Shipping and handling

FLAT RATE SHIPPING FOR ALL ORDERS IN  THE U.S.A. IS $8.00. SHIPPING AND HANDLING IS FREE FOR ALL ORDERS IN THE U.S.A. OVER $50.00 , $30.00 FOR CANADIAN ORDERS UNDER $60.00, AND $32.00 FOR ALL UK ORDERS! AND, WE SHIP TO MOST E.U. NATIONS!  

Packed with fish geek patience- and passion- in Los Angeles, just for you! Our botanicals are not "mass-packaged" in some soulless factory, dropped in a box and shipped off. No way. Each seed pod, every leaf, every piece of wood- is hand selected, just as if we were adding it to our own aquarium or other aquatic feature. It's slow, radically inefficient, really...but it's the ONLY way to do this. You'll need to understand that, although occasionally there will be a lighting fast turnaround, your order typically ships within 4-5 business days. It can be more when things get really busy. Our stubbornness about hand-curation assures this...And we will always do it this way. That's how we roll! 

We’re fanatical about making sure that your order arrives in the best possible condition, so we take great measures to assure a smooth trip from our facility to you. We pack carefully, and ship using the service that will do the best job at getting your package to you in a safe, timely manner. In fact, customers tell us our packaging is so good and...sexy, even- that they share "unboxing videos" with us all the time!

Like you, we can’t stand all sorts of fancy rules and fine print to sort through about shipping and handling, so we figured that we’d make it easy, with no minimum order size or exceptions. Ever. Our flat rate shipping for all U.S. orders is $8.00. FREE SHIPPING IN THE U.S.A. FOR ORDERS OVER $50.00.  Shipping for Canadian orders up to $60.00 is $30.00, and $32.00 for all orders to the United Kingdom. 

ALL PRICES ARE IN U.S. DOLLARS!

NOTES:

CANADA:  Yep, we're happy to ship to Canadian "tinters!" However, the realities are such that it's...well- kind of expensive for us to ship to you. Like, stupidly expensive, eh? Like, almost deal-breaker expensive. It shouldn't be, but the fact is, it's very expensive. To make shipping to Canada feasible, we offer a tiered shipping and handling charge of $30.00 (U.S.) for orders up to $60.00. Orders over $60.00 ship for $40.00. Shipping is via  DHL, which is really fast. And of course, we will always throw in some extra goodies to your order to ease the pain somewhat! 

If you'd like to see if we can ship to your country and don't see it listed, contact us. We'll see if we can create an order for you! 

Most orders are shipped the next business day, and will take from 2-7 days to reach you, depending on where you are and which service is used (USPS Priority/First Class, Fed Ex Ground, DHL, or UPS Ground). Canadian orders will take somewhat longer, as there is a "handoff" at the border between USPS and Canada Post, and possible customs delays, so we almost always use DHL for Canadian shipments. More expensive, but typically hassle-free and very fast. We typically ship DHL to Canada, the UK, Europe, and Asia, as they offer much faster shipping (you can have your order in several days!).

We will provide tracking information from the shipper, and anticipated arrival date via email when your order is shipped. As fellow fish geeks, we know that you want your stuff in a timely manner, and we're all about getting to you asap! And, when you consider how long it takes to receive your order from us in the context of say, geological or stellar evolutionary time scales, it's like, super fast!

We generally do not require a signature for delivery on orders $200 or less. However, if you opt for home delivery of your order, please ensure that someone is there to receive the order, as DHL, FedEx, USPS, Canada Post, Royal Mail, and UPS may not leave packages at the door without someone present.

INTERNATIONAL DUTY FEES: A customs duty may be charged, upon delivery to international customers and before release of the shipment. A customs duty or brokerage fee is a tariff or tax on the import of goods. When products are imported, that country has the right to bill the end customer for duties, tariffs, and taxes on the goods. These taxes and fees may change without notice. We are not responsible for informing our customers of the owed duty, we are not liable for the duty, nor do we calculate, collect, or receive any amount of the duty.

SPECIAL NOTE TO AUSTRALIAN "TINT" FANS: Unfortunately, due to increasingly strict quarantine requirements imposed by the Australian government on botanical items, we regret to inform you that we can no longer ship into your country. We appreciate your past support and apologize for any disappointment this causes!

TO ALL INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: Please be sure to provide your telephone number with your order. This is very important, because our international shippers (DHL and Fed Ex) require a recipient telephone number in order to coordinate delivery. Providing this information when you place your order will avoid unnecessary delays in getting your shipment out! Thanks!

