How often does shipping go bad?

Just wondering how often DOA happens with shipping snakes.

How many of you have had a DOA, whether buying or selling?

What do you think was the reason?

How common is it?

If the animal is in good health to begin, and packed properly for weather, and shipping goes as planned, there should be no doa. with that said, delays in shipping, improper pacakaging, or a sick animal to begin with, you can easily wind up with a doa.
I am fortunate that this has never happened to me.

I think the biggest variable in that question is WHO is shipping the animal.

If you buy from a strong, reputable dealer who knows what he is doing, DOAs are very rare.

The risk of DOA rises steadily if you're dealing with an unscrupulous person...a person who doesn't take proper care of their animals...and/or a person who is simply ignorant or careless about proper packing techniques and proper shipping methods.

I have shipped or had shipped to/from Texas, Maryland, Colorado, south Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, and California with no problems. All Fedex overnight, some with SYR.

It can happen but it is rare, I never had any issues shipping or receiving.

I've shipped and received hundreds of times since I discovered the whole internet reptile community thing in 2001. Never once had anything die in transit...Not that that does anything to prevent the anxiety every single time I pack something up to ship out. Haha.

I have personally never had any major issues with shipments I have made, or that have been sent to me.

2 of the last 4 packages I have had moved with fedex got lost overnight and spent an extra day out. 1 I shipped and 1 I had shipped to me. All animals involved lived and are perfectly healthy. But things happen. Shipping sucks and makes me really nervous these days.

Hey Deborah, I found one of your missing membbers

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...211disc379.jpg

One DOA due to the animal partially regurging in transit. That was very sad because the rat looked fresh, as if he had just been fed within the last day or two. Very experienced seller, but mistakes happen I guess.

Almost had another DOA due to FedEx somehow ripping the shipping label off the box and losing the package for most of a day. She was a little cold but turned out fine.

Does it help at all to utilize a larger than needed box - it seems like the larger box might not get lost as easy - just wondering.

I have a shipment coming to me next Tuesday morning - this is my first experience with having a snake shipped to me - needless to say I am worried sick about it - no sleep for me Monday night.

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Originally Posted by L.West

I have a shipment coming to me next Tuesday morning - this is my first experience with having a snake shipped to me - needless to say I am worried sick about it - no sleep for me Monday night.

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this is the same for me. going to finish paying 3 snakes off tmrw and then they should ship out monday. my first time dealing with shipping too. i could say no sleep for me monday nite also, but since i work overnights i never get any sleep :rolleyes:

Well, hopefully next week at this time we can look back at all our anxiety and laugh about it - our babies will be safe and sound at home.

Post a success shipment story next week.

All a larger box will do is raise the cost of shipping. Really, the smaller the box, the better. Less room for the containers the snakes are in to slide around and less air space to heat. The task is on the shipper, all you have to do is sit back and track the package. Don't worry, it'll be fine.

I have complete faith in the breeder doing her job of packing things correctly - my fear is in the fedex company losing the darn package.

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Originally Posted by L.West

post a success shipment story next week.

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im planning on doing a video of it and yes it will be posted the day, or day after, i get them.

I've never had a problem receiving my BP's, but with other items I've found there are more problems around Holidays.

snake delivered to wrong city - same state due to one digit mistake on zip code - snake was one day late and never was right imo - rehomed him to someone who felt comfortable getting him healthy - my loss - 325 real dollars - it does happen

Mistakes, misroutes, mechanical delays, weather, there are many causes for delivery delays.

We offer On-Time and Live Arrival Insurance at ShipYourReptiles. Check out the site for more details.

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Originally Posted by L.West

I have a shipment coming to me next Tuesday morning - this is my first experience with having a snake shipped to me - needless to say I am worried sick about it - no sleep for me Monday night.

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Originally Posted by pbjtime8908

this is the same for me. going to finish paying 3 snakes off tmrw and then they should ship out monday. my first time dealing with shipping too. i could say no sleep for me monday nite also, but since i work overnights i never get any sleep :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by pbjtime8908

im planning on doing a video of it and yes it will be posted the day, or day after, i get them.

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The Pre-Arrival Anxiety is awesome. Just like a little kid on Christmas Eve.
But seriously, definitely make sure you have a camera, with the date/time stamp turned on, to document every step of the arrival and unpacking, to include the condition of the box before opening, the way the packing materials are packed in the box before removing it, etc...
As soon as you get everything checked out, make sure that you send an e-mail to the seller to let them know that the delivery was a success or if there are any problems. And make sure you save all of the photos and e-mails for at least 30 days. That will help protect you should any problems arise that may need to be resolved.

How about winter shipping? Will heat packs keep the snakes warm enough? My next big purchases will be in January and I'm wondering if shipping will even be an option.

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Originally Posted by adamsky27

How about winter shipping? Will heat packs keep the snakes warm enough? My next big purchases will be in January and I'm wondering if shipping will even be an option.

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I bought 2 of my boas in January. 1 was coming from Florida and the other from Mass. They didn't ship until late March because the temps were still freezing at one of the distribution hubs that they would have to go through. It all depends on the weather and, I'm sure to some extent, the distance to the destination, and the route it has to travel.

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Originally Posted by adamsky27

How about winter shipping? Will heat packs keep the snakes warm enough? My next big purchases will be in January and I'm wondering if shipping will even be an option.

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one of the guys thats supposed to ship to me monday is a little worried about the temps around here because monday nite/tuesday morning the temps are supposed to drop to 37 or 38. the other guy shipping to me is from montana, which is colder then iowa is rite now, and they arent worried about the temps from there so ive started getting a little more anxious/nervous about it.

I had two snakes take the scenic tour of Columbus and joyride around until fourish when they were due by 10:30. They arrived cold and pissed off as heck, but no real harm done.

Another time, the seller specified that the snake be sent to my local fed ex for pickup. He also called fed ex to make sure that they sent it to the local station for pickup. I called to confirm that they would be sending it to the local fed ex for pickup. And it was delivered to my house. Late.

So I always cringe a little when I have a snake shipped. But so far they've all arrived healthy.