FAIR shipping fees for live coral and fish.....sticker shock?

[siggy]

I just hit the free shipping point, that 35-50 bucks turns into a free frag

 

[MnFish1]

Prime example, go find a small LFS that can offer Hawaiian flame wrasses (female) for $83, and give you a $50 gift card plus free shipping when you order over $170. There is something to be said about large volume retail...

have had far more bad luck dying fish from various internet suppliers. willl never ever ever order again.... gift certificate or not

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I buy corals from in state vendors, mainly. I like to support the local guys, doing my part to keep the local reefing community strong. That said, in state shipping from places where it would cost me more in time and fuel than paying for shipping, usually runs $15-25. I'm good with that.

 

[fish farmer]

I ship 2-4 pallets per day combination UPS and Fedex every day for my business. We have the best rates they allow until you are a huge company like home depot/amazon/etc.

I cannot over nite anything for cheaper than $35. Doesn't matter if its a 6oz package. And that is for instance shipping someplace like 60-80 miles away. If were to overnite across the country we are talking closer to $45-50.w Once you get above 10 lbs the costs go up exponentially as well.

I ship boxes of trout eggs on occasion via Fed Ex/UPS. The boxes are generally around 20 lbs. We have the receiver pay the shipping costs so I never know how much overnight express costs.

A few years back one of the hatcheries we shipped to declined the shipment since it was a day late. I authorized destroying the shipment. A few months go buy and we get a bill from Fed Ex stating we owed them over $200 for shipping.

 

[User1]

I remember the first time I found out you had to pay an extra fee to have coral shipped to you! I was sticker shocked! But after thinking about it of course it made perfect sense. Shipping live goods can get quite expensive considering the weight and location and it's just a fact that it has to be factored in.

What would you consider to be a FAIR price to have a regular sized box of coral frags shipped you?

I'm not sure I understand the sticker shock part but maybe many are used to Amazon prime which was heavily subsidized by the federal government. Fair price is what the shipping costs to move the product from seller to buyer and the carrier they use. Seller should find a way to allow buyer to choose which one to use with options. Package, packing, and other things to guarantee alive arrival is an area in between that will again get passed on to the buyer but again this makes sense because the seller has to purchase. They can, and should, buy in cycles based on order patterns and also buy in bulk while surveying the prices year around to provide the cheapest cost they will pass on to the buyer.

The business owner should have this all figured out otherwise they will not be in business very long. Taxes, rent, lease, product, staff, and location just to name a few adds up and the business owner, small business mind you, is taking the risk to do this and should have a positive salary when it is done. Not easy to do which is why you see many a restaurant or other small business go under. Fish store is no different be it local, online, or other. Also note you are competing with at least two large online stores that have more buying power than others.

I recall reading a paper last year which was a bit eye opening on a small Northern California coffee store - Dutch Brothers (good coffee btw). It opened the article with the year end salary they made then worked back on what it took to earn it and how much the stores had to make to generate it. When you look at the bigger picture and connect the dots, well, you would understand that free shipping isn't free and someone has to pay.

And paying, well, is the right thing to do. Or at least have a darn good understanding why it is and appreciate it when it isn't. Not everyone is subsidized or as large as say Walmart who can get away with free shipping.

 

[Keepswiming]

have had far more bad luck dying fish from various internet suppliers. willl never ever ever order again.... gift certificate or not

That my friend is another conversation, which I can agree. Qt with prophylax..

 

[Blue Lip]

I haven’t shipped fish for a while but hopefully will be soon. Last time I shipped it was about $85 to ship 2 fish to California and about $95 to ship to New York.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

not reading all these posts...for me....its the size of the package....whats regular? Regular size shipment of corals to me, might be different than say the Zoos shipment or the aquariums...or Ted dwn the street with a 500gal display.

Also its the quality of the packaging. Is there brown paper being used. Everything secure and tight. No leaks. ect,
I voted for the $26-$36 range I think it was.
-d

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Ive ordered coldwater fish before just a state away....I paid for 1 day ship. On the box at my door the supplier paid for 2day...
I was upset when I opened up the box to find nasty water and 1 dead fish and 1 live.
-d

 

[jsvand5]

I haven’t shipped fish for a while but hopefully will be soon. Last time I shipped it was about $85 to ship 2 fish to California and about $95 to ship to New York.

Check out shipyouraquatics.com if you haven’t already. It saves me a bit over my price on my account sometimes.

 

[Blue Lip]

Check out shipyouraquatics.com if you haven’t already. It saves me a bit over my price on my account sometimes.

That was using ShipYourAquatics. I will have to look into what it cost now.

 

[Goby-won]

Shipping is a crazy world. Unless you have huge volume....there is not much of discount to the shipper. Average rate for shipping overnight is really high. Just go to FedEx and try to ship something yourself. Then add in insurance to pay in case something dies and the rate goes even higher. Plus prove that the delivery happened after the 10:30 time. Unless there is photo evidence and you have a lawyer, good luck in collecting your cost (shipper of our coral or fish supplier).

Then you have packaging - boxes and heat/ice packs are not free. Just imagine packaging 50 orders a day with boxes and heat packs + pay the person packing + overhead of having a tank + everything that goes into running a facility. We really need to stop complaining. I know what it costs to run my little 120g. Raise that 10x or 20x - I can’t even imagine.

I know $50 for shipping is “high” but consider what goes into this job. These businesses are not there to lose money. I have shipped a few things to people on this site and have lost sleep over that shipment hoping that everything arrived in one piece and in good condition.

Just my 2 cents.