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RANT: "Please excuse the crappy packaging job..."

P

PaulSage

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This isn't directed at anyone in particular, but it has been bugging me for a while now. Over the last 3-4 years I have received approximately 40-50 shipments of reptiles. On numerous occasions, I have received a message from the seller saying something along the lines of "Please excuse the crappy packing job ... [insert excuse here]". Most of the time, this note was received in an email with the tracking number.

My point is this: If someone believes that their approach to packaging is unacceptable, why would they risk not only the health and safety of the animals, but also the opportunity to disappoint a customer?

I understand that certain circumstances may "pop up" at the last minute. BUT, why not notify the buyer and explain that something came up and that they would not be able to properly package the animal, thus needing to postpone shipping?

Two recent shipments come to mind. I had ordered two geckos from someone, sent him payment within a few hours of the initial contact (around midnight), and he shipped them out right away the next morning. The geckos were packaged perfectly, despite the quick turn-around. For another shipment, (a single cornsnake) the seller called me the day before we had agreed that she would ship, asking if I would be willing to wait an extra day because she was out of cold packs. Of course I said okay, and the snake arrived packaged appropriately.

Now if these two sellers were able to work around short notices and lacking materials, why would some sellers run the risks associated with a 1/2-a$$ed attempt at packaging? HHHMMMM?!?
 
There IS no excuse for a crappy packaging job. omg. If you don't have the proper supplies to ship, you do not ship! Paul, I know that's exactly what you're saying, I just had to re-say it.
 
leaftail said:
There IS no excuse for a crappy packaging job. omg. If you don't have the proper supplies to ship, you do not ship! Paul, I know that's exactly what you're saying, I just had to re-say it.
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Hey it's okay Laura. There's nothing wrong with being repetitive, redundant or saying the same thing over and over. :raspberry

You were just able to say it in fewer words. I don't think I have the ability paraphrase my thoughts... :slamit:
 
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Yeah, its not really a good RANT untill you repeat the same thing over and over in multiple ways. :beer:
 
Here is a good one. I purchased a Jungle Boa pair from a guy, before shipping I was told be careful with the male as has the tendency to bite, so I thought cool that was good to know since he is 5 feet long. When I opened the box I could not believe what I saw. Coiled up was the male (with all the pattern) outside of his bag staring at me!!! The bag had a 2 inch hole in it! The female(6 feet long) was tied tight in a solid bag, both bags were place on top of one sheet of newspaper. The box was dropped on the ground by the UPS guy and the male had a 1.5 inch long wound that was just starting to heal in, that I was never told about. Talk about a shock that the animals were fine after all that.
 
Paul, what was the condition of the packaging? I assume you don't mean by bad packing that they used the sunday comics instead of the wall street journal and a used Charmin box instead of a new unmarked box? :)
 
I feel your pain about the bad shipping thing.

I ordered some fat tails like 5 once and when they came I got a box lined with smelly stained Styrofoam, and one grab bag pillow case with dead a gecko, and eggs and a bunch of bit up fattys. :hot:

How ever I have received packages that inspired me
 
jglass38 said:
Paul, what was the condition of the packaging? I assume you don't mean by bad packing that they used the sunday comics instead of the wall street journal and a used Charmin box instead of a new unmarked box? :)
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Once I got a shipment during the middle of February and the snakes were in bags inside of a fish styro. There was nothing used as filler, so I'm sure the snakes were flying around every time the UPS truck hit a bump or took a turn. Between that and the lack of a heat pack, I gave up on that particular distributor (which will remain nameless, since this is not the BOI). On another occasion, I received a Russian tortoise that was inside of a box that was unnecessarily large, with a few crumpled sheets of newspaper. I was surprised he ("Walter"--currently living at my brother's place) wasn't all chipped up. The best (well, worst actually) was probably a shipment of both small leos and hatchling corns. Apparently the seller ran out of larger boxes, and decided to put 3 and 4 animals in each 4.5" deli cup.

What ticked me off the most is that in all of these cases, the seller admitted that s/he did a poor job of packaging the animals, and blew it off with a 'sorry' and an excuse. It's one thing to not know how to package them, but when you knowingly do it wrong... :hot:
 
I agree totally Paul....I'd MUCH rather have to wait a couple of days to receive a properly packaged animal, than have the shipper hurry and risk that animal's safety, just so I can see it a day sooner.....it may arrive DEAD, but it'll be sooner. Eesch.

