Shipping Policy


Shipping Costs: Shipping fees for DRY-GOODS are based on the merchandise dollar total of your order and the fee schedule listed here. Packages are shipped by "Best Service" unless otherwise specified during the ordering process. "Best Service" is determined by our computer system, which selects the most inexpensive ship method based on the products ordered and the shipment destination. There is no sales tax added to orders being shipped outside of Texas. (Texas residents will have 8.25% sales tax added to their order total).

Some items indicate that they do not fall into our regular shipping fee schedule and require additional shipping fees. These additional shipping charges will be calculated automatically, and will appear on your final order page. If you have any immediate questions about oversized shipping charges, please call our Customer Service Department at 1-866-794-9804 or 361-742-7805.



Fedex Express Standard Overnight (contiguous U.S. only) & Fedex Express Two Day (contiguous U.S. only) and Fedex Express Saver Three Day (contiguous U.S. only) delivery is available. Call for a quote. In stock Fedex Express orders will ship same day when ordered by 3 p.m. CST Monday-Thursday and 2:30 p.m. CST on Friday. Saturday and Sunday and the day the order ships do not count as shipping days. FedEx cannot ship to a P.O. Box, APO or FPO address (these addresses are served by USPS). Customers in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and other areas outside the Continental United States should call or e-mail for the best shipping method.

PLEASE NOTE:
At The Fish Guy, our goal is to offer exceptional selection to all our customers. All our species you see on our website are also available to our maintenance customers (excluding "WYSIWYG" items). Despite frequent updates, our website does not always reflect our available inventory. In the event that an item on an order is not available on the day of shipment, or a quantity of an item is greater than our available inventory, we will attempt to personally contact you. If we are unable to contact you, or we have not gotten a response by 3:00 p.m. CST on the day of shipment, we will remove the unavailable items from your order and ship as scheduled. We do not backorder out-of-stock livestock.

In cases where a significant percentage of an order is unavailable at the scheduled shipment date, we will hold the order until we have contacted the customer. This may cause some delays in expected ship dates if the customer cannot be reached. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We feel this policy is the best way to ensure that our customers receive exactly what they are expecting. We feel this policy is the best way to ensure that our customers receive exactly what they are expecting. We invite and encourage you to call us Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm CST, and Saturday 10am to 2 pm CST at 1-361-742-7805, or email us at customerservice@thefishguy.org to confirm availability of your livestock.

ADDITIONAL SHIPPING INFORMATION
Some products, due to weight or size, require additional shipping fees. These items are identified with an "**" appearing on the product detail page. You may be notified via phone or email informing you of additional shipping fees prior to order being processed and shipped.

SHIPPING SCHEDULE
Orders Placed By: Noon CST Monday-Thursday - Orders Ship Same Business Day After Noon CST Monday-Wednesday - Orders Ship Next Business Day After Noon CST Thursday, Friday - Sunday- Orders Ship the Following Monday

HOLIDAY SHIPPING
Shipping will stop the 5 days before a holiday and resume the next regular shipping day.

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
Memorial Day - May 31, 2010 Independence Day - July 4, 2010 Labor Day - September 6, 2010 Thanksgiving - November 25, 2010 Christmas - December 25, 2010

Damaged Shipments:
We try our best to prevent damage to all packages during transit by packing each order carefully. Unfortunately, there will be the occasional damaged shipment. In this case, please hold onto all of the packaging and contact us immediately. Please make sure that you do not discard part of the package. Carefully describe the condition of the packaging material and the ordered items. A representative of the shipping company may pick up the package from your location in order to inspect the damage. Because we insure all of our packages, we will try our best to replace the damaged items for you as soon as possible.

