I'm soo disappointed

[katharinad]

I've purchased 15 Saxony eggs on ebay with someone that had a good feedback (seller jeremyrice5382208). They were packed nicely, one was cracked, one was oversized, one very small, and no extras. Only 5 are fertile. I did email the seller in a very nice way. Nothing for over a week. You would think that the seller may offer some extra eggs at cost, but not nothing. I could have ordered 5 live ducklings from Holderread for less, considering what I have paid for 15 eggs including shipping. I just wanted to hatch them too, just love the experience, and Holderread does not sell eggs. So overall I'm disappointed, and it is sad that ebay sellers to do not resume any responsibilities. I understand that there are many factors which can damage an egg, but would you at least hope to get normal sized eggs, one or two extra, and 50% fertility? I'm at 30% and they have not hatched yet either. I'm saying this because I've just hatched a 80% rate from eggs mailed in my hovabator prior. I was so excited over the 80%, because I expected less. Anything over 70% it super news in my book. Anyway, if I were the seller I would jump in and help a customer with a low rate. It's not only a customer support thing, it also lets me sleep at night. Today I posted negative feedback for the seller. He had enough time to respond to my email, even the word sorry would have been better then nothing. While looking at his feedback I saw a positive one for no fertility at all. How can someone post a positive for nothing? Sorry for the rant.
Katharina

 

[duckyfromoz]

Dont appologise for the rant- You have good reason to be upset. Not responding to your comunication is just rude. You are aware of the issues with shipped eggs- But even so- the size is what I see as the biggest issue. Last year I recieved shipped eggs ( not from ebay though ) which included one so big I thought it may have been a goose egg. It was a double yolker and never developed. It could easily have been candled before shipment - and replaced with a normal sized egg.
I also received from a different person 3 very small eggs. I did weigh them all as I put them into the bator and wrote the weights on each egg. The 3 smaller ones didnt develope . I did contact the seller and was offered a replacement due to getting such a poor hatch from the other eggs. I didnt accept the offer though- as I thought if this person cant get it right the first time with new customer..It wasnt worth the bother and the four week incubation for 3 eggs she offered.

Too many people see eggs as just money with no care for those that they can swindle.
Possitive feedback for zero fertility- now that really has me scratching my head.

 

[nissa_loves_cats]

I have purchased from Jeremy Rice lately. I don't remember what his auction said, but most are very clear that shipped hatching eggs are a risky business, no matter how well packed many eggs may not hatch due to handling, and that refunds for eggs that don't hatch or don't show signs of fertility are not offered.

Look at it from the seller's point of view. They have to pay for the packaging and shipping whether the eggs arrive in hatchable condition or not. If they were required to give refunds or some other compensation for non-hatching eggs, they would lose money.

I've started to sell hatching eggs on ebay myself. I do so because I am disabled and need every little bit of money I can get. I can't afford to lose money selling eggs because postal workers handled the eggs roughly or whatever, so I wouldn't have offered you anything either. If I did do that sort of thing, I'd have to raise the price of hatching eggs sky-high to just cover the costs, and as I mentioned, making money for the work I do producing hatching eggs is kind of the point of the exercise.

When I buy hatching eggs, if they were well and correctly packed I ALWAYS leave positive feedback. I believe it is my Christian duty to do so if the seller has done his job and packed the hatching eggs correctly. I would never leave a negative feedback to a good seller just because the eggs didn't survive the trip well. I have bought hatching eggs with zero hatching, but as long as the eggs were packed correctly I didn't blame the seller.

And as for his not responding to your complaint, again, look at it from his point of view. As an experienced seller he has probably learned that it does little good to respond to people that complain of poor hatch rates on their shipped eggs, especially if he has already made his sale terms clear in his auction. Remember also that many people sell on ebay because they don't have great people skills!

I'm sorry you had such a poor result on your eggs. I hope in the future you will read the terms of any auction you bid on very carefully and consider whether you want to take the risks of buying hatching eggs rather than ducklings.

 

[katharinad]

I'm never eager to post negative feedback, and have only done so twice. My feedback number is well over 1700, so you can see how much I buy on ebay. I would have not posted the negative, if he had at least responded to my message. Even if he had said sorry for the poor outcome. Then I would have accepted it. I did not even complain just said that I'm sad to see only 5 fertile eggs. What bothers me is that he included odd sized. It is just a bad practice to do so. I did read the term, was quite aware of the risks, but it is just rude not to respond. Oh and I did pay for the shipping.
Katharina

 

[Wifezilla]

If you pull eggs really early in the laying season, that would explain the too small eggs and low fertility. Maybe he just jumped the gun.

Regardless, he should have responded. As a frequent online seller, I would send more eggs.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I'll say this. I sell eggs on Ebay. I had 2 customers last week tell me that none of the eggs I sent them were fertile, which absolutely boggles my mind because I have a 1:1 ratio with my ducks and every egg I've put into my incubator has been fertile. But then of course, you're talking about traveling hundreds of miles shipped in a box, getting jostled, xrayed, etc. and this can account for problems with the eggs.

I use a box in a box method, wrap with bubble wrap, make sure there is 3 inches between the inner box wall and the outer box wall and use empty egg cartons as cushion between them for impact. I do everything I can to make sure the eggs get there in one piece.

I gave the customers the benefit of the doubt and resent more eggs at my cost, but I can't afford to do it constantly.

I agree the seller should get back to the customer, always.

Laurie

 

[katharinad]

Things can go wrong, and we all understand. I'm usually happy, if half of them hatch. And lets face it how many of your auctions do not hatch. I bet it is a very small amount. I've seen one auction where the seller wrote that they will replace bad eggs at a cost of 1 dollar each plus shipping. I thought that was very nice. That way the buyer has some assurance and the seller will not loose money either. I would never expect a seller to have to loose on shipping cost. Yet, at the same time they buyer is not out of all the money they spend either. What this does it generates happy customers and good write ups at boards like this. I've also seen another auction where they wrote upfront that a 50% hatch rate after shipping should be considered normal. They are so right about this too. You may have a 90% under ideal conditions without shipping, it will always be less after shipping. That's why I was so exited when I had a 80% rate with the last shipment from another seller. In any way this seller got a bad writeup, because he never responded at all. This shipment was not double boxed at all. Just some bubble wrap around the eggs and lots of newspaper in the box. Just a regular pack job. I paid 13.50 dollars for the flat rate box, so material and time was definitely covered. The shipment with the 80% had only a cardboard egg tray with newspaper around it. Not packed that good at all. Ironically no broken eggs and 80% hatch.
Katharina

 

[sourland]

Sellers have absolutely no control over what happens to shipped eggs in transit. Low hatch rates are not uncommon with shipped eggs. Be thankful for the eggs that are developing. this is just a reality of buying shipped eggs. It is not the shipper's fault.

 

[Wifezilla]

If she hadn't gotten odd sized eggs I would agree. I just think he shipped too early. I bet his girls had just started laying.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Did you crack them open to check? Sometimes things even happen to a fertile egg while in transit that prevents them from developing.