I just bought a new little Beardie girl, and ended up waiting a whole extra agonizing 4 days to get her to make sure she was shipped properly. It didn't kill me to wait (the kids thought they might die waiting however :) ) and I KNEW the Beardie girl wouldn't die because of poor shipping.

Rant on, bro. ;)
 
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Bad Packaging

Completely agreed, Paul. I once received a subadult beardie packaged in an over-used, flimsy box with no insulation and a few balls of newspaper. The box had been squashed down to about 2" on one end, the end the beardie was in, of course. To top it off, the heat pack had run out, and she was cold as ice. And yes, she was still alive...amazingly! Recycling a box is one thing. But, this person proved that they didn't care whether the animal arrived alive or not.

If you don't have a really good recycled box (with plenty of support in case it gets squashed) or a new one, you shouldn't ship. And if you don't have the proper heating/cooling materials, you shouldn't ship!
 
Why yes, I would like to continue ranting. Thank you very much. lol

Here's one other thing that bothers me about shipping and packaging. I have received some animals from well-established and experienced breeders that should (in my opinion) KNOW BETTER. Just because "I've never had a problem in the past" or "but, that's the way I always ship" I don't think that makes it okay to cut corners and tempt fate with an innocent animal's life.

yeah.
 
Rant on brother, rant on...

I have not shipped anything yet and I am so nervous about my first one. I just want to get it out of the way already!
 
I obsess over everything that I ship. I check overnight highs and lows here, there, and at the hubs in between. And I don't sleep well when I do. :p

I just shipped some snakes to Texas. The overnight temps were in the 70's but it was still 92 when I left the box at the FedEx distribution center at 5:30PM and was expected to be hot in Dallas the next afternoon should the package be delayed. I used a styro lined box, had paper towel in the deli cups to cushion the lil guys a bit, shredded paper throughout, and taped a frozen gel pack (free from the local pharmacy, BTW) to one side. They got there in perfect condition, delivered before 9AM.

If I do not have adequate shipping supplies I wait until I do.
 
Same boat here...although I receive shipments rarely, and send them even less...as I am into garter snakes (which most people just look at you funny when you say that), and they aren't really too much in demand. But, I do occasionaly have to deal with the delivery of animals on days when the lovely Phoenix temp is well over 100 degrees...and the way some people transport their animals is crazy. Clear plastic on the front seat???? Snake microwave.

:hot: greg
 
I'm not saying this just to pat myself on the back or anything like that... I SWEAR. But this is what my first shipment looked like. I honestly spent hours preparing the tubs and measuring to make sure I had an appropriate sized box, cutting styrofoam, positioning the animals, etc. I was SO worried about them getting to their destination okay. Jim, I did the same that you did, checking temperatures at both ends, overnight, etc. They were supposed to arrive at their destination at 10:30, and at 10:31 I was REALLY getting nervous! lol When they did arrive, I even made the recipient stay on the phone while she opened and checked on every single one! Neurotic? Yes. But hey, it beats a cereal box and a ziploc full of melted ice cubes.

(by the way, I added two cool packs wrapped in bubble wrap and newspaper and finished filling the box with the syro. peanuts.)
 

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Good jobs you guys! It's not obsessive or neurotic to do every single thing you can to make the trip safe. Shipping is a very VERY risky thing. So many variables, even when things go smoothly. And so many ways things can go wrong.

And all I have to say that is printable on the subject of "a cereal box and a ziploc full of melted ice cubes", is, OMG. And, pm me who this was so I can Never Ever buy from them.
 
jglass38 said:
Rant on brother, rant on...

I have not shipped anything yet and I am so nervous about my first one. I just want to get it out of the way already!
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I gotta tell ya...you will be just as nervous about the 50th one as you are the first one. I haven't made 50 shipments yet, but they certainly don't get any easier. All you can do is act as if you're the one being shipped. Would you want to feel that heat or cold? Would you like to be squashed down to 2"? Would you want to fly up to the top of the box when the delivery truck hits a bump? That's how I try to think of things...not that my big butt would EVER fit into any box! :rofl:
 
Saladragon said:
All you can do is act as if you're the one being shipped.
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I do that too! It's why I use shredded paper and not styro peanuts to fill the box. That SCREERCHing noise it makes rubbing on the foam walls, imagine having to hear that right by your head non-stop for 24 hours. It would make me insane! With geckos anyway. They have ears. I guess for snakes that wouldn't matter.
 
Wow..Thanks people for not easing my neurosis! haha

I will just do the best I can and take every precaution when the time comes
 
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