So with rising gas prices and inflation there seems to be insanely rising shipping costs. I’ve been in the reptile business since 1992, back then overnight shipments were like $25-$35. I just shipped a small baby in a tiny box that weighed 1 pound to California and it cost me $120. I just sent a 2 pound box to Massachusetts and its costing $175. Of course I charge far less for shipping almost in every shipment now. My question is, with everything continuing to skyrocket in price will shipping lower cost reptiles just be cost prohibitive. I’m wondering if we are going to see a huge rise in reptile shows. What do you think? When will shipping overnight be too expensive and what’s the option? We obviously cant continue selling lower cost reptiles mail order when shipping is $200 for a small box. Thoughts?
I’ve thought about that and imagine we’re going to end up seeing a shift toward shows and wholesaling the lower end stuff. I’ve been selling my lower end stuff wholesale for a few years now to avoid losing my shirt from the shipping cost.
Shipping charges are already prohibiting, especially for more common reptiles. How can you justify paying more for the FedEx guy than you do for the critter itself? I will say, it does keep me from buying quite a few more friends! 
At those prices it doesn’t sound like you’re using one of the reptile specific shippers. I shipped a 5lb ball python from one side of the country to the other for $107 a few weeks ago. 1lb boxes with neonates are $78-85 for me so you should check your method. Use either Ship Your Reptiles, Reptiles2you, or Reptiles Express.
Devil’s advocate - Why do you believe that these same spikes in cost will NOT impact shows as well? It costs vendors gas money to drive to out-of-state shows. It costs them extra to get their supplies shipped to them. It costs the promoter more to rent out spaces which in turn costs the vendors more per table. It costs the supply vendors to get supplies shipped to them and then transported to the show. It costs gas for people to drive to the shows.
Rising costs are everywhere, not just in shipping. The whole hobby will either adapt or we will slump.
.
.
.
Herpers are notorious for bottom-dollaring when it comes to everything other than the animals (and half the time they go for bottom dollar animals too). $500 snake? House it in a $7 Rubbermaid or a $20 PetCo fish aquarium. $30 for an IR heat gun or $3 for a stick-on-the-glass “thermometer”? $3 bucks it is!! $200 programmable thermostat to properly regulate heat or $10 rheostat? Here is your $10
This is one of the mentalities in the hobby that kind of drives me nuts
I just purchased an African House snake ( House Snakes Rule) The shipping was $10. more than the animal. I didn’t hesitate a minute. Driving to a show in New Orleans or Birmingham would be at least $40 in gas, not to mention meals and extra shopping at the show. I haven’t seen any house snakes at our local reptile store and I would just as soon pay the breeder and shipper and cut out the pet store mark up.
I love going to shows, not saying I would rather ship, but when I am looking at an animal for sale, I think about how much it would cost going to a show or at the pet store and make my decision from there.
I’m afraid that - no, I’m resigned to the fact that higher costs are going to impact the hobby in a serious way. Shipping costs are less painful with the companies listed and I’m really grateful they exist. But that doesn’t help with costs increasing because of gas prices to go to shows. Increased shipping costs mean higher cost for feeders needed to maintain a collection and produce youngsters. If a person raises their feeders, they’re likely paying more for feed and bedding. This translates to higher production costs.
Me too. And I worry about current trends
Oh my goodness yes! Same here!
I charge customers the exact shipping cost (what I pay is what they pay). So far, I’ve had very few customers decided not to buy a reptile due to shipping costs, and that was usually with 20lb+ animals that cost $200 or more to ship. I have run into more resistance with inverts. Customers often ask why they have to pay for overnight shipping (my policy requires it). However, 2-day shipping is just way too unreliable to be safe for the animals. Not to mention that I have a LAG, so I would lose money on any inverts that didn’t make it. I personally feel that the days of sending any live animal 2-day are over.
Were you using a reptile shipping service?
I guess it depends… itll be hard to sell a $100 snake for $125 added. Its easy to sell a $1500 animal and just eat the cost.
I just bought and am having one shipped from northeastern Illinois when I live in northwest Indiana. Sadly with the cost of tolls and fuel I couldn’t drive there an hour for as cheap. Might’ve been less stress on the poor animal but my costs would literally double. I gotta put $20 each way on my ipass just to go to Chicago. That’s all in good traffic also.
I hope someone runs a psych study on this, because I see it everywhere. I used to work the guitars section at Guitar Center & tons of people would spend a grand + on a nice guitar then insist on buying the cheapest, failure prone cables ($15 vs. $30-50) to connect said guitar to a cheap amp. Cheap cables ruin the sound that you just paid $1000 to get.
But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t understand. There’s mental gates in my brain when it comes to spending money- for regular purchases, $500 is a LOT of money to me. But a snake that fits into my projects? $500? After spending $1,000-1,300 on other snakes, $500 feels very manageable. Maybe it’s that I’ve developed a spectrum of experience with the category of purchase that provides perspective. I still buy herpstats and nice racks; I want quality for anything in my care, but a $300 purchase for “boring stuff” hits me way harder than for something fun like an animal or a new guitar pedal.
Sticker shock comes always back for purchases that don’t have the VIP pass lol. $75 to fill up my tank hurts.
Back to the main subject though, shipping is a gray area for me tbh. I’ll pay it if I want a snake, but that’s because it’s just an obligatory extension of the snake purchase (which already has the VIP pass in my brain.)
If I know I’m gonna see a breeder at NARBC in a month it always makes me very happy to meet up instead, but it’s never a deal breaker.
I just bought 4 new inverts they probably weigh maybe an ounce or 2 and the shipping was like $75.00 
i just see it as the cost of doing business. I wanted the animals and they are hard to get a hold of so i was willing to pay to get them. Yeah the shipping was about 2x the cost of a single animal thats why i bought 4 to at least make it worth my while. Im not able to drive so my ability to go to a show is probably not possible so while it may cost me shipping, im accepting that that is a package deal kinda thing.
I’m guessing that was the baseline cost of the smallest box.
Back in February, I had my blood python shipped from Florida to California (so, across the entire continent) for $70. She was a tiny baby at the time, so I’m guessing that was the cost of the smallest box with Ship Your Reptiles. I don’t know if prices have gone up since then (the cost of gas and groceries certainly has, so I wouldn’t be surprised if shipping has been hit with the same inflation), but I was perfectly happy to pay that, and would have paid more if necessary. I just see it as one more animal-related expense that you have to budget for. As anyone who has pets knows (or at least should know), the actual cost of buying the animal is just the beginning of your monetary investment in them. If you’re having the animal shipped to you, then shipping costs are just one more necessity you need to financially plan for, along with things like their enclosure, substrate, heating elements, decor, food, potential vet care, etc. Often the cost of the animal itself ends up being significantly less than all the other expenses that come along with it.
It will be for me soon, if not already. The general economy is hitting us pretty hard.
To ship the 2 I did a few weeks ago, it was 200.00 (total for the 2 animals going 2 different locations using Ship your Reptiles.
I use Reptiles 2 You and it’s normally $10-15 cheaper per box. That’s not why I do it though, it’s because Debbie who runs it does amazing customer service and in emergencies can generally get involved and at least get you information if not solve the problem.
That’s good to know, thank you! I’m not shipping yet, but was planning on using SYR