HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I've heard great things about Hermie's Kitchen, but I still haven't received the order I placed over a month ago, and the store owner has been very difficult to reach. I'm wondering if I should be worried as this is my first time ordering from them.

To be fair, I accidentally sent my delivery to the wrong address when I placed the order on 3/22. On 3/28, I asked I could have the package resent if I paid extra to re-ship it to the correct address (The tracking status showed it was returned to the sender). I had to follow up a few days later before getting a response, but we worked it out and I PayPaled the extra shipping cost on 4/3. She said delivery would take 2-3 business days.

Nearly 2 weeks passed with no package, so I emailed her to see what's up. No response. I emailed again a few days later. Still nothing. Finally, I reached out on Instagram (I recently started a silly account for my crabs that's gaining some followers, so I thought maybe she'd be more inclined to reply if she saw my account). On 4/23, she finally emailed back with a brief message letting me know the package would arrive that Thursday 4/25.

It's now 5/1 and I have no package or tracking information, even though I requested the tracking number in the email I sent yesterday, which has gone unanswered.

I understand that life gets busy and that ordering the package to the wrong address added some extra complexity, but I haven't even gotten an explanation or apology for the holdup, and getting replies is like pulling teeth. I have absolutely no idea what's going on.

Has anyone else had any frustrating experiences with Hermie's Kitchen? Should I be concerned?

Update: She got back to me and is sending my package tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who responded to this post!

Edit: Changed male pronouns to female. I don't know why I assumed her gender!

The owner is a friend and I will reach out to them. She had a flood in her home recently that caused some orders to be delayed and when she let people know they got upset.

I believe HK was also on vacation but I could be wrong.

HK is a great, independently run and operated business and the owner does everything on her own while working her day job and raising her kiddo.

I’ll let you know what I find out.


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They seem to have a huge processing time, and they say it's due to the fact that they receive so many orders. I ordered a bag of worm castings that took two weeks to arrive, one week to ship and the other to travel to my house.

odelayheehoo wrote:They seem to have a huge processing time, and they say it's due to the fact that they receive so many orders. I ordered a bag of worm castings that took two weeks to arrive, one week to ship and the other to travel to my house.

Their Etsy FAQ clearly states that some items take longer to process than others due to production variables and that shipping can take from 1-2 weeks or up to 12 business days during holiday times, and that shipping estimates cannot be guaranteed.

With over 15,000 sales in the last few years, most of them within the last year alone, and over 2000 ratings with 5 stars, I’d say that generally people aren’t having issues.




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LOL, I giggle when I read about people in the US and mail. Here in Canada, it would not be anything abnormal for a package to take two weeks. Fellow Canadians, I am sure that you can relate!

I recently received my order. It takes about 2 weeks for delivery. I get emails on when it was shipped and the approximate delivery date. I also order from other HCA members so that I can try to support them all. I've been satisfied with my foods and delivery speeds.

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soilentgringa wrote: ↑

Wed May 01, 2019 3:21 pm

With over 15,000 sales in the last few years, most of them within the last year alone, and over 2000 ratings with 5 stars, I’d say that generally people aren’t having issues.

Etsy counts every item as an individual sale. It would have been like me making 50 sales every time I sold a sampler pack. It's not a great indicator of how many people have actually ordered.

soilentgringa wrote: ↑

Wed May 01, 2019 3:06 pm

The owner is a friend and I will reach out to them. She had a flood in her home recently that caused some orders to be delayed and when she let people know they got upset.

I believe HK was also on vacation but I could be wrong.

HK is a great, independently run and operated business and the owner does everything on her own while working her day job and raising her kiddo.

I’ll let you know what I find out.


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Thanks! She got back to me just now. Apparently my package was returned again, but she's mailing it out tomorrow and I'm getting the tracking number. Not sure what the problem was this time because I get mail delivered to this address (my office) all the time, but hopefully it's all smooth sailing from here. I'm sorry to hear about the flood. That's awful, and I can see how something like that would slow things down!

soilentgringa wrote: ↑

Wed May 01, 2019 3:21 pm

Their Etsy FAQ clearly states that some items take longer to process than others due to production variables and that shipping can take from 1-2 weeks or up to 12 business days during holiday times, and that shipping estimates cannot be guaranteed.

With over 15,000 sales in the last few years, most of them within the last year alone, and over 2000 ratings with 5 stars, I’d say that generally people aren’t having issues.




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Noted! I placed my order on the website, so I didn't see any of that info. Also, I was told 2-3 days shipping when she was resending the package, so it was pretty concerning as weeks went by with no update.

soilentgringa wrote: ↑

Wed May 01, 2019 3:21 pm

Their Etsy FAQ clearly states that some items take longer to process than others due to production variables and that shipping can take from 1-2 weeks or up to 12 business days during holiday times, and that shipping estimates cannot be guaranteed.

With over 15,000 sales in the last few years, most of them within the last year alone, and over 2000 ratings with 5 stars, I’d say that generally people aren’t having issues.




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I didn't doubt that they did, as I was aware of that when I went to order items from them originally.

When I order from MT Pet Emporium, The Cholla Queen, Mary Ackers and The Healthy Hermit, my orders get here in 2-3 days. I've ordered on a Friday and had all my orders by Tuesday or Wednesday. Members of the HCA have eBay stores I order from and I always get my packages the same week.

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curlysister wrote: ↑

Wed May 01, 2019 3:34 pm

LOL, I giggle when I read about people in the US and mail. Here in Canada, it would not be anything abnormal for a package to take two weeks. Fellow Canadians, I am sure that you can relate!

Yup. I know the feeling. It takes a couple weeks and costs an arm and a leg! I once wanted to buy a 3D printed belt buckle (super light/flat). It cost $5 (ish) and they wanted $20 shipping!

AutumnFalls wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 15, 2019 9:36 pm

Yup. I know the feeling. It takes a couple weeks and costs an arm and a leg! I once wanted to buy a 3D printed belt buckle (super light/flat). It cost $5 (ish) and they wanted $20 shipping!

Yes! I lived in very remote areas (Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, as well as northern Manitoba and northern Alberta). Some places only had scheduled flight service once or twice a week, and since there was no road access, that's all the mail we got! And the shipping rates were even more outrageous to get things up there!