FLOWERHORN TRANSSHIP INFO:
Shipments arrive every 2 weeks
Scroll to bottom of page for 2009 Shipment dates
People with Yahoo email accounts, PLEASE check your Bulk email folders, I do not have time to send tons of emails to contact you!
For some reason this still remains a problem for some customers.........I Need Your Address & Phone Number when you send payment. Include it in your payment, not a separate email (it will get buried). If you do not include your address, payment will be refunded....PERIOD. If you click on "Service" when making a Paypal payment, Paypal will NOT include your shipping address. You must enter that info into the NOTE/MESSAGE section of the payment! And please do not assume that the Seller has sent me your address. Even if they do I need this info directly from you to insure accuracy as well as a policy of Paypal. Thanks to an unscrupulous customer, I will have to refund all payments that do not include an address. I apologize for any inconvenience this causes to the honest customers, but one dishonest customer is all it takes to ruin it for everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*****BE SURE YOUR SHIPPING ADDRESS & PHONE NUMBER IS INCLUDED IN YOUR PAYPAL PAYMENT. I WILL NOT SIFT THROUGH HUNDREDS OF EMAILS TO TRY AND FIND AN ADDRESS. IF YOUR ADDRESS IS NOT IN YOUR PAYPAL PAYMENT, YOUR FISH WILL NOT SHIP!! IF YOUR FISH DO NOT SHIP, YOU WILL ACCRUE BOARDING FEES!! I'M SORRY BUT AS IT IS PART OF PAYPAL'S POLICY TO PROTECT THE SELLER ONLY IF AN ADDRESS IS LISTED, I MUST BE FIRM WITH THIS. I RECENTLY HAD A VERY DISHONEST CUSTOMER AND MUST NOW INSIST ALL ADDRESSES BE IN YOUR PAYMENTS OR THEY WILL BE REFUNDED AND PAYMENT WILL HAVE TO BE RE-SENT WITH THE ADDRESS INCLUDED*****
Please do be courteous enough to email me once your FlowerHorn/s arrive and let me know if they are in good shape.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING AS IT IS BECOMING A PROBLEM: PLEASE BE RESPONSIBLE AND MAKE SURE YOU ARE AVAILABLE TO RECEIVE YOUR FISH ONCE IT IS SHIPPED. IF YOUR FISH HAS BEEN SHIPPED AND IT DOES NOT ARRIVE THE NEXT DAY, PLEASE CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY. IF YOU RECEIVE NOTIFICATION FROM THE POST OFFICE THAT THEY HAVE ATTEMPTED DELIVERY OF YOUR FISH PLEASE GO TO THE POST OFFICE AND RETRIEVE YOUR FISH, THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. IF YOU WANT THE POST OFFICE TO LEAVE THE FISH WITHOUT REQUIRING A SIGNATURE THEN YOU MUST LET ME KNOW BEFORE I SHIP......I AM NOT A MIND READER, NOR DO I KNOW WHAT YOUR SCHEDULE IS OR WHAT YOU MAY BE ASSUMING WILL HAPPEN. ALL FISH SHIPPED WILL REQUIRE A SIGNATURE UNLESS YOU MAKE ARRANGEMENTS WITH ME PRIOR TO SHIPPING. BUT PLEASE BE AWARE IF SIGNATURE IS WAIVED, SO IS INSURANCE. DO NOT SEND MULTIPLE EMAILS WITH UNREASONABLE REQUESTS. IF YOU WISH FOR YOUR FISH TO BE SHIPPED TO AN ADDRESS OTHER THAN THE ONE LISTED ON YOUR PAYPAL PAYMENT, THEN STATE THE ADDRESS AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION (SPECIFIC SHIP DATES, LEAVE PACKAGE ON BACK STEPS, ETC.) IN THE COMMENT SECTION OF YOUR PAYPAL PAYMENT. I DO NOT SAVE ALL THE VARIOUS EMAILS, SO THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!
BOARDING FEES:
I hope the following paragraph encourages buyers to be responsible for having funds available at the time of arrival of their transshipped fish within the United States. Unfortunately this had to be added because of irresponsible customers that neglected to pay for their transship fish in a timely manner. Having to board a fish requires my time and space. I will be the one to determine the value of my time.
Up to 300 fish are received per International shipment. Imagine an airplane arriving of 300 children that must be fed, monitored and taken care of all by one person until the parents of each individual child decided it was time to receive their child. Transshipped fish are to be paid within a 2 day period of arriving.
