# bought fish on aquabid



## AAUSbob (Mar 5, 2011)

Hey, dont really have any questions, i just wanted to vent

i bought 12 small Jag's from a seller on aquabid last week. after waiting on emails, and setting up delivery, they were finally set up to be shipped on monday. didnt show up til today (friday) and suprise suprise. i got a bag of dirty smelly water, with 11 dead fish, and 1 barely alive. i moved the 1 survivor into a recovery tank, and within an hour, he was floating at the top.

hugely disappointed in this.

i live in nj, and the fish came from cali. luckily they had a DOA arrival warrenty so its not a complete loss.

anyone have better stories about ordering online?


----------



## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

Should've paid the overnight fee LOL I'm sorry but it sounds like Its your fault for not wanting them shipped overnight


----------



## Chromedome52 (Jul 25, 2009)

I'm slightly curious why someone in NJ would order a common species such as _managuense _from CA. However, that's irrelevant. Person packing twelve fish in one bag for such a long trip shows inexperience.

I would suggest going over to the Aquaboard forum to discuss shipping problems of fish bought on Aquabid. Lot of genuinely experienced people there, but you're going to get about the same answer that jd lover gave.


----------



## xxbenjamminxx (Jan 22, 2011)

That is why I am always skeptical about order fish online. I have heard plenty of good stories but for me by the time i pay for overnight shipping and the fish I can get them for less around my area or can drive to get them.

If it was a rare species that would be a different story.

Sorry for your loss, but if you do it again I would def plan on getting the overnight shipping to prevent this from happening again. Your lucky though, most shipper only warranty them for overnights.


----------



## jason_nj (Feb 24, 2010)

I bought from Aquabid once and another online retailer and both times I got the fish safe with no problems. They were experienced in shipping fish, each fish was individually bagged and packed really well in styrofoam boxes.

I just shipped some fish for the first time and that was a disaster. I shipped 4 fish and I only single bagged the fish and I think I left too much room in the box so all the bags except one popped open. Plus it was too cold and although the one fish made it, the receiver said the water was about 40 degrees.

So 2nd attempt, sent another 4 fish and they all got their safely. I double bagged and all the inner bags popped but having the 2nd bag save them, Plus I used a 40 hour heat pack this time.


----------



## AAUSbob (Mar 5, 2011)

At the time I placed the bid I could not find any healthy looking small jags by me, so I impulse bid on aqua bid since then i found some nice jags locally

The seller did not offer an overnight shipping and I blindly assumed priority would be ok

His shipping method was awful. 12 in 1 bag. Tiny heat pack. No double bagging and very little water

Hopefully he is true to his word and refunds my money.

Last night I ordered some festae and haitains from Ira on mfk.com. (overnight shipping) from ny to nj. I like my odds better here as he is a respected vendor


----------



## AAUSbob (Mar 5, 2011)

And Jason I haven't forgotten about the ebjd's. New tank being set up in April for my current fish and then I'll be calling you.

What are the odds of finding a ebjd's breeder whom lives around the corner from me. Haha


----------



## jason_nj (Feb 24, 2010)

Depending where in NY, standard shipping will be overnight so hopefully he didn't overcharge you.

Shipping 12 fish in one bag is terrible, if theres any type of aggression, you get a bunch of dead fish.

I'm a new breeder, I only kept 7 fish from my first ever batch of EBJD fry and I culled all the ones I thought were sickly. I'm holding onto those 7 so let me know when you want them. I'm also growing out another batch of fry though from different combinations of fish so hopefully this batch will be stronger.


----------



## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

I've order a few fish and I ALWAYS overnight them. Why even riskin 2 days delivery? Let alone priority. 1 day is barely fast enough for me lol. But next time if they don't offer overnight you shouldn't buy from them since it seems like they're a bit inexperenced.


----------



## AAUSbob (Mar 5, 2011)

Lesson learned. reordered new fish from IRA. will have them in the morning. cant wait


----------



## thefiremouthscientist (Feb 11, 2011)

Humans are sick. If you want a fish from somewhere you cant get local then go there yourself and get it, and escort it home. Thats MY take on it, theres plenty of fish at the local petsmart that need a home because if they dont theyll wind up CHUM


----------



## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

I ordered through cavamart on aquabid and got 5 fish, overnighted from oregon (to NY). Received them all individually double bagged, pure oxygen in the bags/water, styrofoam shipping, and 2 heating packs.

Great results, 5 healthy fish, including one beauty of a male HRP :thumb:


----------



## Chromedome52 (Jul 25, 2009)

thefiremouthscientist, how do you think those fish get to the Petsmart, or any store? they are all shipped! :lol:

Nothing wrong with ordering fish from across the country if you can't get them locally, or even if you can, under the right circumstances. I have purchased fish from East and West Coast dealers, and I am in Michigan. I've also shipped fish. The problem for the OP was poor shipping - twelve aggressive fish in one small bag is bad if you're taking them home from the lfs, much less shipping them.


----------



## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

I am very sorry for the loss of fish and the bad experience. When I shipped my first box of fish it was a disaster but I learned from my mistake and have been shipping with great results. It is very sad I will say that though. I did a lot better then the person you purchased the Jags from on my first try. I have had excellent results of fish being shipped to me! Unless the person is giving me free fish and ships them on priority I hate priority and stay away from it. To be honest I hate USPS in general and I prefer paying more by using UPS then USPS.

That's not unusual that the box took that long to arrive on priority. USPS doesn't guarantee arrival on the days they advertise. Express is usually 1 day (overnight). Priority is usually 2-3 days but they don't guarantee it and the same with Express. Express can be 1-3 days. Priority can be 2-6 days. Also I have heard of stories of boxes of fish and other shipments getting lost on USPS. UPS is 100% guaranteed. I had two people from Missouri send me fish on priority (I live in central IL. It's about 3-4 hours to get to MO from where I live) and it took 6 DAYS to arrive. The first box of fish arrived alive and well and the person used breather bags. The second box of fish arrived alive but two died shortly after arrival. The person used regular bags. I just stick with UPS. Again I am sorry for the loss! Good luck!


----------



## AAUSbob (Mar 5, 2011)

i reorder fish from a vendor on another forum. great fish showed up, even got a few freebies. much happier this time, everything was fantastic.

i picked up 4 festae's and 2 hatiensis


----------



## chc (Jul 28, 2004)

There's usually no problem when shipping fish PROPERLY, though there will always be the odd bad trip (often due to the airlines, not the sellers). However, there are lots of inexperienced sellers and shippers on Aquabid, so you take a risk dealing with an unknown seller. Stick with the several big suppliers, and you'll be fine.


----------

