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Online Ordering Newbie Question.
- Thread starter MtnMan
- Start date
DeadMouse
Hungry, hungry Hognose!
$50 is about the rough average cost that most sellers charge for shipping but Nanci is pretty much within the range that it costs depending on locations being shipped to.
Be very aware though that some unscrupulous sellers might charge less for USPS shipping which incidentally is highly illegal as USPS does not allow the shipment of snakes at all. Also be aware that anybody that uses UPS or Fedex must be certified by those companies to ship live animals, especially snakes. Not being certified and shipping snakes is illegal and against those companies TOS policies. Also be aware if anybody uses anything other than overnight delivery though Fedex or UPS while still charging you overnight delivery prices. There's a lot of scammers out there and a ton of people that ship snakes that are not legally certified to do so.
Be very aware though that some unscrupulous sellers might charge less for USPS shipping which incidentally is highly illegal as USPS does not allow the shipment of snakes at all. Also be aware that anybody that uses UPS or Fedex must be certified by those companies to ship live animals, especially snakes. Not being certified and shipping snakes is illegal and against those companies TOS policies. Also be aware if anybody uses anything other than overnight delivery though Fedex or UPS while still charging you overnight delivery prices. There's a lot of scammers out there and a ton of people that ship snakes that are not legally certified to do so.
Nanci
Alien Lover
I recently read on the Board of Inquiry about a person who bought snakes shipped by a fairly well-known breeder (should have checked the BOI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) who shipped second day, and the snakes died before arrival.
It is in the contract a certified reptile shipper signs that they will only ship overnight.
If a certified shipper's package gets lost/delayed/whatever, they can call FedEx and say, hey, I have live animals in the package, it is extremely important that you locate the shipment and move it. If someone is sneaking live animals, they can't do that. I recently read of someone who had a package delayed overnight, and a kind person at FedEx opened the package, by her instruction, and watered the snakes. That is above and beyond- but if you were sneaking snakes, that would never happen...
It is in the contract a certified reptile shipper signs that they will only ship overnight.
If a certified shipper's package gets lost/delayed/whatever, they can call FedEx and say, hey, I have live animals in the package, it is extremely important that you locate the shipment and move it. If someone is sneaking live animals, they can't do that. I recently read of someone who had a package delayed overnight, and a kind person at FedEx opened the package, by her instruction, and watered the snakes. That is above and beyond- but if you were sneaking snakes, that would never happen...
Nanci
Alien Lover
But don't let this shipping talk discourage you from buying a snake and having it shipped. Nearly all of my nearly 50 snakes have been shipped. It is routine and things very rarely go wrong. You have access, by shipping, to any snake you can possibly imagine, from trusted breeders with excellent stock, as opposed to a snake that has been wholesaled to Petsmart/co, in who knows what condition, maybe having _never_ been fed, only to languish in the store with possibly less than optimal care. (Not speaking of _nice_ reptile shops like Chip's...) When you consider that you will have the snake as a pet for 15-20 years or longer, adding the price of shipping into the total purchase price really shouldn't be a big deal. It's better to get a beautiful, healthy snake in the morph (color) of your dreams than to settle for whatever you can buy cheap, locally.
DeadMouse
Hungry, hungry Hognose!
There is a catch 22 to this logic though. Sometimes buying locally is by far a better option as you get to see the animal in person, talk directly to the seller and if you have any problems, then returning the animal should be less of a hassle. One thing a lot of people, myself including, never think of when first buying snakes online is that we ourselves are usually not certified to ship back a snake if something goes wrong (misidentified, sick, dead, etc.). Some sellers will wrongly tell the buyer to ship it back but unless you are certified to do so, it is illegal and you will more than likely be stuck with the animal for better or worse.
I'm not trying to dissuade you as I've had over 30+ snakes shipped to my residence without any incidents over the last 4 years but it is something to think about and consider when you do start buying snakes online. I only wish I knew then what I know now.