A "boarding fee" of 2.00 per day per fish is assessed if shipping payment has not been received within a 3 day period of arrival. This is for the first week of care after arrival. This fee will apply to each day the fish has to be cared for in between shipping days which are Monday , Tuesday & Wednesday. Therefore if payment is not made before the next shipping day another weeks "boarding fee" will apply automatically. It is the responsibility of the buyer to have funds available for immediate shipping at the time of transshipped arrival in the United States.
After 14 days with no payment, fish will be considered my property and will be resold to recoup the costs of importing and care.
I appreciate your understanding and look forward to sending you your transshipped fish quickly and safely.
Customers that have abandoned their fish in the past without payment will have one week to pay for their fish (not the standard two) before the fish is gone.
If you plan to be "out of town" or want your fish to be Boarded past the 1st week of arrival, it would behoove you to contact me FIRST and make sure that this is alright. If I have plans already arranged and I get an email stating that you are leaving your fish, I will NOT change my plans b/c of an inconsiderate customer that failed to make prior arrangements and assumed that I would take care of their fish. Regardless of the Boarding Fee policy you need to check ahead of time to make sure that someone will be home to care for your fish, the Boarding Fee "policy" is set up to cover the fees, it does not automatically guarantee that someone will be here. Also, shipping days are Wednesday & Thursday during the week the shipment arrives. I can accommodate whichever ship date is best for you that week. Any week in between shipment dates however, you will have to accommodate my schedule and receive the fish at my convenience.
TRANSSHIP FEES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
FLOWERHORNS ARE MEASURED FROM TIP OF NOSE TO TIP OF TAIL!! SO BE SURE THAT IS HOW YOUR SELLER HAS MEASURED IT!! If you get a quote prior to shipment arrival and the fish arrives and is larger than what you were quoted for, the quote is void.
*Import Fee @ (2" FH) 2.00; (3" FH) 3.00; (4" FH) 4.00; (5" & Up FH) 5.00
*Handling Fee @ (2" FH) $5.00; (3" FH) $10.00 per fish; (4" FH) $15.00; (5"-9" FH) $20.00; (10" & Up) $25.00
*For anyone with 5 or more FH or cichlids, you will get a $2 per fish discount on handling fees
*Box Fee - $6.00; (Multiple FH/Large Box) $10.00
*Heat Pack- 2.00
**Shipping (FedEx): Due to variation by zip code all shipping fees will have to be quoted!! Effective January 4, 2010, FedEx Express package and freight rates will increase an average of 5.9% for U.S. and U.S. export services. The rate increase will be partially offset by adjusting the fuel price at which the fuel surcharge begins, reducing the fuel surcharge by 2 percentage points.
Please keep in mind that the shipping charge will also include the expense for gas/travel to the shipping carrier.
Boarding Fee (Only applies if fish are not immediately paid for). $2.00 per day per fish
Payments received after 10 A.M. Eastern Time will apply toward the following shipping day as payment being received. I must have payment by 10 A.M. Eastern time to allow time to pack the fish and get to the P.O.
Local Pick-Up is available within 48 hours of shipment arrival here, otherwise you will have to add Boarding Fees to your Import/Handling Fee. We are located in McDonough, Georgia 30252.
HAWAII PLEASE EMAIL FOR QUOTE. HAWAII Customers, you are required to get a permit from your state in order to receive live fish shipments. For more information please visit the HDOA website. CLICK HERE to go to the page where you can apply for the necessary permit.
* Questions regarding the following fees? Take a look on this page for an explanation of WHY you are charged these fees. Please Note: My Fees are not up for discussion, I do not care to hear opinions regarding my fees.
**USPS Express shipping may be available for you, but ONLY if it is overnight to your address and ONLY for 4" Flowerhorns and smaller. DO NOT ask me to ship Express for Flowerhorns larger than 4" as I will NOT. Nor will I ship USPS Express if it is not overnight to your address.
Multiple FlowerHorns and larger FlowerHorns, I will have to quote you a shipping price based on weight and your address.
