In the OU Torah tidbits this past week the following ad appeared:
Carry and Cash will connect people who have packages to send to people who are traveling who will take the package for a small fee. Sounds great at first but there are a number of major problems.
- Security - We have all heard about people being arrested for carrying
contraband given to them by a third party. In fact, cash and carry
explicitly state on their website that you should "Unpack & Repack"
every item. By doing that you are supposed to verify that what you are
taking is legitimate. However, that is not always so simple. What
happens if someone hides contraband in an innocent looking object such
as someone gives you a stuffed animal to transport stuffed with illegal
drugs. You won't detect this by simply unpacking and repacking and if
you are caught you will go to prison for a long time. Do you really want
to take that chance for a few bucks?
- It may be illegal. Most countries allow travelers to bring a small amount of goods into the country (in Israel for example up to $200) for personal use. However, there is no such allowance for commercial purposes so even if you are bringing in a $5 item for someone (and getting paid for it) you may strictly speaking have to declare it at customs etc.
- Liability - As I mentioned above you are supposed to "Unpack & Repack" every item. What happens if you repack the item and it gets damaged? What if it is stolen on the way? Who is liable?
