Would your collection be bigger if shipping costs were lower?

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Originally Posted by Deborah

And as a buyer knowing that you have an incoming shipment you should track your package, I know I do and I am pro-active about it which is good since one of my last snakes ended up being delivered to someone else's house. The driver excuse "I did not pay attention".

Actually not a mistake some breeder do not use signature, I do not require signature for 2 reasons.

#1 If it is on file the package will be left at the door anyway.

#2 If the snake is delivered and the buyer does not hear the door bell or knock (and it happens) for whatever reason (in the bathroom, somewhere where it can't be heard etc) the driver will put the package back on the truck which means the animal may spend HOURS back on a hot truck and/or be re-delivered next day which could be pretty bad.

Bottom line both seller and buyer MUST be pro-active and track the package to get it soon as delivered and not expect too much from the drivers who do not always use common sense.

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Oh well the second snake i got from her a sig was required and the guy actually rang the doorbell. The 1st time the driver just left it on the steps and didnt ring or even knock. For me id prefer a sig bc at least from my expetience that means they ring the doorbell for you. As you pointed out, that may not always be the case though.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

And as a buyer knowing that you have an incoming shipment you should track your package, I know I do and I am pro-active about it which is good since one of my last snakes ended up being delivered to someone else's house. The driver excuse "I did not pay attention".

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o trust me i was tracking it every hour i didn't sleep all night. but when it finally was delivered i didn't hear when in it was delivered since the driver didn't ring the door bell

Yes, it would be a little bigger--simply because the money that's earmarked for buying, runs out sooner. But shipping costs don't prevent me from buying an animal if I HAVE the money for it.

Also, rolling the shipping cost into the price is actually a deterrent for me, because I understand that shipping costs vary according to distance, and expect to pay less if a person is closer to me. If it's a flat rate, I would be charged more than I should be, if I happen to be closer.

Also, I never send animals signature required, because EVERY time I've received one that way, the driver has dropped a door tag and THAT IS ALL--no door bell ring, no knock, nothing. Drop the tag and run (literally). I had to chase one across town to get my animal, because I refuse to wait for the re-deliver time. If I'm expecting one, I can just check the porch until it appears (and the tracking info is updated online showing it's delivered).

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Originally Posted by granitestate

Do you think your collection would be bigger if shipping prices were lets say half the cost that they are now?

How much does shipping cost affect your purchases?

When breeders include shipping cost in the total cost of the animal does that influence your purchase?

Do high shipping costs deter you from making less expensive purchases? ( ie $25 - $300 of course this varies with opinion on what less expensive means )

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~ Nope, I buy what I like and want regardless of the shipping costs. I think my collection would be bigger if I found more deals locally though lol

~ It doesn't: if I want to pay the money for x, y, or z then shipping is just apart of that cost to pay and I need to take the extra costs into account.

~ Nope, though it's pretty nice to pay a shipped price but adding on $50-$75 isn't a big deal to me either.

~ Nope, though I've yet to see shipping costs of $80+ (unless it's for large snakes/venoms) so I think my limit on shipping would be around ~$90 regardless on how much the initial animal(s) cost, though almost everyone I see selling adds only $50-$60 for shipping. If I want to buy a $30 animal I wouldn't mind adding on the extra shipping costs because I think it's worth it :)

Keeping in mind that I've only purchased 2 snakes over the internet, I don't see shipping costs affecting my decisions much. Generally, I stick to shows since I can handle the snake and see the colors, etc. but if it's something that isn't readily available or I see a snake I just love, then that's another matter. Shipping doesn't really affect that nor would I buy more snakes off the net than I do if there was no shipping costs involved. The reasoning is because I'm very picky about what I get and what I don't get. Every snake that comes in already has a breeding plan in place and if it doesn't fit exactly what I'm looking for, I won't get it. To me, close doesn't cut it and for that reason, I see a lot of snakes on fauna (ok, I'm an addict to that site and I admit it...) that look good but very little that I 'have to have' and even then, if it doesn't have a place in my current breeding plans, I pass on it, with the result that I've purchased two animals. One was a high white pied cornsnake (who came with 2 freebies, both carrying the pied gene) and the other was my proven breeder pastave. Neither of those would be easily found at a local show.

No, my collection would not be bigger, shipping cost are pretty much part of the ball game.That said I have looked to get multiple animals shipped to my customers at the same time to save them some money, same has been done for me too.

No, my collection wouldn't be bigger. Most of my animals are hand picked, but when something needs to be shipped I pay. I expect the shipping costs anyway. And over here, shipping runs $100-$150!

Shipping is just one of those things you have to deal with! Just buy multiple snakes to save on shipping! It doesn't affect my collection I have a few big breeders here in ut I can buy local from. I also pick up animals at the expos.

The amount of room I have available, and the amount of time I spend caring for my snakes is what keeps my collection at the size it is. When looking to add something I pretty much factor in the shipping cost to the budget.

Also keep in mind, there's more to "shipping" costs than just what it costs to get the package from point A to point B. There's also the cost of the box, the packing material, heat or cold packs, and a snake bag or deli cup. I imagine if you ship a lot, you could probably get the cost of these additional items trimmed down by purchasing in bulk, but for those of us who only occasionally ship, they add up. The few times I've shipped, I've ended up eating a lot more of the cost than expected.

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Originally Posted by Sarin

And over here, shipping runs $100-$150!

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Wow, that's some perspective!