About Shipping: Not to state the obvious, but Overnight Shipping is THE ship method that will be used for cichlids. ESPECIALLY during the winter months. Any other ship method will void a Live Guarantee. I DO NOT RECOMMEND USING USPS FOR SHIPPING FLOWERHORN. I REPEAT, I DO NOT RECOMMEND USPS FOR SHIPPING FLOWERHORN. Now for those of you that insist on the less expensive shipping USPS provides (and I only offer this for SMALL FH) please read the following. Once your package leaves my hands it is out of my control. With that said, I will make any phone calls I can to try to help out in the case of a lost or misdirected package. But do not expect miracles as I DO NOT CONTROL THE P.O., nor am I a deity. Nor will I stay up past P.O. business hours worrying over it! If you expect for me to be at my computer awaiting each email that may come in from every customer, you will be disappointed. Misdirected/Late packages happen on occasion and for that I apologize for, but again have no control over. If you become nasty, arrogant, even in some cases to the point of psychotic with your communication b/c of a Postal error, I will not seek a refund on your behalf from USPS. If you repeatedly call my home (when you could be calling the PO yourself) I will not seek a refund on your behalf. All I ask is that people behave within reason and have reasonable expectations. A misdirected or lost package in the case of a betta or guppy may be no big deal. However for a Flowerhorn it can mean DEATH. Choose wisely!!
ALSO, YOU CANNOT GET A REFUND FROM THE SHIPPING PROVIDER (USPS, FEDEX, ETC) UNLESS THE PACKAGE IS COMPLETELY LOST OR DESTROYED. IF IT GETS DELAYED OR IS LATE, YOU CAN ONLY RECOVER THE EXPENSE FOR SHIPPING ONLY NOT THE COST OF THE FISH. EVEN WITH INSURANCE COVERAGE, USPS DOES NOT INSURE LIVE ANIMALS.
I ship FH on Wednesday and Thursday the week of shipment arrival. If you prefer one day over the other please note this in your Paypal payment. FH need at least 24 hours to recover from the shipment from Thailand so please do not ask me to ship them out the next day after shipment arrival. It is too stressful for the fish and too much stress will kill the fish.
And finally, for those who do not have common sense enough to know this one, OVERNIGHT shipping is THE best ship method for shipping any type of LIVE animal. This was not posted before, because I assumed that it was simply common sense thinking. However it has come to my attention that this needs to be posted as well. It may not be the cheapest but it is the best for the fish. Cichlids will NOT be shipped any method other than overnight. And without a doubt is the most common sense shipping during the winter months. If you have close to freezing temps, ANY heat pack will not sustain for over 48 hours enough to keep a cichlid warm. That rule will be maintained no matter how much:
- you've shipped fish to people and have had no problems
- you've received shipments and have had no problems
- you don't care if the fish dies, it will be OK
- you can't afford overnight shipping so will take full responsibility for whatever happens to the fish
There will be NO EXCEPTIONS, cichlids will be shipped overnight only. (For 4" & smaller cichlids) If you live in a zip code that is a 2 Day transit via Express then FedEx overnight will have to be used. Otherwise you will have to use a transshipper that will ship via another carrier or method.
Packing: I dechlorinate my water with Prime and add Bag buddies to the water to calm the fish during shipment. We have an Oxygen tank that we pay a monthly fee for that we use to put pure oxygen in the bag with the fish for shipment. Cardboard shipping boxes are used lined with pink insulative 3/4" closed cell foam (the foam used to insulate homes) to make the box suitable for shipping live fish. I use either shredded paper and/or styro peanuts in the box to cushion the fish during shipment. I also use Uni-Heat heat packs during the winter months, wrapped in newspaper. I always activate the heat pack 30 minutes prior to packing up the fish to ensure that it is heating up.
In case of DOA: NOTE: THE FOLLOWING DOA POLICY IS TO HELP YOU GET A REFUND/REPLACEMENT FROM THE SELLER. I DO NOT GIVE DOA REFUNDS! Do NOT open the bag! Email me immediately (within an hour). I am sorry, but I have to stand firm on this because there are many dishonest people who fail to acclimate the fish properly, or are otherwise responsible for the death of the fish, and then claim the fish was DOA and demand refund/replacement. Take a clear photograph of the fish in the original, unopened shipping bag. You will also need to provide the Seller with a photo of the DOA fish in the unopened bag. You and the Seller can then make arrangements how to handle it from there. Avoid death after arrival by following these ACCLIMATION instructions!! Do not be dishonest and try to file a claim against the carrier (USPS, FedEx, etc) if you have a DOA. If you initiate a claim it will only slow any shipping refund (if you are due a refund) and will cause unnecessary phone calls and hassle on this end. If that happens, I WILL deduct for my time from your refund. DOA should be handled by the Seller, not anyone that you think you can squeeze money out of. Also the carrier does not insure against DOA, they only guarantee delivery time, that's it!!
DOA refunds/replacements will need to be arranged between you and the Seller. Since these fish are not bred or kept by me, I cannot offer any type of DOA assurance for these fish. I can however assure you that the DOA rate I have had in the past 4 years is extremely low with almost all being caused by customers leaving their fish unclaimed at the PO for 3-7 days after repeated delivery attempts. Unfortunately I cannot be there to accept delivery of the fish for customers, once they ship it's up to the customer to be there to accept delivery or to arrange pick up w/ their PO if delivery is missed (and within a timely manner for the sake of the fish). Transship fees will apply for replacement fish.
