Ordering Guidelines Terms & Conditions

Revised April 30, 2013

By placing your order, you have completely read, agreed to, and understand all the terms of our ordering guidelines and warranty notice.  Agreeing to these terms voids any right to a chargeback.  If you cannot agree to our terms set forth, or feel entitled to changing our terms,  we suggest you buy from another company.  We only deal with nice people.  Mean people need go elsewhere.

PRIVACY NOTICE - YOUR PRIVACY IS IMPORTANT TO US.  All personal information obtained is held in strict confidence within our family's company only!  Your profile, credit info, email address, or anything for that matter, will not be sold, shared, or released for any reason to anyone outside of our company.  Our company has worked too hard to build our customer database and we would never sell you out.  We will never share your email address with anyone.  From time to time we may send you a courtesy email coupon for you to use on a future purchase.  We will also send you emails so we can send you tracking numbers and ETA of orders you have placed with us.  You are now part of our private family and will be safe here.

1. Place your order by Shopping Cart, Email, Fax, or Phone.  Please do not leave orders on our voicemail system.  1st time buyers MUST place orders online.  Once you have established an account with us, future orders may be called in by phone.

2. Order Minimums- Must total no less than $35.00. If you have a dry good or non-perishable order that is less than $35.00, please just call it in to us and we will process it over the phone.  See Contact link above for info.

3. Box/Handling Fees - A very common fee in this industry. All orders under $100 are subject to a $5 box/handling fee.  A lot of work goes into packing an order, this small fee helps us cover just a fraction of the costs of labor and materials incurred in putting your order together. i.e. Bubble Wrap, Labor, etc. If your order subtotal is MORE than $100, we will waive this fee. In the hotter/colder months, we may need to include an ice pack/heat pack. There is a one-dollar fee for adding ice or heat to your order. It could make quite a difference in the shipment of your order. Ice or Heat is added at our own discretion.

4. Substitutions & Out of Stock Issues – Sometimes, when needed, we may make subs, but only sometimes, and only with 'similar or like' items.  If you don't want any subs made, please tell us on your order's shopping cart checkout “NOTES” "NO SUBS" and we will honor your request.  We do not call or email customers during our busy time of packing orders that something is out of stock.  Please understand that it is just not possible for us to inform customers that something is suddenly out of stock as livestock may change day to day, even hour to hour especially when we are packing hundreds of orders and dealing with our daily UPS deadline pickup schedule.
 
5. Order Deadlines: Each week we have an order deadline for same week delivery. Miss our deadline and your order will usually get shipped the following week.  Our deadline for placing orders is on Monday at NOON Arizona Time, for orders to be shipped out the same week....usually every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday pending availability.  Shrimp and Fish ONLY orders will go out Tuesday or Wednesday.  Plant ONLY orders plus Plant orders that contain Shrimp/Fish will ship on Thursday! We have this Monday night deadline because at 9pm every Monday, we begin the collection process for all of the plants/fish/shrimp sold for the week. We must pull, divide, count, and sort hundreds of plants every week, let's not forget accounting, paperwork, box building, and final packaging MUST be completed by our shipping deadline.  The end result is you, the happy customer getting your order the same week you place it.  If you place your order after NOON on Monday it will have to ship the following week, we need to have a stopping point. We are happy to take your order anytime or any day we are here, but if you get it to us after our deadline it may need to ship the following week.  If you get your order to us by 8pm Monday night we will still try and get your order out the same week, but no promises.

6a. Shipping Services: Shipping fees will vary based on your zip code and order amount, please see rate chart below.  The closer you live to Arizona the cheaper the rate, the further you live from us, the more expensive the rate will be.  We ship all orders through UPS.  We ship most perishable items UPS Next Day delivery so that you will get them within 24 hours after we pack them. Please click the “SHIPPING” Tab above to better understand our shipping days. Your perishable order will arrive fresh and without incident.  We ship most heavy or non-perishable packages via UPS GROUND we do not typically use overnight services for non-perishable items.  If you require heavier items such as substrate BEFORE you get your plants, please add a memo to the "note/comments" section of your cart order or just order accordingly.  We will be better able to orchestrate your shipment so everything arrives to you in the order you need them. 