DOA's:
The Fish Guy strives to bring you the best of the best. We will work with our customers on any losses however we do ask for a little common sense and understanding with anyone we work with. These are live animals and although they are very hardy, precautions must be adheard to. Since we have been in business, we have had less than a 5% loss rate. We attribute this to our package and handling practices. All corals should be acclimated ASAP and temperature, and poor water quality are the main reason for losses. Corals should be acclimated slowly to any tank after shipping, this includes floating the bags to acclimate tempature as well using the drip methed to acclimate your specimens to their new home to bring Salinity, pH, Alkalinity up in the bag to match your tank. If Corals are acclimated correctly and you have zero Nitrates and the temps are in the correct range in your tank you should have no issues with die-off of any corals in your tank. We will replace corals due to loss in shipping with he return of the skeleton and a water sample but we cannot cover the cost of shipping so a credit can be added to your account and used on future orders. pH, Alkalinity and salinity should be in normal ranges.

GUARANTEE:
The Fish Guy/THEFISHGUY.ORG is not just any other on-line livestock company. We quarantine and heavily screen all our animals before we ship them out to you. We guarantee our animals will arrive alive and stay alive for 24 hours upon delivery.

Because some of our pieces are rare and one-of-a-kind, some specimens may have not a DOA guarantee or any guarantee of any kind. We will specify this information on the invoice slip, website, or if you place a phone-order.

Should your animal arrive dead, or die within 24 hours of delivery, immediately call us and let us know.

You may be asked to email a digital picture of the dead animal, or send the animal back to us via US Priority mail. We will give you instructions as to how to return the deceased animal, when you call.

You will receive full store credit on any animal that didn’t survive the 24 hour guarantee, on your next order (excluding shipping and box charge). You may be asked to send a water sample, so we can ensure the cause of death was not due to poor acclimation or bad water conditions such as but not limited to high levels of nitrates or any level of nitrites or ammonia.

We will not be liable for any animal that dies as a result of being harassed or picked on by other marine life.

Sorry, we can not replace any livestock bought on store-credit. Should the replacement animal die, please call us so one of our sales reps can assist you.

Should the package arrive late or damaged, please DO NOT REFUSE DELIVERY. Accept the package and call us immediately so we can give you further instructions.

If the package is not signed for at the time of delivery, even if it arrived late, the customer will be charged for the full cost of the order, plus any and all return freight charges

SALTWATER RESTRICTIONS
Due to their sensitive nature, all of the fish on this list are not covered by our livestock guarantee. Animals on this list are either very difficult to keep in the home aquarium, or are highly susceptible to loss during shipping. These animals should only be kept by the advanced hobbyist or researcher. Customers requesting any of these animals waive any responsibility on the part of The Fish Guy for dead arrivals or animal losses normally covered within our 24 hour period for unrestricted species. Beginner level aquarists or aquarists with newly established aquariums (less than six months old) should not purchase any species on this list.

ANEMONES:
All Anemones

ANGELS:
Bicolor Pygmy and Regal, Potter's, Regal, Many-Banded, Flame Pygmy, Multicolor Pygmy, Goldflake, Flagfin

ANTHIAS:
All Species

BATFISH:
All Species

BUTTERFLIES:
Golden, Orange-Face, Copperband Double Saddle, Yellow Longnose

CORALS:
Carnation Corals, Xenia sp., Yellow Leathers, Spaghetti Leathers, Elegance

DAMSELS/CORALS:
Green Chromis, Blue Reef Chromis

DRAGONETTES:
Green Mandarins, Blue Mandarins

GOBIES:
All Tilefish Gobies, Gold Head Sleeper, Bluebanded, Rainsfords, Red Firefish, Purple Firefish, Helfrinch Firefish

GRUNTS / SWEETLIPS:
All Sweetlips

JAWFISH:
All Jawfish

LIONFISH:
Fu Man Chu, Radiata, Antennata

MISCELLANOUS FISH:
Ribbon Eels, Snake Eels Boxfish, Cowfish, All Sharks, All Stingrays, Moorish Idols Seahorses, Pipefish, Harlequin Filefish, Barracuda

