Shipping Procedures for Discus
Live arrival is guaranteed! It is VERY UNUSUAL for a shipment to not arrive in the best condition - alive and healthy, but the procedures for reporting and returning DOA's (Dead On Arrivals) are listed below. Please read this section carefully so that you understand our policy.
If in the rare circumstance a fish does not arrive alive, understand the following policy. DO NOT DISPOSE OF THE DEAD FISH - place it in a plastic-bag and put it in the freezer after you have verified it is deceased. Discus will often act in shock, and sometimes just lie down and act as if not healthy after a stressful airplane ride. DO NOT PANIC. Give the discus some time before assuming it is dead. Sometimes it may be obvious the fish is deceased, other times it is not. We will most likely have you mail DOA's back to us at our cost. When you call we will have more instructions for the best way to mail the fish, but it will have to be mailed within 48 hours of our instructions. The return is done for several reasons, but we would like to look at the fish and see if there is anything we can do to protect future shipments.
As stated before, DOA's are very rare happenings (hardly ever occurring). Before our shipments go out, we do not feed the fish for a 24-hour period, and we also make a substantial water change in the tanks the fish are going out from. We triple bag all fish with oxygen and pack them so they won't be overly disturbed during shipping.
*** Please call us with any questions concerning shipping ***
Right now we are only shipping inside the United States. All shipping charges are actual service costs and depend on your location, the shipper that is used, and number or size of fish that you order. We will e-mail you an accurate estimate of the shipping costs and we will return any overcharge to you. If we have any used clean and usuable shipping boxes we will use them to ship to you at no cost. If we have to use new boxes we will charge you the actual cost of the container (usually around $7). Heat packs when needed are $1.
We ship through two primary services- FOR WINTER SHIPPING AIRPORT TO AIRPORT REQUIRED
Airport to Airport (preferred method for the health of the fish) - The shipment will leave from either San Jose International or San Francisco International to an airport near you for you to pick up. This is the preferred method as there are very few instances of DOA's or damaged goods. The preferred carrier is Delta Dash, as they have been a very good service provider for Far Waters. Depending on your location we may also use Northwest Airlines Freight Service. You MUST inspect the airport-to-airport shipment at the receiving counter and report any DOA's to the shipping clerk. They will fill out the proper paperwork. Far Waters will immediately credit you for the cost of the fish (we can not credit for freight costs) after reviewing the circumstances with Delta Dash. Generally, pick-up is available 45 minutes to an hour after the plane lands, depending on the airport. You MUST take delivery within 2 hours of being available for pickup for the guarantee to stay in effect. You pay actual cost of the service.
Overnight Delivery Services - Direct to
your door- usually arrives before noon near major cities
We ship overnight using Fed Ex Overnight, Airborne Express Overnight,
and DHLNext Day. You pay actual cost of the service. Saturday Morning
Delivery is avaiable at actual service cost.
Someone MUST be available to sign for the delivery or all guarantees are
null and void.
If you are not available for the delivery, the driver will not leave the
package as an adult signature will be required, and the chances of the
fish surviving after spending a day in a delivery truck are lessened.
It is often some time before the driver can make it back to your shipping
address. You must notify Far Waters within 6 hours of overnight delivery
of any DOA's. Notification can be made by phone or e-mail. We will credit
for the cost of the fish (we can not credit for freight costs). Please
read "Acclimating Your New Fish" under "Policies and Parameters." This
will help in making your fish happy and continuing its healthy life. Acclimation
is VERY important anytime you move fish, even if the move is only tank-to-tank
in your own home.
• PACKAGING YOUR FISH: • Your Discus will be triple bagged with oxygen and heat pack pack(s) if required. We go the extra mile to package your fish, which includes designing custom inserts to protect your fish and adding extra insulation to the shipping containers.
PAYMENT: 1.) Payment can be by PayPal (add 3%), money order, and cashiers check. 2.) Credit card payments are accepted thru Paypal (add 3%). 3.) The minimum order for fish shipped is $100.00 plus shipping.
