Poor timing=dead spiders

Jeff23

Arachnolord
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
Messages
620
Package arrived. They even gave me a freebie b albo, but everything is completely dead. I should have waited to ship i feel like an idiot.
Sorry for your tarantula losses. I have lost a couple of tarantulas during shipping. I don't know what killed mine since the package wasn't delayed. But it is a bummer to lose them regardless of the cause.
 

Jeff23

Arachnolord
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
Messages
620
From the angle of weather and shipping, here is my two cents worth. @cheo-samad has the right attitude. This is not the shippers fault. But if the vendor is completely ignoring weather then you may not want to give them further business.

I would never blame any seller for shipping T's to me in a situation where weather plays a role unless the problem is in their area. I expect the vendor to pack it properly. I expect them to put an activated heat pack (or cold pack in the summer). I expect them to check the forecast at some point close to ship date to verify if they see a red flag. Their obligations end at this point.

The vendor can't constantly be checking for weather forecast changes. We all know weather forecasts are screwed up all the time. It is up to me to do this and advise them if I need changes. Weather forecasts are always more accurate at the destination. Not too long ago I was working for my employer in Scotland. I saw temperatures on Google in the 40's (F) for Greenville. This was confusing because I was being told by coworkers that it was snowing in Greenville.

I always advise people to do "Hold For Pickup" assuming you have a Fed Ex office with temperature control in your area. This has worked great in making sure that my tarantula's aren't sitting on a truck out in the weather trying to be delivered. It also makes sure they aren't sitting on my front porch out in the weather. From a different angle, I suspect the hold location is also better than a truck where packages may be getting tossed around to locate items for each delivery stop.

EDIT* One last item on "Hold For Pickup". My location is near the last of the day on delivery by the trucks. I can go get my package in the AM hours at the Fed Ex pickup location.
 
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TarantulaBob

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 16, 2017
Messages
5
I understand i always rely on shipping because i am 1.30 - 2 hours away from the nearest reptile shop
 

Cheo Samad

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 2, 2017
Messages
38
I used to hold for pickup at my local fedex, just not the distribution center which i happen to live close too.

I put them away about 2 hours ago and theres still no signs of life. I'm ready to call it. I don't really know where to go from here.
 

TarantulaBob

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 16, 2017
Messages
5
I say keep them warm leave it another night and stay cool. Are thy in the death curl have they moved at all
 

Cheo Samad

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 2, 2017
Messages
38
I say keep them warm leave it another night and stay cool. Are thy in the death curl have they moved at all
No movement at all but not in a proper death curl. The seller told me to give it 48 hours and if theres no life he will replace them for me. I think that was very nice of them. I said if we do that we will hold out for a few weeks for some warmer temps. Spring should be around the corner.
 

TarantulaBob

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 16, 2017
Messages
5
Yeah hotter in America also that was nice of the seller what is the online shop. Good that there not in a death curl
 

Trenor

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
1,896
I always order them from the spider shop great packaging
If it gets caught on a truck in a snow storm no amount of packing is going to save them from long term cold exposure. A heat pack and insulation will only take you so far.

Good that there not in a death curl
When a tarantula freezes it doesn't death curl. At least the one I recieved, after getting held up by snow a few years back, didn't. It was just laid out like normal. I got one in that died from impact damage oince and it wasn't curled either.

No movement at all but not in a proper death curl. The seller told me to give it 48 hours and if theres no life he will replace them for me. I think that was very nice of them. I said if we do that we will hold out for a few weeks for some warmer temps. Spring should be around the corner.
I'm glad they are going to replace them for you.
 

Trenor

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
1,896
Regarding sellers, buyers and shipping (in light of my recent MM send off) I feel like it's no ones fault. I, as the seller/sender, did look at the weather and contact the buyer to make sure the pickup day was good. As local weather is more likely to be right than a global weather site I expected the buyer to alert me if something looks off on their end. The temps on my end looked good. The temps on their end looked good. However, once I placed it in the mail the snow storm broke out. I have no control over weather. I have no control over how it is routed from me to them. Had my package traveled north before heading west it could have ended up just like the one in this post. Luckily, it went straight west, missed the storm and got there ok.

