Shipping & DOA Policy

Every Seller Sets Their Own Shipping

Each seller answers a few shipping questions before they can list anything, and you see their answers on every listing, right under the price. Nothing is filled in for them, so what you see is exactly what they chose:

• A flat rate per order. One price, no matter how many items you get from that seller.
• Ship days and carrier. Livestock goes out overnight by FedEx Overnight and/or UPS Overnight on the days the seller picks, usually early in the week so boxes don’t sit in a warehouse over the weekend.
• Local pickup (optional). If the seller offers it, you can choose free pickup instead of shipping.
• State discounts (optional). Some sellers charge less to nearby states. It’s applied automatically at checkout based on your shipping address.
• States they won’t ship to (optional). For example Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands or APO/FPO addresses. If your address is on that list, you can only buy from that seller if they offer pickup.

Combined Shipping

Everything you win or buy from the same seller before it ships goes into one order, and shipping is charged once. If you win three auctions from one seller and one from another, you pay two shipping charges: one per seller. A seller can also set a special shipping rate on a single listing; in a combined order the highest rate applies, still only once.

Preferred Shipping

When you’re logged in, the Shipping Details box on a listing lets you pick a ship date from the seller’s ship days, local pickup if they offer it, and FedEx or UPS Overnight when the seller offers both. Your choice is saved to your order with that seller, and you can change it until the order ships.

Paying for Auctions: Verified Checkout

Before your first bid, you save a card and a shipping address once. Nothing is charged when you bid. When an auction ends, the seller checks your order (combining any other wins) and charges your saved card. If the charge doesn’t go through, we’ll ask you to update your card and retry automatically.

Packing Standards

• An insulated box with heat or cold packs for the season
• Bagged livestock with enough water and oxygen for the trip
• Corals secured so they can’t tumble in transit

Dead on Arrival (DOA) and Other Problems

Each seller writes their own DOA terms in their Store Policy, shown on every listing: what’s covered, how they make it right (refund, replacement or store credit), whether shipping is refunded, how long you have to report a problem, and what proof they need (photo, video or both). There’s no one-size-fits-all window, so check the listing before you bid.

1. Record the unopened box and the animal in the bag as soon as it arrives, using the kind of proof the seller asks for.
2. On the order (My Account → Orders), click Report a Problem. The form shows the seller’s terms and the exact deadline. Upload your photos or videos and tell us what you saw.
3. The seller’s payout for that order is held while the claim is open. You and the seller can add messages, photos and videos to the claim.
4. The seller is asked to reply within 48 hours. AquaBidz then decides the claim using the seller’s own terms, and the outcome is one of the options the seller offers.

How AquaBidz Handles Claims

• Every claim goes through AquaBidz, so there’s a record and a neutral decision.
• Late or incomplete claims. If you’re outside the seller’s window, or missing proof they ask for, we’ll warn you, but you can still send it. We’ll take that into account. Claims can’t be opened more than 30 days after delivery.
• One appeal. The buyer or the seller can appeal a decision once, within 7 days. The appeal decision is final.
• Repeat claims. Accounts with an unusual number of claims (three or more in 90 days) are reviewed.

Not Covered

• Packages that are refused, not picked up, or delayed by a mistake in the buyer’s address
• Anything the seller’s policy lists as voiding coverage (for example, skipping their acclimation steps)
• Damage to dry goods: report it to the carrier as well as through AquaBidz

This policy is a draft for review by the AquaBidz team and legal counsel before launch.