Shipping Alternatives?

jannb

Chameleon Enthusiast
Any ideas or suggestions on alternative delivery methods for getting my babies to their new homes since it’s not safe to ship? My husband and I are thinking about renting a big van and driving all over the country to delivery babies.

Here’s a copy paste from the update from today on Ship Your Reptiles website.

Critical!
MUST READ LINK before shipping! Critical Pandemic Information!

Latest Update: 05.28.2020
https://shipyourreptiles.com/pages/critical-information
Warning! MUST READ regarding HEAT PACK USE
https://shipyourreptiles.com/pages/heat-pack-warnings
Update 5.28.20:
SHIP AT YOUR OWN RISK.

The FedEx systems have taken a turn for the worse.

FedEx has officially hit 5 times their average Holiday Volume with no break or end in sight. FedEx is prioritizing Live and Medical shipments as they can, but nation-wide, FedEx is running days behind. We have seen an increase in 48 and even 72-hour delays, so SHIP AT YOUR OWN RISK.

EXPECT DELAYS. We are unable to request ETAs, Reattempt Requests are nearly impossible, and we are locked out of opening traces or cases on many shipments.

DO NOT CALL FEDEX. ANY interference by either you or your recipient can very easily add additional delays. Let us handle it.

MEMPHIS IS SLAMMED. Shipments going through Indy are overall less likely to get hung up in the system but expect delays regardless. To find out which hub your package is *supposed* to go through, check here. Please keep in mind that the routing codes are not 100% guaranteed.

SHIP TO THE HUB FOR PICK UP. Day-of driver delays are astronomical, and once a package leaves the station with the driver, we cannot force delivery or get you an ETA.

DO NOT SHIP ON THURSDAYS. Your package may not deliver until Monday or Tuesday if there is a delay Thursday night.

WATCH YOUR TEMPS. Make sure temps are fine for a few days at the destination in the event of a delay.

THERE IS NO RECOURSE, PERIOD. There are NO REFUNDS available whether your package is late, lost, damaged, or DOA. FedEx does NOT have any liability on ANY shipment at this time, regardless of whether it is live or not. Our insurance remains off until further notice. SHIP AT YOUR OWN RISK.

The system is brutal and we are doing everything we can to ensure your shipment arrives safely. Hold times with our FedEx Premier team are significant, so please be patient with us if you need help on your shipment.

Please see below for our Pandemic Shipping Guidelines.

Thank you, and stay safe!

The All Pro Shipping Staff



PANDEMIC SHIPPING PROTOCOLS
FedEx is swamped. Yes, it sucks. No, we don’t know when things will get better.

Here is what YOU MUST KNOW, DO, and DO NOT DO to help ensure your animals’ safe delivery.

KNOW:
There is NO insurance of any kind. NO guarantees of on-time delivery. NO refunds or reimbursements for late, lost, damaged or DOA shipments
You are shipping AT YOUR OWN RISK
Late deliveries are happening with increasing frequency
24-48 hour delays are more common than ever
At this time, Mondays are showing the highest percentage of delays and other issues
If your package is hung up in Memphis or Indy, assume a 24 hour delay. We audit shipments every morning and send tracking information to FedEx to request that packages be held indoors until they can move out, so chances are excellent that we will already have cases open on your shipment(s).
Ground/Home Delivery system (for dry goods) is heavily delayed.


DO:
Live Shipping is Monday through Wednesday ONLY—we have had Thursday shipments delayed until Monday, even with Saturday upgrade requests put in, and we are not in the office during the weekend to help you.
Mondays are showing the highest rate of delays so you might consider shipping on Tuesday or Wednesday to avoid the Monday madness.
Assume there will be a 24 hour delay and pack your animal accordingly
Aquatic shippers should consider using larger bags with more water and oxygen to last through a late delivery
HOLD AT HUB for PICK-UP—Most of the delays we are seeing are on packages that go out for delivery. We have seen 6 to 8 hour Driver Delays and the trucks are not temperature controlled. Let us know if you need help locating a hub.
Pay special attention shipping into or out of a COVID hotspot, particularly in the Northeast/Tri-State area.
TRIPLE-CHECK for CORRECT ADDRESS and COMPLETE RECIPIENT INFO including phone numbers—incorrect addresses can result in an additional 24-48 hour delay. Being able to reach your customer directly will help us move much faster.
Watch your tracking—especially if delivering to an apartment complex or a commercial address. While we will request reattempts on missed deliveries, many drivers will be NOT be able to do a same-day reattempt, in which case your recipient would need to wait for it to get back to the Ship Center and go pick up later that evening, or wait for reattempt the next business day.
Allow for an additional 2-3 days for delivery of dry goods going via Ground/Home Delivery.


