The Holidays are almost here and it's time to start sending gifts to friends and family across the United States. Most items are safe to mail or ship. There are 7 items Michigan residents should not send in the mail.

Receiving a card with money or a check was awesome for a birthday or Christmas. Sending craft beer for a gift seems like a great idea for the beer lover in your life. Is it safe to send these awesome gifts?

7 Items Michigan Needs To Stop Sending Right Now

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7. Perfume & Nail Polish

The United States Postal Service doesn't want something to blow up. If the nail polish isn't flamabable you're good to go. Here's the thing, you need to know the flash point.

If your perfume contains alcohol, it falls into the do not mail by air category. You can ship it via ground transportation if packaged correctly.

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6. Thermometers

Yeah, I haven't seen a thermometer with mercury in years. Digital thermometers are ok to ship. The "old time" thermometers with mercury are toxic if broken.

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
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5. Fresh Fruits & Veggies

Grandma wants some of Michigan's fine produce sent to her. You can ship fresh fruits and vegetables if you keep them dry and prevent them from spoiling in transit.

If they start to rot, leak and smell the USPS won's ship it.

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4. Marijuana

Michigan has legalized weed! A lot of other states have not. It doesn't matter if you are trying to ship some potent smoke to someone within statelines or out of state, you can't do it. It's still illegal at the Federal Level. Hemp products can be mailed, including CBD if the THC content is 0.3 percent or less.

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3. Alcohol

Alcohol is a great gift to those who can handle the booze. You cannot send it in the mail. Any taxable intoxicating liquors with an alcoholic content of 0.5 percent or more are banned. The same goes for FedEx and UPS.

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2. Pets

Who would send their pet through the mail? Dogs, cats and certain other domesticated pets can’t be shipped via the mail, for obvious reasons. If you want to send small cold-blooded animals that are deemed harmless, such as baby alligators, frogs and lizards, you can do it.

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1. Cash or Checks

The USPS won’t stop you from mailing cash, but it advises you not to do it. There’s no guarantee the cash will make it to the recipient, and you lose out if it’s lost or stolen in transit.

Checks are stolen a lot, check fraud is nasty, AARP:

With fraud on the rise, your paper check may not be safe. The Postal Service doesn’t bar you from sending checks in the mail, but as mail fraud cases rise, you may want to think twice before doing so. Last year, banks identified 680,000 reports of check fraud, up from 350,000 in 2021.

Happy Holidays!

Old Jackson County Postal & Railroad Stations