Who should I use for shipping overnight?

[ScionFRSguy]

Any suggestions, I would certainly appreciate it! Thanks

 

[mfinn]

For overnight deliveries to me, the most on time seems to be FedEx.
UPS seems to be late. Sometimes 5-6 hours past the shipping time estimate.
I'm sure every area is different.

 

[ScionFRSguy]

Gotcha, I'm hearing the opposite. I heard that UPS has been the better choice as of lately. Thanks for the reply! What I really meant to ask is who do I use to get the best shipping rate overnight? I know it was ship nex at one point and now it's pirate shipping or something like that. I hope that makes sense lol

 

[ScionFRSguy]

For overnight deliveries to me, the most on time seems to be FedEx.
UPS seems to be late. Sometimes 5-6 hours past the shipping time estimate.
I'm sure every area is different.

Please see the message above

 

[Jamie814]

I'm sure every area is different.

This^
For me UPS is here around 9am with next day delivers, FedEx not until afternoon.

Price is also going to vary depending on carrier locations in relation to shipper and receiver location....
PirateShip has great UPS next day air and 2nd day air rates for small shippers and no monthly fees to use them.

 

[mfinn]

Gotcha, I'm hearing the opposite. I heard that UPS has been the better choice as of lately. Thanks for the reply! What I really meant to ask is who do I use to get the best shipping rate overnight? I know it was ship nex at one point and now it's pirate shipping or something like that. I hope that makes sense lol

I use pirate ship for my shipping.
Have not used them for overnight.
I've heard of a Ship Your Aquatics before.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Pirate ship For UPS
No USPS. They cant get any worse

 

[ScionFRSguy]

Thanks so much everyone! I appreciate it (:

 

[JumboShrimp]

Key suggestion: See whether your buyer/receiver can have you ship to either a UPS or FedEx "access point." It might be inside a drugstore chain, pack-and-ship location, etc. It can save as much as 10 or more hours by not having your livestock 'make the rounds' on the truck.

 

[ScionFRSguy]

Key suggestion: See whether your buyer/receiver can have you ship to either a UPS or FedEx "access point." It might be inside a drugstore chain, pack-and-ship location, etc. It can save as much as 10 or more hours by not having your livestock 'make the rounds' on the truck.

Holy cow, thank you so much! Will do. Is a normal UPS or FedEx location okay as well or just the "access points" as you mentioned? Just want to be clear. Also, what is the coldest temperature I can safety ship? The place I want to send it to is about 50 degrees in the day. Is that too cold? Thanks in advance!!

 

[VintageReefer]

Holy cow, thank you so much! Will do. Is a normal UPS or FedEx location okay as well or just the "access points" as you mentioned? Just want to be clear. Also, what is the coldest temperature I can safety ship? The place I want to send it to is about 50 degrees in the day. Is that too cold? Thanks in advance!!

I use ups and have better results, but have had issues with both companies. For me, ups has higher success rate.

You need an insulated box (internal styrofoam cooler with lid) and a heat pack when shipping in 40 degree weather.

A regulated temp heat pack made for reptiles/fish. These get warm but not dangerously hot. I suggest one with a duration of 40 hr, incase the package is delayed and goes a day late. If their cutoff time for drop off is 6pm, get it there close to that, such as around 5 pm. No reason for it to sit unnecessarily in a box at UPS behind the counter all day. Keep it in the tank comfortably. Then start packing at 4 pm, get it dropped off around 5pm.

Remember the heat pack will take 20-30 min to warm up, so don’t expect to open the heat pack then throw it in the box and it will be ready! It won’t warm up of it’s not exposed to oxygen. So, open the heat pack first and set on a counter, then start bagging coral and packing the box and give that heat pack a good 20-30 min to warm up. Sometimes you get a dud also! So this also lets you make sure it’s working properly.

You ship to the buyer and THEY need to flag the package to be held at an access point. They need to log in their MyUPS account (or FedEx acct) enter the tracking, and flag it to be held at a local access point of their choice.

40 hr Reptiles heat packs:
4x40 hour - 14$
https://a.co/d/06wmC4Va
8x40 hour + 1x20 hour - 25$
https://a.co/d/0g7onEQL

 

[JumboShrimp]

@ScionFRSguy , the trucks go to the "access points" and drop off there, "before" fanning out into the communities on their routes. So your package gets into a nice warm store earlier than it hits someone's cold driveway, hours later. (The CVS drugstore near me is an UPS access point.). I'd Google one near you. Then you can call the store and and double-check. (I recently had the internet listing a local Pack 'b Ship as a FedEx access point; turns out when I got there, it wasn't-- although the package did make it, as addressed.)

 

[mfinn]

@ScionFRSguy , the trucks go to the "access points" and drop off there, "before" fanning out into the communities on their routes. So your package gets into a nice warm store earlier than it hits someone's cold driveway, hours later. (The CVS drugstore near me is an UPS access point.). I'd Google one near you. Then you can call the store and and double-check. (I recently had the internet listing a local Pack 'b Ship as a FedEx access point; turns out when I got there, it wasn't-- although the package did make it, as addressed.)

I have one that receives packages from the airport. Once I get the tracking number I can call FedEx or UPS and have them hold the package there and pick it up when they open at 9am.

 

[BryanM]

UPS is what every vendor I've purchased from uses.

