4 day delivery of fish

jgadbois · Feb 2, 2025

Ordered 3 fish from a large online vender last week. Shipped on Thursday for Friday delivery. Tracking information had fish arrive at Memphis and sre still there. Tracking updated to Monday delivery. Vendor has a live arrive guarantee but since that is for next day delivery I believe I should get a full refund or have my order sent again at their expense.

Would appreciate hearing about any similar experiences and their outcome.

everpresentnoob · Feb 2, 2025

Id notify the vendor of what's going on asap. then see how the fish look once received. Most vendors will work with you.

jgadbois · Feb 2, 2025

I notified the vendor immediately after the reschedule to Monday was received.

Is there any chance any of the fish will survive 4 days in a shipping bag?

exnisstech · Feb 2, 2025

Sorry to hear this. According to one large online vendor this does not happen. Some members here were pretty rough on me when I said I would never order livestock shipped on Thursday for Friday delivery.
EDIT: I would be very surprised if they arrive alive.

TastesLikeChicken · Feb 2, 2025

Those poor fish!

mfinn · Feb 3, 2025

jgadbois said:
Ordered 3 fish from a large online vender last week. Shipped on Thursday for Friday delivery. Tracking information had fish arrive at Memphis and sre still there. Tracking updated to Monday delivery. Vendor has a live arrive guarantee but since that is for next day delivery I believe I should get a full refund or have my order sent again at their expense.

Would appreciate hearing about any similar experiences and their outcome.

Fish are probably dead after 96 hours.
It's not a great idea asking for shipping on Thursday for delivery on Friday, in the winter. It may be good weather in your area, but many times shipping will go through airline hubs where the weather causes delays.
Many vendors will replace your order. Some will replace it if you pay shipping again and I've heard of a couple who refused to replace a delayed order.
I just used a vendor that has a $20 insurance policy. I had free shipping so the extra $20 was easy, and I get my order reshipped for free because the 48 hrs in the bag was too much.

Dragen Fiend · Feb 3, 2025

Yea likely not going to make it. The Memphis hub is notorious for delays. I tend to shop with vendors that dodge that hub. Tues/weds are the best times to receive live packages.

JayM · Feb 3, 2025

I don't often order livestock online, but when I do I always request a Monday or Tuesday ship date. 48 hours wouldn't be an issue if the fish were properly packaged for that amount of transit time, but it's highly unlikely that they were. I'd have something other than your display tank ready to go on the off chance that they aren't DOA, and would probably forgo any sort of acclimation. They'll need to get out of those bags ASAP.