Biota review 1 star...

[am3gross]

Not very happy today. Received my order today and of the 3 yellows I ordered 2 were alive and 1 was DOA. One of the bags were split at the seam and the poor little guy did not have a chance. I pulled the 2 bags out and hoping to see the 3rd maybe flutter in the bag that was in the bottom of the box did not happen. When I pulled the 3rd bag from the cooler a little water was still left in there and the little guy was upside down.

I contacted Biota and they wanted me to stick him in the tank and see if maybe he was maybe in shock, which was not the case. I was given a gift card but of course they are out of stock online.(They are going to send me a replacement as long as I pay the shipping),I have been in contact with them most of the day so the customer support is there, but it is still going to cost me more money to get the replacement. The bags that were used were very thin, and not doubled up, and inside the cooler there was no extra packing material which may have led to a lot of movement inside the cooler, ultimately leading to the bag busting. I like the fact they have a DOA promise, and they even give a 7 day replacement, but when it comes from them packaged the way it did, DOA, I should not have to spend more money on shipping. Like I told Biota, if it was in my care within the 7 days, sure, I should be responsible for the shipping, but that was not the case here.

 

[Biota_Marine]

Not very happy today. Received my order today and of the 3 yellows I ordered 2 were alive and 1 was DOA. One of the bags were split at the seam and the poor little guy did not have a chance. I pulled the 2 bags out and hoping to see the 3rd maybe flutter in the bag that was in the bottom of the box did not happen. When I pulled the 3rd bag from the cooler a little water was still left in there and the little guy was upside down.

I contacted Biota and they wanted me to stick him in the tank and see if maybe he was maybe in shock, which was not the case. I was given a gift card but of course they are out of stock online.(They are going to send me a replacement as long as I pay the shipping),I have been in contact with them most of the day so the customer support is there, but it is still going to cost me more money to get the replacement. The bags that were used were very thin, and not doubled up, and inside the cooler there was no extra packing material which may have led to a lot of movement inside the cooler, ultimately leading to the bag busting. I like the fact they have a DOA promise, and they even give a 7 day replacement, but when it comes from them packaged the way it did, DOA, I should not have to spend more money on shipping. Like I told Biota, if it was in my care within the 7 days, sure, I should be responsible for the shipping, but that was not the case here.

We appreciate your feedback and understand your disappointment. I'm happy we were able to hold a tang for you for a replacement and hope it's doing well!

I just wanted to address a couple things to help readers understand the situation:

We do ship in 2mm double bags (4mm when doubled), we actually purchase them pre-doubled from the manufacturer. Since they're pre-made, it can be hard to tell that they're doubled. This is the thickest bag that can fit a clip machine. We'll add packing material inside if there is a risk of the bags moving around, but if they fit well inside, we don't add excess packing material, as we want to put too much pressure on the bags once they reach a higher altitude.

It's very rare for bags to pop in transit, but sometimes that can happen. If a plane encounters high turbulence at high altitudes, the bags can be under a lot of strain. Though it's rare, it's really unfortunate when this happens, and we are equally disappointed having painstakingly raised the fish from eggs and caring for them all their lives.

We certainly understand the opinion on the replacement shipping. With shipping costs rising so much over the past few years, it can be a real burden on small businesses. We decided that instead of raising the prices on our products to counter the shipping fees, we would not offer free shipping service fees on replacement fish or over a certain order dollar amount. We do our best to make customers aware of this policy before ordering, it's even in bold red lettering at the top of the Yellow Tang product page. We also have a checkbox in the checkout process asking customers to confirm that they're aware of the policy before being able to checkout. Then, once the order is placed, a confirmation email is sent with the information again. This policy is similar to many other online marine livestock retailers, including some of the most well-known, who also don't cover shipping service fees on replacement animals any longer.

