Post office throwing boxes

[hannakat]

I bought eggs on Ebay last month and was so excited. When they arrived, I was glad cause the box was in wonderful condition. Opened it and the eggs were securely packaged. However 1 had a slight crack in the side. I candled them and found total confusion. Don't know how a box could look so good when the inside of the eggs looked so bad.

Broke my heart

 

[LeasureChix]

I have to disagree with a lot of what has been said on this thread. I have been going through my own shipping egg nightmare but it was due to a particular office. My husband and I are postal contractors so I've learned a lot about how things are handled. Hatching eggs that are properly marked "LIVE HATCHING EGGS" should never be dropped or thrown or mishandled. They are treated like any other live animal shipment and get "special handling" without paying the $7 and are treated like "Express Mail" even if sent Priority. Of course, it is possible that the special labeling is missed by some PO employees. I've had my eggs delayed even when coming from the next state. I've received clear eggs and eggs with bad air cells but I think it had as much to do with infertile eggs as it did mishandling from the PO.

It is important that the boxes are well marked with the words "LIVE" and "EGGS". There are other things that work well for some people but if you want the best chance of eggs being handled with kid gloves, mark your boxes.... and be sweet to the postal employees.

I for one am not giving up. I have eggs coming right now from 3 awesome breeders and I can't wait....

 

[HenPenny]

I know what you mean about not giving up. Mail is about the only way to get some different and unusual eggs. Like i said the first order arrived in a box placed in a hand tote. Very clearly labeled hatching eggs with a picture of eggs on it. The others were just labeled fragile.

 

[pascopol]

Unfortunately that is was USPS is about.

Throwing boxes around.

This is their favorite way of handling packages, perhaps it makes them feel even more important than they really are.

 

[aveca]

Quote:
And they wonder why the post office is loosing revenue..a lot of People are looking for other alternatives.We all totaled probably spend millions shipping eggs and the number that actually hatch are so small..it shouldnt be this much of a gamble ..I spent a fortune shipping eggs and sometimes people have a large number hatch, sometimes the externals are fine but the internals are scrambled..
If your shipping a sweater your probably fine but shipping live items is a gamble and im not sure what to do about it except look into what the commercial foam shippers that commercial farms use to ship eggs. ..

Maybe someone could write a petition and find out who actually runs the PO and if enough people sign it..it will get noticed. or as things go..might get noticed..the squeeky wheels get the grease. we just sit and take it isnt working. we are all getting nickled and dimed, these days more like dollared to death.
I have been spending more money to ship brown..

We entered an art show 2 years ago, packaged item as we always do with great care in box that had pleanty of room..the show commitee called me from kansas city Mo and said we are so sorry, your item arrived in peices..and never ever buy insurance when they ask you because you will never ever be paid for damage..its a money grubbing racket. When I went to turn in the insurance, they told me there was nothing they could compare the item to being a one of a kind item so they are refusing to pay..So I asked what the blank did you sell me insurance on it for..I fought it but they didnt back down,,,so now when they ask me would you like insurance..I turn around....look at the people in line behind me and say .No its a racket and they will NOT pay you if they damage your items. So dont buy it. a high class scam.

 

[hippiehen]

This thread makes me sad. I work for the post office and I know everyone I work with and have worked with (I'm a post master replacement so I travel to many different offices) are all really fantastic people who care about their customers. I feel like the generalization in this thread is not fair at all. The post office is just like any (huge) business or anything really where people are involved - there are both good and bad, two sides to every coin.

I'm also very sorry everyone has had such bad experiences with the post office, I truly am. If everyone knew how it was run, how high-stress and fast paced everything is I feel like you would understand a little better, not to mention the enormous amount of mail that is processed every day, somewhere around 580 million pieces per day. I don't want to make excuses, I just don't think people realize how the post office works - I know I didn't before I went to work for them.

That being said, LeasureChix is right, there is a specific way to handle anything live. The box you send should be placed in a flat tub and marked appropriately to receive special handling. But understand, a single piece of mail may go through more than 100 hands before it gets to you, along with a variety of trucks, 18 wheelers, fork lifts and other machinery. These are eggs, after all, not rocks. I've broken eggs walking from the coop to my house before.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Unfortunately the fact is in any business you are only as good as your worst employe an only as good as the worst job you have done.

 

[aprophet]

http://sbw.dhl-usa.com/Locations/USLocnsStart.asp?nav=DropOff

for the folks wondering if they are still around

 

[lotzahenz]

I have spent lots and lots of $$$ on shipped eggs, and have come to some conclusions: The fresher the egg, the better it ships. The higher quality the egg white (albumin/protein) the thicker it will be, therefore it will protect the yolk better. Also, a couple extra bucks spent on the bigger box, makes a huge difference. I think the larger box is not 'tossed' quite as much. Newspaper has NO cushioning properties. The best way to package shipping eggs seems to be a bubble-wrap or styrfoam in a small box, well padded in a larger box, so there is a big cushion/buffer between boxes. I just set 12 eggs from "Bargain" on here and had 11 develop and the air sacs were all intact, not displaced too much. I got 7 live chicks, with 5 not pipping, but completely formed. She knows how to pack eggs well. I have heard that increasing the protein in the breeding flock will help this problem of quitting at point of pip. I will try this out myself on my breeding flock. I am considering adding some kind of weight to the box, making it have to be lifted, not so light it is just tossed around. The price on shipping is the same for a flat rate box, up to a certain weight. Someone should write a sticky article on "how to ship eggs" after compiling advice from all the posts? I wonder if cushioning with gel packs might work, adding some heft to the larger box, bubble wrapping the inner box? It is not always the post offices fault, but being rude is never acceptable. If we can get shipping eggs down pat, think of how much we can improve of flocks. I don't think getting 3 of 12 eggs to hatch is good flock improvement at all, but it just might be one thing that allows the fittest to survive. I am still amazed that anyone would even bid on less than a dozen eggs at a time with those odds. HenZ

 

[hannakat]

Quote:
I love the sample paper you showed. The markings on the box I recieved were made with a dull marker. It almost looked like a reused box in that way. It was marked "eggs' on every side but then the tape was over top of it. I actually thought of making proper labels and sending them to the seller cause I hate sloppy. Anyway, what's done is done.

You've convinced me to share with that seller about clearer labeling.