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General Business Discussions This is a general purpose forum open to business related topics concerning Reptiles and Amphibians that are neither appropriate for the Board of Inquiry, nor sales, purchase, or trade solicitations.

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Old 09-23-2012, 11:38 AM   #1
blackandblue_lulu
The proper way to Ship? (and other questions)

Hello Everyone!

As I am new to the website, and most looking in this forum are, I wanted to post a thread about how things should go when trading and purchasing reptiles through fauna.

The questions are:

How do I know I am making a fair deal?

How do I transfer the money? (money orders?)

How should it look when it arrives to me?/how do I set up the shipping?

Should I update the person that my reptile has arrived safely?




Thank you all for your participation and help! I just want to make sure nothing goes wrong or I don't look like an idiot when dealing these animals.

Mariah
 
Old 09-23-2012, 12:06 PM   #2
hhmoore
I know the heading says anything that comes to mind, but I think your questions would get better response if you posted them in the General Business forum.
 
Old 09-23-2012, 12:17 PM   #3
blackandblue_lulu
Can someone move this there? (I wasn't sure were that was)
 
Old 09-23-2012, 07:56 PM   #4
hhmoore
How do I know I am making a fair deal?
You don't. All you can do is familiarize yourself with current pricing, and consider the value of a particular animal to you. You will soon see that advertised pricing is all over the place....and actual selling prices are even harder to figure. Some sellers readily take low offers, others don't. By the same token, some buyers routinely throw out offers starting at 40-50% of the asking price; and some would never think of doing so. "Lowballers" aren't widely appreciated; but, if they didn't sometimes score, they'd stop playing that game. It's all a matter of perspective - personally, a lowball offer isn't a starting place...it is an insult, and a fast end to negotiation.

How do I transfer the money? (money orders?)
What is best for the seller is not the same as what is best for the buyer. As a buyer, you get the most protection when using a credit card. As a seller, the safest option is one that puts real money in your hand ASAP...and doesn't offer an easy way for it to be taken.

(I'll be back to finish when I can)
How should it look when it arrives to me?/how do I set up the shipping?

Should I update the person that my reptile has arrived safely?




Thank you all for your participation and help! I just want to make sure nothing goes wrong or I don't look like an idiot when dealing these animals.

Mariah[/quote]
 
Old 09-23-2012, 09:47 PM   #5
snowgyre
How do I know I am making a fair deal?

If you're worried about good or bad buyers and sellers, the Board of Inquiry here is a great tool. Search for someone's name or their business name. If they've been around a while, chances are they've been mentioned at least once in the BOI.

Harold summarized transactions quite nicely. If you're looking for reasonable market prices, it's up to you to do the research to figure out how much an animal is worth to know if you're getting a good deal or not.

How do I transfer the money? (money orders?)

A lot of us use PayPal because it's quick and easy, but there are disadvantages as well. I've never had problems with buyers filing Paypal disputes on me, but there are others on here who have. Money orders work fine, provided you're willing to wait a week or so for them to arrive. I would avoid checks altogether, or at least wait until the check clears before you send anything in the mail.

How should it look when it arrives to me?/how do I set up the shipping?

Reptilesexpress.com and ShipYourReptiles.com both have excellent how-to's on their websites. They also sell the necessary materials to safely ship reptiles, and provide discounted FedEx rates for those of us who don't have FedEx certifications.

Should I update the person that my reptile has arrived safely?
YES. YES. YES. Always email the day before you ship to make sure they can still accept the animal. Always insist they tell you if the animal arrived okay the instant it arrives (or shortly thereafter). I always worry when animals are in shipping, so it's a big relief when I get an email from a buyer saying that the animal arrived okay. It's common courtesy to email the seller too (if you're the buyer) once you've safely received an animal. If anything goes wrong, then you're in the habit of immediately contacting people so issues can be resolved.
 
Old 09-23-2012, 11:45 PM   #6
blackandblue_lulu
Thank you VERY much! I really appreciate the time you put into these replies. It will help other new comers out as well.
 
Old 09-24-2012, 01:27 AM   #7
~Just Curious~
Short answer: What Vanessa said.