We also long for the days when low shipping costs on livestock orders was the norm, but unfortunately, with constantly rising fuel and shipping costs, retailers are forced to either pad their product costs with the shipping fees, or charge the exact shipping service fee amounts. For example, when you buy a small item on Amazon that might cost $1 at the local dollar store, it is $10 from Amazon. This model simply doesn't work for our store, and we don't think it would be fair to increase the price of some smaller fish in this way. This is why the exact shipping service fee is quoted at checkout.

We hope this perspective helps you to understand the situation a little better, and we're glad you were able to obtain a yellow tang for your tank. Please feel free to reach out any time you have a question. Our customer service team is very passionate about our animals and the aquarium hobby, and we are always happy to help!

 

[IrezumiHurts]

We appreciate your feedback and understand your disappointment. I'm happy we were able to hold a tang for you for a replacement and hope it's doing well!

I just wanted to address a couple things to help readers understand the situation:

We do ship in 2mm double bags (4mm when doubled), we actually purchase them pre-doubled from the manufacturer. Since they're pre-made, it can be hard to tell that they're doubled. This is the thickest bag that can fit a clip machine. We'll add packing material inside if there is a risk of the bags moving around, but if they fit well inside, we don't add excess packing material, as we want to put too much pressure on the bags once they reach a higher altitude.

It's very rare for bags to pop in transit, but sometimes that can happen. If a plane encounters high turbulence at high altitudes, the bags can be under a lot of strain. Though it's rare, it's really unfortunate when this happens, and we are equally disappointed having painstakingly raised the fish from eggs and caring for them all their lives.

We certainly understand the opinion on the replacement shipping. With shipping costs rising so much over the past few years, it can be a real burden on small businesses. We decided that instead of raising the prices on our products to counter the shipping fees, we would not offer free shipping service fees on replacement fish or over a certain order dollar amount. We do our best to make customers aware of this policy before ordering, it's even in bold red lettering at the top of the Yellow Tang product page. We also have a checkbox in the checkout process asking customers to confirm that they're aware of the policy before being able to checkout. Then, once the order is placed, a confirmation email is sent with the information again. This policy is similar to many other online marine livestock retailers, including some of the most well-known, who also don't cover shipping service fees on replacement animals any longer.

We also long for the days when low shipping costs on livestock orders was the norm, but unfortunately, with constantly rising fuel and shipping costs, retailers are forced to either pad their product costs with the shipping fees, or charge the exact shipping service fee amounts. For example, when you buy a small item on Amazon that might cost $1 at the local dollar store, it is $10 from Amazon. This model simply doesn't work for our store, and we don't think it would be fair to increase the price of some smaller fish in this way. This is why the exact shipping service fee is quoted at checkout.

We hope this perspective helps you to understand the situation a little better, and we're glad you were able to obtain a yellow tang for your tank. Please feel free to reach out any time you have a question. Our customer service team is very passionate about our animals and the aquarium hobby, and we are always happy to help!

Thanks for posting this. For better or worse these situations need to be a 2 way street, vendors cant assume liability for all risk or they wont be in business for long. At least you are replacing the fish at no cost without hassle. It might be worth offering shipping insurance for an added layer of risk acceptance for consumers. But ive been happy with biota so far and posts like this actually reinforce why i would continue to buy from biota direct

 

[am3gross]

Biota's customer service is on point. No complaints there.

It is also posted about the DOAs and the shipping. I get it, I really do. I have no idea what the overhead is in Biota or the amount that they actually pay for shipping. I do know that companies offer free shipping after a certain dollar figure, which I assume is because these companies get discounted rates because they ship so much, Which leads me to believe that Biota isn't charging actual shipping charges, but a standard rate across the board. At the end of the day its all about money.

Its ok though. Biota is a good company and I am sure they are going to continue to do well. I wish them the best, unfortunately I will not be able to support them and that is ok. That's what makes this country great.

MIke

 

[thedon986]

Biota's customer service is on point. No complaints there.

