Very Angry with USPS

[LizStreithorst]

Unless my fish are heading south of me which is not often the case, I ship USPS Express during the cold months. The fish aren't cheap and Express guarantees that they will arrive the next day...then it was within 2 days which was OK because I use O2 and 72 hr heat packs.

I took 2 boxes to the PO this morning. One poor lady in CT. waited an extra week because of the weather both here and there. Now there is no longer the guarantee on shipping charges unless the box is lost. This means that I no longer have the option of replacing the fish as well as paying for the shipping cost if the fish arrive dead.

This is the current USPS policy which THEY ARE STILL BLAMING ON THE STORM! I just sighed, thought about it, and shipped. But if the Post Master General had been with reach. I'd have picked him up by the scruff, given him a hard shake, and a good kick. (where, I won't say).

Something has to change. FedEx and UPS are both 50 miles round trip.

[jeep]

That's ridiculous! The last time I shipped, Express was still covered by the arrival guarantee though nothing else was guaranteed. I'll have to keep an eye out on this for the next few weeks...

[LizStreithorst]

They may assume you just knew that Express covered shipping, too. I didn't know until another fish shipper told me. Apparently it's not common knowledge.

[peewee1]

Did I tell the Fed Ex story here where I sent an "over night" law book to Little Ricky? Day one...Seattle to Oakland. Day two Oakland to LA. Day three LA to Oakland. Day for Oakland to Honolulu. Arrived day three on a Sunday. Delivered day four. Honolulu is at best 6 hours from Seattle. But not 96 hours. If fish instead of a much needed law book, hence over night, them fish would have been dead for sure.

[jeep]

It looks temporary


ALERT: Priority Mail Express money-back guarantee is suspended nationwide as of Friday, Feb. 19 through Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Read More

[Shan_Evolved]

Damn that's gotta be frustrating mama bear. Hope the fishies are okay.

[LizStreithorst]

It looks temporary

Dang. If I'd known I'd have shipped today.

[LizStreithorst]

Did I tell the Fed Ex story here where I sent an "over night" law book to Little Ricky? Day one...Seattle to Oakland. Day two Oakland to LA. Day three LA to Oakland. Day for Oakland to Honolulu. Arrived day three on a Sunday. Delivered day four. Honolulu is at best 6 hours from Seattle. But not 96 hours. If fish instead of a much needed law book, hence over night, them fish would have been dead for sure.

I had a fish shipment sent Priority get lost for 8 days!!! I had actually refunded the money because I knew the fish would never make it. Darned if the guy didn't contact me and refund my refund when they arrived alive. Of course this happened in the summer when there was no worry over heat packs running out.

[AquaticNerd]

Liz, I understand your frustration. Interesting that the time period is so short - like the air transportation is magically correcting itself after March 2nd. I wonder if, with all the vaccinations rolling out, USPS workers are getting the vaccine and they're trying to give appropriate time for workers to receive and then recover from the shot + booster?

I think you got lucky with the fella contacting you about refunding your refund. You don't see much of that these days, and I would have expected most folks if they received fish after 8 days in post to not maintain contact even if they arrived alive. Maybe that's just me being pessimistic. :D

[LizStreithorst]

I think you got lucky with the fella contacting you about refunding your refund. You don't see much of that these days, and I would have expected most folks if they received fish after 8 days in post to not maintain contact even if they arrived alive. Maybe that's just me being pessimistic. :D

You know, I have found most people would rather feel good about themselves by doing the right thing, than screw someone over just to make a quick buck. Of course I could be naïve.

[AquaticNerd]

I totally agree. Personally, I was raised that way so I wouldn't hesitate to do the right thing. I'm the type of person who goes back into the store if I was dispensed extra money from the self-checkout or if a cashier gave me too much. The same would go if a cashier didn't ring up an item. I couldn't stand thinking about being dishonest. In your customer's case, I would have done the exact same thing and sent your money back. Kenny's last shipment in December over-delivered and he sent me larger fish than I pre-ordered. I offered Kenny more money to compensate, but you know Kenny.. He wouldn't take it. Time to repay the favor on his gofundme.

