# Shipping



## jghall333 (Oct 5, 2017)

I am so sad. I bought a betta on ebay, to be shipped from South Carolina to me in Michigan. The fish marbled out, so the seller had me pick from several others. She shippped the one I picked, and it arrived dead. UPS had taken a day longer to ship than they said, and the heat pack quit and the fish froze. Several weeks later I picked another one, and it was shipped Tuesday evening by USPS priority mail. It arrived at my house at 11:00 this morning DOA. There seemed to be very little water in the bag, and I couldn't even see the fish until I opened the bag because the water was so dirty. Do I have a legitimate complaint here, or am I just a victim of bad luck? I paid $45 for the fish, plus $40 for shipping, and all I have to show for it is two dead fish


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

I'd check the DOA policy from the seller, but typically once you open the bag, you're probably out of luck (it's for their protection as well).
I generally only buy plants online and with that, living so far north, I even hesitate to have those shipped to me from Nov to April, just because there's so much risk involved.


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## Granberry (Mar 9, 2012)

jghall333 said:


> I am so sad. I bought a betta on ebay, to be shipped from South Carolina to me in Michigan. The fish marbled out, so the seller had me pick from several others. She shippped the one I picked, and it arrived dead. UPS had taken a day longer to ship than they said, and the heat pack quit and the fish froze. Several weeks later I picked another one, and it was shipped Tuesday evening by USPS priority mail. It arrived at my house at 11:00 this morning DOA. There seemed to be very little water in the bag, and I couldn't even see the fish until I opened the bag because the water was so dirty. Do I have a legitimate complaint here, or am I just a victim of bad luck? I paid $45 for the fish, plus $40 for shipping, and all I have to show for it is two dead fish



I'm sorry for your disappointment.  I am surprised and happy for you that the seller let you pick another fish because your previous fish changed color due to the marble gene. Most auctions I see say that the seller won't do that. But it is hard to call you lucky since your replacement was DOA!  If I lived in Michigan, I wouldn't even try to order fish during the cold months. In fact, I live in Oklahoma and I am resisting buying a fish right now because it's 28 degrees and I just don't want to risk it. Maybe you can ask the seller to give you a raincheck to use in the warmer months?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

As far as I am aware, only fish sent Overnight are guaranteed by most eBay sellers; some do guarantee live arrival with Priority but not many. What did the seller say when this second fish died? Usually they will replace the dead fish but not replace the postage. IMO, it is up to the seller to determine if shipping is safe and in this weather a minimum 72-hour heat pack is necessary. Yours probably used a 48-hour one.

I would ask, as suggested by Granberry, that you ask to be able to order when the weather is not heat pack-dependent. You'll still be out postage.

Gross as it sounds, the filthy water was from decomposition. I had a two Betta delivered that way by an eBay seller when he place the heat pack ON TOP of the Bettas' bags and boiled them alive. From the state of decomposition, my vet said they were dead within an hour of being packed. And even with the testimonial and that the bags were alarmingly hot he held me to the "Live Arrival only with Overnight" clause in his auction. I took my loss and would never buy from him again.


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## jghall333 (Oct 5, 2017)

My shipper has admitted that she cooked the fish with two heat packs, and will replace him. I just emailed her to ask if we should wait until spring. Thanks for the feedback, it made me feel better.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I'm glad that your seller is so honest and accommodating. Think of all of the drooling you'll be doing between now and warmer weather.


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## bernier_janet (Apr 7, 2020)

I recommend you check their policy and see what they write about transporting animals or other living things via their service. And do they take responsibility for what happened to the animal or not? Also in case, they provide such services, they should have special containers which allow them to transport living things. Because we shouldn't forget about the Animal Welfare Act. As far as I know, yanwen tracking takes responsibility for what happens with your product. If you get it broken, the company is obliged to pay you damages.


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