 

[Biokabe]

One thing to keep in mind with UPS - a few years ago, in the name of "streamlining the customer experience" or whatever corporate jargon they used to justify it, they closed down most of their customer centers and started allowing UPS Store locations to charge customers for the privilege of having packages delivered to the location. So before you tell your customer to use one of those, make sure they're aware of that and are prepared to pay whatever ransom the UPS Store decides to charge.

I don't know whether the same applies to simple access points.

 

[ScionFRSguy]

One thing to keep in mind with UPS - a few years ago, in the name of "streamlining the customer experience" or whatever corporate jargon they used to justify it, they closed down most of their customer centers and started allowing UPS Store locations to charge customers for the privilege of having packages delivered to the location. So before you tell your customer to use one of those, make sure they're aware of that and are prepared to pay whatever ransom the UPS Store decides to charge.

I don't know whether the same applies to simple access points.

UPS is what every vendor I've purchased from uses.

I have one that receives packages from the airport. Once I get the tracking number I can call FedEx or UPS and have them hold the package there and pick it up when they open at 9am.

@ScionFRSguy , the trucks go to the "access points" and drop off there, "before" fanning out into the communities on their routes. So your package gets into a nice warm store earlier than it hits someone's cold driveway, hours later. (The CVS drugstore near me is an UPS access point.). I'd Google one near you. Then you can call the store and and double-check. (I recently had the internet listing a local Pack 'b Ship as a FedEx access point; turns out when I got there, it wasn't-- although the package did make it, as addressed.)

I use ups and have better results, but have had issues with both companies. For me, ups has higher success rate.

You need an insulated box (internal styrofoam cooler with lid) and a heat pack when shipping in 40 degree weather.

A regulated temp heat pack made for reptiles/fish. These get warm but not dangerously hot. I suggest one with a duration of 40 hr, incase the package is delayed and goes a day late. If their cutoff time for drop off is 6pm, get it there close to that, such as around 5 pm. No reason for it to sit unnecessarily in a box at UPS behind the counter all day. Keep it in the tank comfortably. Then start packing at 4 pm, get it dropped off around 5pm.

Remember the heat pack will take 20-30 min to warm up, so don’t expect to open the heat pack then throw it in the box and it will be ready! It won’t warm up of it’s not exposed to oxygen. So, open the heat pack first and set on a counter, then start bagging coral and packing the box and give that heat pack a good 20-30 min to warm up. Sometimes you get a dud also! So this also lets you make sure it’s working properly.

You ship to the buyer and THEY need to flag the package to be held at an access point. They need to log in their MyUPS account (or FedEx acct) enter the tracking, and flag it to be held at a local access point of their choice.

40 hr Reptiles heat packs:
4x40 hour - 14$
https://a.co/d/06wmC4Va
8x40 hour + 1x20 hour - 25$
https://a.co/d/0g7onEQL

Pirate ship For UPS
No USPS. They cant get any worse

I use pirate ship for my shipping.
Have not used them for overnight.
I've heard of a Ship Your Aquatics before.

This^
For me UPS is here around 9am with next day delivers, FedEx not until afternoon.

Price is also going to vary depending on carrier locations in relation to shipper and receiver location....
PirateShip has great UPS next day air and 2nd day air rates for small shippers and no monthly fees to use them.

Thanks for all the info everyone! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my important questions lol. I appreciate it!! All the best, have a great 2026 guys!

 

[ScionFRSguy]

What is the best way to pack a 2" frag disc with no plug on the bottom? I was going to take the bottom piece broken off from a new frag plug then glue it onto my frag disc so I could use it to put the styrofoam (floating material) to make it float in bag. Is that the best way to ship a 2" frag disc?

#2 question, what do you think I should do when shipping a 4" square disc? How do I keep the chalice from being hurt? I can't seem to figure this one out. Any advice would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[Jamie814]

What is the best way to pack a 2" frag disc with no plug on the bottom? I was going to take the bottom piece broken off from a new frag plug then glue it onto my frag disc so I could use it to put the styrofoam (floating material) to make it float in bag. Is that the best way to ship a 2" frag disc?

#2 question, what do you think I should do when shipping a 4" square disc? How do I keep the chalice from being hurt? I can't seem to figure this one out. Any advice would greatly be appreciated. Thanks

Some use rubber bands on the outer edges of the disks or tiles to hold them to a piece of Styrofoam.

 

[mfinn]

What is the best way to pack a 2" frag disc with no plug on the bottom? I was going to take the bottom piece broken off from a new frag plug then glue it onto my frag disc so I could use it to put the styrofoam (floating material) to make it float in bag. Is that the best way to ship a 2" frag disc?

#2 question, what do you think I should do when shipping a 4" square disc? How do I keep the chalice from being hurt? I can't seem to figure this one out. Any advice would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!!

The rubber bands and styrofoam works great.
I've also had frags shipped the were inside plastic cups similar to the cone of shame on a dog.
Not sure where you would get anything like that or how to attach it, but it's an idea to be worked on.

 

[ScionFRSguy]

Some use rubber bands on the outer edges of the disks or tiles to hold them to a piece of Styrofoam.

The rubber bands and styrofoam works great.
I've also had frags shipped the were inside plastic cups similar to the cone of shame on a dog.
Not sure where you would get anything like that or how to attach it, but it's an idea to be worked on.

Excellent, thank you!