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Shipping costs and other hassles......

Rich Z

Rich Z

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I had to spend an HOUR today at Delta Airlines to ship out just two packages. Half hour there and a half hour back, that was two hours out of my life to ship those two packages. And the shipping cost from Delta alone was more than what I had charged my customers. When I got home I immediately raised the price of shipping on my website using that method to $100. Based on how much a value my time, I should have doubled that figure.

Quite honestly, I am going to look over my latest FedEx bills to see if my current shipping charge is making ends meet for that part of my business. Costs have risen substantially, and I have to start thinking about my time being worth something in all of this. Shipping a package "at cost" is for the birds. Otherwise I would just as soon spend my time laying on the beach.
 
Rich,

I haven't heard much on this topic lately, but what has been happening with the domestic carriers situation? Are they all still walking away from reptiles? I know that you were bouncing between several of them last year.
 
That's a tough one. Call up UPS and they say they don't ship snakes, period. Yet I know several large breeders and dealers who do ship snakes through them. Same thing with Airborne/DHL.

FedEx allows shipping of snakes if you jump through the right hoops and get a waiver of liability. But they are more expensive then UPS.

Delta Dash has always been the old standby, but they have become rather expensive as well, plus both parties need to make a trip to the airport.

I don't know which I find more of a hassle: shipping or shows. But unless I plan on living off of eating corn snakes, guess I have to do a balance of both of them.

:sobstory:
 
I had nothing but troubles with Airborne last year, both in delivery time and billing. (wasn't yours a day late, CAV?) I'm back to FedEx overnight and labeling the package "tree frogs." It still makes shipping small orders anything but cost-effective. What are other small-timers doing?
 
I received a phone call from DHL/Airborne not too long ago, saying they wanted to be my reptile shipper. Had em send me the forms and stuff, none of which said ANYTHING about reptiles. Makes me wonder.

I'm having trouble with fedex right now. Those people have an overnight package of mine somewhere, and no one can give me a straight answer on where it is so I can go pick it up.
 
I just shipped a package from KY to FL last night by Fed Ex I even told the lady what was in it. She asked if I was verified and I told her I was and that was all that was said.
 
ChaosCat said:
I'm having trouble with fedex right now. Those people have an overnight package of mine somewhere, and no one can give me a straight answer on where it is so I can go pick it up.
Click to expand...

Yes...instead of 8/24 by 10:30 am he gets there 8/25 IN THE AFTERNOON!! Luckily he was a trooper and hung in there. And lucky for me ChaosCat is such a nice calm gal! Helped me to calm down a bit!
 
Um......I'd like to pipe in here. I have had many Scorpions and Tarantulas shipped to me via UPS, Fed Ex, and Airborne Express. I guess their policy is that Live Animals are a no no. (Believe me, I've called them numerous times to yell at them for their failure to ring my doorbell and knock on my door instead, which is metal and I can't hear them knocking on a metal door. I always used the excuse that the package they are selling me is simply "Perishable Goods" which can fall under any category from food items to organic skin creams and needs to get to my place ASAP or the goods will be destroyed.) In the Arachid trade, the sellers will usually just send out their package without telling the delivery service exactly what's in it most of the time. Whether or not that would work with snakes, I do not know.
 
Ups

UPS will ship tropical fish, i just write that on box and then tell them thats what i have in there. I have never had a problem with that.
 
Rich Z said:
I had to spend an HOUR today at Delta Airlines to ship out just two packages. Half hour there and a half hour back, that was two hours out of my life to ship those two packages. And the shipping cost from Delta alone was more than what I had charged my customers. When I got home I immediately raised the price of shipping on my website using that method to $100. Based on how much a value my time, I should have doubled that figure.

Quite honestly, I am going to look over my latest FedEx bills to see if my current shipping charge is making ends meet for that part of my business. Costs have risen substantially, and I have to start thinking about my time being worth something in all of this. Shipping a package "at cost" is for the birds. Otherwise I would just as soon spend my time laying on the beach.
Click to expand...


i don't mean any disrespect, but isn't all of this part of owning/running a business??shipping snakes is part of your business so shouldn't you be prepared to have to take the time to go to the airport to ship them out(even if it is frustrating at times)?
i can see charging a "box charge" or a "materials charge" for the shipping materials and for the gas it takes to drive to the airport(god knows, gas isn't cheap nowadays), but making money off of shipping isn't right, IMO. your profit should be from the snakes, not from the shipping charges.
again, i mean no disrespect, it's just that i've seen you complain about how much of a hassle doing shows is (and i'm sure it is a hassle) and now i see you complaining about the hassles of shipping. it's part of owning and running a business, if it's that much hassle for you, maybe it's time to retire or just open a reptile shop.

sorry if i've offended you in any way.
 
