That Quail Place Forum
Raising Gamebirds => Supplier Feedback => Topic started by: drwink on May 26, 2006, 10:21:13 AM
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I was just reading the other egg damage thread & recieved one yesterday myself & was very disappointed.
I recieved one 2 weeks ago & there were 105 shipped & 6 broken, then I broke one myself. Not to bad.
Then I recieved one yesterday & had 35 out of 105 broken. The farm used Larry's foam & packaged them the same way. The box showed no signs of damage or stress & I was even more careful taking them out. When you just start to lightly push them out of that foam & you feel the resistance of broken egg shell you already know its bad news.
I know nobody would package them this way, judging from the dents I think someone from the post office was "having fun going postal" the dents & damage are consistant with the pattern in the foam.
Here's some pictures, what do you think ?
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yes looks like rough handling. even with the foam, there is very little cushion between the eggs. With all that room on the foam, the shipper should have spaced out the eggs rather then have them next to each other.
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I have received eggs packaged in all kinds of cartons from the cheap plastic, to the expensive plastic, foam and paper mache. I have received broken eggs in all of them. The only method I have seen that I have yet to get a broken egg in is each egg individually wrapped in bubble wrap. While I think this is warranted with expensive and rare eggs, the cost added to 10¢ or 20¢ quail egg would not be tolerated by many. I'm not sure I would be willing to spend an hour wrapping 100 quail eggs. I would probably break more in the effort than the post office :laugh: The easiest thing to do and is done by many is to include an extra 10 or 20 eggs to make up for broken. Usually there are few if any broken, but in the rare case where the package takes an extra long time and gets kicked around, it is usually enough to cover the damage.
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I know there are no guarantees when it comes to shipping eggs. We've all been there. I'm curious now as to how they were broken if the box had no signs of damage. Our foam is manufactured in no way the same as our competitors with the exception of having 105 holes. Did your foam fit tight in the box and appear to be "scrumpled" with the eggs in place or did it fit freely in the box and was easily removable with it completely full of eggs? Jumbos and large Coturnix are the only type eggs you should not use in every hole. For those I use two sheets and package 55 in each for cushioning.
Larry
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Larry
These were Jumbos, however like I said the last batch came with only 6 broken & I broke one more as I dropped it.
Granted these came over a few state lines & I have shipped them a few hundred miles also both Jumbos & Coturnix with few broken.
The foam fit pretty tight, was the standard post office Priority mail box thats I think 12 3/4" by 13 1/2 & 2 3/4 inch thick. The plugs for the foam cutouts were packaged in the long side & this makes it pretty solid. A pretty darn good fit, thats what amazed me as with no damage to the box I was really suprized.
Wally
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The sad thing is.... I would be very doubtful the unbroken ones would even hatch. Go ahead and set them of course, because you never know... but I'm betting someone was shaking the hell out of that box. If that's the case, the rest are probably fairly well scrambled.
Babs
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I've only gotten eggs once through the mail.
mine were shipped rolled in bubble wrap. each had 1 1/2 - 2 wraps around then taped. the box was packed full, but not stuffed or crammed. the wrap also extended past the egg on each end by about a 1/4" or so. none were broken. FRAGILE was printed on all sides, top and bottom
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The foam was designed to fit in the #7 Priority Mail box which is 12" x 12" x 8". This allows for packaging up to three sets of eggs in one box (315 eggs). You can tape 2 boxes together for 630 eggs. If you have a large order you can easily tape 4 boxes together for 1260 eggs without going over the USPS guidelines for height and girth. Although it fits in the box you are referring to I wouldnt recommend using it as its a box made for garments and such. The #7 box is free from the USPS online at www.usps.com. Unlike other foam I changed the density and overall size to make it work better and reduce any breakage. We use a method called thermal pressing in the manufacturing process. Bubble wrap works fine too but it takes a long time to put them in and take them out. With our foam you dont have to push it into the box-it moves freely in and out. If you have to push the foam down in the box its a sign that its too big. If the holes begin to squeeze together it increases the chance for breakage if you fill it to capacity. Of course for large eggs I'd space them out. Our foam is cut differently and allows space for filling each hole if needed and reduces breakage if the box should become dented. A hard dent or a thrown box may be disastrous but less likely if using the #7 box with this foam. Although the box you have may not appear dented I'd bet the post office had other boxes on top of it during transit and weighed it down to where a portion of the eggs were taking the weight. It will be extremely hard to determine that by looking at the foam itself because of the materials used in making it. I'd use the #7 box and fill the unused portion with crumpled newspaper. If anything was to be placed on top you are less likely to experience broken eggs.
