Shipping? How to ship to buyers

How to start the process of shipping your crested geckos? I called UPS store and was told that they would only ship it after a certified reptile shipper had taken the responsibility. What am I missing?

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You need to purchase your shipping label through a certified reptile shipper.

MorphMarket has theirs:
https://www.morphmarket.com/ship/shipping
They are looking into working with UPS very soon. Currently FedEx is available though

You can also check ship your reptiles, redline shipping or reptiles2you.

You will also need to make sure the box is properly packed and labeled. All of those shippers above have instructions or label downloads available. They all have boxes and supplies if needed as well

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So by purchasing a shipping label through Fedex, can you not just bring the animal and purchase the box, packaging etc. there or do you need to buy from one of those sites you listed, and then take it to the center. I’ve not shipped yet

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I’m looking at the insulated boxes pricing at like $34 to $45 on MorphMarket. Are boxes like this not available to purchase from Fedex directly? I don’t need a fancy box with branded logos. I have the deli cups with the lids and the holes, just need a box, with packaging, a label and to ship it like a “perishable goods” overnight. Right? Can someone just tell me the steps like 1, 2, 3. Can you only drop off the animal to be shipped after the label is purchased from some other site?

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Oh wait, I see that’s for a count of 15. That’s a little better. The box prices might actually be better to buy here, I see.

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It needs to be a box insulated with styrofoam, and it needs to say something like “live harmless reptile” on the outside of the box. I suppose you could put together your own insulated box and mark it appropriately yourself, but if you’ve never shipped reptiles before, it seems like buying purpose-made supplies from experienced professionals might be a better choice.

And it will be shipped as a live animal with FedEx overnight shipping, not as “perishable goods.”

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Thanks, @jawramik for taking the time to respond. I guess the shipping boxes and the styrofoam are on my list, but I guess I’ve read different misinformation and I’m trying to piece together this process before posting any animals. So the supplies will need to be purchased and “shipped to you” before you can take your package to a place such as fedex to ship it? Like it’s already put together? Sorry, I’m not sure why I never thought of this step before getting to this point. The excitement of owning and breeding them were my focus. So, to understand, I will buy the boxes, the temperature control things, the styrofoam, the labels, etc. and it will all be “shipped” to me, then I can take it to fedex?

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Sometimes a reptile shop near you might carry the supplies and you can purchase them from there.

The worries about using a regular FedEx box would be it would be very difficult to realize the difference by eye and the box can be tossed around or not brought to the correct rooms when being handled. When not in transit, reptile deliveries are kept in temperature controlled rooms.

Some breeders do create their own boxes for shipping, but generally they are a plain color of some sort so it’s very, very easy to see the ‘live animal’, ‘fragile’ and ‘this way up’ labeling.

As @jawramik has said, insulated boxes are needed because temps during shipping can change drastically. Think cold airplanes or hot trucks >_<
Depending on the temps where you are or where the gecko is going, you may need a heat pack for the box as well. Those should never be used in a box smaller than 12"x9"x6".

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Right, well I wanna do this right, so thanks you all for your help! Of course, I want my reptiles comfortable and also for the buyers to receive a live, well adjusted animal at the end. I’m just not sure how it will work, do you require a signature at drop off, to be sure it went to the hands of the `buyer? I may go talk with fedex to see if they are aware of this at all - the best course of action. It’s actually warm, so I was wondering if it was already an insulated box, would I need an additional - I was thinking cool pack, I’m in Georgia.

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The age of the crested geckos are around 5 to 7 grams. So I was wondering if I would use the smallest boxes available on MorphMarket, and I wasn’t thinking so much about HEAT, since it’s already in the 80’s but would it need a cool pack? I was going to line the deli cup with a cool wet paper towel and thought it would be fine, to add a bit of moisture and padding. Not really sure. I don’t have anyone local I can speak to that I know who has done this, as you can probably see.

