New to shipping, and I need a little help :(

Hi all! This year has been a very good breeding season for me, and since it was my first year, I was planning on only selling locally. But I have had people interested in purchasing my geckos in other states, so I would really like to be able to do that. (sorry if I sound like a newb, but I really want to do this right )

First things first, I am going to set up a paypal account, but should I get the buisness version or the normal? (the buisiness version asks for a legal buisiness name, but I have none? )

Second, I will be purchasing the shipping kits from Shipyourreptiles.com, so which size should I get for individual leopard geckos? And should the total cost of the supplies I purchase be part of the shipping cost of the customer?

And which carriers do you reccomend? (I already know not to use usps from personal experience, but what carriers do you breeders on here use?)

And anything else I forget to ask? I could use as much help as possible for this, and I really appreciate any answers Thank you!

Oh, and should I make one of those free websites temporarily? Would that make this easier for the buyers? And do I need a buisiness liscence if I do that?

Sorry for all of the questions guys! This is just very new to me

I too have been wondering things like these. In the future I would like to try breeding leos and I would not be able to care for that volume of geckos for more than a short period.

I have always wondered things like this also, but i thought that I wouldnt have to learn about them till next season Although, I am probably overthinking half of this, as I am prone to do :main_lipsrsealed:

I have always received my reptiles via Fedex in conjunction with Shipyourreptiles. As for the website, I would say not, i have seen a lot of people have websites, but be outdated and their facebook page is more updated. They also have albums of their available animals with the info on each animal and the price; then the person just pm's you, sends you the payment via paypal to your email and done. I have sold products before and the normal paypal has worked just fine for me. You can also sell your geckos on this forum and other reptile forums. I think the key is the actual shipping itself, such as packaging the animal and determining how to pack it according to your temps and the destination temps and if the animal should be held at the local office for pickup. I recently had my gecko held at the post office where the fedex plane lands so he would have very limited time out of the A/C. Needless to say it was a half hr drive to go get him, but I knew he would not have to stress out on the truck.

Keep in mind this is just my perspective from buying experience and breeders here will be able to further explain the shipping aspect as it happens "behind the scenes" and any legal aspect in regards to business related issues there may be. :main_yes:

Maybe a facebook would be a good idea... I'll just keep it strictly geckos though since I am too antisocial to deal with the friends and family I would encounter regularly

I also forgot that shipyourreptiles is with fedex, so I will look more carefully into that.

But since I will probably make a facebook, it should probably have a "buisiness" name, especially since I will be using it in future seasons. I've never thought about a name for my little gecko "buisiness" before, but I have a lot of state and city pride. So I want your guy's opinions. Should I call the account,

Sin City Geckos

OR

Silver State Geckos

?

Honest opinions please Which one do you like?

Sin City Geckos! Woot! xD

Haha! That one does have a ring to it! Plus geckos are fun, and can drain your money away before you can blink! Just like vegas! :banana:

For the business/legal side of things, this is what I have found by doing my own research online and talking to a small business counselor. Please note that laws for businesses vary widely based on state and locality. This is what is required in my state, MA, and my town. You'll have to do your own research for your locality.

1. If you're going to do business under a name other than your own (a business name), you are required to register it as a Doing-Business-As name. In my state, you do this at the town level by purchasing a Business Certificate.

2. Even if you are not using a business name, if you are doing an activity in a way meant to generate profit and you have profited for the last few years, your hobby also becomes a business. At this point, you are required to register your business in whatever way is demanded by your state/town.

3. In MA, if I sell geckos to anyone within the state, I am required to charge sales tax. This means registering for a tax ID and following the rules for tracking the sales tax and then paying the collected tax to the state.

4. If you are operating as a small business, it is highly recommended to purchase some basic small business insurance. In MA, it is also recommended to register your home as a homestead, so that it cannot be considered linked to your business assets in any sort of litigation.


Again, keep in mind, this is specific to MA and my town, and that laws can vary. There are also plenty of people selling geckos that do not bother to follow the laws and basically just hope they are too small to be noticed by the authorities. If you are interested in following the laws in your area, I recommend starting with a Google search for how to start a business in your state or small business in your state. There may also be resources and counseling available for people starting a small business.

Edit: Also, note that the above is based on a sole proprietor type business, the simplest type. There are different rules if you were actually starting a company.

I vote Sin City Geckos, it has a really catchy ring to it!!!

indyana said:

4. If you are operating as a small business, it is highly recommended to purchase some basic small business insurance. In MA, it is also recommended to register your home as a homestead, so that it cannot be considered linked to your business assets in any sort of litigation.

Edit: Also, note that the above is based on a sole proprietor type business, the simplest type. There are different rules if you were actually starting a company.

Click to expand...

I second this, a sole proprietorship is the easiest to form, all you have to do where I live is register a fictitious name(doing business as name) and buy an ad in the newspaper, make sure you check locally to see if they have any rule like that. Also as a sole proprietorship there is unlimited personal liability- this means that they can come after anything in order to pay the debt, your house, anything. Keep in mind that is an extreme case.

