they are careful. I don't encourage anything...I just know what happens!!!!
