Lobster Shipping – Find the right one!

     How do you know if you can depend  on your live

lobster to arrive at your door – still fresh?

To Begin with, if you are shopping from a pop up ad, go to the shipper’s website. Some “Maine” Lobster shippers are from other states like Boston. There’s nothing wrong with getting lobsters from other states besides Maine, but you have to do your homework. Of course you could just order, from the first ad you see – hit or miss. But here are some things to look for when you order your lobster online.

Which company is used for shipping? It should be a reputable company like Fed Ex or UPS, or the Post Office, for that matter.

How much are you being charged for shipping? Is it “free”? Free doesn’t mean free – it means they factored it into the price of the lobster. For example, when you eat lobsters at a roadside restaurant, or Lobster pound, as they call it in Maine, the price you pay per pound is between $6.49/lb. – to $7.99/lb. depending on the size. A 4 lb. lobster, on average, costs $32 if you buy it on the spot. Match that with what they charge you to get it in the mail – and calculate it from there. You could always call up FedEx and ask what they charge to ship a 4 pound lobster from Maine. And face it – when you deal with seafood – overnight is best so you don’t take any chances. Don’t want that ice to melt!!!

How long after the lobster is caught is it shipped? Are the lobsters brought directly to a warehouse, put in lobster pools, then shipped out? Is the warehouse in the same location as where the lobsters are caught – or is it in another state? Sometimes you just have to call up and ask, because the website may not give all the info.

Please write to us with any experiences you may have had with lobsters being shipped.  We want to know the good ones and the bad ones, so our readers can pick the best vendors to order from. Thanks for reading!