The flat rates listed below are for NON-COMMERCIAL SHIPMENTS ONLY. Commercial or business orders will be shipped as UPS current rates or you may use your own UPS account.

These shipping rates may vary slightly due to your individual zip code entered at check-out.

6b. BILL YOUR UPS Account Option- We can also bill your UPS account number if you have one, or call 1-800-pick-UPS to obtain one.

6c. OTHER SHIPPING OPTIONS: If you do not choose to use our default flat rate fees below, when checking out of your shopping cart, you may choose to be billed for UPS current rates based on your orders actual weight/box size.  This option will charge your card in a separate transaction when your order leaves our facility. These rates may be higher or lower than our flat rate costs, it is up to you how you want to be billed for the shipping costs.  It is important that all customers are aware that there is no such thing as free shipping.  If a competitor is offering a gimmick like free shipping, they are adsorbing the shipping into the cost of the product.  Our product's prices are wholesale cheap, and our shipping costs are extremely competitive, but there is absolutely no relationship between the cost of our products and what UPS charges for overnight shipping fees.

7. ONE FISH, TWO FISH...SMART BUYING TIPS!  Yes, you are getting healthy plants & animals that are grown by compassionate American workers, packaged with love!  Our company has pioneered many aspects of the aquatic industry for over 2 decades.  Don’t be fooled by impostors, Arizona Aquatic Gardens is America’s #1 Source for farm-raised stock at the lowest discount pricing anywhere.  When you call here, you are talking to the same people that packed your order, the same people that raised your livestock.  We all speak English, and we do not read from a script.  Many of our competitors don't even touch the products they sell.  In fact, many have 3rd party trans-shippers pack you less than nursery quality, stressed out, starving, taken from the wild livestock.  Make smart choices when purchasing anything live, especially because shipping is never free.  Think of this, you may have casualties, it is just part of life.  So for example on some of the cheaper animals, let's say you want 10 red cherry shrimp for your 5 gallon aquarium, and you also want 3 Endler's Male Guppies.  Don't just order 10 Shrimp and 3 Guppies, buy more like 12 or 14 shrimp and 5 or 6 guppies.  It will make more sense if a few die during transit or even acclimation to your tank.  The cost of shipping won't be worth for you to pay again to replace a couple fish or shrimp.  More details on DOA's on #12 below.  Plants are resilient, so you don't usually need to order extras.  In our 24 year history of shipping plants, very rarely do they come in poor shape.  Order with friends in the same hobby.  This will help you split the expensive cost of shipping.

8. Tracking numbers When your order ships, if we have your valid email address, you WILL get an email from the shipping carrier indicating the tracking number and the ETA (estimated Time of Arrival). Those emails are sent on Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursdays. If you don't get an email, your order probably did not ship, or with all of the spam blockers blocking junk email, you may want to make sure that OUR emails aren't getting deleted or are going into a spam folder. We cannot ship an order without an email address; our system requires one to print the label!

9. Payment of Order: We accept Debit Cards, American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover Cards! If there is an item(s) we were out of stock on when we pack your order, we will either refund your card. ALSO ACCEPT PAYPAL! When you check out instead of using a credit card number in the checkout, just make up a number like 1234 5678 9012 3456 and we will contact you by phone to let you know your PAYPAL total.

10. C.O.D.'s & Prepays - Sorry, we do NOT ship out COD orders. Doesn't everyone have at least 1 credit card or a checking debit card? No credit card? Do you need to prepay for an order? This can be done if you call us to make arrangements. We will accept cashier's checks & money orders only. No personal checks please. Prepay orders must be phoned in.: We accept Debit Cards, American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover Cards! If there is an item(s) we were out of stock on when we pack your order, we will either refund your card. ALSO ACCEPT PAYPAL! When you check out instead of using a credit card number in the checkout, just make up a number like 1234 5678 9012 3456 and we will contact you by phone to let you know your PAYPAL total.

