I ordered some zoas from eBay. This is what I received:

1. zoa frags
2. wrapped in damp paper towels
3. placed inside of a Tupperware container
4. which was inside an Express Mail cardboard envelope

Personally I think it's woefully inadequate, but I wanted to get the thoughts of people who know more than me.

My argument isn't with the wet paper towels, but the Express Mail envelope: it arrived damp, and I should have refused it upon delivery.

FWIW I've NEVER received a shipment like this before. Anything else has been, at minimum, in a box with styrofoam insulation and at least one layer of clear plastic bags.

I would call it inappropriate, especially because it was leaking.

I wouldn't be surprised if they survived but I would never ship livestock to someone in that fashion.

Arrived somewhat alive, but died within a day - the reason I accepted delivery of the damp package was owing to the resilient nature of some corals, especially since it had been shipped less than 24 hours earlier.

Maybe the lack of insulation just exacerbated things.

compare that to liveaquaria, who triple bag even mushrooms and pack everything so professionally.

IMO, if you are going to ship, do it right, so shame on whoever did that.

pics plz. and ebay username of seller.

although i believe there's no perfect way of shipping coral, i try to at least double bag everything and use an insulated box. dry shipping zoas in wet paper towels i used to do and it works, but i've found that it takes longer to recover.

wet papertowels is ok but the lack of insulation is not
especially right now where parts of the country are still cold and others are burning and temps get extremely hot in delivery trucks, seeing that theres little to no ventilation in them

Ok, pics are here ...

You can see the condition of the outer envelope, plus the paper in which the Tupperware was wrapped.

And of course ... the corals within.

I'd rather not give the eBay seller name until my refund is processed ... but of course if anyone is sharp enough to spy any info on the envelope (ahem) ...

holy crap. get a refund

I received ONE *1* order like that only worse.. they dampened newspaper (felt like with a mister not very wet at all) sealed in plastic bag sized less than a snack baggie, in a paper (cardboard) envelope.

Nothing lived after putting them immediately into a stable aquarium after 4 days they melted out and I complained to shipper (EBAYer). She fixed it and the next time per my request shipped triple bagged in water w/ O2 and in a box.. used some (very little) insulation but better than nothing and at least some of these are alive on arrival and the rest are questionable...

This is just a risk you take with ebay shipments... ALWAYS ask how they will ship before you buy.. I learned my lesson on that for sure..

Sorry for your luck too. I hope they survive, it's a sad waste of animals and CRUEL too.

Thanks, but everything is already dead as Kelsey's nuts.

After I'd made my purchase, several negative feedbacks were placed against the seller for -- guess what? -- packaging issues, and failure to ship replacements

i hope you didn't pay a lot for the corlz; on ebay, generally you get what you pay for it.

The very first shipment I received, some zoas in trade for some hardware, came to me in a Chinese restaurant-type take-out food container, with the lid taped on with scotch tape. Nearly all the water had leaked out, and the box was all soggy and mucky.

I was brand-noobish, and really upset. When I asked what to do about it on here, that's when I e-met Mvite. He helped me set things right.

So... Refund status? I'm eager to have the seller outed.

Seeing as how the seller has other items for sale ending imminently, and that I don't want others to fall prey, I'll go ahead and "out" them ...

showmeyouloveme AKA cinnamonchik1@aol.com AKA Chapin and Russells Exotic Corals

I do know that they have also offered coral on CraigsList for sale in the past, by Googling that email address.

My refund hasn't shown up yet, so I'm considering it a lost cause. If they see this & decide not to follow through with it, well, I can live with that; I'd rather others don't get a box of rancid garbage as auction winnings.

The cynical part of me (99% or so LOL) believes the seller is waiting for those auctions to end & send money then, if they plan to do so at all.

And I agree 100% with the opinion that it's cruel to the corals to treat them this way.

Appreciate everyone's thoughts and feedback. In addition to looking at feedback, I'll inquire about shipping methods in the future, if they are not specifically listed.

Last word from seller showmeyouloveme AKA cinnamonchik1@aol.com AKA Chapin and Russells Exotic Corals
:

"YOU LEFT ME BAD FEEDBACK BEFORE I COULD EVEN SEND IT SO.... THERE IS NO POINT IN KISSING YOUR ASS ANYMORE.... THANKS GUY!!!"

This after countless promises that it would be sent, claims that PayPal would take 24 to 48 hours to notify me of a refund, etc.

Life's too short for me to spend any more time to wish them rack and ruin. It will find them without my intervention.

Sorry to hear about the rip but I guess it isn't a big surprise.

Glad to have the name of the turd though.

I've yet to ship a coral (because I want to know more about proper shipping before I try it), but even I know that that manner of shipping is incredibly moronic.

Interesting ...

One previous buyer, and one potential buyer, of corals from this seller just contacted me regarding the feedback I left.

Interestingly, the seller trashed the previous buyer in a message to me. Oops! So now he has some extra evidence in his PayPal dispute.

And the potential buyer, all I said was that I have disputes open and stand behind my feedback 100%.

I do want to add that I did have two VERY successful and satisfactory purchases on eBay, from saltcritters and hamuskinny (Alti's Reef). So I do buy from other places and have great experiences. Granted, they're no Mvite, but who is?

The shipment from Alti's was delayed by USPS for a day, and some things didn't make it as a result -- absolutely not a problem of the seller. But they felt worse about things that were not under their control, than showmeyouloveme did over things that are 100% within their power.

Good and bad, yin and yang, yada yada ...

End result:

-- PayPal ruling in my favor
-- Seller is no longer a registered eBay seller

Of course how difficult is it to open a new seller account under a different name?

I hope things turn out in your favor. I have had bad experiences with ebay shippers as well. I figure that if I can figure out how to ship successfully then other people should too. It really is not that difficult, it just takes some planning. I hope it all works out in the end, that guy will get what he deserves either way. What goes around comes around.