USPS Flat Rate boxes for egg shipping?

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

I'd have to agree that sometimes the shipping rates on ebay, etc seem astronimical. And it drops me out, too, since I've given myself a price cap on what I'll pay for eggs (I figure, if I only have one hatch, would that one chick be worth the cost I paid for the eggs?? Ask Lucky the MALE cochin.. he cost me $15 and he's worth it

). I do realize that there is the cost for packaging and such, and also realize that gas right now is crazy high. But sometimes I just don't get where the shipping rate came from. And I did get a box that I paid actual ship for. They weren't packaged as well as I'd like, and only one chick made it, but the PO was pretty rough with it, it it spent a week en route (including a holiday weekend), when they should have taken 3 days. I don't blame the seller for that hatch.

I agree that SOME hatcheries have stupid prices + shipping. But one website.. Meyer's I think.. only charges 2 something (includes shipping) for anything over a doz eggs. Granted, they have limited avail. this time of year, but that seemed pretty reasonable to me.

My big gripe is that lots of listings say "Free Shipping!" then charge $30 for 6 eggs. C'mon.. I feel like those people think we are all idiots, and anything saying "free" will rope us in.. even if it's obviously NOT free.

I'd love to be able to spend $40 on 6 eggs. But that's just not gonna happen. Even if they are from show quality or a rare breed.. unless they are black d'Anvers.. got a hankerin' for those guys right now.

Meghan

 

[CovenantCreek]

I just received a few egg orders from eBay sellers. I didn't really think the shipping cost was too high initially, but when one of the orders arrived almost completely destroyed (only 4 of 12 eggs made into the incubator) I seriously reconsidered that seller's price for shipping -- he charged the most of the 3 and provided the least. He even used a flat rate box making it obvious how much he actually paid, and the materials inside didn't appear to have cost much of anything, certainly not enough to warrant the extra charges. Since he didn't bother to mark the box as containing hatching eggs, I can't say if there are regulations against using the flat rate boxes for that purpose. I can say, the box was in better condition than its contents. The other 2 sellers packaged their eggs like diamonds and made certain the PO knew exactly what they were handling. None of those eggs arrived damaged.

What I learned from this -- it's not a good sign if the seller offers shipping insurance rather than replacement of any eggs that crack (or shipping of extras just in case). If they're willing to stand behind their packaging you're probably going to get your money's worth.