Customers who use "Waiver of Signature" or who are not home to accept delivery of their fish void any warranty on Live Arrival.
Payment Instructions
*****BE SURE YOUR SHIPPING ADDRESS
AND PHONE NUMBER ARE IN YOUR PAYPAL PAYMENT. I WILL NOT SIFT THROUGH HUNDREDS OF EMAILS TO TRY AND FIND AN ADDRESS. IF YOUR ADDRESS IS NOT IN YOUR PAYPAL PAYMENT, YOUR FISH WILL NOT SHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*****(US Postal M.O. ONLY)I accept the following payment methods:
Paypal
Money Order
(Additional $5) MoneyGram/Western Union
Payments to be sent under my husband's name, Glenn Viveiros. I do not have time to pack up the twins to drive to Western Union and pick up payment.
PAYPAL: Please make Paypal payments to hopdiggity@bellsouth.net . Your betta/s will be shipped to the address on your Paypal payment. If you wish for the betta/s to be shipped to a different address then you must state this in the "Comment/Note Section" of your Paypal payment. If you have special shipping request (No Signature, Certain Ship Date, Etc.) this must also be in the comment section of your Paypal payment. With 200 + fish each shipment and at least 50+ emails daily I cannot remember special requests, etc for each customer.
MONEY ORDER: If you are making payment via Money Order then you must ensure that it arrives on or before the day the fish arrive. Which requires you to email me, get my shipping address and ship out your MO before the shipment is due in. Or you must Overnight Express your Money Order here to arrive the Next Day after the fish arrive here. Otherwise you will have Boarding Fees.
MONEYGRAM/WESTERN UNION: Any payments sent via MoneyGram or Western Union will have to add an additional $5.00 to the transship total for gas/time of having to go and pick up the payment. Also any fees charged by MoneyGram/Western Union are the responsibility of the customer. Monies sent via this method must be sent w/in 24 hours of fish arrival here.
NOTE: NEW INFO ADDED B/C OF A PROBLEM CUSTOMER THAT HAD A DIFFICULT TIME READING HIS EMAILS!! Your total due for transship fees are to be paid in ONE payment when paying via Paypal. If you want to send Money Order, MoneyGram or Western Union you can send multiple payments all day long. But to protect myself from less than honest customers I must insist that all payments made via Paypal are made as ONE payment, not broken up into pieces :o) Nothing "tricky" about it folks, just simple. This is not a Lay-a-way plan. If you cannot afford transship fees, then lower your fish order or buy locally. But do not send me whiney emails with tales of your financial woes. The policies and fees set forth on this page are not negotiable.
I had previously removed the following portion of this page because I thought it sounded kind of rough. But as soon as I took it down the stories began literally pouring in and I am a horrible person for conducting this as a business transaction and not a charity. So here it is again folks:
If you do not have the funds to pay for transshipping fees then very simply ......"Don't Bid"!! It is irresponsible and unreasonable to expect the transshipper to care for and house your fish for extended periods of time. The fees charged for transshipping do NOT cover this. On the following Betta, Flowerhorn & Discus transship pages you will find the expense "Boarding Fees". This fee was made for that very reason. If you do not wish to pay for Boarding Fees then pay for your fish as soon as they arrive. Simple. But please do not stall, avoid emails and then gripe and complain when you have left your fish for weeks that the fees are too expensive. Also, do NOT email me your tales of woe as to why you have no money. If you have no money please see the preceding statement about bidding. Every person has their share of difficulties, etc. I do not visit mine upon you so please do me the same courtesy. For my responsible customers that pay for your fees in a timely manner, thank you and I appreciate your patronage. Your promptness ensures that the whole process continues to work smoothly with large shipments arriving every 2 weeks.
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2010 Shipping Dates
Ships from Thailand: Arrives here in Atlanta:
January 10 January 11
January 24 January 25
February 7
POSTPONED Until February 15, arriving February 16 February 8February 28 March 1
March 14 March 15
March 28 March 29
April 11 April 12
April 25 April 26
May 9 May 10
May 23 May 24
June 6 June 7
June 20 June 21
July 5 July 6
July 18 July 19
August 1 August 2
August 15 August 16
August 29 August 30
September 12 September 13
September 26 September 27
October 11 October 12
October 24 October 25
November 7 November 8
November 21 November 22
December 5 December 6
December 19 December 20