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You probably won’t need a heat pack at this time of year. You might even need a cool pack, depending on weather conditions. Whichever animal shipping outfit you decide to go with (MorphMarket, Ship Your Reptiles, Redline, Reptiles 2 You, etc.), they should be able to advise you on what (if any) temperature control packs you might need for the specific shipping circumstances in question.

A word of caution on temperature control packs: it’s usually better to err on the side of the reptile being a little too cool rather than a little too warm. Most people think of reptiles as needing heat, but overheating will actually kill them a lot faster than being too cold. Not saying you should be stuffing your boxes full of ice packs, but follow the guidelines of the shipping company, and resist the urge to add an extra heat pack.

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Right well it’s schedule to be rainy here - but I know that has no relevance to weather in other areas, but that was why I was thinking next week might be a good time, Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday to post the animals and get them shipped, without a lot of fuss, but of course, I don’t have the boxes, the shipping labels printed or the syrofoam, I think I just need to call MorphMarket or someone to advise me on my specific situation, since the total shipping costs needs to be factored into my ad for the geckos.

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Thanks for all your help! I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Just the sequence of steps to take and to make sure my ads are only posted once a potential buyer can quickly get their animal, so I won’t have to wait on supplies I will need to be shipped to me, if that makes sense. Once I do this, I’m sure I’ll get it. I may go ahead and invest in the cool packs, since we are going into the summer anyway, and that will ensure I can ship them safely - are there any rules about cool packs or can you put them in the smallest boxes, 7x7x6?

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Yeah, I agree that sounds like a good plan. And yes, you will need to have all the shipping supplies before you can start shipping animals out. You’re responsible for packing the animal for shipping, not FedEx.

Most sellers (at least all the sellers who have shipped to me) will only send out animals on Tuesday and Wednesday. This is done with the goal of avoiding any weekend shipping craziness that could cause delays. Rain and storms can be a bit of a judgement call. Most breeders prefer not to ship if there’s any sort of bad weather predicted, just because bad weather increases the odds of shipping delays.

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Very good. I feel I’m getting closer to figuring it out. So do you suggest just doing all my business through MorphMarket, having the boxes and cool packs on hand - do the insulated boxes come with the styrofoam and the ventilation? Great tip on the Tuesday and Wednesday part!

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A few tips, boxes do not come pre-ventilated, you have to add the holes yourself. If you only need boxes and cold packs/phase packs, then I’d buy in bulk. I suggest possibly getting phase packs as they help keep the temperature in the box a bit more stable. You’ll also need some sort of filler to take up all the empty space so the deli doesn’t move around inside the box. Please make sure you follow proper Lacey Act labeling on the outside of the box itself.

I suggest looking on YouTube to see if there are any Crestie breeders who have a shipping tutorial, so you can see how others package & ship. You’re going to need to look at not only the weather in your area, but also at the hubs (if you ship FedEx, that’s Memphis & Indianapolis) and at the buyer’s location.

For safety, many folks in the summer will only ship to a ship center for pickup if there is one in the buyer’s area. Unfortunately FedEx has been closing some of these, so the option may not always work. For animals being shipped to a ship center, it has to be one that accepts dangerous goods. You can use the search function on FedEx’s website local.fedex.com, enter the recipient’s zip code, then on the map page click “more filters” and under service filters select dangerous goods shipping to find available locations.

Also make sure before you ship that you check for any alerts/warnings, as weather, holidays, natural disasters, etc can cause delays that can lead to animals getting stuck in transit.

MorphMarket has several help articles that may be of use, including their How To Ship Live Reptiles and Shipping Temperature Guidelines.

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@ashleyj_912 The shipping process sounds difficult and confusing at first. After you have done it a few times it will make sense, in fact common sense. The safety of the animal is the main concern.

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Thanks all for the replies. It certainly sounds very complicated. I feel like I may have watched youtube tutorials on this in the past, but it’s been so long ago, years even, since I started breeding and now (I am just now) at a phase where I could think of selling and shipping.

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Everyone here is ready to help you with any questions!

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Reptile specific boxes and styrofoam also are crush resistant to a certain amount and your own may not be.

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