Understanding Shipping
I get a lot of questions about shipping and we end up here at the Birdasfe Store making shipping decisions for customers because they have opted to allow us to use USPS Flat Rate and Regional Rate packaging and FedEx SmartPost as options if it can save them some money. There have been some folks making those choices that I'm not sure quite understand the choices and the implications of using them. I wanted to address some of those questions
USPS Flat Rate -- since flat rate and regional rate shipping choices depend on whether or not an order will fit in a certain box, there is no way for the cart to show those options to you -- the customer -- up front while you are checking out. The checkbox on the Checkout Page authorizes us to use it if possible. Medium Flat Rate packaging at $11.35 and Large Flat Rate at $15.00 are often options for customers in Hawaii, Alaska, and the west coast that may save significant amounts. Regional Rate Boxes are more savings for customers closer to our location on the east coast -- though keep in mind this -- USPS Priority Mail (whether standard or any type of Flat Rate) is often slower than FedEx Home Delivery. As an example customers in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, North Carolina and Delaware will often get FedEx Home Delivery in 1 Day, where Priority Mail will take 2 Days. Customers in Florida will get Home Delivery in 2 Days, where it may take 3 Days by Priority Mail. Keep this in mind when choosing the Flat Rate option.
FedEx SmartPost -- for packages ranging from 1 pound to 8 pounds SmartPost is a cheaper option for shipping -- HOWEVER -- there is a significant delay at times in delivery. Therefore if the savings is, say, less than $1.80 or so, we will not choose to use this option for your packages. You can always put a note during checkout that you want to use SmartPost for ANY amount of savings -- keep in mind that a package that would normally take FedEx Home Delivery 2 days now may take as much as 6 days (business days) to get to you.
USPS Parcel Post -- We do not offer Parcel Post as an option and often customers ask why or they assume it will cost less -- in most cases it costs MORE than Priority Mail and many times insurance is not included, and if a package is returned for any reason, there is a return postage fee that is not associated with Priority Mail. For customers in rural areas, SmartPost can give you a $4-$5 savings over FedEx Home Delivery and we will always opt for that service, if you have elected it during checkout.
UPS -- We often get asked about using UPS Ground -- pound for pound, FedEx Home Delivery is much cheaper than UPS Ground -- and this does not even take into consideration the special rates that FedEx has given us for our account. At one time we did use UPS, and they did not offer us any discounts. We can certainly ship by UPS if a customer wishes, but the cost will traditionally be 20-30 percent higher and delay shipping because we have to drop it off at a UPS location.
Any questions about shipping -- let me know! Joe

One question that comes to me a lot is the question of taking birds outside -- either for walks or on their shoulder -- and are there any products to "protect" them. My first response is -- yes, a cage. That simply having a bird outside is a dangerous proposition, and to be totally free -- clipped or not -- is not only dangerous and naive, but makes me question a person's ability to care for birds. Now, before we get off jumping on Joe for saying you are an idiot for taking your birds outside -- consider the dangers -- dogs, cats, cars, hawks -- stupid people on the street that want to say "Oh, pretty bird, let's make him fly." Even on a tether/leash you are still at risk of serious injury, I think. The best option would be to attach a cage to a stroller and at least protect your bird from jumping and hitting a hard object, such as concrete or asphalt, getting into something dangerous, i.e., eating weeds and plants. Sure, the sun is good for them, but there are safe ways, not so safe ways, and truly dumb ways. Before I got into birds, I went to a block party once and a guy was walking around with a Blue and Gold on his shoulder. I thought, "how cool!" -- but after years of hearing stories -- and you can go to YouTube and search out "parrot and hawk attack" and see just how fast you can lose your bird -- or stories of "well, he was clipped, I didn't think he would be able to fly away." Our job is to protect our birds!

Bird Toy Sizes

Everywhere you shop for bird toys and supplies, you see the stores putting recommended sizes for birds. I have hesitated to do this on our store because it's really all over the map.

I saw another store once that recommended a very small toy for "mini macaws" -- okay, if you have a Hahn's Macaw, it might be okay. But for a Severe or Military? It wasn't appropriate for them - at least in my mind.

Then I had a customer want to return a bag of Fun Max Small Beads because they were "too big for my Jardine's Parrot" - mind you, these beads are about the size of a dime. Too big?? Her bird preferred pony beads. Now, I would never think of giving a Jardine's pony beads!

And so there is the dilemma. Do you really leave it up to the individual bird owners? How many of them really know? I get asked all the time, "Is this toy okay for my bird?" What I want to say is, "Send me your bird for about 2 weeks and I'll let you know."

So any comments?

Joe

New Use For Blog

I haven't blogged much lately -- not being too much into the "social media" - I found it a little overwhelming where to put stuff -- blog, Facebook, twitter -- Okay, I admit, I don't understand Twitter very much -- getting the hang of Facebook, and so that is where I have "blogged".

So why do I need a blog? Well, I figured it would be the place to "editorialize" -- now, I could get off on political and regligious rants, but I doubt people would want to hear that -- heck there is enough of that. So I thought it would be a good place just to put my thoughts down on certain bird safety subjects from time to time and put it out for discussion. I've been thinking a lot about safety lately as I'm putting together a new safety talk for a Phoenix Landing meeting in June. So here we go!

New Lower Prices

We have lowered prices on Pellet Berries as well as on Bird Street Bistro smaller size bags!

Harrison's Pellets Price Reduction

We have lowered the price on all Harrison's 25lb bags a bit - not much, but every little bit helps!

A&E Cages and Java Trees

We are in the process of adding A&E Cages and Java Trees to The Birdsafe Store. And unlike most online stores that sell cages, you can save money because we are lowering the prices of the cage and charging actual shipping fees. This way the folks on the east coast aren't "subsidizing" the folks on the west coast and get some deals.

Keep looking for more cages and the Java Trees soon!

New Toys

We have added some great new toys made in the Birdsafe Workshop -- check out our Facebook Page for pictures!

Stella Service Selection

After being notified of receiving the Excellent seal from StellaService, we found out that it was an honor simply to be selected to be rated by their service in the first place. When the service started, they first rated the top Fortune 500 companies; after that was complete the searched out companies that had an existing reputation for customer service and a high enough traffic volume to warrant being put their their exhaustive process. So without nominating ourselves, or even through customer recommendation, we were selected, evaluated, and validated for our excellence in customer service.

Kind of like being nominated for an Academy Award -- at least we won! :-)