Freight

[NCHERPS]

I had a snake sent to me from Lismore(NSW) to Sydney via Rex and they used AEE as there freight handlers, you just need to enquire at the individual airport freight office, some will, some won't.

I believe that it isn't always possible to find the snake/snakes you are after in your own state, so have had most of mine shipped in from Interstate, now it depends alot on many different factors including : Breeder preference, age of animals available in your state(ie. I wanted older, and they weren't all available at the time in NSW), general availability and many other variables.

I do have to say though, that I would have prefered to have done the 'make a appointment, go around, see and buy', rather than the $20 import permit + Freight charges, toll fee's etc... etc.. but when you want something that bad and you don't want to wait and see if anyone locally advertises one, you go interstate.

It's all a matter of personal choice.

[Farkurnell]

Originally Posted by bigguy

Then theres the battle over the shipping costs. Most buyers only expect to pay the air freight, so when you ask for the cost of the permit, container and fuel to the airport(which are the true costs) they simply hit the roof and again think you are robbing them.

Surely some of these costs are offset by the price you are paid for the animal you are sending. I can understand charging for the air freight of course but all the sundries should be taken care of by the vendor. I'm not being a smart ar$e here but that's almost the same as charging people extra for the power to incubate the egg that the animal hatched from, or charging for food the Mother ate during the breeding season. I know they are 2 far fetched examples but I reckon that the purchase price should at least cover a container and some fuel to the Airport. It's not the customers fault you live so far away Bob.

Now before anyone howls down what I've said. I have said it without one scrap of malice toward Bob. I have bought animals from Bob and have no complaints at all. I picked mine up and got to suss out his collection. A bonus for us local folk.



Cheers, Greg.

[womas4me]

I feel the cost of the animal should cover those expenses. If expenses are high the price of the animal should be accordingly. No sense losing money to benefit another. Within reason though. Freight costs should cover freighting the animal to the airport also, it is still freight.

[fishead]

Gudday guys, AAE does ship from Newcastle, have done so myself a few times now with snakes but lots and lots with fish. You have to ring the Sandgate depot and discuss the best time and day (depends on the destination) and roll up there a coupla hours before the fly time where they'll weigh and tape up your package and take your money - make sure you take ID. Then they'll either ask you to meet their contract courier at the airport (Williamtown) or less likely leave the package at the depot for their courier to pick up.
Can range from very easy to very painful depending on who you end up dealing with there!
Bye, Steve.

[Greebo]

I had trouble with AAE when I bought a snake off Mel. They tried to tell her that they did not freight reptiles anymore.
I spent several hours calling people at AAE to find out why they were giving Mel the run around.They tried telling me it was a new policy until I told them I was a manager at Aust Post and I asked them to fax me a copy of this new policy. Only then did they tell me the truth which was that a guy had some snakes sent to Adelaide which turned up dead and he was threatening to sue AAE over it.
I eventually got them to agree to send the snake down but as Fish-head said it all depends on who you deal with. I have had lots of snakes sent via AAE with absolutely no problems.

[Fuscus]

Its threads like this that make me glad I don't live in NSW
Here an import/export permit is free, and is supossed to take up to 5 working days but normally takes one and if you ask nicely you may get it in a couple of hours.
And with Adelaide being the huge metropolis that it is, the airport is at worst an hour away. From my home it is about 20 minutes away (assuming heavy traffic) and from work it is less than 5.

[bigguy]

Farkurnell,

If the vendor is to cover the sundry costs, that means they make $30 to $40 less on an export sale compared to a local sale. Not to mention the huge amount of time involved in completing the transaction. Your attidude is exactly why people state local sales only, which was the reason for this thread.

Why would anyone in their right mind go to all the trouble of exporting, only to get far less for their animals compared to a simple local sale.

Womas4me, I get where you are coming from but to increase prices to cover costs would be unfair on local buyers, and you really can not have 2 different price lists, one local, one interstate

[womas4me]

I didnt get that out too clearly. Your time freighting the animal to the airport should not be free. I would charge out my services for that time as i have done countless runs from newy to sydney through peak hour. I think for the extra cost of paying for your time the buyer is getting a quality animal and at the end of the day you can buy crap for less to save a buck but it is still crap. Still a local sale IS easy and still gets you a sale which at the end of the day is the result the seller is after. I am unfortunate in a way where 98 % of my sales involve freighting the animal 1600 km but AAE here make that very easy and efficient. Except when we caught them turning over and over our green tree frogs so they colud look at them better. That was a very interseting talk listen session for AAE.

[NoOne]

With an 8hr round trip to Sydney airport i would ask for a bit fuel money if i was freighting.
I'm in no hurry to sell anything, if i have to wait longer for a local sale it doesn't matter, the longer my hatchlings stay the better feeders they become before sale.
Exporting is just to much hassle for me.

[africancichlidau]

I'm with you there NoOne

[Greebo]

On the other side of the coin, I pefer to buy locally too.That way I can see what I'm buying and who I am buying from.

[snakehunter]

It would also depend on what you are exporting, if you are only sending a $20 blue-tongue it isnt worth the hassle

[Ricko]

but if there is an animal/herp interstate that you can not find and have not been able to find for a while interstate is a good option. but thanks to everyone posting as its good to know what everyone thinks on the situation

[bigguy]

snakehunter, good point. If you export something cheap and you covered the sundries in the price, you would in fact be losing money. Why even bother

[Paddy]

Everybody has their own valid points and opinions on this subject which is always good to see. Like most people I wouldn't freight animals if I didn't have to, but that is all well and good for you folks that live in, or near, the major cities. For those of us stuck out in the far flung reaches of the various states, freight is the only way we have to increase our collections!
In order to find a breeder of anything other than carpets, blueys or beardies I would have to look at driving to townsville (4 hrs), Cairns (9hrs) or Brisbane (12 hrs), so I am all in favour of freight.
There is always a risk involved, but this is where you hope there are other trustworthy people out there!!! But then anyone who is prepared to give me their bank account details on faith should be honest enough, they could have a lot more to lose than me!
On all the occasions I have freighted reptiles I have dealt with great people, have had the follow up phone calls, and certainly not been put of freight as a way of buying for the future.
I have also been lucky in only having good experiences with AAE, both in importing and exporting of reptiles.
So for all you non-freighters, please don't rule it out completely - there are some of us in the herp community that really need and appreciate your services and time. (And are willing to pay for it!)

Happy Herping!