Thursday, February 22, 2007
Shipping Rabbits
I live in Virginia and I often get inquiries from people far, far away. If they are really interested, they want to know if I ship rabbits. The answer is yes and no. Let me explain.
In theory, I don't mind shipping rabbits. But in practice, it is seldom worth my time.
First of all, I don't have any problems selling rabbits at my barn or delivering them to the shows I attend. Of course, it's okay with me to sell rabbits in my area and it's okay for folks to show rabbits against me that they purchased from me. If I did have a problem with either of those, then shipping might look more desirable to me.
Second, shipped rabbits must have vet certificates. With four kids, seven dogs, and a cat to take care of in addition to my rabbits, the last thing I need is another appointment to keep.
In my case, the airport is not close by. We're 1 1/2 hours from Greensboro, which makes it a three hour round trip, plus whatever time I spend at the cargo office waiting in line and filling out paperwork.
Having said all of that, I have shipped rabbits. I believe the buyer purchased four rabbits. It pretty much takes that type of purchase to make it worth my while.
I also attempted an international shipment. I definitely know that international shipping is not for me. I am almost seven hours from the nearest international airport that would work. I spent a month making arrangements for a shipment to Sri Lanka. I had the shipment planned for a weekend when I was showing in Georgia so that I had just a couple of hours extra travel, not fourteen! But the flight out was cancelled.
So, we did it all again. All of the worming and vet appointments and paperwork had to be repeated. This time, we committed to making the long trip to Atlanta just to see the thing through. But again, the flight was cancelled. I had to refund their money and just tell them that I could not help them. I hated it. I would have loved to send the first Hollands to Sri Lanka.
Now, if I lived near an international airport with enough airlines to have a reasonable selection of carriers, it might be worth it to ship rabbits internationally. You certainly work more closely with an international customer and it's fun to make friends in other parts of the world. But for me right now where I live, it's not practical.
I have also had rabbits shipped in. I purchased four does. The does were $100 each, but the final cost with shipping was $168 each or $672. None of them was successful on the table, but two produced Best In Show bunnies for me (Rio and May). So, was it worth it? Yes. Would I do it again? I'm not sure.
These rabbits were all sound. But I'm not sure I had thought through carefully what would have happened had I found a DQ toenail or bad teeth, or if one of the rabbits had become ill during transit. Getting rabbits back to the breeder would have been as costly and time-consuming and getting them to me.
These days, since I generally attend Convention and Nationals, having rabbits shipped in seems less desirable to me. I've seen that same breeder that I had rabbits shipped in from several times since that purchase. I keep thinking that I would have saved a lot of money by just timing things better.
I'm not saying that I will never have rabbits shipped in again. If it's the best thing for me to do for my herd, then I will. But I think that the vast majority of the time, shipping will not be the best option for me.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design ¶ 11:36 AM
In theory, I don't mind shipping rabbits. But in practice, it is seldom worth my time.
First of all, I don't have any problems selling rabbits at my barn or delivering them to the shows I attend. Of course, it's okay with me to sell rabbits in my area and it's okay for folks to show rabbits against me that they purchased from me. If I did have a problem with either of those, then shipping might look more desirable to me.
Second, shipped rabbits must have vet certificates. With four kids, seven dogs, and a cat to take care of in addition to my rabbits, the last thing I need is another appointment to keep.
In my case, the airport is not close by. We're 1 1/2 hours from Greensboro, which makes it a three hour round trip, plus whatever time I spend at the cargo office waiting in line and filling out paperwork.
Having said all of that, I have shipped rabbits. I believe the buyer purchased four rabbits. It pretty much takes that type of purchase to make it worth my while.
I also attempted an international shipment. I definitely know that international shipping is not for me. I am almost seven hours from the nearest international airport that would work. I spent a month making arrangements for a shipment to Sri Lanka. I had the shipment planned for a weekend when I was showing in Georgia so that I had just a couple of hours extra travel, not fourteen! But the flight out was cancelled.
So, we did it all again. All of the worming and vet appointments and paperwork had to be repeated. This time, we committed to making the long trip to Atlanta just to see the thing through. But again, the flight was cancelled. I had to refund their money and just tell them that I could not help them. I hated it. I would have loved to send the first Hollands to Sri Lanka.
Now, if I lived near an international airport with enough airlines to have a reasonable selection of carriers, it might be worth it to ship rabbits internationally. You certainly work more closely with an international customer and it's fun to make friends in other parts of the world. But for me right now where I live, it's not practical.
I have also had rabbits shipped in. I purchased four does. The does were $100 each, but the final cost with shipping was $168 each or $672. None of them was successful on the table, but two produced Best In Show bunnies for me (Rio and May). So, was it worth it? Yes. Would I do it again? I'm not sure.
These rabbits were all sound. But I'm not sure I had thought through carefully what would have happened had I found a DQ toenail or bad teeth, or if one of the rabbits had become ill during transit. Getting rabbits back to the breeder would have been as costly and time-consuming and getting them to me.
These days, since I generally attend Convention and Nationals, having rabbits shipped in seems less desirable to me. I've seen that same breeder that I had rabbits shipped in from several times since that purchase. I keep thinking that I would have saved a lot of money by just timing things better.
I'm not saying that I will never have rabbits shipped in again. If it's the best thing for me to do for my herd, then I will. But I think that the vast majority of the time, shipping will not be the best option for me.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design ¶ 11:36 AM
