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Guess about $40 is too much for overnight shipping

SPJ

SPJ

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3 people from different zip codes have now decline to buy an animal since the quotes based on their zip codes ranged from $41 - $47 for Fed Ex priority overnight.
The cited excessive shipping charges as the reason they changed their mind.

I have also not heard back from 2 others since giving them the shipping cost (same range).

Am I charging too much compared to everyone else? This is the exact price Fed Ex says it would be. Is there a way to get Fed Ex to reduce my cost so I don't keep running into this?
 
Steve, if they don't want to pay shipping, shipping on which you not only make nothing but in reality costs you when you factor in box cost, heat or cooling, time and gas to get to fedex, then they just don't want what you have badly enough.

Write em off and move on.

There are some real cheapskates out there.

Who needs em?
 
Anyone hear about that 15% off shipment thing that Fed Ex supposedly has?

I thought maybe people were using that to get cheaper rates but I can't find any info on it.
 
Wilomn said:
Steve, if they don't want to pay shipping, shipping on which you not only make nothing but in reality costs you when you factor in box cost, heat or cooling, time and gas to get to fedex, then they just don't want what you have badly enough.

Write em off and move on.

There are some real cheapskates out there.

Who needs em?
Click to expand...

I would need to agree Steve, sounds like more than fair prices to me.
 
Steve, WITH the discount for doing all of my shipping online, it's been running me $48-$58 for the packages I've shipped lately. I don't count the extra $2.50 they charge for requiring the package be signed for. Here's the info....the link to it is right on the Fedex homepage on the right, after I log in to my account.

Open An Account
FedEx Online Account Registration

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How to Open an Account:
Step 1: Select the type of account you wish to open.
Step 2: Sign up for a single fedex.com login, or, login with your existing user ID and password.
Step 3: Complete the brief online account registration form. A credit card is required for billing purposes.
Step 4: Start Shipping! The confirmation page contains a link to FedEx Ship Manager at fedex.com, so you can begin shipping.

Ready to Begin?

Step 1: Select one of the following:

Sign up for an account with a 15% discount
Shipping online saves time and money! Save 15% on each FedEx Express® shipment when you use FedEx Ship Manager® at fedex.com to prepare your shipping labels.
*This discount is available for four months from your date of enrollment. After the four months, your discount will be changed to 10%. For complete details on changes to the promotion, see Program Agreement.
 
Wolfy-hound said:
Last few times I shipped it was more like $70
Sounds like a great price to me.
Click to expand...

I've had high ones too. A pair of bloods I shipped was $175 for overnight delivery.

I'm quoting exact charges.
Is there some program they are offering to give you 15% off shipments for the next few months? If so, I would like to take advantage of it.
 
Absolutely. Unless you are certified and get the good rates from your account rep, $70+ is the general price for overnight shipping.

Even then, with your account rep, it could be still around that price, depending on how much you ship out.

Shipping is something people tend to overlook... PLUS you consider the cost of the box, styrofoam lining, heat packs, and everything else (cups, bags, etc...), it can end up costing the shipper around $100!!! (And that is not considering the weight of the animals themselves!!!)

People just tend not to think about that when they want the cheapest prices on an animal...
 
That's what it is?

I signed up for that already but never really saw much of a difference. I usually use the online shipping anyway.

I thought there was something else offering another discount as well.
 
That's the only discount I have seen. It should show how much you "saved" when you look at your online billing.....the savings almost offsets the fuel surcharge and all of the other BS they charge ya for, lol.
 
Well then. Screw it. The rates I quoted were not high.

I'm not even figuring in the pickup charge, signature charge, and what it cost me to package the animal.

Heck, I need to start charging more. :rofl: :rofl:
 
EXACTLY, Steve! ;)

I don't figure any of that in, either. If it's not worth it to those folks to pay for the shipping, they don't need the animal.
 
I make sure that the cost of the animal includes the cost of a box, heat/cold pack, polyfill, etc. That way the shipping quote is exactly what I am paying . Like Cat said, if they don't want to pay, then they don't really want the animal. Not the worst thing in the world...
 
those people getting discounts are required to sign a waiver not telling how much their discount is.......
Here is what you do
Call and find out who your local rep is. Be SUPER FRIENDLY!
get a hold of your local rep~ BE SUPER FRIENDLY!!
Complain about shipping costs while telling the rep how Fed ex is the best thing since sliced bread....so wonderful that they allow us to ship reptiles....really gush and point out how often you tell new sellers to become certified with the BEST company available...FedEx who allows you to ship legally~ while still whining about how HIGH shipping costs are....how hard it is to run a business and be competitive at those rates....be sure to mention several times how your waiver takes away all your rights as far as FedEx being liable for any mishap in delivery....but your still paying the same price as those with rights to the liability insurance......

