FedEx Related Questions

1. Proper Label Address Formatting
2. FedEx AVS (Address Validation Service)
3. How can I tell how FedEx will route my shipment?
4. Why does R2You use only FedEx and not UPS?
5. I've heard FedEx doesn't carry animals?
6. Why can't I get certified with FedEx myself?
7. Are reptiles safe on FedEx planes?
8. How do I get my package to FedEx?
9. I bought a label but cannot ship for a few days - how long is my label good for?
10. Why is my shipping label BLANK?!

Having the Shipping Address on your label properly configured can prevent problems and help ensure successful on-time deliveries. Here are a few tips to follow to be sure your label is formatted properly:

• Put ONLY the building number and street name in the Address 1 field - do NOT put "ADDRESS QUALIFIERS" (Apt #, Lot #, Suite #, etc) in Address 1 field).
• Put "address qualifiers" ("Apt #, Lot #, Attn: Joe Blow", etc) in the Address 2 field - NOT in Address 1.
• Use a 9-digit zip (zip + 4) if you know it. (It's not mandatory, but will help ensure successful delivery of your shipment. If you don't know the extra 4 digits don't worry - we utilize FedEx AVS (explained below) which usually fills it in for you).

When you select previously saved addresses from the drop down boxes on the Shipping Labels page, be sure they are structured properly as described above - ADDRESS QUALIFIERS "Apt #, Lot #", etc) CANNOT BE IN THE ADDRESS 1 FIELD! If your saved addresses are formatted incorrectly, EDIT/CHANGE THEM in your My Account Address Book HERE)!

In order to help ensure successful deliveries, Reptiles2You utilizes FedEx AVS (Address Validation Service) when creating shipping labels. When you hit the Quote Shipping button, AVS compares the Shipping Address you entered against the address data FedEx uses for actual deliveries.  If the address you entered does not agree with FedEx data, this system may modify the address you entered.

Things you may sometimes see:

• Some words may be abbreviated (e.g. "Apartment" may be changed to "APT", "Street" may be changed to "ST", etc).
• Street and city names may be changed to all capital letters.
• City name may actually be CHANGED in some occasions (when two small municipalities have "fuzzy boundaries" or overlapping routes, FedEx AVS may change the city name based on their routing info).

FedEx routing codes are just below the tracking number on the labels:

We believe FedEx typically does a better job with live shipments than any other carrier. Are they perfect? No, but they're good. Our sister company Ghann's Cricket Farm has been shipping live crickets since 1952 (that's a long time!), and has used just about every carrier there is. Their experience with FedEx was better overall than any of the others. Also, as many of you probably know, Reptiles2You owners Clay Ghann and Debbie Price were both involved with Reptiles Express from its beginning (Clay was co-owner of RE, Debbie was customer service manager).  RE used UPS for a little while in the beginning, then switched to FedEx, so, we have experience with both carriers, and prefer FedEx.

They don't for just anyone, you have to get certified with them. Live animal transport is tricky business, and the carriers typically DON'T want to do it. Reptiles2You has reached agreements with FedEx that not only allow you to ship your reptiles with them, they even give us special treatment that other (smaller) shippers don't get.  FedEx has a Premiere Customer Service team that only high-volume shippers like us have access to, so you can rest assured that your precious animals have the best care and service they can possssibly get when you ship with us.

There are several reasons why using Reptiles2You is better than getting certified yourself:

1. You avoid the FedEx certification process (it's lengthy, time consuming, and can be costly).
2. Typically FedEx only allows certified live animal shippers to ship B2B (business to business - no residences). Reptiles2You is FedEx certified to ship to and from both businesses AND residences.
3. FedEx is hesitant to allow even certified reptile shippers to ship snakes.  Reptiles2You is certified to ship all non-venomous reptiles - including snakes - to and from businesses and residences.
4. We are experts when it comes to moving live animal shipments through the system. When there are problems, we know who to call, what to do, and how to get it done.
5. You SAVE MONEY by shipping with Reptiles2You. Our high-volume discounts mean you will typically save at least 35% vs FedEx published rates!

Of course, didn't you see Snakes on a Plane? :-) YES, your animals are fine on planes. FedEx puts all Reptiles2You packages in special cargo areas that are not only pressurized, but temperature controlled as well (55 - 70 F).

The best way is for you to drop off your package at a FedEx Ship Center - find one near you with the FedEx Locator tool. Set the filter on the FedEx Locator tool to show only TRUE "FEDEX SHIP CENTER" locations!  (3rd party locations - aka "FASC" ("FedEx Authorized Ship Centers" - like FedEx Office Stores, Postal Connection, etc) typically do NOT accept live animals for shipment.)  Or, if you prefer, while you are purchasing a label on our site you can schedule a pickup (for a small fee FedEx will send a driver to pick up your package at your location!).

If you purchased a label planning to ship right away but your plans change, don't worry - your label is good for a little while (a few weeks at least).  FedEx does "recycle" tracking numbers though, so the tracking number on a label you bought last week will eventually come up for re-use by FedEx on another shipment, in all likelihood one booked by someone else (if the same number comes up for YOU again - go to Vegas!).  So in theory if you wait TOO long to use your label and FedEx reissues that tracking number, there could be two packages in the FedEx system with the same tracking number - which would not be good!  Waiting a few days (or even a couple of weeks) is fine, but if you have to wait longer than that, we advise you contact us to cancel your order (we'll gladly refund your money), and then just buy a new label.

Try using a different browser.  Strange problems like this are often related to web browser quirks.  Different browsers (Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Firefox, etc) behave differently, and security settings within each browser can affect the way pages and documents are displayed (or NOT displayed as in the case of blank labels). Also as browsers are updated to latest versions to fix bugs, sometimes new bugs are CREATED (welcome to the wonderful world of computing!) Overall, we recommend GOOGLE CHROME as the best browser to use when interacting with our site and printing your shipping labels.  We have had several incidents of people using MS EDGE that could not see or print their shipping labels - when they hit the PRINT LABEL button, they saw a blank pdf page or an incomplete label (missing a barcode, or some other data).  Using Google Chrome these same labels often appeared and printed just fine. So the bottom line is, if you experience strange behavior, try using a different browser. If the problem persists, please report it to us.

If you can't find an answer to your question, email us - we'll be glad to help you personally.  (If your question is a good one, it may eventually show up here so others can learn from it as well.)

Thanks for stopping by!