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Crowd Cow Wagyu Bummers

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    Crowd Cow Wagyu Bummers

    A few weeks ago, I ordered a single Wagyu striploin from Crowd Cow. It arrived last Friday. As soon as I picked up the box (the FedEX guy was already backing out of the driveway), I knew I was in for a bad experience because the box was as light as feather. Sure enough, the dry ice was all gone, the packaging was quite damp, and the steak, which temped at 62°F, was completely thawed, so, sadly, it went into the trash--10 ounces of mighty fine looking meat. I emailed CC and got an immediate response. They shipped a new steak right away and that arrived on this last Thursday. Alas, it was an exact repeat of the first one. This time, I opened the box in front of FedEx guy and he took notes (available to CC from the shipping number), including the temp of thawed meat, which was coincidentally 62°F again. Tears on my pillow and into the trash again.

    I notified CC immediately (very politely both times), but heard nothing, so I emailed them again on Friday. I'm still waiting for a response today. I don't believe that lightening struck me twice, so I'm guessing that maybe with onset of warm weather, CC's shipping technique (15 pounds of dry ice and a FOUR DAY shipping time) is causing them a bunch of similar problems.

    If CC makes it right (and I suspect they will) , I will report to AR on that. Meantime, my hopes for finally tasting Wagyu are on hold.
    Last edited by Willy; April 8, 2018, 12:18 PM.

    #2
    Bummer indeed. Thanks for your feedback. I too received a shipment (but not from CC) that was mostly thawed, nearly empty dry ice bags, and I was equally bummed that it was allowed to happen. The meat in my case though was thawed but still cold enough I felt ok cooking it up that night. 62 degrees though, you definitely made the right (but difficult) decision.

    Comment


    • Willy
      Willy commented
      Editing a comment
      Yeah, tough to do indeed. I almost decided that the dog could have it as I've seen her eat dead animals--yeccchhh! (don't lick me; I know where that mouth has been), but the wife nixed that by noting that something that fatty might not be good for carpet. LOL

    #3
    Dang! Now you got me wondering how my Wagyu ribeye from CC will be when it arrives on the 19th.

    Comment


    • Willy
      Willy commented
      Editing a comment
      I hope it goes well for you. I'm wondering if CC is new enough that they haven't done any summertime shipments. They surely can't stand this kind of loss very often. FWIW, It's only been in the low 80°Fs here, but who knows where it was before it arrived.

    • RonB
      RonB commented
      Editing a comment
      If they have already shipped it, I would definitely hold my breath when opening that package...

    • DWCowles
      DWCowles commented
      Editing a comment
      Ha Ha they haven’t ship it RonB

    #4
    I have never had much luck with mail order meat. Thankfully i am within driving distance of 4 great butcher shops.

    Comment


    • Huskee
      Huskee commented
      Editing a comment
      fuzzydaddy water buffalo and camel eh? I'll be watching for some recipes using them from you!

    • fuzzydaddy
      fuzzydaddy commented
      Editing a comment
      Huskee possibly!

    • texastweeter
      texastweeter commented
      Editing a comment
      fuzzydaddy Huskee boiled camel ribs...there is a joke there.

    #5
    There's a reason why microbial samples are shipped overnight, and if it is delayed beyond that it is discarded.

    Coming up on the summer months that 4 days is gonna be touchy.

    Comment


    • Willy
      Willy commented
      Editing a comment
      Four days struck me immediately as odd, but I figured they must know what they're doing...(or not, as it turns out).

    #6
    4 days = save some $$$$ (except it’s biting them big time twice)

    Comment


      #7
      I just received about 10# of Black Angus from CC perfectly frozen, although the dry ice was gone. I believe it was shipped differently then their waygu. Very pleased with the service and the meat, but as was said shipping raw meat can be a dicey proposition.

      Comment


      • Willy
        Willy commented
        Editing a comment
        Kind of scary that the dry ice was gone. CC assures that some will be left and they issue warnings about not handling it. How much higher will your summer time temperatures be?
        Last edited by Willy; April 8, 2018, 10:26 AM.

      #8
      I have a few cuts coming from them next week. Had good experiences with SRF, this will be my first try at crowd cow. Fingers crossed...

      Comment


      • lemayp
        lemayp commented
        Editing a comment
        I've placed 3 orders through them and it was always used the ground option They arrived in two days. My last order, the meat was in an insulated zipper bag that had dry ice around it and was a box had a couple inches of a cotton insulation lining it. Other orders had styrofoam cooler with dry ice. All arrived fully frozen though. They offer next day and 2 day for a price.

      • Willy
        Willy commented
        Editing a comment
        Thanks for the info!

      • lemayp
        lemayp commented
        Editing a comment
        Got my first shipment from crowd cow today. Everything was frozen and there was dry ice left in the package. Only one day in transit though.

      #9
      I have had 2 different orders from Crowd Cow. Now that I think of it, it was once in the Fall and once late this past winter (here in the Northeast), so pretty cold here.
      Both shipments were packed well, still some dry ice both times (not much). Meats were always frozen fine.

      Comment


        #10
        I've only done one Crowd Cow order. In my case, the meat was very well packaged and insulated and most of the dry ice remained un-thawed. I think CC is just an internet sight that facilitates transactions between a farmer, a butcher and customers (us). In my case, the farm is in Front Royal, VA and the order was shipped from Middletown, VA. So presumably the butcher packaged and shipped the product. CC probably imposes some packing/shipping specifications, but who knows? They're not very specific on this point on their web sight.
        Last edited by johnec00; April 8, 2018, 07:02 PM. Reason: PS, looked it up. Shipment was by "Fed Ex 2 day ground"

        Comment


        • EdF
          EdF commented
          Editing a comment
          I've bought from Fossil Farms, and they are very, very upfront about how they do shipping. Which is generally going to flash frozen and within 2 days.

        • Potkettleblack
          Potkettleblack commented
          Editing a comment
          I had an order from Fossil Farms get taken back to the UPS warehouse for a weekend. It went bad. FF sent me a new one with FedEx as UPS was bad at my place in NoVA.

        #11
        My 2 cents.

        The disclaimer: I tend to be a stickler on shipping methods used by online sellers.

        I have been exposed, as I buy a lot of stuff online, organic or inorganic items, to sellers that choose a shipping method (for whatever reason) that does not support their needs that well.
        I have read in reviews or forum postings of similar problems numerous times. Obviously we as buyers have no idea that is the case until we get into a scenario like yours.

        The company your shipper used is common to complaints Coincidence? Possibly. I hope not, as they have been the go to household word for shipping, for many years. Problem could be on the shipper's end with packaging not appropriate to the shipping choice.
        I also have noted that the faster an item is shipped, the shipping cost gets Big. If I can choose, I pay Big for organic material shipping. Most of the time the shipper is "on this" and has a tried and true shipping method included in the price.

        M.



        Comment


          #12
          I haven't had those problems, but it's frickin cold here.

          Comment


            #13
            I have a crowd cow shipment that is supposed to arrive on Thursday. It is not Wagyu. It hasn't shipped yet, but I will update on how it arrives in Los Angeles. Hot today and tomorrow here (92 at 5:30pm today), but supposed to be in the upper 60's on Thursday.

            Comment


            • Willy
              Willy commented
              Editing a comment
              How many days did it take to reach you?

            • Derickls
              Derickls commented
              Editing a comment
              Shipped on Tuesday arrived on Thursday.

            • Willy
              Willy commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks, @ derickls. Both of my shipments took four days.

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