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Shipping has become increasingly difficult the last few years. October and November of 2005 have been as bad as we have seen. Week after week we have been told, “No flights this week to that zipcode, try again next week.” At one point we asked if there was any zipcode in the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania we could ship to, thinking we could work out some kind of relay with another pigeon flyer. The answer we got was, “No flights this week to that zipcode, try again next week.” We asked to speak to the Express Mail Supervisor and got his voice mail. It has been weeks now and we are still waiting for him to return our call. During this same period, a friend of mine did successfully ship a box of birds to Pennsylvania from the same Post Office we use! Last week we received a shipment of two birds from Arkansas. It took four days. They had to be shipped from Arkansas to a flyer in Georgia who then had them shipped to us in California.
Well with service like that, you can understand why we say there are “shipping limitations”. We mention the troublesome details above not to dissuade you from purchasing, but to make sure you understand these limitations are very real.
Here is the approach we recommend:
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We will first attempt to ship by United States Postal Service Express Mail. When they do accept them, their service is very very good. We will only ship on Mondays and Tuesdays since virtually all shipments of this type are two days.
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If we get the “try again next week” response from the USPS, then we will attempt to ship directly to the nearest airport to you that is serviced by Delta Airlines. The Delta “Pets First” air cargo program is well established and has two distinct advantages. First, the birds are generally in transit for only one day. Second, the service is much more dependable. The downside of course is that you will have to go to the airport to pick up the birds. It costs more, but remember we pay the shipping costs. We will confirm with you the arrival time and destination airport before any shipment is made.
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With both the USPS and Delta Airlines, shipments are not allowed during periods of heat or cold (e.g. if it is forecast to be over 85 degrees or under 32 degrees anywhere along the flight path.). Generally this means we can usually ship to most US locations during the Spring months of March, April, May and the Fall months of September, October, November.
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We are happy to hold your birds until shipping is possible.
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Obviously, the purchase price of any birds we are not able to ship will be refunded.
Always make sure we have a phone number where you can be reached as this is required for Express Mail or Air Cargo and is critically important if a problem develops.
International shipping is possible, but must be carefully arranged and is generally handled through an independent agent.
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