Help! Geckos possibly lost in Shipping

[David Manchester]

Hey guys,
Just shipped a pair of geckos from NJ to TN and they are yet to be delivered. I shipped them on Thursday 16th and they were to be delivered by 3 pm Friday the 17th. They were shipped Overnight via USPS. I know I should have shipped the beginning of the week but the customer requested Thursday so they could pick them up. The customer called me at 12 pm on Friday saying that they had not arrived, I told them that they were guaranteed by 3pm. Well it's Saturday morning and I have been on the phone haggling USPS (whom I will never ship with again because their customer service SUCKS!) and they have yet to turn up. USPS is supposed to call me or the customer with the results of their "Investigation." I am just super pissed and super nervous for my babies. Has anyone had a similar issue? One note is that we got a call from Newark airport the night we shipped them and the manager asked us what was in the box? I had labeled it harmless live animal and he said that they usually put the live animals in with the pilot. He said the pilots like to know what's in the boxes so they are not paranoid about venomous snakes and such. So we told him it was a pair of geckos "like the geico gecko" we elaborated. So I know they were on the plane..but after that we have no record so far of where they are.

[James]

You are not the only one who has had problems with USPS. I don't know why anyone would choose to ship with them personally, but to each their own. I don't have any support to offer you, so hopefully the others who have had similar issues with them will either help out here or contact you by PM and let you know about their experiences with USPS and how they tracked down their late to be delivered packages.

[rhatfield]

I Hope everthing goes well and your babies arrive safely

[David Manchester]

Lesson learned

Well the geckos are alive and OK...whew. They were picked up this morning at 7 am by their new parents. I will never ship USPS again! I know there is a thread on this but who does everyone use? I read UPS is rough, and Fedex seems ok but a lil more expensive. USPS still, after finding out from the new owners, has yet to get back to me with their "investigation." So much for following up! I have to ship on Monday so any advice prior to would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks again!

[cantilxcotton]

You know people, I know USPS is cheaper. But there is a reason for that. ANIMALS ONLY GET TO WHERE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO GO ON TIME 50% OF THE TIME. PLEASE use FedEx or UPS. It is SSOOO much safer. I know it cost more, but you get what you pay for. And most people who ship geckos now adays will NOT pick delivery for 3:30PM. Most people I know only ship 10:30AM delivery. 4:00 is the HOTTEST part of the day. And that leaves to much time for the truck or vehicle to heat up. Even if it's only like 75 Degrees out, on a sunny day that truck could get up in the 90s. Some don't have working air units. Hopefully you will get lucky and they will get there ok, but for now all you can really do is just wait. I'm sorry if I sound rude, but I have heard this SSOOO many times with USPS. And I don't know why someone would won't to risk a lose of the gecko and shipping cost to save $10-$20. I mean FedEx is guaranteed on their 10:30 AM delivery and I am still paranoid about ANY shipment I send. I just prefer to play it safe as possible. I mean if that gecko isn't alive when it gets there, or is lost and just doesn't make it, you are the one out the money for the gecko, you are the one out for $30 shipping. With today's economy, no one can afford a lose like that. Good Luck, I really hope the gecko gets there ok.

[cantilxcotton]

FEDEX IS CHEAPER!! I don't know why people think it costs more. I can ship something 10:30AM FedEx, and it is still cheaper than UPS by 3PM!!

[AneesasMuse]

FedEx is cheaper, actually. And you, as the seller, still have some say in when you will ship your animals. If a buyer wants the animal.. truly wants the animal (and has the best interest of the animal at heart)... the buyer will comply with your shipping policy. All of it.

Also, consider Repster and take advantage of the savings

[James]

Well the geckos are alive and OK...whew. They were picked up this morning at 7 am by their new parents. I will never ship USPS again! I know there is a thread on this but who does everyone use? I read UPS is rough, and Fedex seems ok but a lil more expensive. USPS still, after finding out from the new owners, has yet to get back to me with their "investigation." So much for following up! I have to ship on Monday so any advice prior to would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks again!

Ok man. Truly, if the shipments "have to go out" on monday, you should ship with UPS. FedEx you have to become certified to ship with them. I was able to slip two shipments by them using reptster.com, but was called and asked to pick up my geckos the other times as I was not yet certified and they would not ship them until I was. So if you have to ship out and dont want any issues, UPS is the way to go. If you want to take a chance, use reptster.com and see if you can sneek your packages by the staff personel. I would look into getting a FedEx certified account. It free, kind of a pain in the back side, but might be worth it in the long run.


Also word from David Young himself is that reptster.com will soon have UPS as an option as well. Don't know how soon this will happen but it was supposed to go live a couple weeks ago. So it should be sometime real soon I would think.

[MoonriseGeckos]

Glad your geckos arrived okay, David. What a relief.

I was curious, how does the shipping certification process work?

[Jennsen]

I had issues a few weeks back with USPS. I will NEVER have another gecko shipped thru them!!! I was a wreck, waiting for my gecko to arrive!!

Then, 2 days later I had a 3 shipments come in from FedEx, and I was HIGHLY impressed... so from now on, I only will be having FedEx deliver to my home. You get what you pay for.

I'm really glad that the geckos are now in the new owners hands!

[rhatfield]

Great to hear everybody arived safely. Yeah info on certification would be very nice.

[scrletbegonias]

oh man!! i have only used usps twice and luckily nothing went wrong! whew! thanks for sharing your experience with everyone. I am so happy that the lil guys are afe and sound now!!

[Jateui]

All shipping services tend to be rough with their packages. My mother used to work for FexEx and admits that they tossed around packages ALL the time.
Like when packages get crammed on the conveyor belt, they just toss them aside and put them back on later. She said that they rarely read the label. If something is fragile and breaks, they normally blame it on the truck going on a gravel road. (And when that happens, it sounds like packages bounce all over the place)
And I know that UPS is the same way. Your best bet is to put in as much cushion as possible, hope somebody notices the label, and don't mess with shipped animals for longer than you would with one you got locally.

[Raen]

Alright... So I don't have any experience with reptile shipping, but I can tell you that I use FedEx for work. When looking to have crabs shipped to me, I demand on it being FedEx. And since I'm paying for the shipping, I think I should have a say in the matter.

I have had packages come to me a little... erm... Not in perfect condition... But they crabs were well packaged with moss inside of a deli cup and then had crumpled up paper packaged all the way around it inside the box. The container on the inside was untouched, even with a damaged box, thanks to how well the woman sending the crabs had packaged them. EVERY shipping company is a little rougher with the packages than any of us would like. That's why it's so important to package VERY well.

[Jateui]

I completely agree, Raen.
It's almost like you need little airbags for the boxes nowadays. :P