Perhaps it's just where we live or the folks we interact with. My years in customer service (before my degree) was not kind to my cynicism. (lol)

I hope your fish make it safely!

[LizStreithorst]

The shipment that I was most worried about just arrived! That's a relief. 4 nice pairs of Pitch Black Rams to a lady who bought them 2 weeks ago and has been waiting for the weather to be good enough to ship to her. I'm so relieved. She has been very understanding. I'm sure I'll be hearing from her soon.

[AquaticNerd]

Great news!

Hopefully you'll still be breeding and have pairs to offload come summer of 2022 after I've completed my house move and reno. The PBRs that I've seen look amazing!

[LizStreithorst]

I sure do hope so. They are so much fun to breed! They are all different in the ways they tell me (or not) that spawning is imminent. I'll be breeding for as long as they sell and so far they are doing well.

[Shan_Evolved]

The shipment that I was most worried about just arrived! That's a relief. 4 nice pairs of Pitch Black Rams to a lady who bought them 2 weeks ago and has been waiting for the weather to be good enough to ship to her. I'm so relieved. She has been very understanding. I'm sure I'll be hearing from her soon.

130732

[Discus_Glen]

The shipment that I was most worried about just arrived! That's a relief. 4 nice pairs of Pitch Black Rams to a lady who bought them 2 weeks ago and has been waiting for the weather to be good enough to ship to her. I'm so relieved. She has been very understanding. I'm sure I'll be hearing from her soon.

I'm very glad to know they got there! Let us know if they arrived in good health.

[LizStreithorst]

They did. They always do unless the box gets lost and the heat pack runs out.

[LizStreithorst]

Here we go again...I sent 3 boxes out Monday. The two going up north were sent Express. It seems that Express is now a 2 day thing rather than overnight. Both boxes arrived with fish alive and well.

I sent a box to south California. I used Priority and of course no heat pack. That box is currently out for delivery in Sioux Falls SD. The good mood I woke up with this morning just flew right out the window.

[peewee1]

My son, Little Rickey, told me that he had called UPS/FedEx, don't recall which, asking about shipping from where we live near Seattle to Honolulu. The agent told him that Hawaii was not in the United States and they were not sure what the fees would be.

[LizStreithorst]

I'm glad they didn't know that when I shipped to Hawaii. lol USPS accepted and delivered my box.

[CliffsDiscus]

My son, Little Rickey, told me that he had called UPS/FedEx, don't recall which, asking about shipping from where we live near Seattle to Honolulu. The agent told him that Hawaii was not in the United States and they were not sure what the fees would be.

This is really weird usually UPS would ask for your zip code and also Hawaii's zip code so they can give you a price . Might want to try shipping by Alaska Airline same day delivery.

Cliff

[CliffsDiscus]

I'm glad they didn't know that when I shipped to Hawaii. lol USPS accepted and delivered my box.

liz,
Were you shipping lives stock because the state of Hawaii usually wants an permit from the Fish and Game.

Cliff

[LizStreithorst]

Yes, my Dutch Blue Rams. The guy's a serious breeder who needed new blood. He sent me a permit.

[peewee1]

I suspect that if one were to release a discus in a Hawaiian river or stream that the water would be warm enough for them to survive.

[Willie]

I suspect that if one were to release a discus in a Hawaiian river or stream that the water would be warm enough for them to survive.

I can't comment on discus in Hawaii, but there's actually a problem with goldfish infestation in Minnesota. Apparently, goldfish can survive being frozen solid in ice. Native fish cannot do this. Goldfish can thaw and resume growing with little or no harm. Because of their physiology, goldfish released into Minnesota lakes start their season with a huge advantage over native fish. The state Department of Natural Resources have posted pictures of pure populations of goldfish netted out of smaller lakes. So temperature is not necessarily an effective barrier for some ornamental fish.

