Live arrival gaurantee

There was a debate in the classified section (which happens way too often here on fauna) on a seller not guaranteeing live arrival on snakes shipped through FedEx but does through Delta. My question is why is this a bad policy? If the buyer isn’t willing to spend the extra money to guarantee the safe arrival, or at the least be able to insure against it, then why should the seller be responsible?

One argument was that FedEx was the only option due to where the person lived. Then I would suspect that this seller wouldn’t be for you, so this isn’t really about that situation. This is about someone who has fairly easy access to airports and both shipping methods.

When I first started getting snakes shipped to me it was through Railway Express and took 5 days. Then it went to air cargo at the various airlines and required a four hour round trip drive. The seller said they would be on flight x and you were there when the plane arrived. FedEx has certainly changed things with relatively inexpensive shipping to your door. The trade off is that it is an uninsured overnight shipment with drivers that often times don’t know, or care, about the sensitivity of their cargo.

Another argument is that the seller could just slip in a dead animal and scam the buyer. Well that’s what we have the BOI for so this couldn’t be a regular policy of his. Also, the seller is offering another method that is guaranteed so he must have the live animal available should the guaranteed method be chosen.

So it boils down to this in my opinion. If you want to save money and still be in your pajamas when your snake arrives then you choose FedEx and be responsible for that decision. If you’re willing to spend a little extra, and drive a few hours then you choose Delta. Then the seller, or the carrier’s insurance, is responsible. It comes down to the adage “you get what you pay for”.