Shipping fish affordably?

[Essjay]

Ah, I tend to forgot the page isn't the same on a mobile as on a laptop ......

 

[anewbie]

Hi, been awhile since I posted, but I figured I'd post this wherever I could.

I got 6 fish from a private breeder a few months ago. The box was 12" x 9" x 10" (L x W x H) and probably weighed around 1.5 pounds. I paid about $21-$24 for 2-day shipping.

I'm now trying to ship one betta to my friend who moved and left me in charge of her fish while she traveled and got settled in. The cheapest price I can find to ship her fish is $30 for a box about half the size and half the weight.

How do you ship fish affordably? Thanks

If you are in usa you can reduce the cost a bit via pirateship.com; also for a betta i would do one of two things:
ship 2 day ups ($18) or priority mail flat rate for medium size box (around $14) - a bit depend on your location and destination location. I would either use a breathable bag in a well insulated box or a medium size priority box with a bag that is 35% full of water and 65% with air - be sure to double bag if not using breathable with the close end in the open end. Do not use an ice pack but wait till a short period when whether is not too hot or cold which should be soon.

 

[JuiceBox52]

If you are in usa you can reduce the cost a bit via pirateship.com; also for a betta i would do one of two things:
ship 2 day ups ($18) or priority mail flat rate for medium size box (around $14) - a bit depend on your location and destination location. I would either use a breathable bag in a well insulated box or a medium size priority box with a bag that is 35% full of water and 65% with air - be sure to double bag if not using breathable with the close end in the open end. Do not use an ice pack but wait till a short period when whether is not too hot or cold which should be soon.

Pirate ship is a much better deal

 

[TwoTankAmin]

If you ship regularly you should have an account with FedEX, UPS or the USPS. I stopped using the USPS a long time ago. I ship pricey fsh abd the USPS is not reliable enough.

However, ifi you are a regukar shipperm then investigate Shippo. Using them makes the cost less than most filks get unless you ship a a lot.

If you only ship once in a while, find somebody who will let you use tyheir account, They just get the infor from you, crate the label and send it to you to print out.

 

[Back in the fold]

If you have to ask you can't afford it.

 

[Colin_T]

I do ship fish as well. It's always a pricey matter. Today I've shipped a parcel to Germany. Hopefully, they'll get it tomorrow. I also charge those bags for I use breathing bags. And breathings bags ain't cheap, tbh...

I assume you use something like the Kordon Breather bags?
Why do you use them instead of just air and water?

The breather bags need to be full of water and that adds a lot of weight to the parcel. Air and water is lighter and would or should reduce the shipping cost.

Just curious

 

[GaryE]

I use breather bags. Single packs, always and very little water. Survival rates are higher, and here, we pay by weight AND box dimensions. I can send in a small box and save the buyer a lot.

 

[emeraldking]

Awesome!
So what country are you in then? I know you said next to Germany, but there are a bunch of countries next to Germany

Holland. Between the UK and Germany.

If you ship regularly you should have an account with FedEX, UPS or the USPS. I stopped using the USPS a long time ago. I ship pricey fsh abd the USPS is not reliable enough.

However, ifi you are a regukar shipperm then investigate Shippo. Using them makes the cost less than most filks get unless you ship a a lot.

If you only ship once in a while, find somebody who will let you use tyheir account, They just get the infor from you, crate the label and send it to you to print out.

I use UPS. And thusfar, I'm really content with them.

I assume you use something like the Kordon Breather bags?
Why do you use them instead of just air and water?

The breather bags need to be full of water and that adds a lot of weight to the parcel. Air and water is lighter and would or should reduce the shipping cost.

Just curious

Correct. Those I use. This way it's less stressful to them. There's no water shaking. I wouldn't recommend it but you could throw those filled bags without getting them stressed. And the parcel can be smaller because of this. But I'm using UPS and as long as the weight stays under 70kg, I only pay for the size of the box used. Today a parcel was shipped to Germany and the customer ordered 6 different kinds of wild guppies, Cumana and Campoma endlers (so, no hybrids). A total of 35 pairs and 20 trios. Sometime tomorrow they'll be offered to him.
And yesterday I got another order. And also meant for Germany.

I use breather bags. Single packs, always and very little water. Survival rates are higher, and here, we pay by weight AND box dimensions. I can send in a small box and save the buyer a lot.

I totally agree... They do costs a little bit more but they're way better to those fish during shipping.