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Shipping confusion

N

Nefarious03

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I was curious what shipping services are typically used? I thought it was Next Day, Overnight, or 2nd day but when looking into it I am finding really high prices.

I am in Ohio, and I just did from me to Cali, and on both FedEx and UPS its showing over 100$ for overnight.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.
 
Welcome to the world of fuel surcharges & dimensional weights. Shipping has increased significantly, and that price is not at all surprising.
 
The standard options are UPS Next Day or FedEd Priority Overnight. The bigger the box, the more it costs...which is why most people try to use the smallest box that will safely contain a given shipment.
For large, heavy boxes it may be cheaper to use the airlines. Delta cargo is cheap, but not the best option, IMO - especially in HOT or COLD weather - because the arrival time is not guaranteed. Cargo shipments are not "priority", and get bumped for any number of reasons (or at least they used to...I haven't utilized this service in over 10yrs). Delta Dash requires the shipper to be "recognized", and the process takes a couple of weeks. Then again, FedEx also requires a waiver to ship live reptiles & UPS doesn't ship snakes for the common folk.
If both the origin and destination airports have by Northwest Airlines, and the flights can be worked out, they will ship reptiles. Their service is similar to Delta Dash, without the need to become recognized in advance...and the cost should be fairly similar.

Depending on what you are shipping, it may benefit you to check out Reptster (see other threads for details).
 
I see, but if thats a common shipping cost, then how do so many breeders charge a flat rate of $50 for shipping?

I had glanced at Repster a little last night, but didn't find rates anywhere. I'll be looking into it more after I get home from work.
 
Good discounts, for one. Small boxes, for another. Sometimes, its just a case of eating the loss on some shipments & hoping it all equals out. Shipping costs are going up, and in some cases can be the difference between selling an animal vs losing that sale to somebody closer or with more competitive rates.
Depending on the size box, and weight, it can cost me anywhere from $55 to well over $100 from NY to Cali via FedEx. Judging from a your post, I'm guessing that you don't have the waiver for FedEx. I don't know what you are shipping, just be aware that intentionally mislabeling the contents of a live animal shipment is a violation of Federal law (regardless of carrier).
 
Nefarious03 said:
I see, but if thats a common shipping cost, then how do so many breeders charge a flat rate of $50 for shipping?
Click to expand...

Some breeders are big enough that they get volume discounts or have negotiated contracts with discount pricing. If you ship a couple hundred or more overnight packages a year, you have the power to negotiate for better pricing with the shipping companies. A smaller breeder who only ships 20 or 30 packages a year is stuck with the common shipping rates.

Also, some breeders big and small just eat the amount over $50 as part of doing business. They figure most packages are going to cost close to $50 and are willing to pay the rest out of there own pocket. Or they charge $25 more for the animal to cover the cost of shipping over $50.

There are many ways and many reasons that people charge a flat shipping rate. Some are sound business moves, some aint.
 
No, I'm not certified.

I don't have anything that I need to ship out right now, I was basically checking for the future.. I wouldn't mislabel it for two reasons. One, as you said its against the law. Two, I would rather have it labeled as a live animal because I would assume they would handle it with a little more care.


And I suppose the flat rate does seem logical, I played around with box sizes, and I were to use say a 6x6x4 (or 6x6x6) it does drop to about 50-58$.

Thanks for the info guys,
-Brad
 
When you look at box sizes, don't forget you will be subtracting at least an inch from those numbers for interior dimensions (assuming 1/2 insulation, and allowing for box thickness). A 6x6x4 box becomes just under 5x5x3. If you need to utilize heat or cool packs, you'll also need to consider proximity of those devices to the animals.
 
Ya, the contain that I would be using for them would be 4.5" in Diameter and right at 2" high. I was looking at 5x5x4 boxs before I measured my container, then I found 6x6x4 on the staples website. I figure I could use the 6x6x4 for a single reptile, and a 6x6x6 for two.

Thanks again hhmoore and Sharp, you guys were very helpful, I greatly appreciate it.

-Brad
 
Reptster does have a nice volume discount -- although I am certified I don't ship in huge quantities so I do save shipping through them. My only concern is that in the past I've had Fedex not accept my package but have always been able to provide my waiver so have to accept it -- I can't do that using Reptster's account. :shrug01:

As for pricing -- I am eating shipping charges on most of my stuff this year -- by not charging shipping charges I can offer a better deal to customers, I won't have to declare the added income and in the long run I'll make it back with the tax write off. Win, win, win I guess.
 
Good info!

Box size is the most important (controllable) factor in shipping herps. But the smaller the box, the faster it heats up or cools down. You always have to check temps at the origin and destination, and make your best decision of safety vs. price. Superior Enterprise just added a new "1 pound dimensional weight" box that is slightly smaller than their previous small box - check out their site.

If you have it held for pick up at the FedEx office, you won't have to pay extra for signature, residential delivery, etc. And destination temps won't be as important if they are not being trucked around half the day.

An account that you use online to print labels saves you an extra 10% over the "regular" price, too.
 
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