Best Shipping Procedures

[ben&bobbi]

I know this is not actually selling something, but i think it can be VERY helpful to all! If it can not be here, please advise better location.

I have posted it in the SPS forum also here. Some have posted there, so no need to repost, unless you want to!
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1233846


Ok, i looked around, attempted a few searches and didn't find anything.

what are you doing to your shipments?
how to keep coral from getting beat/broke up?
guarantee?

also found some reading on using thermos' from walmart and such.

post your shipping practices on other corals too - i think this could help thers also to expand their selling market.

if possible also include indirect links to supplies - stay within the rules!

[DurTBear]

Thanks for the link to your post in the SPS forum. This is exactly what I've been looking for because I intend to do some shipping for people interested in my coral outside of northern california. I need to generate some more space so this will help immensely!

[ben&bobbi]

Ok, i have read through several more corals for sale, with general description of how they will ship. I still see where a thermos is used.

No one else wants to post their shipping procedures?

[Travis]

Just a suggestion for the mods but maybe that thread could be stickied here for others who are new to shipping frags.

[mhurley]

Originally posted by Travis
Just a suggestion for the mods but maybe that thread could be stickied here for others who are new to shipping frags.

Neat idea and I don't see any harm in it. We'll let it ride for a while and see what happens.

[em805]

Just out of curiosity what is everyones opinion on the Kordon Breathing bags for shipping coral?

http://www.novalek.com/kordon/breathing_bags/index.htm

[ben&bobbi]

Originally posted by mhurley
Neat idea and I don't see any harm in it. We'll let it ride for a while and see what happens.

there has been more traffic to the linked post!


if no one who ships in a thermos wants to reply, how about people who have received the corals let us know how it was done!

[Aussie_hippie_2]

The last shipment that I recieved was very simple; just triple bagged, stuffed into a whole bunch of newspaper and styro, and shipped here. That was of course during summer when it was nice, and it was within the state. Arrived just fine though. That was for Zoanthids by the way.

[saveafish]

Here is how I use to do it when I owned my own LFS. I use a 4 mil. bag to size w/oxygen. The packing was simple. A double walled box, 275lbs. test. with the stuffing as cellulose wadding(asorbs wetness too). The bagged livestock/corals was placed in to cool sheild bubble packs (has a R value of 9 witch is equal to a 1" of styro) than sealed and shipped. All supplies was supplied from ULINE

[H@rry]

What about heat packs? I've used them this week on 4 orders. The only two that I have talked with said they were not even warm. One person told me they needed air to stay warm. The way I used them was when I was ready to seal the box I opened the foil pack that the heat pack came in and shook it up a little, wrapped it in newspaper, put it in the box, put the styrofoam lid on, and taped the box shut. That was probably keeping it from heating up.

It seems like what I should do is open the foil pouch and "activate" it about 30 minutes before I seal it in the box.

How does anybody else use heat packs?

[flyyyguy]

you do need to activate them for 30 minutes...not only to get them flowing so they will work for the trip, but to make sure you dont have a dud, as duds are fairly common. 1 in 15 anyway...if not more sometimes.

dont leave it in the foil or plastic pouch. wrap it in newspaper. wrap it a lot if you only need a alittle bit of heat wrap it little if you need a lot

[sdietz2469]

what are everyone's recomindations for shipping clams?

[macawmagic]

could someone send me a link to a website where I could buy...
-bags
-heatpacks
-packing peanuts
-boxes for shipping(just normal boxes...I'm going to line it with styrofoam that I'll cut to fit.)
(i've gotta ship out some stuff and need this stuff asap)

[ben&bobbi]

www.uline.com

this one is in the original link, but search for insulated boxes and you will find many others.

[macawmagic]

http://www.uline.com/ProductDetail.asp?model=S-10940
are these good bags? triple bag the coral using these?

[ben&bobbi]

too small IMO!

2mil bags work great, double bag just incase rubberband fails.

i found a 4" bag to be just right for small (1-2") frags only!. Also if you get the box of 1000, they are seperated into packs of 100, and you can sell them off!

[macawmagic]

I'm shipping frags of zoos, so I think a 3" or 4" bag will work good.

where can I get heatpacks? I can't find them on that site at all! Thanks for the help!!!

[sdietz2469]

shipping clams??? anyone???

[H@rry]

I've been shipping via FedEx with excellent results and it is being charged to a credit card. I'm accepting payment via PayPal and would like to simply pay FedEx from PayPal but I can't find anything on their site to allow me to do that. Does anyone know if that might be possible?

I saw yesterday where I can open a UPS account and pay it with PayPal. I'm quite reluctant to switch over to UPS after hearing that others have had more shipping problems with them than FedEx. Who is shipping with UPS with good results?

Thanx
H@rry

[flyyyguy]

sign up for a paypal debit card and attach it to your fed ex account

you can use it anywhere mastercrd is accepted and it is how you get around all the PITA things paypla puts in place to get your money out without a fee or a delay

I cant believe that soembody else doesnt step up top the plate and give paypla some cometition. they seriously suck but they are a necessary evil online at this ppoint buying and selling stuff online

[H@rry]

Originally posted by flyyyguy
sign up for a paypal debit card and attach it to your fed ex account

Duh, thanx flyyyguy, I'll do that.

[Travis]

Originally posted by flyyyguy

I cant believe that soembody else doesnt step up top the plate and give paypla some cometition. they seriously suck but they are a necessary evil online at this ppoint buying and selling stuff online

I agree 120%. Paypal is both the best and worst thing that has ever happened for online buying/selling. They have very shady practices but when there is no competition they can get away with whatever they choose.

[jdmcivicek9]

how do you guys get your shipping rates so low??i just did a fedex quote and it came out to like 65.00...where im seeing on here most people being able to ship for like 35-40$ overnight...

[H@rry]

How did you do your quote? From what zip to what zip? How many frags? What size box? How much weight? Let me know that and I can calculate my shipping charges.

[ben&bobbi]

i think some people are able to get discount rates thru work or friends.

but i would like to know if there is something i am doing wrong too!