Back when I was bringing discus back from Asia, I had to arrange for Fish and Wildlife Inspection to approve the package at the airport. I used to think that was a ridiculous use of government resources in January. Now, I'm not so sure...

[peewee1]

I can't comment on discus in Hawaii, but there's actually a problem with goldfish infestation in Minnesota. Apparently, goldfish can survive being frozen solid in ice. Native fish cannot do this. Goldfish can thaw and resume growing with little or no harm. Because of their physiology, goldfish released into Minnesota lakes start their season with a huge advantage over native fish. The state Department of Natural Resources have posted pictures of pure populations of goldfish netted out of smaller lakes. So temperature is not necessarily an effective barrier for some ornamental fish.

Back when I was bringing discus back from Asia, I had to arrange for Fish and Wildlife Inspection to approve the package at the airport. I used to think that was a ridiculous use of government resources in January. Now, I'm not so sure...

When I was a kid, Willie, I now recall that goldfish were used as prizes for the various grade school carnival games. Those prize fish were shipped to the carnival frozen in blocks of ice. For a kid, like me, to see this it was most interesting and something I remember until now. Second to this was my mom taught me that when my fish got sick to add a bit of salt to its fishbowl in order to aid in its recovery from illness. Now here we are 50 years later with sick discus and adding salt to their tank as a method to cure sickness. The third thing that came from this is my next door neighbor also got those same frozen goldfish. He grew up to become a well known breeder of angelfish and discus, a National Geographic Magazine wildlife photographer, friend Al's, and the founder of the Greater Seattle Aquarium Society. He too began with frozen goldfish and salt.

[Willie]

When I was a kid, Willie, I now recall that goldfish were used as prizes for the various grade school carnival games. Those prize fish were shipped to the carnival frozen in blocks of ice....

Wow, I'm still stuck on this imagery.

[jeep]

My son, Little Rickey, told me that he had called UPS/FedEx, don't recall which, asking about shipping from where we live near Seattle to Honolulu. The agent told him that Hawaii was not in the United States and they were not sure what the fees would be.

Were they living in 1958?

[CliffsDiscus]

I suspect that if one were to release a discus in a Hawaiian river or stream that the water would be warm enough for them to survive.

Most of the Discus breeders in Hawaii that I have seen have their fish outdoors but with heaters in their tanks. In fact my friend's wife was complaining about the cost of electricity. So I don't think Discus would do well in the Hawaiian river but gold fish wou!d.

Aloha!
Cliff

[LizStreithorst]

I swear, gold fish can survive in any temp water. I have a story about one freezing solid and thawing out...An old friend was moving to a new house during a blizzard. Just before she got to a motel were she planned to spend the night her car broke down and she walked to the motel. The next day she got the car running and was able to get to her new house. The gold fish was in a bowl and when she took the bowl inside, the water in the bowl was frozen solid. She showed me with her face and hands what it looked like there frozen in the bowl with it's mouth open and fins out in a like it was in mid swim. When the water thawed the fish was back to normal as though nothing had happened.

[captainandy]

Just go to any small bodies of water in South Florida. You can find more varieties of Central and South American Cichlids than listed on Aquabid

[Larry208]

Just go to any small bodies of water in South Florida. You can find more varieties of Central and South American Cichlids than listed on Aquabid

Yeah I actually caught an Oscar in a lake down there when I was fishing with my dad.

[CliffsDiscus]

Someone threw a Piranha in the stream but it turned out to be a Silverdollar.

Cliff

[dpt8]

If your are angry with USPS write to your reps and senators. Postmaster Louis LeJoy who has no experience or business heading USPS is still dismantling letter sorting machines and blocking overtime, etc. disrupting everything. He's just politically motivated.

[dpt8]

Yes but we should still put the pressure on..

[CliffsDiscus]

Anyone used the breathable bags when shipping?

Cliff

[LizStreithorst]

I think that Barb has used them for shipping Endlers.