Shipping Policy
At Aquascapers we choose FedEx overnight shipping services for the safe delivery of your precious animals. We have used other providers, but none have proven to be nearly as reliable as FedEx. Cheaper shipping options might be available through other carriers, but for the sake of your corals' health, we won't use anyone else. Flat-rate shipping for standard overnight express (3:30pm next day) is $39. Priority Overnight shipping (10:30am next day) is $49. Instate Florida shipping (excluding the Panhandle & Tallahassee) is a flat rate $15. These prices include all packaging and handling charges.
$250 Free Shipping Policy
We will be happy to provide free overnight shipping for orders over $250. Please select the "$0 special exception" shipping option at checkout in order to receive this bonus.
$50 Minimum Order Policy
We have a $50 minimum order policy, otherwise orders less than $50 must pay the full amount in shipping and handling as determined by Fedex.
Packing
All animals are shipped inside a professional insulated and eco-friendly shipping container. We use double-lined, durable 3 mil shipping bags, filled with oxygen to pack our polyps. We won't risk losing polyps by over-packing them in a smaller box. When in doubt, we err on the side of caution. When weather conditions require them, heat or cold packs are used (at no extra charge). While we do our best to keep track of the weather in your delivery zip code, please alert us if it appears likely that you will be experiencing extreme weather conditions on the day of delivery.
Arrive alive guarantee
We guarantee healthy, alive arrival on all our animals. The ricordea and zoanthids that we sell are some of the hardiest shipping corals on the planet. With water temperatures naturally ranging from 65-87 degrees throughout the year here in Florida, they are already well adapted to extremes in temperature. If in the rare occurance the corals seem dead or exceedingly stressed (i.e. bleached, brown and slimy, “milky water”, etc) upon arrival, please contact us as soon as possible to let us know at askaquascapers@gmail.com. We firmly request that you can take a quality photo of the animal while still in the bag within 2 hours of delivery to prove losses.
Delivery Date
We will be happy to ship on just about any day that is convenient for you Monday-Thursday. Let us know what works best in the 'comments' section of the checkout, otherwise we will get in touch with you after the order to confirm a convenient shipping date.
Saturday Delivery
We will ship on Friday for delivery on Saturday, but only if there is no other day during the work week that will be convenient for you. However, keep in mind that this costs $59, as FedEx requires that the package be shipped 'Priority', and has an added Saturday delivery surcharge. Please be advised that if in the very rare occurrence that FedEx makes a mistake, the package will not be delivered until Monday. Unlike our weekday deliveries, we will not be able to guarantee live delivery if delayed delivery (i.e. on Monday) takes place.
Extreme Weather Conditions
During the winter months we use 25+ hour heat packs inside our insulated boxes. In times of extreme cold we will use a second heat pack outside the liner and inside the cardboard for added thermal protection. Please keep an eye on the weather in your hometown. If it looks like you will be receiving severe storms that might delay delivery, please advise us to ship on an alternate day. We may choose to delay shipping at the last minute if we determine that the weather looks too risky. You will be notified right away if this is the case. During the summer we ship with ice packs to keep the water from overheating during transit.
Hold at FedEx Location
If you are unsure whether you can be home for delivery, or the weather is unseasonably cold or warm, we highly recommend having us ship directly to your nearest FedEx hub or FedEx Office (Kinkos) location. Typically, the box will arrive considerably earlier in the day (often as early as 9 a.m.) even when delivered 'Standard' (normally 3:30 p.m.).
FedEx will give you a call as soon as it arrives so you can pick it up at your convenience. In the meantime, the box will be held in a climate-controlled environment at their facility. Having your box held at a FedEx location significantly decreases the amount of time your corals aretravelling in the back of a delivery truck. Visit http://www.fedex.com//Dropoff/start, enter your zip code and select 'hold at location' in the search filter section (4th checkbox down) to find your nearest FedEx facilty that allows this service.
