First, the reason I placed the order - very simple: I can't get anything but PPs locally, and I really wanted Es and/or Strawberries. Someone had started a thread in October or November about livehermitcrabs' winter sale, and I'd wanted to order then, but just couldn't spend the money before the holidays.
So, I spent all winter envying people whose Petcos GOT Straws in... and obsessing about how I could keep Es or Straws alive for a week on the road if I find some on vacation in April...and it finally occurred to me to check the website again... and the sale was still on! 6 packs of Es were $39.99 + $8 for winter packaging + shipping; 6 packs of Straws were $69.99 + $8 + shipping.
So, I emailed on January 31 and asked what shipping to my zip code would be.
Now, here's where my only issue is - I expect (and I think most people do) fast response from online sellers - these guys didn't get back to me until February 5. By which point I'd already decided I didn't CARE, I wanted them - and more importantly, I didn't want to ruin my vacation obsessing about crabs - and placed the order.
We had some email back and forth - I'd ordered 6 tiny Es and 6 large straws; straws are backordered, the only Es available were Medium/Small. I elected to take the Es now, shipping from Long Island to upstate NY was only $28, not worth delaying the Es in hand for a possible group of straws later.
Waited another week - they try to only ship Monday and Tuesday, to eliminate the risk of a package sitting in a warehouse over the weekend, and I had work commitments and appointments Wednesday and Thursday the 11th and 12th, so couldn't be available for delivery - and finally got notice that they were going out Wednesday the 18th, for delivery today. So, order placed late on 2/3, crabs in hand on 2/19, not bad considering the logistical challenges of shipping tropical critters in NYS in February!
Woke up early, feeling like a kid on Christmas morning. Sat here and twitched for hours, finally around 10:00, I saw what I was waiting for:
Signed for the box, and was THRILLED to hear scratching in the package - I was really worried about the shipping, scared I'd've condemned the poor things.
Needn't have worried - the packing is great! Outer carton with an inner styrofoam liner
Second box inside the styrofoam - at this point I quit worrying about heat and humidity, because the inside box was warm and moist.
Inside the box was paper wrapping around a HUGE mound of damp moss, with heat packs and crabbies - except for the two who were making a break for it:
The heat packs work - after I extracted the crabs I tossed a thermometer into the moss, and it was roughly 80 degrees in there. The crabs came out of the package super lively - I havn't got good pictures from their quick bath and portait session, because they wouldn't hold still long enough for the camera to focus! Here's one picture, though, to give you an idea of size:
You can see the crabbies pics here: viewtopic.php?t=67295
So, while I'm still waiting on my Strawbabies, at present I'm extremely pleased. The sale price was great - I probably wouldn't be able to talk myself into ordering them at full price - and they arrived in wonderful condition. The only thing I'd caution you about is patience is required, because communication is slow, and apparently you can't pay attention to the website in terms of what's available, so you may end up waiting for shipping.
But I'm a very happy hermiE MommiE at the moment.
Sounds like a very nice experience. Those Es are worth it! 