DO NOT:
DO NOT call FedEx! Call us and we will work with FedEx on your behalf. If you or your customer calls FedEx, it will gum up the system and cause MORE delays. We have the contacts and the precise language needed to get the fastest and most thorough customer service available from FedEx.
DO NOT drop off or ship to a FedEx Office, Walgreens, or any other 3rd party retail location. They are NOT authorized to deal with live shipments. In addition, most have now modified their hours and may not have regular Express pickups, which could leave your package sitting for a day or more.


STRONGLY RECOMMENDED:
Reconsider shipping any delicate, sensitive, high-value, rare, or irreplaceable animals until Insurance is back on and it is safer to do so.
Ship only on Tuesday or Wednesday
Avoid putting a business name on a residential delivery address—some FedEx drivers are skipping commercial deliveries, assuming the businesses are closed, even if it's a business located in a home. Avoid this confusion by leaving off the business name where possible.


To keep our website banners as up-to-date and streamlined as possible, we will display only the most recent update on the site. All previous Covid notifications have been compiled and can be easily found here: https://shipyourreptiles.com/pages/updates

For the most updated FedEx information, please keep an eye on FedEx's alerts page, which you can find at: https://www.fedex.com/en-us/service-alerts.html


We are still closely monitoring the FedEx systems for signs that things are calming down, and we will let you know the moment we see light at the end of this tunnel. Like all of you, we are anxious for things to return to some semblance normal. We WANT our Insurance turned back on. In the meantime, we are committed to providing you with excellent service and we will continue to work our butts off, doing all we can to make sure your animals are safely delivered and keep your business in business
 
That is nuts... A friend got a kammerflage baby shipped a few weeks ago. It came without issue in overnight delivery and she just had to go to the fed ex hub to pick it up. She was in CO so it was not a short distance.
 
Im willing to take a road trip and meet you somewhere along the way, I’m down to drive two or three hours each way, just let me know where and when to meet you within that distance from my house.
 
Fedex has lost 2 of my packages recently, so I understand the apprehension. Could you just hold onto the babies for another month? Many states are starting phased re-openings, so maybe the shipping demand will slow down a little (or theyll get more help)
 
Fedex has lost 2 of my packages recently, so I understand the apprehension. Could you just hold onto the babies for another month? Many states are starting phased re-openings, so maybe the shipping demand will slow down a little (or theyll get more help)

No shipping service has pissed me off more than fedex
 
That is nuts... A friend got a kammerflage baby shipped a few weeks ago. It came without issue in overnight delivery and she just had to go to the fed ex hub to pick it up. She was in CO so it was not a short distance.
Ditto. I got my panther from Kammerflage about a month ago. No issues with shipping at that time.
 

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Lmao. FedEx still for me. I chased down one guy in my car because he just left a note on our door without knocking. He literally sped away from me.... so I called and freaked out.

Plus fed lost walt for me @snitz427

Litterally just happened with my Geckos.

So to start, the seller did pay for 10:30 shipping (I had told you they didn't, I was wrong) they were also livid when 10:30 became 4:30, and the Geckos sat in a hot truck till 4:25pm from 9am.

Then once the guy did show up, he drove right past, I had to chase him down the street and he pulled over and I said ya dude you got my stuff. He said, "ya I seen I drove past, I was like do I walk over there, or come back tomorrow".....

So I thought I was lucky, because I assumed the van was ACed, when he opened the window cold air came out, and the box was not hot. Well the same driver delivered some Springs from joshs yesterday, and they were extremely hot, so the seller packed the geckos well!

The geckos also came from CO, like 7 hours away, and they were dropped off, 5pm, and did not get to the me till almost 5pm the next day. I should have drove and got them!

Hub to Hub is likely safer, but I think you will find that like me, alot of folks live in small towns there is no Hub. I do not have a Hub for 3.5 hours. I cant go pick up a reptile during the week, so then you would have to hub to hub to me for Saturday pickup, which is dangerous as delay, then if it hit delay no release till Monday and I couldn't get it.


ITS A MESS!

I a hoping they get it fixed soon. As I got some Import (CB, from Bion) going to be shipped "Soon" (as soon as they can get it to the states) from the Fl middle man (Snakes at Sunset) and I am sure they are not going to want to hold on to them for long, likely be an arrive, hydrate, and reship type deal. Hate to put a value on Animals, but thats a 2,000 dollar shipment of extremely delicate leaf tails so nervous I am extremely.



Ditto. I got my panther from Kammerflage about a month ago. No issues with shipping at that time.

Wait? What?

The Kammers in Canada now?
 
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When I had a small business, most every package that got lost or busted up was shipped UPS, and they were hardest to collect on insurance from.
In ten years, USPS never lost a single one, and they usually got there on or before schedule. One was damaged once, but they paid off very quickly with no hassles.

Everybody's got their war stories. ;)
 
FedEx has officially hit 5 times their average Holiday Volume with no break or end in sight. FedEx is prioritizing Live and Medical shipments as they can, but nation-wide, FedEx is running days behind. We have seen an increase in 48 and even 72-hour delays, so SHIP AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Thank you for posting this!
 
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