How do I know I am making a fair deal?
Harald described it well with comparing prices and using your own judgement. There's a lot of factors to consider. Even between the same morph, an animal may express higher quality and command a higher price. Depending on the project, certain sexes will cost more. Animals that are older/larger than fresh hatchlings will have more work put into them and be priced higher. When it comes to something new, if it produces quicker - easy to breed, large clutches, or some sort of dominant morph - then the price will likely come down quicker. Also a big name in the business can generally get away asking more and a new hobby breeder may ask less to get by since they don't have a reputation attracting people.
Of course it's never exact, I'd do as much research as possible first~

Every seller has different feelings when it comes to offers. Some are just looking to unload animals or need cash quick, they might say OBO/Or Best Offer after their price to let you know they're open to it. Others don't mind hanging onto their animals and may say "firm" after it.
Personally I'm not one for making offers. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I usually consider most prices to be fair. If I think the seller is way out there with what he's asking, then that'll probably make my mind up for me by killing my interest. Everyone has their own idea of what constitues an insulting "lowball" offer, but just try to put yourself in their shoes. I'm of the personal opinion that it should never be more than 20% off what they're asking, but that's just me~

How do I transfer the money? (money orders?)

Paypal seems to be the most popular. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I believe it has limited protection when it comes to live animal purchases as a buyer. Like if you aren't happy with it's health, I think that so long as the seller provides a tracking number proving you got it, they're in the clear. But if you paypal it through a card, you can usually try a chargeback through your bank. On the seller's side, a buyer could hypothetically do that for an unjust reason and get away with the animal and the money.
I haven't had any issues with it either, I've just seen cases of folks who have and thought I'd throw that out for you. Also, they'll subtract a 3% fee.

As a seller, I really like USPS money orders, but I have to admit that it doesn't offer much protection to the buyer. Also if you're doing a local deal and it's in cash, I probably wouldn't see anything wrong with it, but I wouldn't accept a check personally.
I guess you can use your own judgement on those, but I will say that if payment's going through snail mail, I'd make sure it's sent quicker than standard and that it has a tracking number. This way the buyer has a bit of protection in proving that the seller received it and nobody has to worry about it getting lost~

How should it look when it arrives to me?/how do I set up the shipping?

When it arrives to you, the temperature-controlled box should hopefully be undamaged and the animal packed securely inside. A more fragile animal will probably be sealed in a ventilated deli cup and a larger probably in a cloth bag, there should be some sort of packing material (like crumpled up newspaper) to stop them from bouncing around too much and the box itself should be properly labeled and well insulated with foam. If the weather's warm, then cold packs should be used. Too warm, and animals shouldn't be shipped at all! Or if it's real cold, then heat packs.

I agree that ShipYourReptiles is great for this sort of thing, here's a link to their FAQ~ http://www.shipyourreptiles.com/en/get_help

Should I update the person that my reptile has arrived safely?

Always! Not only do most sellers state in their TOS that you only have so many hours afterwards to contact them if there's a problem, but it's also just common courtesy to let them know. Many will request you do it regardless to make sure, it can be pretty nerveracking having a live animal shipped.
As a seller, I'll be relieved. As a buyer, I'd usually consider the safe arrival of an apparently good animal the premature "end" of a deal and take the time in my response to sum up my thanks for everything~

Best of luck to you~
 
Old 09-24-2012, 08:07 AM   #8
hhmoore
Well, I came back and completed my post before there were any more responses...but my phone ate it. Most of it has already been said, so I'm not going to retype it.
There isn't really a "temperature-controlled box", though some of the new generation packs claim to do a pretty good job of keeping consistent temps. I haven't tried them, but I've seen some favorable posts. (sorry - I don't remember the name of them right now...too cranky to focus on it.) I'm pretty sure that Autumn was referring to insulated boxes, which are considered standard; regardless of whether the pre made kits are used. Some people consider DIY boxes unacceptable; but if they're done right, they're as good as, if not better than, the pre made kits. I usually buy my own boxes, and use insulation board that I cut myself - it has a higher R value than regular styrofoam, it's easier to make clean cuts, and is nowhere near as messy for the average person. The ready to use kits (pre-cut styrofoam panels + box) are convenient, though; and, if I plan to be doing a lot of shipping in a hopefully short amount of time, I'll sometimes buy them - especially for use from May-Sept when the temps are mild.
Reusing boxes is a matter of personal preference. To an extent, it depends on the condition of the box: if it is damaged, stained, or has obviously been reused multiple times - definitely use a new one.
 
Old 09-24-2012, 04:39 PM   #9
~Just Curious~
Whoops! Sorry about your phone, I know that feeling... Yeah, by "temperature controlled" I was just trying to refer to insulated boxes with hot/cold packs as needed. Didn't mean to make it sound fancier.

And since you brought up a good point, I'd like to add that I'm in agreement on DIY boxes. I don't see any problem with them so long as they're done right. Also, while I haven't yet used it to ship out, I have received boxes with insulation board panels and was impressed. It does seem to be an all-around better material than styrofoam.
 
Old 11-03-2012, 06:19 PM   #10
blackandblue_lulu
Thank you!

This week I am doing a presentation over ball pythons and someone was bringing theirs in, I had to help him set up a safe temporary environment. This thread helped a lot!
 

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