Caudate Shipping Methods

[jason]

What shipping methods do some of you all use to get your caudates from place to place? FedEX, UPS, USPS? Furthermore, which services are best from those respective companies for what kinds of caudates?

The place I got my Tiger Sals from uses UPS next day air. Kinda expensive, $45, but amazing considering it appears the next morning on my door step.

I work part time for the US Postal Service, so I was wondering if anyone used that. (Don't be afraid to say what you really think, its ok, really.) Every now and then people mail crickets, or turkeys, but I've haven't delivered any live packages myself yet.

I have some fire bellied newts that are morphing might now, and Im getting ready to put up a post for them. (Free, you pay shipping kinda deal.) So what are people willing to pay in this situation? I have a styro-cooler and ice pack too. So packaging is no big deal.

 

[joseph]

Well, if you wait till fall, USPS Priority would probably be around 5-10 bucks...depending on thge number of morphs you decide to stick in. I doubt they would weigh very much, as they would only need something to keep them moist.

During the summer, Priority would be pretty risky unless you really trust the styro and icepack.


how many morphs do you plan to distribute?

 

[nic]

I used fedex overnight from Los Angeles to Portland before and it was only ten dollars. They arrived in the morning before 10:30.

 

[sharon]

I've received animals via USPS and um, well, it was worrisome and deadly.

I rarely get my regular mail from them. I have to call my neighbors when I'm looking for birthday cards and letters.

When I ordered some axolotls, they COMPLETELY missed the sign on the box that said "HOLD AT POST OFFICE - call for notification". If I hadn't called the sorting office in another town, AND called the my local delivery office it could have been tragic. They did kill $35 worth of crickets. They tried to deliver them to my house (I live rurally and my mail goes to a box on the main road, not my house), DESPITE the notices on the box, my repeated phone calls, etc.

ALTHOUGH honestly I have never had this many problems with USPS before.

If you were calling for votes, in the heat of summer I would go with UPS or FedEx. There just isn't any room for error in the heat.

Sharon

 

[jennifer]

I use the USPS almost exclusively, and I have done a lot of shipping. In my experience, the USPO is much more economical and CAN work very well, but requires careful advance preparation (often, phone calls to the 800 number or to the nearest Expedited Services office). See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/shipping.shtml
The only problem I had with Express Mail was when shipping to a place that gets 2-day rather than overnight shipping (and not realizing this in advance).

Sharon, I would suggest having your packages addressed differently to assure that they are held at the PO. First, ask at the PO what ZIP+4 code to use to have them held. If those last 4 digits are correct, it's unlikely that they will end up on a delivery truck. Second, have them addressed in this format (with the parts in parenthesis very clearly in parentheses):

(505) 123-4567
Joe Shmoe
(6751 Main St.)
(City, ST 12345) DO NOT DELIVER!!!
Hold at: Official name of PO (ask!!!)
Street Address of PO
City, State
12555-9998

It's a lot of information to cram into the space on the label, but it can be done.

 

[sharon]

Well, there is at least one tip in there I haven't tried. The Last 4 digit thing. Thanks!

I haven't gotten a magazine subscription in YEARS because I'm tired of paying for a mag I don't receive. I usually have mags and important mail and packages shipped to my mother in another town. Sad isn't it?

I really think its just my PO, they just suck. I get mail from two or three streets over on a daily basis. Names aren't the least bit alike neither are the street names OR house numbers.

LOL! sorry I'm still miffed they killed all my crickets, I got a very minor revenge in that they REALLY stunk up the Post office.

Sharon

 

[michael]

The rules at the post office change every couple weeks. It's really tough to say what the best way to ship is. The post office will no longer guarantee overnight delivery of live animals. They do guarantee overnight delivery of packages that don't have live animals. I've noticed that when I forget to label the boxes "live animals" they get their faster. i try to remember but it keeps slipping my mind.

 

[jennifer]

Sharon, maybe you want to have important deliveries held at a different PO. The best PO to have them held at is the airport PO in the city that your Express Mail is delivered through. For example, I live in the boonies in New Mexico, and I have had a couple of live animal shipments held for me in Albuquerque at the airport PO. No hot trucks in the deserts of New Mexico involved! Before I could do this, though, I talked to the Expedited Services office (the only USPS people that seem to know what's what with Express Mail!)

Regarding other delivery services (Fedex, UPS, etc), they also have the option available to have a package held for pickup at the office nearest to the destination airport. This seems to me like the safest option, especially during summer heat.

 

[michael]

Another option has been to have the package sent Express mail general delivery to your name, phone number, and post office. If the mailman doesn't know your address he can't try to deliver it to you. I've used this method off and on for years. You have to check. Some Post Offices don't accept general delivery. I have to explore options again in my area. The last time I checked the post office was still my best way.

 

[joe]

I also thought that there are some commercial ventures here in the US (Mailbox USA?) that will take delivery of mail/packages and hold them.

I've used USPS for most of my business. I've not had any problems with them. I suspect though it's a question of how reliable your regular mail carrier is and your circumstances (ie: such as a rural mailbox vs. a suburban one).

Also, I'd be very leery of mailing during summer anyway. You'd hope that the packages stay indoor all the time until actual delivery (and then they're in the delivery vehicle. But some of the commercial services us hubs. So even if your mailing from someplace cool to someplace cool, it may go through a hub that's pretty steamy.

 

[clarence]

I just have a real hard time trusting common postal carriers after working in both a mailroom, and as a jet fueler, and watching how many of the packages are handled (although, USPS was always much more gentle on packages than I ever saw Fedex be)