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ship your reptiles website

Thanks for the info ^_^. I'm probably going to have to go down the "find scraps and construct your own shipping box" method... I'll have to get heat/cold packs though...

Maybe I should just sell with local delivery/pickup for this season again and save up their money for good shipping supplies for NEXT season.
 
You could buy the materials locally. The boxes can be got virtually anywhere. You can get the styrofoam at michaels or hobby lobby and cut it yourself. And the heat packs can be found at walmart in the hunting section. They are the hand warmers. Add a pillowcase and some zip ties and you are ready to ship.

Just be sure to make everything secure and use sturdy boxes.
 
HISSGUY said:
You could buy the materials locally. The boxes can be got virtually anywhere. You can get the styrofoam at michaels or hobby lobby and cut it yourself. And the heat packs can be found at walmart in the hunting section. They are the hand warmers. Add a pillowcase and some zip ties and you are ready to ship.

Just be sure to make everything secure and use sturdy boxes.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but PLEASE don't do this. Hand warmers are NOT shipping tools. They are too small, and have too short a duration, to be used for shipping. Use AT LEAST a 40 hour heat pack.

Please read the info on our site, we provide you the tools, info and proper materials to be a SUCCESSFUL shipper. We stress this AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN on our site. There is even a monster sized warning at the start of the How To Pack video. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT!

Inferior substitutes are NOT acceptible. You can provide your own box and insulation, sure, but not any old box and insulation will do. Not any old heat pack will do.

If hobbyists use the site, and ship poorly, especially due to substandard packing and materials, WE WILL ALL LOSE. Your success is our success, and your failure is our failure. How you ship can affect the ENTIRE FUTURE of our reptile hobby.

The shipping kits are meant for a one-off shipment. You have one shipment, perhaps two, and you just want the materials needed to accomplish that. They are a nicely packaged product meant to serve that purpose.

If you are going to be shipping frequently, or want materials for 10 shipments, DEFINITELY order the pieces separately. The shipping kits have a premium price because it is preassembled, includes all your pieces, and is very small quantity.

But we offer each of the ingredients separately, bags, delis, heat packs, boxes, and all are available in small quantities (10 or so pieces) and larger quantities (50 or more pieces). If you need more than 4 or 5 kits, definitely buy in bulk and put them together yourself, much cheaper.

Also, the shipping kits ship by themselves, they are literally a pre-sealed box that gets a label and is sent out the door. Hence the $7.50 flat rate PER KIT.

With your bulk supplies (everything but the kits) your order will be assembled and shipped in a larger box, and there is flat rate shipping, which is $9.50 for an order up to $150.

So you could order a bunch of separate supplies, all the ingredients to make up your own kits, and pay just $9.50 for shipping. But EACH KIT that you order carries its own separate $7.50 shipping fee. Make sense?

Again, I must stress, as it is important and impactful for the success of SYR, you must be responsible, and make intelligent choices, when shipping live reptiles, as it affects all of us, and when using our site to book your shipment, you AGREE to meet OUR SHIPPING STANDARD, or better, when packing your reptile.

In today's litigous world, one where reptile-banning laws are up for debate RIGHT NOW, this is more important than ever. Your success is our success. Please, no shoddy insulated boxes, and definitely no hand warmers!

Thanks : )
 
HISSGUY said:
And the heat packs can be found at walmart in the hunting section. They are the hand warmers.
Click to expand...

UGH! Terrible advice. :ack2:
Those are HAND WARMERS. They are not heat packs meant for shipping.
 
This text is at the start of the How To Pack video, all over our site, and heads up our Shipping Standards text. We take it dead serious. We aren't taking the ShipYourReptiles adventure lightly!



Why you must follow these shipping standards:

Some people in the general public, including UPS employees, are afraid of snakes and reptiles. We at ShipYourReptiles.com and Pro Exotics have worked hard with UPS to prove that properly packaged non-venomous reptiles are safe and reliable to ship, and that reptile breeders and hobbyists are legitimate shipping customers. We are UPS-approved to ship live non-venomous reptiles—but you must follow safe reptile packaging standards.

Remember: What you do affects the entire reptile hobby and industry. The general public has a right to live their lives without encountering a snake or reptile that’s escaped from improper packaging. Every time someone ships a reptile with substandard packaging, and that reptile escapes, dies, scares or harms someone, that reflects poorly on all reptile hobbyists. It also furthers legislative efforts to ban reptiles entirely.

Take responsibility. Do your part. Pack your reptile properly. Make sure it reaches its destination safely. It’s good for the reptile, it’s good for the recipient, and it’s good for you.



So heavy. But so important : )
 
:iagree:

Robyn makes a great point. The kit cost may be high if you want to order supplies to ship 20 snakes.

However, if you get the supplies (boxes, styro, and a roll of tape) it will not take up that much room, unless you live in a closet.

If you are shipping an animal every month order a kit. If you ship every week, or every day, get your supplies in bulk and build them yourself.

A screw-up by one person will reflect on the entire industry/hobby. It may not be fair but that is life. If we want this to thrive, and I sure do, we must all do our part to not shed a bad light on every one.

SYR has not required that every one buy supplies from them. Help yourself and the community by being able to understand if you should order packaging by the kit or in bulk. In the end we will all be better off. IMHO

BTW Robyn, thanks for all you have done to put this together for us. I wish you the best.
 
