A message from Reptiles Express

[JLC]

Copied as requested from a Fauna BOI thread...

I wanted to explain the current situation with RE and UPS. We have a few people in corporate UPS that have been battling for RE and the reptile industry. There was only 2 more issues we have been working with UPS to find a permanent solution to: Snake Shipping and 3rd party billing (reselling labels). Early this week we made a huge step forward and got waiver free snake shipping approved with UPS through RE. Today we received some very bad news from UPS. The folks in UPS that have been working very hard to get these issues approved lost a very important battle today. We have been told that UPS has sent out a cease and desist order to SYR and pulled there accounts. They told RE today that they can not keep the lawyers from sending the same letter to us. We have been told are accounts are still active and we will need to wait for some of the fires to be put out before they will allow RE as a reseller of shipping labels to the reptile industry. We have 6 months of emails and phone calls assuring RE that our website and business plan was approved before we officially launched our site and most of the problems we have had are from outside pressure being applied to UPS. We will continue to work with UPS to work out this unfortunately series of events and will do everything we can to offer reasonable overnight reptile shipping in the future. We have removed the label option from our website until further notice. We wanted to apologize to all of our members and promise we will do everything possible to work this out with UPS. I placed a call to Chad at SYR today to see if we can work together with UPS to resolve these issues. I have not received a call back. I think at this point we just need to work with UPS together and stop the heat that is being applied at the corporate office. Thanks for the support and please post this in the other forums. We can't hit them all.

Brendan Tighe - Partner
ReptilesEXPRESS.com

Post #28 from this thread...

[steveboos]

Wow, i don't even know what to say. Large Corporations don't understand...

[Aes_Sidhe]

So who left ?? There is any other company providing service like that ?? That's really Really bad news for Community

[JLC]

This message from them raised two big questions in my mind...one of which I asked in the Fauna thread.

First...what "outside pressure" cares that UPS would do business with a relatively small entity like RE or care that they would allow someone like RE to resell labels...and who are they that they would have that much influence over a giant like UPS in the first place?

The question I didn't ask because it's less well defined, but still makes me go "Huh???" .....

They state at the beginning of the message that there were "ONLY two more issues to work on"...as if there were a bunch of other big hurdles that they'd gotten over and were getting down to the finish line. Those two issues were "shipping snakes" and "3rd part shipping." Uhhh....DUH. So far as I know, those were the only two issues to begin with...and have been issues in one way or another from the beginning. And those two issues also happen to be the foundation of their entire business model, so far as I understand it.

The whole thing just feels a little.....off....to me. But I'm only going by what I see and have seen. I know for sure that I DO hope by some twist of a miracle that UPS finally pulls their heads out of their behinds and allows the herping community full (responsible!) use of its services.

[JLC]

So who left ?? There is any other company providing service like that ?? That's really Really bad news for Community

It's a blow...but is it really a surprise? There have already been two other attempts of this nature that failed. RE was/is not much different that I can see. But these attempts at squeezing through UPS loopholes (or downright making up their own loopholes to try and squeeze through) are only about three years old at the most.

Anyone wishing to run their hobby like a business should go through the process of getting certified to ship through FedEx and/or Delta Dash. While neither process can be done in one session of sitting at your computer to sign up for a web site and print a label...they are both well within the reach of any responsible individual who is serious about selling their animals beyond their local circle.

[Aes_Sidhe]

It's a blow...but is it really a surprise? There have already been two other attempts of this nature that failed. RE was/is not much different that I can see. But these attempts at squeezing through UPS loopholes (or downright making up their own loopholes to try and squeeze through) are only about three years old at the most.

Anyone wishing to run their hobby like a business should go through the process of getting certified to ship through FedEx and/or Delta Dash. While neither process can be done in one session of sitting at your computer to sign up for a web site and print a label...they are both well within the reach of any responsible individual who is serious about selling their animals beyond their local circle.

Yes I agree to the point... because what occasional Breeders who have one 2 clutch a year suppose to do now... I dont wanna (as of now) breed reptile for a living but could have soon occasion to breed my YB to whatever I got.. and I'm pretty sure that I dont be able keep all the babies. So what i suppose to do now if somebody from Florida/Cali/Washington would like too purchase purchase one of them??

That really really suck... it seems like last few years Herp Community in this country loosing battle after battle.. and that make me really sad

[JLC]

Yes I agree to the point... because what occasional Breeders who have one 2 clutch a year suppose to do now... I dont wanna (as of now) breed reptile for a living but could have soon occasion to breed my YB to whatever I got.. and I'm pretty sure that I dont be able keep all the babies. So what i suppose to do now if somebody from Florida/Cali/Washington would like too purchase purchase one of them??

That really really suck... it seems like last few years Herp Community in this country loosing battle after battle.. and that make me really sad

Well, as I mentioned, these attempts at mass shipping through UPS are only about three years old, at the most. What did people do before the first of these came along to try and change the game?

It doesn't cost anything to get certified with FedEx...so why not go that route? Just because you won't be using them every day...I don't believe there are any minimum requirements to get and maintain your cert.

[Aes_Sidhe]

Well, as I mentioned, these attempts at mass shipping through UPS are only about three years old, at the most. What did people do before the first of these came along to try and change the game?

It doesn't cost anything to get certified with FedEx...so why not go that route? Just because you won't be using them every day...I don't believe there are any minimum requirements to get and maintain your cert.

But can You get certified as private person or You need to have registered Company ??

[JLC]

But can You get certified as private person or You need to have registered Company ??

I'm about 99.7% sure that you don't have to have some legally recognized business to be certified...but you might need to call yourself "Joebob's Reptiles". It's not something I've had to do myself yet. But I know Robin (Rabernet) has her cert...and she's not some registered company. And many, many others like her.

[Aes_Sidhe]

SUMMON Robin (Rabernet) to tell Us how She get Certified by Fedex...