You can't glue stuff in Catalina
August 20, 2014 6:19 PM   Subscribe

Why doesn't Amazon ship Amazing Goop and presumably other adhesives to Catalina Island?

Amazon says it won't ship Amazing Goop to Catalina Island:

"This item is not for sale in Catalina Island"

Why?
posted by Dansaman to Home & Garden (7 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
It looks like all shipping is by air (not by boat), so ground-only products can't be shipped there. More here & here.
posted by insectosaurus at 6:24 PM on August 20, 2014


Another site selling it mentions "Note: due to Amazing Goop being flammable, it must be shipped via standard ground shipment only."

When I lived on Vancouver Island, it was difficult to get flammable stuff shipped there, too. (This in the early 90s -- I mention because one of the links above has a 'thank 9/11!' whinge. No.)
posted by kmennie at 6:43 PM on August 20, 2014


There's an actual shipping service to Catalina, apparently, in addition to the Flying Boats air freight service mentioned in the Askville answer in insectosaurus' second link.

Catalina Flying Boats doesn't actually fly any flying boats anymore, but they do fly a DC-3 to Catalina regularly and it is fairly spectacular to see (and hear) it as it makes its run (I live in the LBC).

Although, it occurs to me that I have not noticed that big friendly plane lumbering above lately.
posted by notyou at 6:45 PM on August 20, 2014


Neither shipper -- sea nor air -- includes any details about what may or may not be shipped on its website, which, well have a look. Having an exclusive shipping concession to a privately owned island means it's okay to keep on truckin' with the website your grandkid made in 1996.
posted by notyou at 6:55 PM on August 20, 2014


Response by poster: Of the thousands of islands in the US, I find it hard to imagine that Catalina Island is the only island that delivery companies only service by air. In fact, I think there are a lot of non-island locations in Alaska that are only serviced by air.
posted by Dansaman at 9:56 PM on August 20, 2014


Catalina is not only serviced by air -- the difference is that Catalina Flying Boats, which has their own specific restrictions, is a monopoly on shipping to the island (i.e. UPS & FedEx must contract through CFB to deliver). See this article from 2008: http://articles.latimes.com/2008/mar/20/business/fi-catalina20
At the height of the dispute between the dockworkers union and a company that then supplied the island, boat freight was blocked by union pickets for six weeks in 1958, and the island's then 600 permanent residents survived on what could be supplied by plane. Locals dubbed it "The Little Berlin Airlift."

By the time the National Labor Relations Board ruled against the union in 1959, the Wrigley family had apparently had enough.

Its Catalina Island Co. decided to set up a new business to handle the freight. Catalina Freight was born, given exclusive rights to supply the island through 2014, with one of the family's trusted accountants, Jack Fennie, selected to run it.
So those restrictions may be gone as of this year.
posted by j.edwards at 10:53 PM on August 20, 2014 [6 favorites]


In fact, I think there are a lot of non-island locations in Alaska that are only serviced by air.

Yes, but Alaska has specific exceptions allowed in the U.S. Code and the Code of Federal Regulations since it's logistically infeasible to get supplies to many communities there in other ways. As j.edwards says, the Catalina situation appears to be due to a commercial carrier decision.

I used to work for DOT's Office of Hazmat Safety. They have a hotline you can call, or if you don't value your time you can peruse the relevant laws and regs.

When I lived on Vancouver Island, it was difficult to get flammable stuff shipped there, too. (This in the early 90s -- I mention because one of the links above has a 'thank 9/11!' whinge. No.)

Exactly. Restricting flammable materials aboard aircraft is a safety concern. 9/11 and its children are security problems; totally different matter.

posted by psoas at 6:34 AM on August 21, 2014 [1 favorite]


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