When to expect your Plants/Livestock order:
The following shipping schedules apply to LIVE AQUARIUM PLANTS and SNAILS. These products are typically shipped via FedEx Express 2-Day service or UPS Next Day Air.
- Plant/Snails orders placed on Monday and Tuesday will be typically shipped and delivered the same week.
- Plant/Snails orders placed Wednesday - Sunday will be typically shipped and delivered next week to ensure their healthy arrival.
Weather conditions may delay these shipping schedules.
When to expect your "Hard Goods" order:
Hard goods orders that do not include plants or snails generally are processed and shipped the same or next business day and typically require approximately 2-4 business days for delivery.
When to expect your tracking/shipment information:
Tracking numbers are typically emailed as soon as orders are packaged and ready for pick-up by one of our shipping carriers.
If your order contains both plants/livestock and hard goods, you will likely receive two separate emails with two different tracking numbers. Each such email will contain the list of items included in that shipment/box.
Local legal restrictions on certain plants.
Very few plants have legal restrictions on where they can be shipped to. In an event of you ordered a live plant that cannot be shipped to your location, we reserve the right to substitute that plant with another one, at our discretion, that we find most similar and suitable. We list any applicable location-based shipping restrictions on the product page, under product description. If no restrictions are listed then such plant does not have any shipping restrictions.
P.O. Box deliveries:
We ship most of our orders by FedEx or UPS and those carriers do not make deliveries to P.O. Boxes.
While we try to intercept orders addressed to P.O. Boxes and attempt to contact customers to obtain another valid shipping address, we are not always able to do so successfully. Addresses with P.O. Box often contain restrictions on the type of carrier that can make the delivery. As such, if you are using an address with a P.O. Box you are assuming a risk of non-delivery or that your package will be lost, misplaced, damaged, rejected, or returned.
Returns
If, for any reason, you are not completely satisfied with your purchase you have 30 calendar days, from the moment your order is marked as delivered by the shipping carrier, to notify us of your return request. You must request return authorization via Live Chat. Once received, your request will be reviewed and addressed promptly. Once return authorization is issued, your items must be returned to us, at your cost, according to our instructions, within 10 calendar days.
All merchandise must be returned unused and in their original condition, including retail packaging when applicable. Any returns or exchanges containing items that were used or not in their original condition will be discarded to help maintain safe working environment for our employees.
Any shipping charges, if any, are non-refundable.
Items non-returnable, non-refundable:
Please note that the following items are non-returnable and not eligible for exchanges:
- Live Aquarium Plants
- 3D Backgrounds
- Artificial Plants
- Gift Certificates
- Items that are not in their original condition (including damaged manufacturer/retail packaging when applicable)
- Aquarium Lighting
- Snails
While we are happy to offer free or subsidized shipping on our website, generally charging less than actual shipping costs, we are unable to absorb additional shipping costs associated with Returns To Sender that are not a direct result of our mistake. Furthermore, in the event your order is returned to us by the mail carrier, we reserve the right to charge a $15.00 Return to Sender Fee while refunding your order, provided your items are returnable/refundable.
Items Arriving Defective or Missing
Please report any items arriving defective, damaged or missing via Live Chat as soon as practicable. If the defective item(s) are live aquarium plants, you must take a photograph to evidence their condition upon their arrival before discarding them to be eligible for a refund. Please see below for important information about store credit for items, including plants, purchased as part of a set or package. You must file your request for refund no later than 7 days from the date your plants were marked as delivered by the shipping carrier. For all other items, do not discard them before your return/refund is approved as we may ask you to ship them back to us before issuing a refund.
Refund and Store Credit Policy
We cannot process partial refunds for individual items that were sold as part of a set or package. If credit is due for purchases involving individual items purchased as part of a set or package, instead of issuing a partial refund, we will issue a store credit in the corresponding amount.
Please note that it may take up to 5 business days for your credit to be issued once your return is received and processed. Also, please keep in mind that it can take longer for a credit to post to your account, depending on the processing speed of your financial institution. The credit posted to your account may appear in the name of Modern Aquarium or ARW Group, LLC.
Order Cancellation Policy
Once placed, orders are automatically transmitted from the website to our warehouse and/or our plant nursery for immediate picking, packing and transport preparation. While our Customer Service monitors Live Chat for order cancellation requests, we cannot guarantee your cancellation request will be seen in time and reach our warehouse in time before your order is processed. Even if an order has not been marked as shipped yet, we may be unable to cancel your order.
To request order cancellation please do so only via our Live Chat and we will let you know if we are able to do so.
General Shipping Policy
You are responsible for providing an accurate and deliverable shipping address. Please note that we are not responsible for any packages lost, stolen, damaged or delayed as a result of address errors made by you, including missing or incorrect unit/apartment numbers.
Most of our orders ship without signature required. It means the carrier (Post Office, FedEx or UPS) may leave the package at your address possibly unattended if you are not present to accept it, or they may elect to take it back and attempt re-delivery next business day, or even request that you pick it up from the local carrier station, likely the next business day. Your absence at the time of confirmed delivery also puts your package at risk of it being stolen, for which Modern Aquarium will not be responsible.
We cannot guarantee a specific day of the week for your delivery. While we often provide expected delivery timelines, they are only to be used as guidelines. You should assume delivery can be made any day of the week, including weekends and holidays. If you plan to be absent on any day within 1-2 weeks of placing the order, please contact us prior to ordering. Weather delays and other external factors, especially in connection with shipping perishables often come to play and result in delayed shipments and deliveries.
To be eligible for free shipping, the total amount of your order must exceed $79.99, excluding any discounts from coupon codes, charges for Dispatch Package Protection Service, and sales tax.
Orders Missing but Marked As Delivered
In the unlikely event that your order was marked as delivered, but you did not receive it, please report it to us via Live Chat as soon as practicable. Your prompt reporting will allow us to alert the carrier about the issue in a timely manner and affords the carrier the time to immediately investigate the issue, including interviewing the delivery driver, providing the best opportunity to recover the package. We designed our shipping process to keep you informed about the progress of your package. The tracking information provided to you at the time of the shipment of your order allows you to monitor the delivery time for your order.
It is especially imperative that you be present at the time of delivery of perishables such as Live Aquarium Plants, Snails or Fish. For policy specifically applicable to Live Aquarium Fish, please see our Live Arrival Guarantee policy.