Killies, mixing, buying and shipping

["William Shenefelt II" <wshenefelt at worldnet_att.net>]

Hi Chris;
Just for information, I have mailed a lot of killies all over the country.
I think I have mailed to every state(including Hawaii) except for Texas and
Alaska.   Styros for fish are not all that easy to find.  Boxes are used
many times.  Most killie keepers do want their boxes back.  Shipping an
empty box back costs usually about $4.  Shipping a box of fish by US
Priority mail usually costs from $5 to $12 depending on weight.  Last fall I
had to mail by Airborne express.  They charge by the volume not the weight
of the box and by distance unlike the US post office. I sell most of my fish
for $8 to $15 a pair plus shipping and box return.  By Airborne Express
shipping was  costing more like $18 to $30 (second day that is) and for
overnight $28 to $50.  Despite this cost, I shipped about 25 boxes, many by
overnight shipping where the postage cost 3 to 4 times that which the fish
cost, all to satisfied customers.
  A pair of most killies costs a breeder about $3 to $5 to raise in food
costs by my experience (not counting electricity, water, initial purchase
price of the breeders, and time).  That is why you do not see them in
stores.  Killies at $8 to $12 a pr are not really making a profit for the
seller.  He is just helping cover the cost of his feeding (not his time)  It
takes about 1 hr to properly package a small fish shipment (2 pair) and more
time to take them up to the Post office.  (You have to pull the fish to a
holding tank to withhold food for a day or two before you bag them, then bag
in individual bags, make labels for the bags and box, tape the box etc.  All
this takes time and supplies that you need to buy)  By the hour, he is not
covering his time just to package and ship, much less to raise them.
When you buy a pair of killies you are not buying 2 fish.  Hopefully, you
are buying a chance to have and keep for many years maintain a species.
That is why there is so much fuss about maintaining strains by not mixing
them.
PS, Fed Ex will not accept live fish !!! Neither will UPS or DHL.  Only
Airborne was wiling to ship live fish for me and then only after I signed a
paper releasing them from all responsibility for untimely delivery or
conditions resulting in a loss of fish.
There is a tremendous amount of information on Killies on the internet.
Most of it a lot better than that for other species of fish.

$30 for a pr of new fish I do not have is usually a bargain and I have many
times paid a lot more than that only to sell the offspring for about $10 or
$12 a pr if I can raise a dozen pr or more.  At auction I have seen killies
go for well over $100 for a pr to a hopeful buyer.  Many of these buys last
a week or less with no offspring, but you take your chances.  When bought
directly from a breeder, you chances are a lot better than via an auction of
an import.  The fish are in better condition, and have spent less time in
the bag under uncontrolled conditions.
Bill Shenefelt
http://shene.killi.net


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