Is Jeffers the best game in town?

[beccachow]

I had heard so many people talking up Jeffers, that when Sandy got sick, I went online and ordered the Fortified B12. A month and a half ago. Weeks went by, no B12. Now yesterday I got a notification that my order had shipped. I was so tempted to tell them forget it, she's dead now, gee, thanks anyway, and that she really enjoyed getting 6 shots of the regular B12 at a time, three times a day. (I know, it wouldn't have changed the outcome, it's the idea...) But I have learned that with goats, this is a valuable first drug of choice and I need it so I am letting it come.

I had forgotten about ordering it, talk about salt in a wound!!

So where do you guys do your online shopping for goatie supplies? Or is this really unusual for Jeffers? I am used to smartpak for equines, you get stuff within a few days!!!

[mygoat]

it is pretty unusual. It depends on when you ordered it in the week. Most of the time, if you need something like that when your goat is down, ordering it is out of the question anyways. Jeffers is the best pricing for equipment around, but the vet is the way to go when you need help or something asap. Sometimes a local feed store will carry B complex, vaccines, antibiotics, etc. My main thing was to save up and buy a bunch of stuff, and often, so I had stuff 'at hand'.

[farmergirl]

I order from Jeffers all the time...horse, pig and cow supplies. Never have had a problem in the almost 5 years I've done business with them. I am always amazed how quickly they answer the phone when I call, no hold time And since they ship from Alabama and we are in south Texas, we get things within 3 days normally. Once they apologized to me in advance that there were some shipping delays and it would be 5 days until my purchase reached me. I figured that was still pretty quick service, considering that most other mail order places ship things and it's at least a week before we see them.
Sounds to me like the item was backordered but the person taking your order didn't know that at the time you talked to them. Highly unusual for Jeffers to give you wrong shipping info. I would give them a second chance.

Sorry to hear about your goat

[beccachow]

OK, they really seemed to have a big selection. I'll order a bunch of stuff just to have on hand BEFORE I need it and give them a second chance.

[Charleen]

I've been ordering from Jeffers for 15+ years and haven't had any problems that I can recall. I'm sorry for this to have happened to you but please give them another chance. There are certain things that I have on hand at all times and fortified B is one of them. Next time you're in a pinch, call another goat breeders in your area for emergency supplies.

[copperpennykids]

Jeffers generally has the best prices. Valley Vet is pretty competitive and has much better customer service. They actually know something about the products they sell.

[beccachow]

Originally Posted by Charleen

Next time you're in a pinch, call another goat breeders in your area for emergency supplies.

I cannot believe I didn't think of that!!!

For some reason, the vet I was dealing with just wouldn't leave me any B vitamins though I asked him for them. After all my research, I knew that getting a few cc's of fortified vitamin B every few days was nowhere near aggressive enough, so I had hoped for a quick turnaround from Jeffers.

I know now that it wouldn't have changed a thing, probably; I'd still have lost her, but at the time I was putting a lot of hope into it and it stunk not having it. But it seems to have been a fluke thing based on your responses.

I'll be better prepared from here on out.

[KSALguy]

Jeffers is actually based in the city i am closest too, down here in Dothan Alabama, i have been to their retail side many times and have no complaints, with any shipping company though you have to take into account that they have to wait for their supplyers before they can supply, its a catch 22 sometimes lol,

but other than that they are a pretty good company

[Minelson]

I mostly use Jeffers, Valley Vet and SmartPak. Valley Vet is SUPER fast delivery and decent prices. Jeffers is a little slow but good prices and large selection. Can't beat Smartpak's shipping price $7.95 no matter what you order and I order 30lb bags of dog food. I just wish they carried more products.

[prairiedog]

I get most of my stuff directly from the vet here. I just tell him what I need and he passes it on with just a small administration fee on top of the price of the meds. They don't cost any more than jeffers and sometimes less.

[hoofinitnorth]

I have a love-hate relationship with Jeffer's. They really rip us off on shipping up here, where most of you guys get free shipping if you spend enough. We routinely spend over $300 per order and never get a break on the shipping. BUT it does usually come fast and even if I have to prod a bit, they replace lost, damaged, or missing items. Their customer service is not very good. They have one lady that covers my area that is fantastic, but the others are a real pain. Especially if you have to return anything.

