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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 02-19-2008, 04:57 AM   #1
kmurphy
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”.
 
Old 02-19-2008, 08:14 AM   #2
SPJ
Delta is not an option for everyone.
If a seller cannot guarentee live arrival than they should not offer any other option. There is really no reason to not guarentee the animal if packed properly. I have had Fed Ex really mess up boxes and delay shipments but the live arrival is on me.
The animal is the responsibility of the seller until it arrives at the buyers location.
 
Old 02-19-2008, 08:32 AM   #3
kmurphy
Quote:
If a seller cannot guarentee live arrival than they should not offer any other option.
But they do guarantee live arrival just not with every shipping option.

Quote:
The animal is the responsibility of the seller until it arrives at the buyers location.
Assuming there is no hard and fast rule in some seller's hand book somewhere, this must be based upon accepted practices and competition. I have never had an animal come FedEx or any other method the required overnight. I either purchase enough of an inexpensive animal to make Delta worthwhile, buy at shows, or pay for Delta with more expensive animals. I would be hard pressed to blame a seller when given two options, one guaranteed and more expensive, and the other cheaper but no guarantee, when I choose the latter to save money.
 
Old 02-19-2008, 09:58 AM   #4
dsirkle
I would say that the seller is entitled to offer a live arrival or not as long as the terms are clear to the buyer in advance of the sale. A seller would surely miss out on making some sales by not guaranteeing live arrival with Fedex but if the seller feels that the risk of something going wrong using Fedex is too great it is his right not to offer live arrival using them. As long as the seller and the buyer are both in agreement with the TOS the deal is what is agreed on. I feel that the seller should make it clear in advance that there is no guaranteed live arrival with Fedex as most buyers would expect otherwise and to find out after the fact (whether posted in an ad or not) would make for an unpleasant situation for both parties.
 
Old 02-19-2008, 10:06 AM   #5
Dennis Hultman
Quote:
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?
Quote:
I would be hard pressed to blame a seller when given two options, one guaranteed and more expensive, and the other cheaper but no guarantee, when I choose the latter to save money.
Quote:
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.
Quote:
It comes down to the adage “you get what you pay for”.

The above points I would disagree with. FedEx and Delta are not that different any more when it comes to price. I have received and shipped many packages that were more than Delta when shipped FedEx.

In most cases they seem to be within twenty dollars apart. Of course it all depends on what your shipping but I wouldn't make the claim that people were wanting FedEx to save money. It is more about the convenience.
 
Old 02-19-2008, 10:50 AM   #6
kmurphy
Quote:
In most cases they seem to be within twenty dollars apart. Of course it all depends on what your shipping but I wouldn't make the claim that people were wanting FedEx to save money. It is more about the convenience.
I didn't realize this. Since I've never rec'd anything via FedEx I just assumed it was less expensive by a pretty good amount. Well, that makes it even more confusing. There are plenty of people that live within a short distance of an airport that could utilize same day service but they opt out... for the convenience?

BTW - For the record. I am FedEx certified but have never used the service. I am attempting to get Delta certified, if that's what you call a known shipper, but they don't seem to move as quickly as FedEx. I would offer live arrival either way for competitive reasons.
 
Old 02-20-2008, 06:08 PM   #7
ravensgait
Kevin when it comes down to it, it is really just part of doing business . Look at other companies that ship thousands of packages everyday. When a package is lost or damaged they eat the shipping and item cost but they do enough business that these losses are offset by volume. Myself I wouldn't want to do business with someone that doesnt guarantee live arrival no matter how they ship. Besides though I haven't looked at them all many states have laws that pretty much say you should get what you paid for. So they can say no guarantee but the laws may say differently.. Randy
 
Old 02-20-2008, 07:29 PM   #8
The BoidSmith
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.
 
Old 02-20-2008, 08:39 PM   #9
SPJ
There could still be problems even shipping with the airlines.
 
Old 02-21-2008, 01:07 AM   #10
TripleMoonsExotic
I agree with Steve...If you can't guarantee, then don't offer the option. Keep yourself out of trouble by only offering the method that you will guarantee. You may loose business, but I imagine you already would because you won't guarantee with the most common method of shipping.

I would definitely say that FedEx is not cheaper then Delta. I shipped a 12x9x6 package out to California a few months ago and it cost $125! Absolutely insane!

I'm still curious what "private" courier companies will ship live animals with a guarantee. You would think they would be more popular.
 

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