Royal Mail & lithium-ion batteries

[jSquared]

Evening all,

I was shopping around for some more AW IMRs, and I came across a couple of notices about shipping Li-ion batteries via Royal Mail:

Due to Royal Mail policy we can no longer ship Lithium batteries so please use the Interlink option for postage as this is the only way we can ship UK only. WE CAN NOT SHIP THESE TO EUROPE/WORLD so please do not order them if in Europe (Link)

We can no longer post single AW batteries due to Royal Mail policy. We can only post them with the device they was intended to be used with, maximum of 3 batteries with every mod. (Link)

Well, that's news to me - did I miss something? I've ordered Li-ion batteries from other vendors very recently, and they've been sent via Royal Mail without any problems at all.

I checked the Royal Mail website and managed to find the following information:

Prohibited goods - business customers

Guess I really did miss something! Does this mean that vendors are going to have to start using couriers instead of Royal Mail? And how are some vendors still able to ship lithium batteries ("in isolation") via Royal Mail? Is it possible that they too are unaware of the change in policy?

JJ

 

[Kycap]

Never had a problem with the batteries i order, buy them while you can.

 

[jSquared]

That's exactly what I'm thinking, Kycap!

Given that this change in policy is based on regulations for the shipping of so-called dangerous goods by air (issued by the IATA and ICAO), it seems like a ridiculous stance for RM to take in relation to ground shipping within the UK.

JJ

 

[jSquared]

EDIT: Double post!

 

[Balders]

Given that this change in policy is based on regulations for the shipping of so-called dangerous goods by air (issued by the IATA and ICAO), it seems like a ridiculous stance for RM to take in relation to ground shipping within the UK.

JJ

Didn't they ban shipping the "Dreamliner" for the same reasons

 

[Balders]

Given that this change in policy is based on regulations for the shipping of so-called dangerous goods by air (issued by the IATA and ICAO), it seems like a ridiculous stance for RM to take in relation to ground shipping within the UK.

JJ

Didn't they ban shipping the "Dreamliner" for the same reasons

 

[gooder]

I received a few batteries a couple of days ago through royal mail and one was lithium polymer which i always thought was more volatile (these were not ecig related), could it be that they are willing to do it as long as you don't tell them it's li-ion? for example they might ignore them if picked up on during the system but won't take them to begin with if you make it clear whats being shipped?

 

[jSquared]

You could well be right, gooder. My main concern, though, is that a lot of vendors simply aren't aware of the change in policy. With various proposals for regulation of the industry floating around and the sheer amount of media attention e-cigs have been getting recently, I'd hate for any of them to be caught out and, possibly, made an example of.

By the way, I thought Li-polymer batteries were generally considered to be "safer" than Li-ion - in that they're supposed to be more resistant to overcharging and have less chance of leaking? Could be wrong about that, though.

JJ

 

[gooder]

Yea i hope nothing bad comes of this, but as far as batteries go i would place money that ecigs are still relatively low volume vs laptops batteries, RC batteries and other uses for them.

and yes your right that in theory li-poly are generally safer they are the only batteries which i tend to have go pop on me (quadcopter crashes a lot lol)

 

[gooder]

Yea i hope nothing bad comes of this, but as far as batteries go i would place money that ecigs are still relatively low volume vs laptops batteries, RC batteries and other uses for them.

and yes your right that in theory li-poly are generally safer they are the only batteries which i tend to have go pop on me (quadcopter crashes a lot lol)

 

[gooder]

just had a gander on the royal mail site so if your interested heres the link A comprehensive guide to all restrictions that apply to items sent by Royal Mail. | Royal Mail Ltd

 

[ppeeble]

Hmmmm, that must be why i was asked what my package was that i returned to Hong Kong recently. The counter staff where giving it a good squeeze which i thought was odd.
I didn't know about the ban but thought it would be prudent not to mention i was returning a faulty battery. I told the counter staff it was an electronic cigarette and they seemed happy with that.
I suppose technically the battery was in an electronic device (which is ok to send).
Useful info.