This year I ordered a bunch of stuff in preparation for showing season. I planned ahead plenty and was told it would arrive in 3-5 business days. A couple items, though, had to come "slow boat" because they were hazardous substances (Cool Lube, Durasole, and a few other things). That was fine, I didn't need those that fast. I waited and waited and waited for over two weeks and only about 1/3 of the order arrived. I contacted them and they gave me tracking numbers but it didn't tell me what was in what boxes. I was missing a LOT! Finally, they figured out that they'd packaged a bunch of the other stuff in with the slow boat stuff and sent it all slow boat!! They had to send out a replacement shipment for the missing items and then when it all arrived here, I had to send back the duplicates. What a hassle! And most of it did not arrive in time for the shows and some was just so darned cheap and poor quality for the money (low value) that a lot of it went back. When the return arrived back at Jeffer's, it took them 3 weeks to sort it and credit me. The worst part was that their descriptions are so short on the manifests that sometimes the packers don't know what item is what. The packer thought that I had returned a pair of $15 rubber clogs packaged in a plastic tote when I had actually returned a $45 pair of leather jodhpur boots in a standard cardboard boot box. I had recorded the package weights and explained that had the clogs been returned, I would have sent back a much smaller box! I stood my ground and they finally credited me.

They are sometimes difficult to deal with but in the end, they do seem to want to make things right. I spend over $2,000/year with them, not including shipping, but I do wish we had more choices.

One thing you have to watch with Jeffer's is that the items that arrive are sometimes not the exact item pictured in their catalog or on their website. Their milk pails, for instance, were at one point shown without ears in their catalog. However, their website sometimes shows them with ears and I am pretty sure that's what you'd get when you order, as those are the cheaper buckets. The other downside is that their website does NOT have all the stuff their catalogs do and you end up ordering and then receiving another catalog that had more stuff in it you needed so you have to place another order!

I like Valley Vet a LOT and they will often send things to us the cheaper way (USPS vs. UPS) if we ask, but they tend to have a smaller selection and slightly higher prices.

Ebay is a good choice for a few things here and there.

[Bearfootfarm]

Tractor Supply sells most of the same things, and by the time you figure in shipping, TSC is often cheaper.
I order more from Valley Vet when I do have to order, but usually I can find it locally

[thatcompchick]

Jeffers has always shipped pretty quickly for me - I use the free shipping, although I notice on the new site, there's no mention of the $75 + free shipping.

I LOVE PBS ANIMAL HEALTH. Since they are in OH, I get stuff NEXT DAY! I'm also really near Sheepman Supply, and although their prices are not the best, I have a local source in a pinch for the weird stuff - that is if my vet doesn't already have it ;-)

Great idea on locating a buddy. I know I lent a good bit of my stuff out to a freind who had an emergency, I haven't gone to get it yet, but that's a great way to help out a fellow breeder - please do consider it's illegal with prescription stuff though ;-)

Andrea
www.arare-breed.net
www.faintinggoat.net

[hoofinitnorth]

Originally Posted by thatcompchick

Great idea on locating a buddy. I know I lent a good bit of my stuff out to a freind who had an emergency, I haven't gone to get it yet, but that's a great way to help out a fellow breeder - please do consider it's illegal with prescription stuff though ;-)

Thanks for mentioning this as many do not know/believe it! Last year a good friend of mine asked me to pick up a bottle of Epi for her from the vet while I was there. She was very careful to mention that the Epi was for HER so that I wouldn't get in trouble "reselling" it to her when she paid me back. The vet knew it was for her herd and that he wasn't giving me two bottles of Epi for my herd. We all gotta work together!

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

I make a big winter order so my vaccines get her cold, not worrying about summer weather, in which even with ice packs and the cool chest the vaccines will arrive warm (even to TSC and coops). Then if I really need something next week, I call, they can look it up to see if it is instock, if it is not I usually can get it at QCsupply.com which is actually my second favorite shop. Nothing at TSC is cheaper than jeffers in my area. Even if you have to pay for shipping because it's out of the pet catalog. The only thing I don't buy from jeffers but actually from wallmart is shipping kennels.

Sorry you had problems with them, it is pretty rare. Vicki

[where I want to]

I have used Jeffers for years without much complaint although I have noticed that they are out of stock on somethings a lot more often than they used to be. That has forced me to shop for something I really need elsewhere more than I would like.