Ordering, Shipping & Guarantee

Ordering & Fine Print

Your order goes into processing on the day of shipment.  At that point, we conduct last-minute health inspections for all your livestock and begin the packing process. We look at the weather through the FedEx hubs, and at your location, to determine the optimal amount of heat packs or cool packs to put in the styrofoam box.

If you put in the order notes:  “Exact Order Only”, we will know that any substitutions or size adjustments cannot be made and we will put your order on hold until the exact requirements are available, or we talk to you for further instructions.  Absent any order notes, we are going to ship if 75% of your order value is available and we will refund what we do not ship.  Also, we reserve the right to ship an animal one size up or down if your requested size isn’t available.  Again, if you have a certain size requirement’s let us know in the order notes.

Once you order, we have taken the purchased animal out of our inventory system and reserved it for you.  If you decide for any reason that you want to cancel before we ship, we will charge a 20% restocking fee.

Like all online retailers, we do not accept returns for any reason.  You must receive and accept the package on its day of arrival at the FedEx hold location or your delivery address.  Trying to return the marine life, refusing the marine life, ignoring or forgetting it is there, or in any way jeopardizing the marine life’s health will void all guarantees.  The quality and health of the marine life we ship is our first responsibility.

Shipping

Shipping is free for orders over $149 and only $34.99 for orders under $149. There is a $9.99 packaging fee per order. If shipping to Alaska, there is an additional $25 fee.

Everything Ships FedEx Overnight to a FedEx Hold location that you choose. If you prefer home delivery, it will be an additional $6.99 and your order is coming to you FedEx Priority Overnight. That means it will be there by 10:30 AM to most, but not all, locations. (mostly outlying locations have a different timetable).

We ship Monday through Thursday for delivery the next business day.  So, if you order Wednesday, we will ship Thursday and you will get it Friday.  If you order on Saturday, we will ship Monday for Tuesday arrival…and so on.

You will get an email with FedEx Tracking information when your order is processed the night before delivery.

We monitor all deliveries and will likely know before you do if there is a FedEx Delivery Exception. This rarely happens but does happen. We will know early the next morning if there is an issue and will work with you on the new delivery schedule which will almost always be the next day. Side Note. Never refuse a shipment, doing so will void any guarantee, there will be no refund, and you will be responsible for the livestock.

Once you have your package, it is important to acclimate immediately.

Guarantee

Every order comes with a guarantee that your livestock will get to you alive. The guarantee is good for 3 hours after it leaves FedEx’s possession. This means that the guarantee starts the minute you pick up your shipment at the FedEx Hold Location, or the minute FedEx drops it off if you chose to have delivery beyond the hold location.

Within 3 hours of FedEx release, you must send us an email with your name and order number along with a clear picture of the dead animal on a white background, out of the bag, and showing a hand written date of receiving, to [email protected].  No exceptions will be made if these directions are not followed.

We also offer a 5-day guarantee for purchase at checkout.  The above rules still apply, but it allows you a 5-day guarantee instead of 3 hours.  It must be purchased at checkout.

Regardless of which guarantee you choose, approved claims will be refunded. We do not refund shipping or any other fees. Please allow 5 working days to handle your claim once it is submitted.  Oceansgarden.com reserves the right to reship at our discretion.