DOA and Missing Items Policy

SHIPPING AND DOA AND GENERALD INFORMATION

DOA POLICY UPDATED AUGUST 26 2022

Hi Everyone,

We need to make a few changes to our DOA policy and shipping policy upon the current situation and we hope you understand. 

From 26 August 2022, our new DOA will be applied to all orders. Please read it carefully so you can familiarize yourself with what may happen before making a purchase.

Micro Aquatic Shop - we pick and pack the healthy livestock for your order. Care was given in each and every order. We’ll do our best to ship out your order from Monday to Wednesday to avoid the parcel to stay over the weekend in the depot. .

HOW LONG WILL MY ITEM TAKE TO ARRIVE?

The shipping time consists of twо seсtiоns:

• Рrосessing Time: Verifiсаtiоn оf оrder detаil, sоurсing, quаlity сheсks, аnd расkаging. Аll orders are disраtсhed frоm the Sydney warehouse within 48 hоurs (from Monday to Wednesday) аfter the оrder is рlасed аnd the раyment is reсeived.
• Shiррing Time: The time that is tаken tо аrrive аt the destinаtiоn аfter disраtсh from our warehouses.

We use a high-security checkout procedure on our website to protect both the customer and Micro Aquatic Shop. This extends our processing time to 3 days as we fully verify our customers and fulfill orders.

SHIPPING TIME

For any livestock you have in your order, we will ship them via express service (Startrack and Toll Express ). This will usually take 1-2 days to reach you after leaving our shop.

Any other dry goods, bonsai, plants, and accessories, we will send via normal post. Usually, you will receive the items within 3-7 business day (after leaving our workshop)

Note: Most often, we will deliver the orders we packed during the day to the local courier, and they will be on the way to you.

How we pack our livestock:

When having fish shipped to you, it is important to plan accordingly so that your fish arrive in good health and with as little stress (to them) as possible. Unlike receiving a regular parcel, some extra care and planning must be taken to ensure the safe arrival of your fish.

This is how we pack our fishes/shrimps/snails:

Our livestock will be carefully selected and caught out and bagged with plenty of water and oxygen.

*For shrimps, we will put a bit of plastic net mesh in to grab on so they can stay relaxed and secure in their journey to the new home.

We then wrap bubble wrap around the fish bag and will carefully place it in a Foam Box. *Foam boxes are great to create a stable environment and temperature for the livestock when shipping, and they are also very durable. We then slid the foam box into a parcel bag then sealed it with a lot of fragile stickers around it.

Shipping Schedule  in our current Sydney shop:

• Our order processing and shipping period is from Mondays to Wednesdays
• From Monday to Tuesday we focus on sending out all livestock orders.
• On Wednesday, we try to pack and ship the rest out

Note: We can’t ship livestock from Thursday to Sunday because this is too close to the weekend and we don’t want our livestock to stay at the courier service's warehouse over the weekend, Please understand, this is for the well-being of the livestock.

*All shipping times exclude courier delays.

Please read the DOA terms and conditions carefully before making a purchase.

We strictly do not support impulse purchase of live animals and please ensure you prepare a good home for them.

Procedures,Terms & Conditions for purchase of Livestock :

• The buyer must be home when livestock orders arrive.
• The buyer must contact us via email within 2 hour of the package arriving with clear recorded video and many clear images of the livestock in an unopened bag/box. Each of the video/image of the doa livestock (once opened the bag) must also be taken .If you are not able to provide clear unboxed video then DOA claim will not be processed.
• Claims cannot be made if bags/containers already opened by the buyer (burst or damage during postage is accepted if provided unboxed video). 
• Please make sure your address is correct. Any order placed with the wrong address that caused death or return order will not be able to apply the doa claim or shop credit. Any order that returns to the depot/post office or left on the doorstep will not be able to apply the doa claim. 
• We do not support livestock order to be sent to P.O. Box or Parcel Locker address. Therefore, we do not cover for any loss if you choose the receiver address is P.O. Box or Parcel Locker.
•  if photos or videos are not sufficient. Unfortunately, some people have tried to claim DOA on healthy arrivals. This is an extra measure to avoid fraudulent claims.
• Once you provide the proof of DOA , we offer our support option below.
• We have no control over the delivery time. All of the orders are sent and expected to arrive in 48 hours, however, since covid-19, there is a risk of delay. We offer 100% store credit that will apply on any DOA items in your orders.
• Shipping charge and fee is non-refundable or creditable in any circumstance.

We pack our goods as best we can to avoid DOAs; generally speaking, it is rare to have them occur. Should the need ever arise, don't open the bag or container, take videos and photos clearly and contact us via email ASAP. When doing so, provide your order details (name, order number, and which items are affected), so we can resolve things swiftly.

Other things to consider before placing an order:

• Check to see if your tank has enough space.
• Ensure your tank is fully cycled.
• Ensure your new livestock is compatible tank mates for any other fish you currently have (in terms of habitat, species, requirements, temperament, and size)
• Ensure that your water parameters, habitat, and temperature are suitable for the species you want to introduce.
• Do not stock your tank too quickly, or suddenly a large influx of fish can unbalance your water parameters, affecting the water quality.
• Do not feed your new fish for 24hrs. They need time to settle in and feel at home. Providing them too quickly puts their health at risk and can even affect your water quality. If you have existing fish in your aquarium, feeding them before releasing the new fish is a good idea.
• Don’t be alarmed if, upon arrival, your fish, shrimp, or snail look pale or lethargic. This is normal behavior while in transit, and they should return to full color and vibrancy after settling into their new home for a few days.

Terms & Conditions for Purchase of Live Fish:

We reserve the right to cancel or delay livestock orders for any reason, which may include but are not limited to:

• 1. Extreme temperatures will put fish welfare at risk during transit.
• 2. The state or health of the fish has been declared unfit for shipping.
• 3. There isn't enough supply to satisfy an order.

When you order dry goods with Livestock, they are usually shipped separately and may take longer to arrive than the livestock shipment.

Missing and incorrect items:

We have an excellent packing team to pick and pack your order. However we are human and errors in picking can happen. We do apologize for the inconvenience. Please allow us to support you in this case.

Please video unbox packages and send them as proof to support@microaquaticshop.com.au within 2 hours upon receiving the parcel. Our customer support will get back to you shortly upon receiving your message. 

We do 100% shop credit on missing and incorrect items only. Otherwise, if you have the order in the future, we will add them in. 

However, the shipping fee is unable to be credited and we do not reship the missing or incorrect items.

Picking up your orders at the store to get your orders faster and with no shipping charges.