The support and feedback, in just two days of being live, has been tremendous. We are passionate about the reptile hobby, and we are stoked on this new business.

Thanks.
 
Just in time! I'm going to ship my first snake tomorrow - by USP I hope! (I was fedex certified a few months ago, just made my first online sale)
 
I am going to get all signed up and do what I need to do tonight! The closest Fed Ex is about 35 miles away... The closest UPS is about 2 miles....... Its going to be great to go such a short distance to ship! THANK YOU!
 
Question: I watched the demos (nice vids! Didn't know about the airholes, I'd always read they weren't necessary), and I understand the reptile species and gender goes on the bag/container, and the "live harmless reptiles" printout goes such that it is immediately seen if the box is opened.

BUT, what about writing "live harmless reptile", "common name", "scientific name" on the box? I know for Fedex we were supposed to do that, and I think (?) the Lacy Act requires it, but I didn't see it mentioned on the vid or on the package guidelines.

Does the harmless reptile slip and container labeling satisfy these guidelines? If we do put that stuff on the outside box, will someone freak out and mess with our box?

Thanks.
 
Airholes are not necessary. I never recommend punching holes in the insulation nor have I ever done it (defeats the purpose of using insulation, imo).



The vid's great. :) Very detailed for those who are new to shipping! I do however see a concern...As Adie pointed out, it does not mention the federal requirement (Lacey Act) of listing the contents on the outside of the box. I did confirm with F&W that it is required a few months ago. When I have more time I'll post the e-mail correspondence with them along with the documents they provided me.
 
Nice video Robyn, minimal glare off your skull and everything...lol

Ship Your Reptiles and UPS will ship Mon. thru Thurs. for next morning delivery.

I would like to recommend something that I believe most responsible shippers do:
ONLY ship Mon.- Weds. That way if you ship on Weds. and there is a problem with the package ( ie. it gets lost, etc...) there are at least two full days for it to be found and returned to you (if need be) before the weekend shuts down most deliveries. just a suggestion.

Finally someone got this right!

Kudos to the Pro Exotics team!
 
Awesome--I'm STILL waiting on the Fed Ex cert I started back in December. Last month I managed to get as far as faxing over the signed paperwork. And I still haven't got the darned thing. This solves that worry. <lol>
UPS it is. I used UPS back when I was breeding geckos, and never had a problem with them.
 
WingedWolf said:
Awesome--I'm STILL waiting on the Fed Ex cert I started back in December. Last month I managed to get as far as faxing over the signed paperwork. And I still haven't got the darned thing. This solves that worry. <lol>
UPS it is. I used UPS back when I was breeding geckos, and never had a problem with them.
Click to expand...

That's nuts, we got certified in about a month and thought we were getting the run around.

But, hopefully this shipyourreptiles.com keeps up the good work, I think they are taking it in the right direction!

I am still curious about what FrankyKeno mentioned, if there is something we can have on hand if a package is ever refused by UPS workers.
 
I have a question on scheduling shipping. Where I live the closest UPS site is at least an hour away. So can they do pick up at my house or do I have to find a drop off location?

Yea..living in the country sucks some times. LOL

Becky Tibbs
 
Yes, UPS will pick up!

I received a packaged shipped through this portal yesterday and was very pleased. For me, UPS is the better of the carriers here and things have always been delivered well ahead of the suggested time deadline.

Great job Robyn, keep it up! I wonder if UPS has some measurable jump in their volume this last week? :rofl:
 
Well I sent my first package out via this service and everything went smoothly.

Some things to note: The UPS website still has listed as Prohibited Live Animals - Snakes (All): venomous and non-venomous LINK

shipyourreptiles.com also explicitly says NOT to say you're shipping a "live snake", but rather a live harmless reptile/vertebrate: LINK

I really do understand not upsetting someone who is snake-phobic, but if this ever comes up, I'm afraid it will be a problem. I'm a terrible liar, and terrible at dodging the truth; if someone presses me, I will say what I'm shipping.

On the other hand, I DID write the full information of what I was shipping in plain view on the outside of my box:
(1) LIVE HARMLESS REPTILE
Elaphe guttata
cornsnake
And it was delivered without any issue that I know of, and the snake arrived safely and is apparently happy (eating anyway). :shrug01:

Soooo, I'm a little dubious of being told to dodge the truth, but on the other hand I was up front and the box was shipped safely. It's a good deal, and I don't mean to sound unappreciative of this new service, just pointing out what could be improved in the future.
 
ophidile it's not dodging the truth. You are telling the truth 100% by saying it is a reptile. There is just no need to give specifics to the person you are dropping off the package to. If you have a contract with the company then a worker behind a counter is to simply ship the package. I've heard many stories where people are certified to ship snakes through fedex but the person at the counter refuses to take the package because it says 'snake' on it. There are some people, that if they know there is a snake in the box, will intentionally be rough with handling it. FedEx will not reimburse for a dead arrival and neither will UPS. You can be with in the guidelines of the law with out announcing it to the world.
 
But I thought the law states you have to put the common name on the box?

Should I just put "Corn" on the box instead of "cornsnake"? XD

Well the shippers don't usually press me too closely, and yeah I'm aware some fedex employees will refuse to ship snakes. But like I said, if someone keeps asking me "okay but what KIND of reptile" I have a hard time not saying what it is.
 
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