11. Cancellations/Returns - We understand that sometimes unexpected events happen in life that may require you to re-schedule your order. We understand this, and we will try to work with you. Canceling your live order 'after' our order deadline, will result in a $20 or 20% restocking fee , whichever is greater, this is because putting together an order (large or small) is very time consuming and we put a lot of love, time and effort into our orders, so, please make all changes to your orders before "12pm on Monday" to avoid these charges. You absolutely MAY NOT cancel an order the day it is scheduled to ship. "Refused" orders, or "Return to Sender" orders will result in rejection of all future business, no exceptions. We do not accept returns on live products. It costs more money to ship plants BACK to us, then if you were to just keep them and let us work out a resolution for the problem. 3D Foam Backgrounds may not be cancelled after they are placed. Any other cancellations will charged our $20 fee or 20% whichever is greater. If you have a dry goods return you must call/email us to get a return authorization number.  Products must be returned in new, unused, or unopened condition. We will credit your in-house account after we get your product, less all shipping costs involved.

12. DOAs (DEAD ON ARRIVALS): In the unfortunate event you have a DOA fish, shrimp, snail or plant, please email us a list of the deceased items within 24 hours of receiving your shipment.  Please refer to our contact page for proper email address.  We will give you an in-house credit for your loss that can be used toward a future purchase with our company.  Animal losses valued in $15 or more must have a picture of the DOA specimens.  DOA fish or shrimp having a “single value” of $10 or more must have a toothpick or like item through the body to get proper credit.  No cash refunds, or credits to cards will be given on live good losses.  They are in-house credits only.  We offer “live arrival guarantee” only.  It is YOUR #1 responsibility to properly acclimate your new aquatic life, and make sure your tank has all of the appropriate water parameters and environmental requirements the particular species needs to thrive.  DOA's that occur after your animals are installed in your water are your responsibility and will not be covered under our warranty.  We do not accept returns on any live animal orders.  We are not responsible for losses that occur due to incompatibility of your fish or shrimp.  Our limits of liability are for the value of the item shipped and nothing more.  We are not responsible for losses due to delays by the carrier such as damage from heat, cold, breakage, weather, riots, war, etc.  These losses are the sole responsibility of the carrier only.  Most claims that are weather related are considered an “Act of God” and will typically be denied by most any carrier; however, mechanical failures (such as a broken airplane) by the carrier have been honored in the past.  All claims must be filed by AAG, Inc. (the shipper) only!  You (the customer) may NOT file the claim with UPS, and you should NOT contact UPS to report losses or your right to a claim will be denied.  So PLEASE DO NOT CALL TO COMPLAIN TO UPS about dead fish or delayed box.  As soon as UPS hears that you had a dead fish in a box, your right to any service refund is automatically terminated.  Claims must be filed by AAG within 10 days of your shipments loss for any type of consideration by UPS.  No exceptions to our policies stated herein will be made.  We offer one of the easiest and best live good warranties in the industry.  Please understand these terms before you order.  We are a decent, small, family-owned company and have put these guidelines in force because we have heard just about every story imaginable, and we had to make guidelines for our customers to follow, so that we could operate our business efficiently.

12b. HOW TO REDEEM AN IN-HOUSE CREDIT - Please read and understand 12a before reading this part.  This section 12b explains how our in-house credits work.  When you place an online cart order with our company, please know that your credit card is NEVER charged up-front by the shopping cart itself.  Our staff has to manually retrieve your order, and key in the items you ordered into our own invoice system.  So, when we pull up your account (on our end) we may see an existing in-house credit perhaps from a loss on a previous order.  There is a spot on your checkout for customers to write a “comment” or “note” to us.  We often get notes on new orders explaining that someone has a credit, which is fine, but unnecessary.  We will apply your credit to your next order and charge you the balance due (if any).  In-house credits NEVER expire, and they are good for ANYTHING we sell on this site.  Hope this information helps.

