UPS No Longer Allowing COD On Tobacco Shipments (Update: COD Shipments Still Allowed)

In addition to requiring all tobacco shipments to be signed by an individual at least 21-years-old, UPS will no longer be accepting COD for tobacco shipments.

Update (Feb. 24, 2020) — UPS has updated WorldShip to allow for COD on tobacco shipments going forward. More info here.

While the new age requirement applies to both shipments to consumers and to retailers, the COD changes will largely affect shipments between manufacturers and retailers.

COD—short for cash on delivery or collect on delivery—is a process where a person or company can order products and pay the carrier, in this case, UPS, when the items are delivered. UPS then sends the money to the cigar company that sold the products. While most cigar retailers don’t offer this option, it is something that is offered by many cigar manufacturers to its retail clients.

The practice is increasingly less common for a number of reasons. First, UPS charges a service fee on each COD order. Second, most cigar companies offer retailers in good standing payment terms, allowing them to pay 30 days—and sometimes longer—after the product has been delivered.

Emails sent to manufacturers from UPS representatives indicate that the company’s WorldShip software doesn’t allow for orders to be both COD and Adult Signature Required.

FedEx has banned tobacco shipments since 2016, though USPS still allows for tobacco products to be shipped via its services. USPS’s website does not list tobacco products as an exclusion for COD though its policies won’t allow COD orders over $1,000.

Update (Feb. 21, 2020) — See above. This story was originally published Feb. 19, 2020.