It is also posted about the DOAs and the shipping. I get it, I really do. I have no idea what the overhead is in Biota or the amount that they actually pay for shipping. I do know that companies offer free shipping after a certain dollar figure, which I assume is because these companies get discounted rates because they ship so much, Which leads me to believe that Biota isn't charging actual shipping charges, but a standard rate across the board. At the end of the day its all about money.

Its ok though. Biota is a good company and I am sure they are going to continue to do well. I wish them the best, unfortunately I will not be able to support them and that is ok. That's what makes this country great.

MIke

A “one star” review of a company for something that happened beyond their control and the company is following their very clearly posted policy.

Today’s consumer everyone. Wow.

 

[am3gross]

A “one star” review of a company for something that happened beyond their control and the company is following their very clearly posted policy.

Today’s consumer everyone. Wow.

Things were in "their" control, The packaging was not done properly. They were not double bagged as claimed and the amount of room in the cooler would have warranted some extra packing material if I was the one packing it. When the package was received the Yellow had already passed as it was out of water for some time.

Customer service answered when I emailed them. The response was to put the dead fish in and acclimate as normal. Which is also on there site.

I gave the 1 STAR review because of the way that it was packaged, ultimately causing the DOA, which at the end of the day cost me more money.

So the comment of "todays consumer" kinda strikes a nerve with me. I did not get on here and bash Biota about the things they say they did or may have not did. I was going to let it ride. I will always try and find the positive in any situation. The old adage of "Praise in public and reprimand in private" sticks with me and always will.

 

[Biota_Marine]

Things were in "their" control, The packaging was not done properly. They were not double bagged as claimed and the amount of room in the cooler would have warranted some extra packing material if I was the one packing it. When the package was received the Yellow had already passed as it was out of water for some time.

Customer service answered when I emailed them. The response was to put the dead fish in and acclimate as normal. Which is also on there site.

I gave the 1 STAR review because of the way that it was packaged, ultimately causing the DOA, which at the end of the day cost me more money.

So the comment of "todays consumer" kinda strikes a nerve with me. I did not get on here and bash Biota about the things they say they did or may have not did. I was going to let it ride. I will always try and find the positive in any situation. The old adage of "Praise in public and reprimand in private" sticks with me and always will.

Hey Michael, not to cause any confusion but the information our team stated above is correct.

For packaging all of our shipments use 1.5" thick styofoam coolers. Your order would have received what we call an "Iceburg" styro to fit the 3 individually bagged tang snug. The bags we use at our facility are all pre assembled double bags. We do not carry single bags other than the giant 8mm thick bags we double for our 8"+ clam shipments. We use 2x2mm thick double bags for a total thickness of 4mm. We do this because after rigorous testing with our clipping machines we've learned it keeps both air and water in the bags the best. It may not look like it because they're already assembled but you can see the double seam at the bottom and double opening at the top.

Below is an example of what your order would have looked like packed up as it left our facility. I assure you that if the seam did not split during transit that the bags were packed correctly and with care like we do with all of our orders everday. We rarely have any issues with packaging and have even had our boxes sit for upwards of 7 days at UPS centers with zero DOAs.

We sincerely apologize for the issues you faced and that you were not satisfied with our attempts to rectify based on our listed policies. We do not make any money on our shipping costs as the rates come directly from UPS so what you see is what we're charged. Also as mentioned above, since we breed all of these fish and have cared for them for many months before shipping the cost is much higher than that of a wild counterpart. So to rectify an unforeseen circumstance we meet in the middle with our customers by replacing the animal while they only cover the shipping cost.

 

[am3gross]

If I had the packaging still I would show that this order was not double bagged like you claim. If you preorder your bags, like it looks like you do, then there is a possibility that some where in the process one got thru and was not done correctly. I know, the chances of that are slim. But so is the likelihood that it busts while in flight from Florida to Virginia.

I am not going to respond anymore to this thread. I am not going to continue to go dwell on something that is/was out of my control.

Its ok if people disagree, people can have there own opinions, the world will still turn.

Biota, have a great day, keep doing what you are doing, and keep the Yellows coming.

MIke