Live arrival gaurantee

The way I see it is that we are not dealing with inanimate objects; we are dealing with live animals. If you feel that FedEx in unreliable in your area or anywhere else, then you should not use it to ship the animal regardless of the buyer's desire. It doesn't seem right to acknowledge that there's a chance the animal might not make it alive, and you choose to ship it anyways to make the sale and/or because the buyer asks you to.

Very good point Dan. I hadn't thought of it from this aspect.

"...If you feel that FedEx in unreliable in your area or anywhere else, then you should not use it to ship the animal regardless of the buyer's desire...."

That may OCCASIONALLY be the case (a feeling of unreliable FedEx service in a particular place). But I think it is more likely that the seller is willing to guarantee the airlines because they offer insurance, and there is a chance for reimbursement, not because they really feel that FedEx is significantly worse. I am sure there are some exceptions someplace, but in my experience, you can have occasional problems with either method. But if you plan and ship properly, either method will ALMOST always work.

But sometimes things happen beyond your control. To me, it is only good business to offer a guarantee that carefully spells out the customer's responsibility in order to receive the guarantee from you, the shipper. If you have NO guarantee, let them know up front, so they can take their business to the many shippers who DO offer a guarantee.

We, the shippers, are supposed to be the professionals, not the customer. And we have more control over the outcome because we can properly package and check temps, weather delays, etc. We know the "eccentricities" of FedEx or an airline, and can plan around them ( like FedEx "waiver on file" rules, so they drop and run, etc). All the customer can do to help is to be there when promised to pick up or sign for his package as expected. So I feel the responsibility is mainly on the shipper to get it right.

I guarantee live arrival.
I use http://www.wunderground.com/ to verify the arrival temperature is going to be safe.
If the animal does not arrive alive I expect immediate contact.
It's never happened to me, but I would do a full refund including shipping cost - or ship another animal at my expense if possible. Yes - that means a FedEx screwup could cost me money, however, by doing right by a customer and making sure they are not out of pocket, it may by future business more than make up for the lost money from the occasional DOA, and that's what I would want to have happen if I was the buyer.