(918) 964-3333
Our website address is: https://affordableaquaria.com.
Thank you for visiting Affordable Aquaria. We are a company, creating products to enhance your website building experience. Please read this Privacy Policy, providing consent to document in order to have permission to use our services.
Affordable Aquaria sells conditioned marine livestock. Conditioning consists strictly of short-term observation (typically 7 to 14 days), active feeding verification, and general health stabilization to prepare specimens for shipping.
Conditioning is NOT a quarantine service. We do not run full preventative chemical treatments, nor do we guarantee or advertise livestock to be pathogen-free, disease-free, or parasite-free. Marine organisms carry inherent biological variables, dormant parasites, and microscopic pathogens. Customers assume full and exclusive legal, biosecurity, and financial responsibility for their own aquariums and existing livestock upon delivery.
Whether a customer chooses to quarantine new arrivals or introduce them directly into an established display system is entirely at their own discretion and risk. Seller accepts zero liability for any disease transmission, parasite emergence (including Marine Ich, Velvet, or Uronema), bacterial infection, or display tank losses occurring after transit.
In no event shall Seller’s total aggregate liability arising out of or related to these terms or any order exceed the purchase price actually paid by the customer for the specific livestock specimen giving rise to the claim.
Service Nature of Conditioning: Submitting an order reserves livestock and secures pre-shipment feeding stabilization and transit-conditioning services.
Pipeline Timelines (7–14+ Days): The conditioning process generally requires 7 to 14 days. Timelines may extend if specimens exhibit acclimation stress, feeding reluctance, or require extended observation. Stated timelines are operational estimates, never guaranteed delivery deadlines.
Right to Discretionary Health Hold: We reserve the absolute right to hold back any livestock that does not successfully pass our final pre-shipping health inspection. If our husbandry team determines a specimen needs additional observation or stabilization, dispatch will pause. Discretionary holds are conducted to ensure animal viability and do not constitute an order cancellation or delayed delivery breach.
Prohibition of "Item Not Received" Claims During Active Conditioning: Submitting a credit card dispute or chargeback alleging "Item Not Received" while livestock is undergoing active conditioning or discretionary pre-shipping holding constitutes a material breach of contract. Customers agree that active conditioning is an agreed service period.
Order Reservation & Billing: Submitting an order secures your livestock reservation without charging payment upfront. Invoices are issued via PayPal or credit card a few days to a week ahead of scheduled shipping.
Order Holding and Storage Policy: Once an order is prepared for shipment, if the customer is unavailable or unable to accept delivery, the order can be held at our facility for a storage and upkeep fee of $75 per week. This fee must be paid in full and upfront at the time the delivery hold is requested or established.
Cancellation & Restocking Fee: Any order cancellation requested after livestock has been acquired and payment processed is subject to a strict 25% administrative and restocking fee. Postponing an order or converting the balance to store credit carries no fee.
Address Accuracy Liability: Seller bears no liability for carrier delivery delays, lost packages, misdeliveries, or Dead-On-Arrival (DOA) outcomes resulting from incorrect, incomplete, or improperly formatted shipping addresses entered by the customer.
Guarantee Inception & Expiration: All guarantees (including the standard 7-day guarantee and any optional extended guarantees) officially commence precisely at the carrier delivery timestamp recorded by UPS tracking, and strictly terminate at the exact expiration of the stated window (e.g., 168 hours post-delivery for 7-day, 336 hours post-delivery for 14-day).
Standard Coverage: Standard conditioned livestock includes a 7-Day Stay Alive Guarantee.
Extended 14-Day Guarantee: An extended 14-Day Stay Alive Guarantee applies solely to individual livestock items where the customer explicitly purchased the 14-day extended guarantee add-on at checkout.
Exemptions: Expert-Only livestock, Live-Arrival-Only livestock, and prior DOA replacement specimens carry live-arrival coverage only and are strictly exempt from post-arrival extended guarantees.
Strict Guarantee Termination: All seller warranties, claims, and obligations permanently terminate at the conclusion of the applicable guarantee window as measured from the UPS delivery timestamp. Any customer communication (email, support message, or phone call) confirming that livestock arrived alive, in good health, swimming, or active constitutes final, irrevocable confirmation of successful order fulfillment. Any mortality, illness, or loss reported after the guarantee window has lapsed is solely the customer's financial responsibility.