Like a retail reptile shop wouldn't be an even bigger hassle? :)

Why do you say that you think shipping should be "at cost", and then insinuate that my time is not an expenditure that I should be compensated for? Anyone who specifically requests of me to ship via the airlines instead of via FedEx is asking me to make a trip to the airport instead of just having FedEx pick up the box here at my place. Why shouldn't I be compensated for fulfilling this request? It is most certainly an additional expense above and beyond what is normally done here. On large orders, it is actually much more cost effective for the buyer to have the box shipped via Delta. An order that would take 4 large 17x17x11 boxes to fill would cost them an arm and a leg going via FedEx. So even at $100, it is still MUCH cheaper for them that way.

Heck what is the standard mileage rate for business deduction mileage these days? 40 cents? Well it is a 40 mile round trip to the airport, so even using that as a yard stick, we are talking about $16 just for a mileage expenditure. What is your time worth to you? What do you charge your employer for your spending 2 hours doing what they are paying you to do? If you figure what I am actually charging for my time for that trip to the airport, it is just a wee bit over minimum wage.

Sorry, but I am just taking a realistic view of business and charging accordingly. Most businesses which expect to survive for any length of time do it exactly that way as well.
 
Point well made Rich, we all should be much more tolerant of shipping charges from our sellers if we cant make it to shows. Your time IS worth money as is your breeding and feeding time. Hopefully ONE of the shipping services will recognize this and give us a break!
 
i thought the airline was just how you chose to ship. if someone requests that method of shipment, then yeah, i can see some sort of service charge. and as i said, yeah you should be compensated for gas mileage. for instance if it cost $50 to ship, i could see charging $85-90. The extra $35-40 being to cover gas mileage,the driving time and shipping materials.

yeah, time is a valuable thing, believe me i know. but taking the time it takes to ship an animal is part of your business, a business you choose to do.
i guess maybe the part that got me was about how you could of easily doubled the $100 fee because of how valuable your time is or something to that effect. a $200 shipping fee? maybe if you're buying a bulk lot.

maybe i just took it the wrong way, but it just seemed like you think you're doing someone a favor by shipping them snakes they order from you, when in fact one could say that someone who buys a snake from you is doing you the favor. but if the whole delta shipping is by customers choice, then i guess you are doing them a favor, but at the same time, you're not obligated to make that shipping method available or you could just make it available on orders with a minimum of $500 or whatever. then maybe it's worth your time.

like i said , i don't mean to offend, and i apologize if i have.
 
I didn't take your comments as being offensive. Matter of fact, I have come to accept the fact that until someone does this sort of thing as a real business, they probably don't really know what is involved and the hassles that are attendant with the job. I would have to classify shipping as the least pleasant and most hassle of the entire business. Preparing for, doing, then unpacking for shows, would have to be second on the list. Some days I think the reverse... :)

Truth be known, I just am not a sales person and would much rather just breed my snakes and play with them day in and day out and to heck with the sales stuff. But I guess I do have to pay the bills, and I do produce a lot more snakes then I really need to keep around. So I sell them.

As I get older, my time becomes more valuable to me, it seems. I can see sometime in the future where I may just stop the retail sales altogether, and simply sell everything through a broker or three, which would free up a huge chunk of my time.

Then maybe I would have the time to take those photos that so many people ask of me.......
 
The place I got my first corn at used DHL Express, and on the box all over it I believe there was "Perishable!" "LIve HArmless Animal!" written on the outside of the box. They're only $38-$45 as I remember it, and ship both snakes and lizards (I don't think arachnids are included there) - and they were pretty prompt and my snake arrived fine.

I hope this is OK, this is a quote from the site of the place I got that snake about DHL:
"DHL Express clearly states that there is no guarantee of any sort on live animal shipments. Furthermore, they do not list snakes as acceptable cargo (although they continue to take them under our current agreement with them). It is likely that should someone file a claim on a shipment of snakes, they will cease accepting such shipments. Due to these restrictions, please do not file any claims with this carrier. "
(Although, the site says of all the time with this carrier they have experienced one loss, and would almost gaurentee this company because they have been so efficient.)

So it seems agreements are easily made..
Maybe you should go check them out, if you haven't already? I'd hate for you to lose business because you have to raise prices so much due to shipping..
 
Local sales Rich, LOCAL SALES!!!!! :grin01:

I think you should just buy a big ol' petshop somewhere in Tally. Heck, that guy on Tharpe seems to do alright just selling mice. That place is usually packed Thursday and Friday with people buying mice and rats.

He'd be alright if he had more of a selection rather than normal, amel and anery too.
 
No way! I'm not at all interested in sitting in a retail shop all day long and having to tend to customers. Besides Tallahassee doesn't have the kind of population base to support something like that at all. Mike at Pet Paradise is just barely hanging on there at his store.
 
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