MISCELLANOUS INVERTS:
Octopus, Nudibranches, Cucumbers, Featherstars, Starfish, Sponges, Sea Fans, Gorgonians, Feather Dusters, Colored Feather Dusters, Sea Apples, All Shrimp

TANGS:
Powder Blue, Powder Brown, Achilles Clown, Hippo

WRASSE:
Bicolor Cleaner, Coris, Dragon, Tamarin, Leopard, 6-Line, Cleaner, Quadrilineatus, All Cleaner Wrasses

PAYMENT
Orders must be paid at the time you place your order by MasterCard, Visa,or Discover. Unfortunately we do not accept American Express.

You can mail orders to:

The Fish Guy
6718 Dungeoness Drive
Corpus Christi, TX 78414

Use certified check, money order or personal check. There is a $30.00 fee for returned checks. For your own protection, do not send cash.

ATTENTION DEBIT CARD USERS
Modifying orders that are already being processed may cause funds to be temporarily unavailable on your credit or debit card. Please ask your customer service representative or banking institution if you have questions. We are not responsible for bank charges you may incur due to temporarily unavailable funds.

Customers mailing in their orders to us with a check or money order should be sure to add enough to cover the shipping cost, to avoid C.O.D fees. Orders paid by check with P.O. addresses, no addresses or starter checks must be held for approximately two weeks for check clearance. Any overpayments will be promptly refunded to you. Postal charges will be added automatically to credit card orders.

To help protect you against credit card fraud, we verify the billing and shipping addresses of your credit card with the issuer. If you are using a shipping address that is different than your credit card billing address, please contact your credit card company and request that they add this address as an authorized shipping address on your account. This helps protect you against fraudulent charges by anyone that might attempt to ship items to an address other than those you have authorized.

Our customer service department will make every effort to contact you if we are unable to verify your credit card information. If you have selected an expedited shipping service we will attempt to contact you immediately. Please provide complete contact information so that we can reach you as soon as possible. We cannot be responsible for delays due to inaccurate credit card information or unauthorized shipping addresses.

Undeliverable or Refused Shipments:
Packages will be shipped back to us if the customer either refuses the package, is not available for several days for delivery, or if the address entered is either incorrect or incomplete. In this case, the customer will be responsible for all shipping charges. If the customer chooses not to have the item reshipped, they will be subject to a 20% restocking fee before they are credited back for the items. Once the order is shipped, it may not be refused due to delays in shipping or order processing.

Defective Items:
Please look over the warranty on the products that you purchase from us. You will want to contact the manufacturer first. Most manufacturers prefer to deal with customers directly when there are defective items. This allows them to inspect the product and take proper action. If you are having trouble with a product, their trained staff may also be able to help you with the product without having to send it back to them.

Return Policy
If you need any technical assistance with the product, please don't hesitate to contact us. Before you return a product to us, you must contact us by sending an e-mail to rma@thefishguy.org We will issue an RMA number which you will need to write on the outside of the box that you ship the products in. In order for us to authorize the return, it will need to meet four requirements. Please make sure to contact us before you ship anything back to us. Returns without an RMA number will be refused upon delivery. When you purchase any product from TheFishGuy, you are entitled to the product’s manufacturer’s warranty against defective merchandise. In order to efficiently process returns, customers may be referred directly to the manufacturer for some products. These products, along with instructions for contacting the manufacturer, will be provided upon a request for an RMA. These manufacturers will repair, return or replace the products in accordance with their own policies. The Customer Service Department will provide specific information with respect to these products. Live stock and live rocks are not returnable. Chemical supplements and fish medications are not returnable once opened. Filtration systems (wet/dry filters, skimmers, r/o units, etc.) are not returnable once used or placed in water. All returns must be in a resalable condition and include all accessories, paper work (instructions), original box and packaging (unless exchanging for the same item, in which case we will retain anything missing from your return shipment).

