Shipping and Handling Fees

[garfieldnfish]

What would you normally expect to pay for shipping and handling for sending 2 2" fish, overnight delievery, live arrival guarantee and heat pack?
I won an auction for a really good price, but now I have the feeling they are trying to recoup their loss by charging me way too much for the shipping. I don't want to leave bad feedback if it's not justified and I only had fish sent to be once before but it was a lot cheaper and I ordered 9 fish at that time.

[Damon]

35 dollars minimum.

[Mark]

Can I ask, why did you not ask about shipping before bidding?

[DavidDoyle]

Depends how they are shipped. USPS would run about $30 for Express, Fed Ex etc al would charge 8-10$ more. Handling means the cost of the box, styro, bags, heat pack and any chenmicals like bag buddies and/or Amquel so add another $5-7.

Like Mark said, why didn't you contact the seller before you bid to determine your shipping and handling in advance.

Depending on the fish and weather during shipping, Priority mail would run about 60% and take 2-3 days- good for smaller fish, esp bettas and corys.

[BlueAmbist]

Doyle, you add alot of water to them bags! To ship 2, 2" fish to you would cost me around $24 with express USPS.

[garfieldnfish]

Well it costs me $55 from New Jersey to Georgia. The auction just stated all shipping methods are available. But when I got the invoice no options were given and the shipping price listed as $55. I still don't know how they are going to get shipped. The person I won the fish from has excellent feedback so I'm sure I will get the fish in great shape and probably in the best packaging available (probably with some Perrier). My mistake for not asking first, I realize that, but I just wanted to see what the normal pricing is, because it just seemed on the high end.

[DavidDoyle]

I use the cellulose insulation to fill the box- adds a few more $ to cost, but it also keeps more fish alive than not using it does. Plus, I ususally send something extra. See if I send any more stuff to Alaska.

[garfieldnfish]

I did not mean to cause an argument here. Just wanted to get educated.

[BlueAmbist]

No arguements! I am just picking on Doyle here, hes a very very good packer.

[Mr Aquarium]

I can say from selling on Ebay for a few years, it is a Ruff road when it comes to shipping, allot of people don;t think about what is takes for most people to get it to the post office or where ever to send it, plus the packing materials, tape, foam peanuts or what ever, ect ect,,,,,,,plus ins. & tracking numbers...It;s hard to figure out shipping and still make anything on the item you sold,,,,,,
and then you have the people that are just plain racking on it all, like 15 bucks for a cup of Java Moss and 15.00 flat shipping for that same cup.....I could clean out ever LFS around for 200 miles of java moss for that 30 bucks, and take half the other plants they have as well.
Just a note, for me to ship two pieces of driftwood to Canada if 16 or 18 bucks depending on how fast they want it.....

[Lisachromis]

Originally Posted by Mr Aquarium @ Fri Feb 04, 2005 11:26 am

Just a note, for me to ship two pieces of driftwood to Canada if 16 or 18 bucks depending on how fast they want it.....

Are they large pieces or VERY heavy? The reason I ask is I've had heavy items shipped to me in Canada for around $10. The USPS website had told them it would cost 18 or so and I asked the person to go to the post office and check and the real price was a lot cheaper.

[Mr Aquarium]

I do take them up to the Post office and get shipping,,,,there not real heavy, but our PO has the electronic scales that tells them what the prices are for the diff class of shipping..
I shipped a Stump type piece a couple months ago here in the states and it had a little wieght to it and was almost 10 bucks to ship it Parcel Post.

[(RC)]

Shipping this time of year will run you more than in the spring. $55 sounds high, but most of the shipping companys had a rate increase not to long ago.

RC

[garfieldnfish]

Fish arrived today, were packaged very well and both are in great shape. 2 heat packs and the water was nice and comfy. And I just love those zebras. Was worth every penny.

[maxpayne_lhp]

Can you take some photos of the package for me? I really want to know how do they keep fish alive thru miles. There's not such service in Vietnam.
Thanks
PS: Congratulaions, enjoy!

[madmatrixz3000]

I think that mailing fish is a harder process than average people see it as. But there are also those who think it is going to be extreamly complicated. I also would like to see the packing of these fish!

[garfieldnfish]

Can't take a picture anymore unless I dig through the garbage can outside. (I'm not really willing to do this) But I can describe it pretty well. Square cardboard box, about 30 cm by 30 cm. (Appr 15 by 15"). Inside it was lined with styrofoam sheets about 2 cm (1/2") think. Additional padding was provided using newspaper. The clear plastic bag containing the fish was about 1/2 full of water. And there were 2 heating pads in the container, both still warm to the touch.

[(RC)]

What was the shipping price on the box ?


RC

[Larry-T]

The bulk of the shipping cost is fixed per box and not dependent upon how many fish you ordered. There is a basic minimal cost for a box, a fixed price for the heat pack, etc.... This is why so many sellers offer to combine auctions to allow you to minimize shipping costs.

I just ran the numbers on five potential packages. All 15X15X8, or the size of a typical styro. A;; would be shipped Fedex to arrive by 3:00 the next day.

3 pounds weight: $51.26

6 pounds weight: $51.26

10 pounds weight: $51.26

15 pounds weight: $63.63

20 pounds weight: $72.76

See? The weight of the contents isn't that much of the cost calculation.

[(RC)]

The prices all look high so I guess they did have a price increase.


RC