Larry
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So far this year, I've shipped about 10,000 eggs, all using Larry's foam. I've only had to replace 1 shipment because of broken eggs, and the buyer said the box looked like it was dropped out of the airplane it was in. I ship everything USPS, and have gotten rave reviews on my shipping. Seeing as I have to work 12 hour days all weekend, one day next week I will put up on my website exactly how I package my eggs. It might help someone who is having a hard time shipping them, or maybe someone can refine my idea to protect them better. Either way, the key is in the packaging.
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Sorry drwink about the eggs, I've been shipping like that with minimal damage but that's the last time, from now on I will ship 100 in the bigger box with papers or some kind of cushioning between the eggs and the top and bottom. I have always used Larry's foam egg trays for shipping and I think overall there great! I receive eggs from other people shipped all kinds of ways and the 105 egg foam trays seems to be the best. I will ship you another 100 eggs if you will pay the shipping and foam egg tray cost. I want to make sure that you get a good hatch and those eggs look bad in photo. Obviously handeled ruff or it could have been what Larry said earlier about something setting on them that was heavy. Send me an email and we'll schedule your re-shipment. I always try to get feedback from my customers about shipping so I can improve if need be, but the priority shipping box I used has been doing real we'll except for a few occasions. You are the first one this season with more than 5 broke. Some shipments none were broken. But as I said I will ship from now on like Larry recommended above.
Bloomington Gamebirds
Randy
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I had the same thing happen last year. Ordered 100 jumbo eggs from a gentlemen on this forum. He sent 105 using Larry's foam as well. I was shocked to see the dents/cracks in 27 eggs. You could see these eggs were packaged with great care. It was a #7 box and there was no signs of damage to the box itself. I couldn't believe these could possibly be damaged but there they were. Maybe the FRAGILE marking on boxes means SHAKE HARD to some folks.....who knows....the replacement eggs sent 3 days later were perfect and were packed exactly the same way as the first go round....go figure....
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I hear you, I'ved shipp some the same way in these cartons, granted they were only going a couple hundred miles and in state without any breakage.
Larry I know what you mean about the larger boxes and have shipped many in those but I think the foam stacks like 3 deep and have had great luck for larger amonts on eggs.
Just figured for someone wanting smaller amounts like a 100 a smaller box would work well & I guess it has till now.
I have an even samller shipment going in the same type container today but only 50 and they are spaced every other hole.
After this one I'll put in the larger box, at least the boxes are free, lol
Randy I'll let you know on that offer.
Wally
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When I got my 50 Button Quail eggs, none were broken. They were packed very well. The person from whom I ordered them cut foam pipe insulation into 1 foot long sections to fit into the box perfectly, taped one end shut, then put a cotton ball, then an egg, another cotton ball and then an egg.... so on. Seemed to work well, I got about an 80% hatch rate!
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Ok guys, here are some pix on how I ship eggs. I'm not saying it's the best method out there, but it has been a success to date, and I've yet to see anyone else ship this way, or anything close to it....