Strict compliance with the following two-step visual proof procedure is required. Failure to comply strictly forfeits all claims:
Step 1: Dead On Arrival (DOA) Initial Notification (2-Hour Window):
Any specimen dead upon delivery must be reported via email to support@affordableaquaria.com strictly within two (2) hours of the official UPS delivery tracking timestamp.
The initial report must include a clear, focused photograph showing the deceased specimen inside the original, sealed, unopened shipping bag. Opening, cutting, puncturing, or discarding the shipping bag prior to submitting this photo completely voids live arrival coverage.
Step 2: Secondary Verification & Evidence Submission:
Upon receiving instruction from customer support, the customer must open the bag and provide a clear, focused photograph of the specimen placed out of the water on a solid white background (e.g., white paper towel, white plate, or solid white board).
For claims involving distress or mortality during the 7-day or extended 14-day window, a clear 10-to-15-second in-tank video documenting symptoms is required prior to specimen mortality, followed by an out-of-water photo on a solid white background upon loss.
Remedies: Approved claims receive either store credit for the livestock purchase price (valid for 60 days) or a replacement specimen shipped on the customer's next order. Outbound shipping charges are carrier fees and are non-refundable under all circumstances.
Size & Coloration Variance: Marine livestock are wild, living organisms exhibiting natural biological variations. Sizing listed on the website is an approximation based on total length from snout to tail tip at grading. Markings, banding, and coloration fluctuate naturally due to lighting spectrums, diet, age, social hierarchy, and transport stress. Minor variations in size, pattern, or shade do not constitute "item not as described," defective goods, or false advertising.
Appetite Transition: While livestock is confirmed feeding during facility conditioning, transport stress and water chemistry adjustments frequently cause temporary appetite suppression. Reluctance or refusal to feed during the initial 7 to 14 days of transfer is an expected acclimation behavior and does not constitute a defect, illness, or grounds for refund or chargeback.
If shipping insurance was purchased at checkout, Seller covers the livestock loss in accordance with these terms in the event of carrier delays or packaging failures.
If shipping insurance was declined or omitted at checkout, Seller bears no financial liability for carrier transit delays, lost packages, or mechanical failures; the customer must file a claim directly with UPS.
Filing a credit card chargeback or payment processor dispute alleging "item not as described," "defective merchandise," or "item not received" for livestock that arrived alive, expired outside the guarantee window as verified by UPS tracking, was held for mandatory pre-shipping conditioning, or where the customer failed to provide required unopened-bag and out-of-water white-background documentation constitutes a material breach of contract.
Seller actively contests improper disputes using carrier tracking, delivery timestamps, checkout acceptance logs, and customer communications. The cardholder agrees to reimburse Seller for all administrative chargeback fees ($25–$50 per instance), collection agency costs, and reasonable attorney's fees incurred to collect funds or defend bad-faith disputes.
Except for actions seeking emergency equitable relief, all disputes, claims, or controversies arising out of or relating to these terms, purchases from Affordable Aquaria, or livestock health shall be resolved exclusively as follows:
Governing Law & Exclusive Venue: These terms, transactions, and any legal disputes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Oklahoma, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any dispute, claim, or legal proceeding shall be brought exclusively in the Small Claims Court of Tulsa County, Oklahoma, or, if jurisdictional limits are exceeded, the District Court of Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Customer explicitly submits to the personal jurisdiction and exclusive venue of these courts and waives any objection based on an inconvenient forum.
Waiver of Jury Trial & Class Action Waiver: Both Customer and Seller knowingly and voluntarily waive all rights to a trial by jury in any proceeding. All claims must be brought on an individual basis only. Neither party may bring, join, or participate as a plaintiff, representative, or class member in any class, collective, or representative proceeding.
Limitation of Liability Cap: Under no circumstances shall Seller's total financial liability exceed the specific purchase price actually paid by Customer for the individual livestock specimen at issue. Seller assumes zero liability for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, punitive, or systemic property damages, including loss of aquarium tanks, equipment, water, coral colonies, or co-mingled specimens.
One-Way Seller Cost & Attorney Fee Recovery: In any lawsuit, court action, motion to dismiss, collection proceeding, payment dispute, or chargeback defense arising out of or related to these terms, livestock health, or purchases from Seller, if Seller prevails, obtains a dismissal (including dismissals for improper venue or lack of jurisdiction), or defends against an unauthorized claim, Seller shall be entitled to recover from Customer all reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, filing fees, administrative expenses, and collection costs incurred.
For all order questions, health updates, and claim submissions, contact customer support exclusively at: support@affordableaquaria.com.
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