Make a very big deal about how much you love FedEx's convenience~ but it costs almost as much as Delta Dash where you DO have liability coverage.....but you had heard their might be discounts......maybe for using a specific type of credit card or if you called your rep and asked nicely.....BE SUPER NICE~ you WANT the rep to WANT to help you out.

It worked for me. I can't tell my discount.....I signed a waiver says I can't. It's not HUGE~ but it's enough to make a difference.

ANYONE who tries this~ BE SUPER NICE~ do NOT ruin it for the rest of us who understand how and when to kiss up to get a discount! LOL!
 
Actually I just charge a flat fee of $60 for most any shipment going out the door via FedEx. There are some exceptions for especially large orders, of course. I lose money on larger packages going across the country, and make money on the small ones going more locally. Hopefully it will balance out at the end of the year. But with prices going upwards on the fuel surcharge and most things in general, this is getting to be difficult to do at the current price I set. Supplies are getting to be more expensive as the people I buy from have to pay more to get the stuff shipped to THEM. These higher fuel charges are cumulative all across the board.

The flat fee is not perfect, of course, but it does have it's advantages. Easier on me to figure out, for one. I don't have to waste my time trying to get an accurate quote from FedEx. It also tends to favor larger orders over smaller orders, which suits me just fine. Packing up a single $25 animal for a shipment just seems like such a waste of time and effort. So much so that during the busy time of year when eggs are hatching, I simply require a $100 minimum order in order to keep those smaller orders from driving me nuts. Time gets to be pretty valuable at that time of year.

For some reason people tend to think that the hassles and costs of shipping should fall on the sellers shoulders exclusively. I've actually had people tell me I should consider shipping for free because I should WANT to get my animals out to as many people as possible. :rofl:

Heat packs, cold packs, styro insulation and sturdily built boxes are not for free. Those of us who know what is needed to get the animals to the destination safely just require it of ourselves to pay for them and use them. If the customer feels this is unfair of us to ask them to help bear the burden of getting their animals to them safely, then I would just as soon they take their business elsewhere. If they should reach a point where they are shipping out their own animals, they will likely find out how foolish their earlier ideals have been.

Quite honestly, if someone doesn't want to pay the shipping fee, and would rather go to a Joe Blow putting their snake in a cereal box with no insulation and packing, more power to them. We'll probably be reading about that experience on the BOI, I would imagine.....
 
I was also led to believe that there could be better pricing if the shipping volume was increased (more packages per week/month). When I do shipping charges, I charge the fee shown when I enter the information NOT using my account number. I figure the 10% discount I get for online processing covers a piece of my other costs (box, styro, heat/cool packs).
 
Sounds like they have no experience buying reptiles online. Maybe they thought you could just stick it in an envelope and pop on a 36 cent stamp? :shrug01:

I think I've paid at least $50 for every shipment I've recieved. You just need to figure it in to the cost or the animal. That's why I won't buy just a single $20 animal online, I need to spend at least a few hundred to balance out the cost of shipping.
 
Now I know the answer. :rolleyes:
Someone clarified it for me today. They "refuse" to spend twice as much on shipping than what the snake cost.

Snake was $20
Shipping was $40
Total of $60

I told him to go to Petco. :D
 
SPJ said:
Now I know the answer. :rolleyes:
Someone clarified it for me today. They "refuse" to spend twice as much on shipping than what the snake cost.

Snake was $20
Shipping was $40
Total of $60

I told him to go to Petco. :D
Click to expand...

That's the reason I pretty much stopped breeding corns and cal kings and such. I no longer sell at herp shows and with shipping costs what they are it's very difficult to sell the $20 snakes unless you're moving entire clutches, and even then a buyer who gets stock like that will probably be looking to get 3 or 4 clutches of various things and I just don't have the interest in producing large numbers of those type snakes anymore.

If I want a snake that costs less than $100 I get it at a show, or add it to an order I'm making otherwise if the seller happens to have one, but I too won't double the price of an animal with the shipping charges.

As far as the costs go, it's been a real long time since I paid less then $40 to ship a package, and even then it was in state.
I save the 10% by using my online account and save another $4 or whatever it is by not having them come to the house to pick it up. Instead I take it into town to a drop off location, a private business not staffed by FedEx employees.
Even then my shipping costs average $45-50 depending on the destination. I normally charge a flat $50 rate unless it's something unusual that I know will run significantly higher.
At this point, the only advantage FedEx has over Delta for me is I don't have to make a 3 hour round trip to the airport.
 
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