Frustrating shipping practices...

I'm just about boiling over with the shipping practices I keep seeing...

Yesterday, I had a shipment of snakes sent to me by "overnight" USPS. First, snakes through USPS is a HUGE no-no. Second, USPS does NOT guarantee anything overnight. EVER. The seller was supposed to ship the animals through UPS, not USPS. Being cheap in this situation could very well cost the lives of these animals.

Today, I recieved a pair of baby boas from a large importer in Florida. The snakes arrived overnight via a more acceptable service, but the packaging definitely could have been a lot better.

In my eyes, a snake should NEVER be shipped out in a flimsy cardboard box, merely in a snake bag, with no insulation whatsoever. This is careless, irresponsible, and dangerous. It sure wouldn't take much to crush an uninsulated box - not to mention the much more drastic (and sudden) temperature changes. Luckily, the snakes made it here fine.

All I am saying here is THINK!! Would YOU want to recieve your animals via a service that MIGHT get them delivered overnight? Would YOU want your animals to get crushed in a shipment?

Or maybe this really ticked me off because I spent no less than four hours preparing four boxes to ship animals out last night. I took every precaution possible to make sure our animals make it to their destination alive and well. I just want people to do the same for me.

I forgot to mention - the snakes shipped via USPS yesterday have not arrived, and most likely will not arrive until tomorrow. I'll be sitting here with my fingers cross, rearranging my work schedule for a second day, cursing up and down the street.

You would think people would just stop and think about what in the hell they're doing sometimes.

You are correct in that USPS will not ship snakes. However, USPS Expressmail is guaranteed to many zipcodes overnight. I ship the frogs that I breed via USPS regularly and if they are not there by the time promised, I can file a refund claim. If you check into any of the FedEx or Airborne Express details, you will find that they will ship live animals, provided they are in approved packaging and that you sign a waiver saying that they will not be held responsible for the animal (nor will they be held responsible for getting the package to its destination on time)! I haven't checked this with UPS, but I doubt they would be any different than the other two.
All the best,

However, USPS Expressmail is guaranteed to many zipcodes overnight.

Express mail is NOT guaranteed to just as many zip codes.

A few quotes from USPS's web site:

Next day delivery by noon or by 3:00 pm to many destinations.

Delivery to most addresses in the United States - including PO Boxes and military addresses.

Delivery to most locations 365 days a year, including Sundays and holidays at no extra charge.

Some restrictions apply, please check with your Post Office™ for details.

Next Day Service may not be available at or between all post offices or at all times of deposit. An Express Mail Next Day Service directory, showing detailed local information about Express Mail Next Day Service, is available at post offices.

What I am getting at here is there are a whole lot of mosts and manys there. Typically, the only way you will know if it is guaranteed overnight or not is if the post office TELLS you. And a lot of times, they may "overlook" that piece of information.

I'm telling you this because I have had more 2 day deliveries come to my house than overnight deliveries. If I wasn't living this nightmare, I wouldn't be complaining about it.

Coincidentally, the package mailed to me by Express mail yesterday DID arrive today... But certainly not by the noon delivery time it was supposed to. By the time the postal carrier attempted to deliver the package, there was no longer anyone at home to accept it.

I spent 45 minutes at the post office this evening, waiting for them to find the package. Seems the carrier did not put the package where he was supposed to, and now no one can find it. They also refuse to call the carrier, and ask him where the heck it is. They don't want to "bother" him.

I'd love to find out he didn't drop it off at the post office before going home, and has it with him right now. I'm fairly certain there is a federal law in violation, if that is the case.

In any event - yet again I have a package of reptiles in the very city I live in that I cannot pick up. Last time, it was with UPS, and it sat in a trailer in Colorado Springs all weekend, because UPS was "Closed" and wouldn't let me pick the package up at the distribution center, just 4 miles from my house.

Ahhh.... venting feels good!

I would hate that to happen to me , either sending or receiving that would be just horrible...I would be tracking it all night like something was gonna change if I just clicked it 1 more time.....
Tom Petty said it best " The waiting is the hardest part "

The snakes mentioned in my previous post arrived today. The mail carrier had absolutely nothing to say about the whereabouts of the package last night.

The Postmaster will be having some words with him though... I've had it with the dead beat, and finally filed a complaint. The list was long (leaves my mailbox open daily, leaves packages on my doorstep in plain sight, didn't even DELIVER mail at all this past saturday, misplaced a package for a MONTH once).

But back to the snakes that arrived. All are alive, and well. They were shipped in an UNinsulated box again. 3 snakes in one gladware type dish, 1 snake in a deli cup (standard for shipping a baby colubrid), and 1 snake in a styrofoam drink cup (wtf).

I don't think I am being TOO terribly picky about shipping reptiles here. Really. It's quite simple.

I think the only thing I can do is put together a page on my web site showing EXACTLY how I would like animals to be packaged, if they are going to be shipped to me. It seems there are an aweful lot of people out there who have never shipped or recieved a reptile!

Mark And or Aimee That sounds Like a plan(web Page) I was thinking The same when these people Finally get my web site set up .....I had a guy in Ohio send me a snake In a Plastic Shoe box with a Sock heater pac ...Wrap in a sock when it got here it was darn near "Frozen" ..at first Thought it was while on the phone it sorta moved ......it took about 2 days before it was moving and eating ....I guess the point Im get at here is "IF YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO DO IT RIGHT>>>>>ASK SOMEONE WHO DOES..

forgot to mention Its VERY Lively and eats ALOT....LOL

Ps Glad They got there safe They are IN Good HANDS NOW