# USPS



## Geckospot (Oct 20, 2005)

When you guys ship out your mantis, does USPS ever ask you what you're shipping? What do you say?


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## Rick (Oct 20, 2005)

When I ship with them I usually use the ship it yourself kiosk in the lobby.


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## Geckospot (Oct 20, 2005)

Do you prepay online or something?


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## Tapos (Oct 21, 2005)

if they ask i tell them it is art supplies. as they are natures art. someone shipped to me and used that description on the package. i liked it, and now use it also.


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## Ian (Oct 21, 2005)

No, they dont ask what im shipping, they merely rip it open and keep it.


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## Geckospot (Oct 21, 2005)

Your joking. Right Ian? I hope so. :?


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## Ian (Oct 21, 2005)

lol, no I am not joking. A lot of time also, the parcel has not arrived full stop. Hence the reason I have now set up a Fedex account, which was varified today  

Go Fedex!

Cheers,

Ian


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## Rick (Oct 21, 2005)

Soem of them have a thing in the lobby where you enter in some info into a computer and put your package on the scale and then pay with a credit/debit card and then it prints your stamp. Then you put it in the bin.


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## Shelbycsx (Nov 15, 2006)

> No, they dont ask what im shipping, they merely rip it open and keep it.


Is there any regulation against sending live items through the USPS??


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## Rick (Nov 15, 2006)

> > No, they dont ask what im shipping, they merely rip it open and keep it.
> 
> 
> Is there any regulation against sending live items through the USPS??


Yes. Not supposed to do it.


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## Christian (Nov 16, 2006)

FedEx also stopped shipping live animals! We tried this supplier, too, and this was the answer we got.

Regards,

Christian


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## Orin (Nov 16, 2006)

Actually, according to the USPS regulations it is allowable to send harmless live invertebrates which would include any native mantids in the states (not HI and possibly not FL) --unless new rules are made. Of course anything with a harmful bite or sting or against local regulations isn't allowed. However, it is a problem to write live on the boxes because USPS goes through other shippers (they don't have their own planes) who can turn down live animals and often do because they don't want the hassle from people trying to ask them for compensation for a DOA.


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## Orin (Nov 16, 2006)

Sorry, you can send live scorpions but you have to write "live venemous scrorpions" all over the box and double box it and a few other rules you can look up online.


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## AFK (Nov 16, 2006)

i received a large shipment of live water diving beetles, whirligig beetles, and giant water scavenger beetles about a year ago via USPS, and the box had in large conspicuous letters, "HANDLE WITH CARE - LIVE INSECTS"

unless a new law was created in the last year, i had no problem whatsoever with shipped insects.

p.s. an aquarium of water insects is one of the coolest ever pets you can ever have.


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## Orin (Nov 18, 2006)

If you got them from the business I think you did, in the last six months that business had to switch to UPS because the USPS started sending back all the express boxes turned down by the carrier (the outside company, often Fedex, not the post office) saying 'couldn't find a plane'.


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## Rick (Nov 18, 2006)

I have not had any issues with shipping USPS but I use the kiosk to ship packages yourself and it does ask you if it contains live animals or animal parts.


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## vincecater (Nov 18, 2006)

I found that you can legally send insects (within the UK that is) as long as you state they are live food for other reptiles/insects. This is within the royal mail guidelines I believe?

cheerz, Vince


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## Ian (Nov 18, 2006)

Aparently not Vince. You are only allowed to send insects stated by the Royal Mail terms (bees, mealworms, and a few others. Crickets, locusts, waxworms etc are not listed.) However on the parcelforce website, which they are sent by, you are allowed to send insects which can be used as pest control. The praying mantis comes under this category, I believe.


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## infinity (Nov 18, 2006)

Use the word perishable... it achieves the same thing and people tend to associate it with food/ fruit. I think just as long as they don't know what's in the box and can see that the box is secure, they don't seem to mind.

I get mine dropped off in an insulated box outside my house- the post office knows I bring in live bugs so they actively try to dump it when they come round to my house just so they don't have to put up with the chirping back at the office  

You do get batter service- the worse they think the bug is, the quicker they come round to get rid of it


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