13. Chargebacks or Fraud Orders : This is absolutely not tolerated. If you have an issue with an order we will certainly fix it, we guarantee everything we sell so just call us, and interact with us, don't react to a problem that is easily fixable. If you email us and haven't gotten a reply, try sending your email with a receipt so that you are sure we are getting it. There is no need for you to go to your credit card company and refuse to pay your bill. This ends up costing us, the "merchant" and you the "consumer" more money in the long run. Chargeback customers will be blacklisted from our company for life.

14. Back-Orders on LIVE GOODS - When you get your order from us, look at the bottom of your invoice. It may indicate: "You have a back order" (B/O), or Your order was shipped in more than 1 box, other box(es) may follow . A B/O is done when items are not available when your order was placed or at the time it was physically packed. Please accept our apology, this is non-intentional. We want to ship you everything complete, but this is just the nature of the nursery industry. Those items will be shipped to you when they become available. Because live inventory can change day to day, we may not be able to fill your order completely. Live good back orders are only created when the value is $50 dollars or more. Back orders don't usually remain in our system for more than 4 weeks, unless requested by the customer.  If you do not wish to wait for a back ordered item, please call to inform us "cancel back order".

15. Saltwater Fish Orders: ALL Saltwater fish or Marine animal orders always ship from our LA outlet, and will only include saltwater animals. We do not ship saltwater & freshwater items in the same packaging. They are treated as separate orders completely and are subject to their own box fees if applicable. ALL freshwater fish, shrimp, & plant orders are shipped from our nurseries in Arizona.

16. Waiting Lists - Is there an item on our list that is constantly saying unavailable? Call us or email us and get yourself put on a waiting list. We do it all the time! Hey, if we only have 5 or 10 of something available, we're not putting it on the net to get 100 orders for it! So, try this next time you see a "NO" next to that item you've been waiting for. Also let us know your special requests. We are an importer as well, we bring in many plants from overseas, so ask us to fill your special requests!

17. .....click, click, click, submit, Read before you click! This website is very straight forward & informative! There are no hidden messages, there is no FINE print, and you don't need to be a professor at a university to understand the terms herein, so there should be no question about our policies as it is written in a easy to read, precise and accurate form. If you cannot accept our terms above, or our very clear way of explaining them, we suggest you buy your products from another company, and do not click the "submit your order" button out of haste. Listen, we are a loving family company, we love what we do, we really love our customers and want nothing more than to make everyone happy, but from time to time we get customers that just don't read and want to make up their own rules for our company and that just doesn't work here. THANK YOU.

Our Commitment To Excellence!
Arizona Aquatic Gardens is a family-owned and operated business that offers hundreds of varieties of plants for Aquariums, Paludariums, Ponds, Terrariums, Aquascapes, and Environmental Habitats. We are an importer, grower, and wholesale distributor. Our company is built on honest work ethics, old fashioned values and integrity. We offer personalized customer service to help you with your order, as well as after you receive your order. We are NOT the new kids on the block. We have proudly been in business since 1987. Our company has been imitated by many, but here, you can always trust the quality of our plants, merchandise and our expertise in educated aquatic gardening. Rest assured we will do everything we can to make each customer happy, and we will treat you like you're part of our own family. With the competitive market this industry has brought in the last couple of years, rest assured that you are dealing with a reputable company that will still be here after all of the other web-based "here-todays" are gone tomorrow. We know you’ll agree, we offer the best quality plants at the lowest prices in the industry as we invite you to join our long list of satisfied customers.

SORRY, No Catalogs! Our website has the most up-to-date info posted herein.

No Walk-In Retail Business. Arizona Aquatic Gardens does not have an open-to-the public store. Our facility is strictly "mail order only".
 
Arizona Aquatic Gardens has 3 Simple ways to Order:
Shopping Cart - Login NOW
...by Phone - 520-742-fish
...by Fax - 520-575-7220 or use this FAX ORDER FORM

If you fax your order to us, please do not assume that we received your order unless we have confirmed it with you because fax machines, just like Emails can be un-reliable.  We will call you back before the order deadline if we got your order.  We generally will call you the same day we get your fax to confirm receipt.

THANK YOU FOR READING!