Shipping of live fish is soooo expensive?

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PartyHacks

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 20, 2019
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I wanted to ship 2 eels today, and everytime I pay for shipping online it's max like $50.

UPS quoted me $174 for next day

USPS quoted me $115 for 2 day?

What is up? It wasn't even a massive box or anything.
 
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Jexnell said:
Vendors/stores get a special bulk rate deal since they ship so much.
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The Masked Shadow said:
They charge you like this because shipping of live animals, especially those needing of water to survive, is very specific shipping. You’d have better luck asking a lfs if they can ship.
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Just an update. I solely sell on ebay now because of the fact that they offer 66% discount on UPS next day air.
 
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Have you tried fedex? I breed and sell reptiles and fedex is the only one that allows shipment of live animals but you have to be certified with them. If not certified try shipyouraquatics (same company as ship your reptiles).
 
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Reptar said:
Have you tried fedex? I breed and sell reptiles and fedex is the only one that allows shipment of live animals but you have to be certified with them. If not certified try shipyouraquatics (same company as ship your reptiles).
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Welcome aboard
Thanks for the shipping info.
 
Reptar said:
Have you tried fedex? I breed and sell reptiles and fedex is the only one that allows shipment of live animals but you have to be certified with them. If not certified try shipyouraquatics (same company as ship your reptiles).
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I literally just shipped fish a week ago via UPS, and you can ship reptiles as well. They do limit certain animals and have a list on their website. The regular customer service centers don’t let you ship live animals or even plants because they need some license as the individual store itself. You have to bring the packages to access points, etc, where my package was actually inspected. I do find UPS to be rather clueless though and frustrating, the worker tried telling me they don’t ship fish and after it went to a supervisor, they cleared It. The only rule is that they need to be priority shipped. Most of it will depend on the worker you’re dealing with and how long they’ve been there dealing with the oddball items. But yeah, it’s expensive I paid $125 for 2 datnoids in a 6lb box overnight.
 
Man before the pandemic shipping was cheaper for live fish, and that's already with the discount that the shipper got for having an account with the delivery service.
 
Potato Patatto said:
I literally just shipped fish a week ago via UPS, and you can ship reptiles as well. They do limit certain animals and have a list on their website. The regular customer service centers don’t let you ship live animals or even plants because they need some license as the individual store itself. You have to bring the packages to access points, etc, where my package was actually inspected. I do find UPS to be rather clueless though and frustrating, the worker tried telling me they don’t ship fish and after it went to a supervisor, they cleared It. The only rule is that they need to be priority shipped. Most of it will depend on the worker you’re dealing with and how long they’ve been there dealing with the oddball items. But yeah, it’s expensive I paid $125 for 2 datnoids in a 6lb box overnight.
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Should have been more specific, I breed pythons and UPS does not accept snakes. Fedex if using a third party like the one i mention is very reasonable.
 
That's an awful lot... normally it's under $50 in my experience. The reason it costs a lot is because it's a live animal so they need heat/cooling packs, padding, first priority shipping, and in some cases an aerator (depending what it is, I have never had a fish shipped to me with an aerator, but I have heard of it).
 
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