I'm not sure why anyone would think delays in shipping or freak weather is the responsibility of the seller/shipper. If things looked good when I sent it and I packed it right then that's all I can do. If it gets there on time and they are dead then that is on me and I will make it right. If it gets there days late and in harsh weather then there was no fault on my end. All my for sale posts will include a shipper delay clause for this reason. However, there isn't fault on the buyer end either. I'd still likely work something out with the buyer but it's not because I feel like I was at fault.
 

Cheo Samad

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 2, 2017
Messages
38
I actually feel bad for the seller. I told him that I will increase my order so he makes SOMETHING off of the transaction.

This has me really down, and a really bad taste in my mouh, but it's a lesson learned. I'm just upset that animals had to suffer for this lesson. I hate hurting animals big or small and this was toally avoidable.
 

Andrea82

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Jan 12, 2016
Messages
3,686
i'm so sorry you have to go through this...:(
Really nice of the seller to send replacements, a good idea to wait a little longer.
You couldn't have known this weather was coming up and that Fedex would hold your package. So it is not your fault at all, just as the seller wasn't at fault either.
Crap circumstances and bad luck is all it is. But i understand you feel like crap, i would too. You'll just have to make it up by taking extra good care of your other and future spiders :)
 

Cheo Samad

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 2, 2017
Messages
38
i'm so sorry you have to go through this...:(
Really nice of the seller to send replacements, a good idea to wait a little longer.
You couldn't have known this weather was coming up and that Fedex would hold your package. So it is not your fault at all, just as the seller wasn't at fault either.
Crap circumstances and bad luck is all it is. But i understand you feel like crap, i would too. You'll just have to make it up by taking extra good care of your other and future spiders :)

It's a mistake I refuse to make again. I'm excited for new spiders in light of these sad events.
 

Trenor

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
1,896
It's a mistake I refuse to make again. I'm excited for new spiders in light of these sad events.
There will always be a little risk when shipping live anything. We just have to do our best to minimize it as much as we can.

Good luck on the new Ts.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
I'm basing this from a supplier perspective. Once cash has been transferred, it's no longer the seller's property - the buyer has taken possession of it, even if they don't have it yet. There's a concept in supply chain networking called Shift in Liability; in essence, the supplier can suggest certain aspect, but it's up to the buyer to adhere to them. The buyer has certain aspects of doing business that create liability, and they want to unburden themselves of them as quickly as possible. This is especially true once funds have traded hands. These aspects are usually passively outlined in some kind of guarantee (in this case, the LAG). It's impossible for the buyer to unload all liabilities even after the sale, but the vast majority of responsibility is shifted to the customer once payment is received. For instance, if a buyer orders a set of computer chips from a seller, then those chips are obviously fragile. However, if the buyer has them delivered to a plant whose only inlet is a bumpy dirt road, then some of the chips will be damaged and the liability has shifted to the buyer.

A much simpler way to look at it is this. A buyer gave cash to the seller, so it's no longer the seller's property. The buyer literally told the seller what to do with their items, and the seller did as they were told. It's not the seller's responsibility to negotiate the buyer's demands - truth be told, the seller got the cash, so what happens to the product is inconsequential at that point.

And yes, I understand that we're talking about live animals and not computer chips. But from a financial point of view, a product is a product. There is no difference.

EDIT
Citation: Coyle, J. J., Langley, C. J., Novack, R. A., & Gibson, B. J. (2017). Supply chain management: a logistics perspective. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
I'm aware of Shift in Liability. It's something I don't agree with, the info above. It's nothing more than corporations unwilling to accept responsibility in my opinion.
 

Jeff23

Arachnolord
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
Messages
620
I'm aware of Shift in Liability. It's something I don't agree with, the info above. It's nothing more than corporations unwilling to accept responsibility in my opinion.
Corporations? Are we talking about a different subject or are we talking about breeders who mostly do this as a second job? If we make them liable for the weather in our local destinations, the price of each tarantula just went up another $10 - $25 in some cases.
 
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