Occasionally, situations arise where your local customs officials demand extra payments or impose other requirements that you elect not to fulfill, and you opt not to accept delivery of the shipment. In these instances, we will reimburse you for the price you paid for the merchandise ONLY upon our receipt of the returned merchandise.  Since the shipment arrived in your country and you may have  opted not to fulfill the additional requirements imposed by your local officials in order for you to continue to accept delivery, we will not reimburse for shipping in these instances. Please take this into consideration before you order. Thank you for your understanding!

WOOD AND INTERNATIONAL ORDERS: We CAN ship our larger wood peices (Mangrove and Manzanita, specifically) internationally (as long as your country permits their import). However, because of the need to use a larger box to accommodate the larger pieces, the shipping is very expensive- often more than the wood itself. We will charge you for the additional larger box surcharge above and beyond the flat rate shipping. We will contact you prior to shipping to give you both the cost and the option of changing your order. We will require the additional payment prior to shipping the wood. Unfortunately, this is the only way we can make this work for our international customers.

LIVE AQUATIC PLANT SHIPPING AND GUARANTEE: We charge a flat rate for shipping of live aquatic plants. We guarantee live delivery of your aquatic plants. We ship our plant orders via USPS or Fed Ex Ground (as required) like our other products. We may, however, delay shipping during extremes of weather, or over holiday periods when delays are possible. 

Please be sure to accept and open your box as quickly as you can. This will assure their health and vitality. While tissue-cultured aquatic plants are tough, they're not indestructible! Exposing them to extremes of heat and cold can stress them.

Like everything we offer, we want you to be 100% satisfied with the live plants you order from us! If they arrive dead, we will replace them (when replacements are available), or provide a store credit- with no questions asked, if you contact us within 24 hours of receipt of your plants!   Please understand that we do not provide replacements for orders that are shipped to an incorrect address due to error that is not ours (ie; you provided address incorrect address information when you ordered). Please review your order carefully before submitting!

WE DO NOT CURRENTLY SHIP LIVE AQUATIC PLANTS INTERNATIONALLY! WE CANNOT SHIP AQUATIC PLANTS TO THE SATE OF HAWAI'I AT THIS TIME!

NEVER dispose of aquatic plants by releasing them into local waterways. Invasive aquatic plants destroy local ecosystems, driving out or killing the native inhabitants. They may also cause damage to local economies. They must be thrown away in a manner that assures they won’t be able to get into your local natural aquatic environment.

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT BOTANICAL SUBSTITUTIONS:  We try our best to keep a healthy inventory of all of our botanicals at all times, and our top priority is to send you exactly what you ordered in a timely fashion. However, sometimes stuff just conspires against us and we don't have enough of what you ordered to fill the order. And there are plenty of reasons for this: With a global network of suppliers, all sorts of things can go wrong, like customs delays at the point of origin, weather, seasonal limited availability of some items, shipping delays, etc.

If we have to substitute an item, we will always use a botanical of equal or greater value. This occasionally happens with leaves and some seasonally-scarce botanicals. In our "a la carte" selection, it happens less frequently, as we'll usually simply take an item out of inventory if we're out. However, if we do have to substitute in this instance, we'll either contact you regarding some alternatives, or note it on the pack. We appreciate your patience and understanding!

A FEW GENERAL NOTES ON SHIPPING OF ORDERS: We are always striving to get your botanicals and other items to you as quickly, efficiently, and safely as possible. We turn around most orders within 4-5 days after they're received. This time frame may vary during holidays, weekends, and during busy sales! Once items leave our hands, we're at the mercy of the carrier, of course. If you absolutely need to have your botanicals on a specific day, we can arrange (at your expense) Fed Ex overnight shipping, which, unfortunately is pretty expensive- but it is an option. Contact us if you want to make such an arrangement and we can look up pricing for you. 

Remember, every botanical item is hand-picked and packaged to order. It's not a "pre-packaged, mass-produced" kind of thing. Think of it almost like you would an "artisanal" product. As such, we respectfully ask for- and totally appreciate your patience, especially during busier times of the year. We hope you will appreciate the care and uncompromising attention which goes into each order, large or small.

From a single pack of leaves to the most specialized "Enigma Pack", each order received our utmost care and attention. Obviously, if you have special needs that we should accommodate (a birthday or something), do let us know and we'll do our best to expedite your order!