Topic: THE tip for shipping fish via USPS!! must read!

[bulrush]

I think it's complicated, even for hobbyists. I would rather not do it myself. If you do it wrong you can go to prison.

[Aiptasia]

Re: Canada. You'd have to check with Canadian law about shipping fish, but I know there are dealers shipping fish up there and vice versa (down here) without issues. As long as the fish don't violate any CITES restricted species you should be o.k., although you may be required to provide an official customs health certificate from your country of origin to be inspected at the port of entry.

NOTICE:

There have been some changes in the USPS's 2-3 day priority mail service. This service is no longer an expedited delivery service nor is it treated as such. They have the option to deliver a 2-3 day package UP TO FOURTEEN DAYS from the postmark as of January 1st, 2007. I wasn't aware of the new change and shipped out two boxes this past monday (the 22nd) of baby kribs with 60 hour heat packs, and so i'm tracking the numbers this morning and one has had no updates past "package accepted," and the other says "en route January 28th," which is funny because today is the 25th.

I managed to dial through the gauntlet of USPS voicemail to reach a live person, and they said, "well, we have up to two weeks to deliver this mail. Your postmaster should have told you to ship the fish overnight." Great. Just lovely. In the middle of winter, these fish are going to be lucky if they don't arrive in a solid block of ice.

SO FAIR WARNING about using USPS's 2-3 day priority mail from now on. This sucks. 

[Guitarchiq]

Thank you for posting this!  I will never use priority again now.  I'm just glad my fish from Echo arrived just fine and on time. 
Though, I still don't see how "2-3" days means they have 14 days to deliver.  What's the point of saying 2-3 days then?  grrrr

[dalto]

SO FAIR WARNING about using USPS's 2-3 day priority mail from now on. This sucks. 

Yeah, USPS Priority is basically a waste of time and money now.  My priority packages generally take 3-5 days to get from the east coast to Texas.  THis is no better than any other package.

[ruthcatrin]

ayup, thats why most breeders wont' garuntee(sp) live delivery when shipping priority.  Now having said that...a large percentage of priority packages DO reach their destination in the 2 to 3 day period, but its not PROMISED.  So far I've been lucky, all my fish shipped priority haven't gotten lost or delayed.

[Lisie]

Re: Canada. You'd have to check with Canadian law about shipping fish, but I know there are dealers shipping fish up there and vice versa (down here) without issues. As long as the fish don't violate any CITES restricted species you should be o.k., although you may be required to provide an official customs health certificate from your country of origin to be inspected at the port of entry.

NOTICE:

There have been some changes in the USPS's 2-3 day priority mail service. This service is no longer an expedited delivery service nor is it treated as such. They have the option to deliver a 2-3 day package UP TO FOURTEEN DAYS from the postmark as of January 1st, 2007. I wasn't aware of the new change and shipped out two boxes this past monday (the 22nd) of baby kribs with 60 hour heat packs, and so i'm tracking the numbers this morning and one has had no updates past "package accepted," and the other says "en route January 28th," which is funny because today is the 25th.

I managed to dial through the gauntlet of USPS voicemail to reach a live person, and they said, "well, we have up to two weeks to deliver this mail. Your postmaster should have told you to ship the fish overnight." Great. Just lovely. In the middle of winter, these fish are going to be lucky if they don't arrive in a solid block of ice.

SO FAIR WARNING about using USPS's 2-3 day priority mail from now on. This sucks. 

Do you know if it says that anywhere on the website? I'd like to post this on another forum to warn people but would like to have a reference.

[SandyMushCowgirl]

Wow.... That's awful...

Like ruthcatrin, I've been lucky to have all of the fish I've sent out arrive to their finial destination in a timely manner and so far none have been lost either.. *knocks on wood*

[Aiptasia]

Do you know if it says that anywhere on the website? I'd like to post this on another forum to warn people but would like to have a reference.

Their website says nothing of the sort from what i've been able to find. It's only after looking at the tracking numbers online and seeing what I saw that I decided to call their toll free helpline, and you do have to jump through a lot of hoops to reach a live person. The lady I spoke with said that they have the option to deliver the package up to two weeks past the postmark date, and that the postmaster at my post office should have explained that and recommended that I used overnight mail in the future.

I got an email from one of my buyers saying that his box of fish did arrive late Thursday (he lived in Oklahoma) and the fish survived the trip o.k., but i've yet to hear back from my Pennsylvania buyer about his box of fish. I just hope they haven't frozen solid.

I think Ruthcatrin is right, that they do try to deliver it in that 2-3 day window but it isn't promised nor guaranteed, and their website is horrible about posting updates to the tracking numbers. If you need further verification, i'd suggest anyone interested in shipping the fish via priority mail call their customer service line, wade through the voicemail system to reach a live human, and ask them about it like I did.

I mean, what's the point of sending something 2-3 day priority if it's not treated any differently than ground shipping?

[Lisie]

Thanks for the reply. I e-mailed the USPS about this yesterday, but have yet to hear from them. If I don't by tomorrow, I think I will call them Monday and see what they have to say.

[Aiptasia]

Maybe I just the one lady with the short attitude. Luckily, I got emails from my two aquabidders and the fish arrived/survived even though the tracking system still says one box is en route and the other is sitting "accepted" in my local post office. Their tracking system is so messed up.