1. WHat I do is take a USPS priority box, and lay it flat on a board. I then measure from the flap sides in 8 5/8" from the sides and cut on the lines.... as shown here:
(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a181/magnumhntr/shipping%20pix/403f9f2f.jpg)
Here are the lines to cut after measuring:
(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a181/magnumhntr/shipping%20pix/d8ee7cb9.jpg)
2. Fold up what you've got after the cuts. You now have these:
(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a181/magnumhntr/shipping%20pix/8e3cd697.jpg)
3. You've now got a top and a bottom that goes inside the box you're going to ship your eggs in. We'll call them the shelves. They act as a buffer between the eggs and the bottom/top of your shipping box.
4. Take one shelf and place it in the bottom of your shipping box:
(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a181/magnumhntr/shipping%20pix/92ebd437.jpg)
5. Place your layer foam, then egg foam and fill it with eggs. Then place another layer foam, and finally the other shelf.
(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a181/magnumhntr/shipping%20pix/20767e21.jpg)
Finally, this is what your finished packaging job would look like if seen from a cut away side view:
(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a181/magnumhntr/shipping%20pix/ac69f5f7.jpg)
Feel free to modify this design as you see fit. You can also cut the shelves smaller in thickness (7 5/8) to allow for the packing of 2 sets of egg foam with a layer pad on top, middle, and bottom.
The idea is that with the added support of the shelves, they keep the sides from being crushed, and if something heavy is placed on top or bottom of the box, the eggs are protected for about 1 1/2 inches from the top/bottom of the box.
Hope this helps someone!
Best of all, the boxes are free from the PO.
Have fun!
Chris
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Wow nice. That's better packaging then any eggs I've received.
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Thanks. When I was trying to figure out ways to protect the eggs better during shipment, my wife and I would put the test boxes together with eggs in them, and take the box outside and play soccer with it. Then I let the dog have her way with it for a minute or two, and finally I put it in the back of my utility trailer and went about 90 down a washboard dirt road for a few miles. This was the only design I had that passed that test, and it passed 5 out of 5 times. The only test it didn't pass was being dropped out of a 3 story window, and that resulted in 3 broken eggs out of 36 pheasant, and 5 out of 100 quail eggs. Still haven't come up with anything that'll survive the 3 story drop test yet, lol!
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Chris, you Da Man !
Thanks for the picture tour. I won't use the small boxes anymore.
Of course I'll have to allow myself additional time for packaging.
Wally
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What I did is make myself a jig for cutting the boxes. Seeing as I'm shipping about 30 shipments a week, I just take a hour or so sunday night and cut 50 boxes up so they are ready to go. My jig is set up so I can cut the 12 X 12 shelves, 7 X 7 shelves, and another divider I've come up with for using 1/2 a sheet of foam for smaller shipments like 25 quail eggs or 18 pheasant eggs. It is a little more time consuming, but it's worth it to me. I like happy customers, as anyone. And a happy customer is a repeat customer. And the boxes are free ;-)
After this last shipment of blue scale eggs I got, I think I'm going to start sending a box already made to people I buy from. I too am tired of spending good money and receiving ready made omlettes in the mail....
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I haven't shipped eggs but I've been on the receiving end many times so I thought I add some egg packaging tips to this thread as feedback to shippers.
When using the plastic or cardboard egg holders, best result is to line the eggs with tissue, napkin, or simply toilet paper. This prevents the eggs from hitting each other during shipping. Once had a seller that used saw dust but there were many bigger wood chips also that left dents and cracks in the eggs. So that was just as bad as not using anything.
(http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j131/ogakira/07c63e80.jpg)
If nothing is used to help keep the eggs secure, the results are fine hairline spiderweb cracks. Usually unnoticeable to the naked eyes unless candled. In hopes to salvage these eggs, I usually cover the cracks with some woodglue.
I don't have my good camera at the moment so sorry for the bad quality. Here is a picture of a little flashlight under one egg, among many others, that have these cracks from colliding with each other during shipping. Sorry it's hard to make out.
(http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j131/ogakira/68717552.jpg)