Here's my 2 cents...buying shipped eggs is putting lots of faith in a lot of other people, the seller and the usps. It stinks. However, sometimes, it's the only chance there is to get the breeds and type you want...the good stuff besides hatchery quality, that is. I have been hatching since January with eggs from a flock of my own and eggs I have bought off of here and
ebay. I have bought from about 10 sellers. There has been only been a few good transactions and hatches. People are very misinformed and misunderstanding things from what I have gathered. Like with the USPS and insurance claims. Broken eggs with a smashed box from the USPS...if its shipped flat rate priority, they will send you a check if you file a claim...priority flat rate comes with insurance.
I have had way too many infertile eggs with sellers of shipped eggs! Really really ticks me off! They have no right to take peoples money if they don't continually monitor their eggs but people get greedy and don't want to sacrifice an egg to check for fertility or to incubate. People will say that the USPS causes the low hatch rate...bull! if those air cells are good, the egg will develop as long as its fertile...it may not hatch after development but at least the seller protected the egg and made sure they were fertile. I know infertiles happen so that's why people usually send an extra or two. It's a matter of checking their own eggs and some people just don't do it...they assume. But if the feedback doesn't reflect, how will others know?
So...there was a thread on leaving feedback that I was trying to find. As a buyer everyone needs to wait and leave feedback after you see or don't see veining. Not on the condition of the shipped eggs. Anyone can package like a slob with loose eggs and there are no broken eggs. Just because there are no broken eggs doesn't mean they have a right to a positive feedback.
There is a seller selling eggs on
ebay right now. Chucked 2 old eggs with huge cells right on day 1...then after 7 days, more than half the eggs clear. i crack em open...infertile! grrrr. The eggs are infertile and I told them that and they blame the USPS...ummm no...the air cells were intact and you can clearly see the difference between fertile and infertile. I just read someone feedback to them that said the same thing. After a few of those, people will see and make a change. I was too easy on the seller when I left feedback because 5 did hatch...but the rest out of 16 were infertile and or old...seller has the idea that that is normal..."a 50% hatch rate is average with shipped eggs" yeah, 50% of the developing ones! not "chuck more than half right from the start"-that isn't the hatch rate! I didn't dispute it because there was 5 babies.
Seller's are real quick to say "not responsible" and "no refunds" "once it leaves my hands" blah blah but I say that's all bull. If a seller packs ridiculous and or ships infertiles I will be vocal about it sometimes even disputing with them, getting money back, so they don't keep doing the same to others. If they give money back a few times, I guarantee they will tighten up their shipping practices. Well, that goes for
ebay. Other places to get eggs wont back up a buyer like
ebay. What would stop sellers from selling bunk eggs saying "I wont be responsible for hatch rates" "leave feedback based on packaging" and just keep on collecting money all the while getting good feedback for no broken eggs...no.. but you "ARE responsible to your sellers for packing a secure fertile product, and if you don't, you will pay me back."
There is a right way and a wrong way to ship eggs. Many different materials can be used as long as they are so tight that the eggs cant move. Now after going thru so many bad deals, I am very specific to what I want, they way I want them shipped, and the writing on the outside of the box. I dont demand bubble wrap or anything, if its done right, newspaper works. After all my bad deals, I am discouraged in selling eggs online and instead just going to hatch em all myself and sell chicks.
I was wanting these eggs on
ebay from a seller that has some of the highest priced eggs on the market. If I am going to pay that price I want to know some things so I ask...they never respond and their eggs are left unsold. I would have paid the high price but not with no answers to my questions.
I also don't want to hatch less than a dozen. 50% hatch rate makes 6 and 4 will be culls. Those last two will probably be roos and with luck out of dozen eggs to start i might get a hen. lol too many to cull sell. I hope I don't have to buy from
ebay again because it is a little stressful when it doesn't go right. And arguing with people over it is bad. If i see someone has hundreds of specific feedbacks of developing embryos and their description kinda tells a story and is very descriptive with lots of pictures, then I go for it. I have had great hatches from eggs across the country and terrible ones from 100 miles away.
Wow I typed a novel! I'll probably get the "people like you" hate mail for this but oh well. At least you heard how it can be.
My beautiful flock is because people shared their flock via eggs so it's not like I am completely down on it. If it werent for shipped eggs, I'd still have a hatchery flock. I could maybe have saved a lot of money if I had been more aware from the start how people would be so sloppy and careless about shipping eggs.
