Shipping? What to look for?

Hi everyone!

I am very exciting for the end of December. I am getting ready to put some money down on a Pied female BP who I have wanted for years. Love the pied gene! I have never shipped any live animals before. What should I look for? She would be coming from FL to MI. I have never bought a snake online. Textbooks all the time, snakes never. I am really scared for a scam or something to go wrong. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Nichole

Search on here, Fauna Classifieds BOI, Facebook Feedback and Inquiries for the person's name you are buying from to see if they have any sort of track record. If not, ask for references...and check them out. Ask the seller for their terms of service...live arrival guarantee, health guarantee, return policy, etc... Keep an eye on your daily temperatures, highs and lows, as you've got to be getting pretty cold by now, and make the seller aware your local weather. I personally check temperatures at my location, buyer's location, as well as the in between points(Indianapolis or Memphis), but am not sure if everyone does. Use a secure payment method, Paypal or postal money order. I've been fortunate enough to have not dealt with any shady people as of yet, and there are many wonderful people in this hobby/industry. Doing your homework on someone you're buying from will go a long way in assuring a successful purchase. Hope this helps!

Thanks! I don't want to be scammed. There are great people out there and then of course the bad ones who do warn for others. Due to some money and the pied being a gift, we have to wait until around X-Mas to ship her. =( I can't wait.

I googled his name but found nothing. I will look on here though and Fauna. He just made a site for facebook back in October. He told me he guarantees live arrival. I will ask about the rest. Let you know.

I just usually buy snakes in person but no one ever has a pied near by. I found one who sold after I tried to set up a day to meet the person for over a week. Oh well. I just have to join the shipping-snakes group!

Nichole

He joined fauna on 11/12/12. I am a little worried now. I am waiting for his email back with references. He has six pieds; 4 males and 2 females.

His join date doesn't exactly mean he is a fraud but if I were you I would look into purchasing one from a well-known reputable breeder. This will ensure that you get what you pay for and that your transaction is smooth and safe.

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Originally Posted by mebigbadbrat

Due to some money and the pied being a gift, we have to wait until around X-Mas to ship her. =( I can't wait. tried to set up a day to meet the person for over a week. Oh well. I just have to join the shipping-snakes group!

Nichole

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I personally would not buy from or at least be cautious with someone that ships around Christmas, especially a new shipper. I think Dec. 14th will be our cutoff this year until after the New Year. The package volume FedEx and UPS has to deal with is incredible and results in greatly increased package delays. So much so that I believe they suspend "on time" guarantees. That also means they'll have more trouble and have to take more time to trace a misplaced or delayed package.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jabberwocky Dragons

I personally would not buy from or at least be cautious with someone that ships around Christmas, especially a new shipper. I think Dec. 14th will be our cutoff this year until after the New Year. The package volume FedEx and UPS has to deal with is incredible and results in greatly increased package delays. So much so that I believe they suspend "on time" guarantees. That also means they'll have more trouble and have to take more time to trace a misplaced or delayed package.

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I agree I won't ship from the 10th on this year until possible febuary. 2 reasons
1 I am gettig married on te 12th and 16th ( it a double wedding event )
and due to the holiday shipping volume it could be dangerous for the animal between delays and they just ( tossing the package on the porch and never ringing the bell) poor critter could freeze to death while in the house waiting with a door open. I had packages that require signing for left at the door andI was sitting in the kicten waiting (which was close enough to be answer the door in a flash. lucky I only was getting heat tape.

I agree, the package volume through Christmas is begging for a foul-up. The heat packs say 40 hour, but I don't think you want to test that by having your package delayed.

I didn't even think about how busy the end of December would be for shipping. Thanks guys! Guess I was too excited! I have a few different pieds I am looking into right now. I am trying to find the perfect one along with the perfect breeder who will help me with the shipping questions.

The guy I was looking at said this is his first clutch of 9 pieds! No feedback from other owners but has good feedback on ebay and amazon is what he said. I am still a little off on him though.

Another breeder was asking 200 more then him, but answered all my questions plus gave me more pictures.

Why is picking a new BP so hard?

Nichole

Our ShipYourReptiles holiday shipping cutoff this year is Wednesday, December 12th, through Jan 2nd. It just gets so chaotic and busy with so many gift packages in the system, delays and exceptions are much more likely.

You can still book labels and accomplish shipping during this time, many folks are shipping merchandise, which is not as sensitive to delays, and some folks will still ship reptiles. We suggest they do not.

And there will inevitably be the guy that ships the day before Christmas, then pitches a fit when it doesn't get delivered on Christmas Day, "like I paid for, you jerks!".

Humbug.