Terms and Conditions:
All return requests must be initiated within 30 days from when the products are delivered to you. All returns require an RMA number and must be received by a TheFishGuy employee within 15 days of receiving said number. Requirements for Return

The product has not been used. The product is in original packaging material which is also in new condition. All of the original parts, accessories, instruction manuals, paperwork, etc. is in the packaging. You can email rma@thefishguy.org to receive an RMA number, please include your order number, your name, the product that you wish to return, and a reason for the return. Customers are responsible for all return shipping costs, including on defective merchandise. This is analogous to paying for gas to drive a product back to the store you bought it from. Packages that arrive "COD" or "Postage Due" will be refused. All products must be received in new, resalable condition. The condition of the product will be determined at our discretion. A 15% restocking fee will be charged for all non-defective returns. A larger restocking fee may be deducted if the returned merchandise is not resalable (for example, a tamper-proof seal broken, the packaging damaged, the product scratched, manual missing, etc.). Packages refused by the customer will be restocked with a 20% fee deducted from the refund. In addition, any postage due or brokerage fees associated with recovering a refused package will be deducted from the refund. Shipping charges are not refundable under ANY circumstances once an order has shipped. Authorized returns will be processed within 7 business days ("business days" exclude weekends, holidays, and the day the package is delivered) of when they are delivered. Unauthorized returns, refused packages, and undeliverable packages can take up to 3 weeks to be processed and may be refused, returned to you at your expense, or restocked with a 20% restocking fee. If your return has not been processed within the specified time then please email rma@thefishguy.org. Return Address: TheFishGuy Returns Dept. 6718 Dungeoness Drive Corpus Christi, TX 78414

Return Shipping instructions:
All returned items should be packed in the same manner as they were originally shipped to you. Products returned without a separate shipping box or without the original product box will be refused. You will need to write the RMA number that was issued on the outside of the shipping container (do not mark the product box) or on the shipping label. You are free to use any carrier that you choose (we recommend UPS because $100 of insurance is included free and all packages delivered here are signed for) but we strongly suggest that you purchase Insurance and Signature Confirmation if you are using USPS (or any other carrier where they are not included for free) as we are not responsible for any packages lost or damaged during the return trip. In the event that a package is listed as "Delivered" but cannot be found, only the signature of a TheFishGuy.org employee will suffice as proof of delivery to our warehouse.

Delivery problems:
In rare instances, there may be a problem with delivery. Most of the time, this is because the package was delivered to a side entrance instead of the main entrance and the customer is unable to locate the package. If you believe the package was not delivered to your address or have any other similar problems, please contact us within 5 days of when the package was supposed to arrive. Any longer delays may seriously hinder our investigation.

Other Considerations
We try our best to provide you with as much information about our products as possible. However, you should be aware that the pictures shown may not be exact. Prices, products, availability and offers are subject to change without notice. The Fish Guy is not responsible for graphical display or typographical errors.

Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability as to Products Sold Except as expressly stated herein, THE FISH GUY makes no representations or warranties, either express or implied, of any kind with respect to products sold, including but not limited to, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. You agree that the sole and exclusive maximum liability of THE FISH GUY arising from any product sold by THE FISH GUY shall be the price of the product ordered. In no event shall THE FISH GUY, its directors, officers, employees or other representatives be held liable for special, indirect, consequential, or punitive damages related to any product sold.



Sales Tax
THE FISH GUY will collect 8.25% sales tax for all orders to be delivered to addresses within the State of Texas. Each customer shall be solely responsible for all sales taxes, or other taxes, on orders shipped to any other state.



Applicable Law
In the event of any dispute about or involving this website or any transaction with THE FISH GUY through this website or otherwise, you agree that the dispute will be governed by the laws of the State of Texas without regard to its conflict of law provisions and such dispute will be venued solely and exclusively in the state and federal courts of Texas, County of Nueces.