Here are some links on it:

The Basics of Sole Proprietorships | Entrepreneur.com

Explanation of Unlimited Personal Liability as It Applies to a Sole Proprietorship | Chron.com

In regards to tax, I have yet to still understand when to tax and when not to because when sending payment on Paypal some business have you just send it to them as a gift so Paypal doesn't take a cut, either way I have never been charged tax, even when buying feeders from a website, but then again some places do charge me tax so I am not sure if they have some special circumstance or they are just doing business wrong.

Also, if you do choose so you can open up a business bank account for your business (if you register a business), that may or may not help you in any way, I just thought I'd point it out. There is a few local banks around me that offer free simple bank accounts.

P.S. I happened to stumble upon this packing video so I thought I'd share it with you; this is exactly how I have received mine and it is a very good way.
http://geckoforums.net/f194-leopard-gecko-videos/99778.htm

Thanks for the input guys! I'm going to go research my state laws when I'm done checkoing the forum Although I already know that the selling of reptiles and other exotics are unregulated in nevada, so we will see if I actually need a buisiness liscence for that I'll let you know what I find out, because I want to do this properly.

And Looks like Sin City geckos are going for the win!

I can help with some of the shipping questions.

On the business side of things, as mentioned above, check with your local/state requirements. There is a line between having a hobby and having a business. That line varies state to state. You certainly don't want to get into a situation where they come to you looking for 3 years of back taxes and penalties because you haven't been paying them. Of course, if there are taxes to be paid, that means there were sales, which points to success. We want you to be successful, just careful : )

On the shipping side, our kit #2 at 12x9x6 is our most popular box. But if you are shipping a single gecko, the kit #1 at 7x7x6 is just fine. If you only need to ship one or two animals, a kit is an easy and convenient choice. If you will need a medium or larger quantity, order the individual components in bulk separately- boxes, bags, delis, heat packs, etc. They are less expensive when bought in quantity, and you do the assembly at home.

Generally, the smaller the box, the less expensive the shipment. You want to use the smallest box you can safely use. It must still meet the SYR and FedEx requirement, including at least 3/4" insulation on all sides. If you are using a heat pack in the cold months, I would suggest at least the 12x9x6 box, as the heat pack won't be directly on top of (or next to) the animal, as in the small square 7x7x6 box.

Dimensional weight- take a moment and read this FAQ on dim weights in the ShipYourReptiles Get Help section


Typically reptile boxes don't weight but 1 or 2 pounds. But a 15x11x7 box at 1 pound is much more expensive to ship when compared to a 7x7x6 box at 1 pound. That is because of dimensional weight. A 7x7x6 box "dims at" 2 pounds. FedEx will charge actual weight or dim weight (2 pounds), whichever is more. The 15x11x7 box dims at 7 pounds. There is a BIG difference in rate between a 2 pound box and 7 pound box. The link above gives you the simple math calculation to figure out dimensional weight for any size box.

Use the smallest insulated box that you can safely pack the animal in.

Temperature guidelines- check out the ShipYourReptiles Temperature Guidelines in our Get Help section


Temperatures are the other important factor in successful shipping. You don't want your package to be hot, nor cold, you want it to be temperate. Our guidelines cover specific temperature ranges, as well as heat pack use.

It is actually easier to ship during the cold months than it is during the hot months. Reptiles are very cool tolerant, but not very hot tolerant. A common mistake in transitional months like April, or October, is to use heat packs "just in case" when the temps are still fairly warm. This can cause animal death from overheating. Follow our temperature guidelines, based on day time high temps, and you should expect success.

Since I am laying out so many details, I might as well hammer home a mistake to avoid- never use hand warmer packs for shipping! Only use shipping specific heat packs of 40 hours duration or more. They are not available at your local hardware store or big box store, so order them from us in advance as you need them. The hand warmer packs not only have a very short duration, they peak at MUCH higher temps than the shipping heat packs, hitting 180F+. That is fine for warming your big ole body, hands or feet, but it is absolutely deadly to use those in a reptile shipment.

Shipping your first reptile can seem daunting, understood. But it is actually a pretty straightforward and safe process. Make sure you have the proper packaging supplies in advance, and follow our SYR shipping standards. If you have specific questions, don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

Best of luck in your breeding!

Thank you so much! I will definately have to keep all of these points in mind when the time comes for me to ship. I probably won't start shipping the geckos for a while though, considering that it is the hottest month of the year. I will probably take orders, but not ship them till the weather at their destination is suitable. Is that the correct way to do that? And I agree that this whole process is daunting to me, and I am horrified that I will do something wrong! But once I have done it successfully, it will be much easier for me to handle. And thank you for the offer of help! I might need it!

Thank you all!

Dinosaur! said:

Thanks for the input guys! I'm going to go research my state laws when I'm done checkoing the forum Although I already know that the selling of reptiles and other exotics are unregulated in nevada, so we will see if I actually need a buisiness liscence for that I'll let you know what I find out, because I want to do this properly.

And Looks like Sin City geckos are going for the win!

Click to expand...

You can also maybe look up other breeders in your state and email them. I'm sure they would be willingly to at least point you in the right direction in regards to local laws.

Thats a good idea too! I know that Art Geckos is in Reno, and they run off of facebook also. Maybe I'll E-mail them, if they arent to busy with the breeding season, they might help and give me a few pointers