# Shipping queens



## TNValleyBeeK (Oct 3, 2012)

Do breeders usually offer any guarantee for their queens live delivery or is it the norm form the buyer to assume responsibility once the queen is shipped? I know wildflower meadows has a guarantee if you follow their shipping rules. Just curious, I plan to offer shipping this year and I am sure this will come up. Thanks


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## TNValleyBeeK (Oct 3, 2012)

Non issue? Personal seller discretion? Never happens? Tough luck?


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## Slow Drone (Apr 19, 2014)

Most people have their queen shipments insured in event something goes wrong. Check queens to assure they are fine while at the post office if they aren't then make your claim while you're there. Most sellers guarantee live delivery to the post office once the queens are in the hands of the post office then the post office is responsible.


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## TNValleyBeeK (Oct 3, 2012)

Ok, I was under the assumption that live perishables were not covered under the insurance. I should look into that. Thanks


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## Slow Drone (Apr 19, 2014)

You can insure queens the same as package bees it's worth the extra money. I advise anyone buying queens or package bees to have them shipped insured. If using UPS there are no guarantees or insurance.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

While one can get insurance for queen bees at the USPS, that does not mean that they pay for _any_ DOA queen ...




> 4.3 Nonpayable Claims
> Indemnity is not paid for insured mail (including Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail), Registered Mail, COD, or Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express in these situations:
> 
> 
> ...


If the package is _destroyed_, you probably have a payable claim. But simply because a queen is dead is not evidence that the USPS is at fault.


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## TNValleyBeeK (Oct 3, 2012)

I see USPS does offer coverage, but the stipulations are such that you probably won't be reimbursed unless the package was lost or damaged. Probably not worth the hassle to convince them it was their fault.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

I replace if DOA, or a drone layer the first year.


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## Buzz-kill (Aug 23, 2017)

Michael Palmer said:


> I replace if DOA, or a drone layer the first year.


That is quality customer service.


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

Kelley guarantees the queen to be alive when you pick her up at the post office. Claims for dead queens must be made within 24 hours. There are other limitations but thats the jist of it.

View attachment Queen-Policy.pdf


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## adamf (Jan 28, 2006)

We use UPS overnight to ship our orders of breeder queens. It's more expensive then USPS, but 98% or more of the queens we ship this way are healthy when they arrive.
We also ship solely to the customer's nearest UPS Customer Center. This might be a slight inconvenience, but the queens are indoors in an office and are ready when the customer arrives to pick them up--the tracking number indicates when they have arrived. *It's usually less then 8 hours!*

UPS doesn't cover live animals in shipments, but certainly knows that those queen boxes are perishable and if they go overnight, treats them with care.
If we weren't over 98% with UPS, we'd look into another method.

Adam
http://vpqueenbees.com


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## westtnbeekeeper (Oct 26, 2015)

Very limited experience here but the people I have dealt with have been very friendly when it comes to queens not arriving and doing what they are supposed to.

I had 3 shipped here to Tennessee from Iowa last year. All arrived in good and lively condition. I did notice one dead attendant bee in all of them but that didn't matter as long as the queen was in good shape. One of the three was a dud. The bees released her in about 2 days and for 3 weeks I looked for eggs and never found any. My son finally found her walking around on a frame acting like a queen but no brood. The seller offered to replace her if I paid the shipping. I now have 3 good laying queens going into spring. I didn't insure the package because it was a small order. If I had ordered 10 or 20 I would probably consider it but maybe not if the post office is simply going to point fingers.


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## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

Good queen producers cover themselves by shipping 2% extra. Shipping overnight cost more then a extra queen or two. But I do buy 50-150 queens at a time too. Good producer always take care of there dealers. Not sure how they deal with all the one's orders.


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## homegrown (Jul 24, 2016)

I just got a box of queens from Hawaii a few weeks ago. The breeder was concerned with our cold weather forecast, so they shipped them via commodity forwarders inc. They specialize in fragile and live goods. I picked queens up at the airport where the freight terminals are. I was really impressed with the condition of the queens. The tracking is just like tracking a passenger flight. Sometimes the UPS next day air will not update its tracking info between the time it departs and arrives, queen buyers hate this!


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