LiveAquaria 2 week guarantee for marine fish is store credit

[Halal Hotdog]

I was looking at the site today and noticed a few differences.
1. Free shipping if now only for $149+, not $100.
2. The two week guarantee is for store credit not a refund. Also store credit expires after a year.

"Please preserve the deceased specimen by placing it in a plastic bag, sprinkling a teaspoon of salt over it, and then freezing, in the event we would ask for the return of your specimen. You may discard the remains after we have processed your claim and sent you a verification email. Store credit* for the purchase price of the qualifying item(s) will be applied to your account".

Seems like the change went into affect 8/9/19, not very thrilled. LiveAquaria is moderately more expensive than other online vendors, but differentiated themselves by offering a refund if fish died. If that is no long the case then they might have brutal competition.

 

[David Matthews]

Who else has such as a selection though? Not too thrilled about the higher bracket for free shipping either. Although half the time you dont get free shipping anyway unless everything you order comes from the same 1 of 5 of their different shipping hubs.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

I never had an issue of free shipping as long as my total order met the minimum amount, regardless of which facility it shipped from.

 

[mfinn]

I've noticed a big difference in LA's customer support in the last few years.
It was my go to fish place because they went where others wouldn't go.
Free replacement on fish in the warranty period. Seemed like a pretty good deal considering how many fish I've ordered from them, only to be doa or dead the next morning.
Then it went to putting the money back to the credit card which was absolutely fair.
You did have to send pictures which is also fair, but when it came to coral frags, the demand for hi res pictures seemed excessive. I bought several frags of which a couple died. After sending in pictures they claimed the corals were still alive when the little bit of color was actually coraline.
But now it's just a store credit, pretty much like everybody else.
I'm finding other places now that I'd rather buy from.

 

[EmdeReef]

Thanks for posting, I Missed this change. DD is my go to place for fish even though I still quarantine their fish.

Most retailers issue store credit, after reading their policy it’s still much more straightforward than a few other places. They also still seem to cover shipper delays etc while a few other places will make you pay extra for that even though they offer “free shipping.”

 

[albano]

I never had an issue of free shipping as long as my total order met the minimum amount, regardless of which facility it shipped from.

Absolutely... does not matter if it’s multiple shipping locations

 

[smartwater101]

Had nothing but good experience with LA customer service/refunds until today. I've always sent pictures of a dead fish in a small acclimation box with white sand. But this time they didn't want to give me a refund. Why? Because the fish is supposed to be out of water for the photo. What is that!? So if I lifted the box 6" out of the water, let it drain... then suddenly it's okay? Absolutely idiotic.

I asked why this matters now when it hasn't in years of me taking the same type of photo. She just sent me links to the refund policy. 0_o



I've had quite a few DOAs this year from them, but their refund policy has always been great so I continue to buy. After dealing with this photo issue, I asked to cancel another order. And an hour later I see they actually issued a refund for the original fish.
Back n forth, back n forth. Frustrating

 

[albano]

They have been asking for pics of dead fish on a white background for many months

 

[smartwater101]

They have been asking for pics of dead fish on a white background for many months

Hence why I always use white sand as the background.

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

I've noticed a big difference in LA's customer support in the last few years.
It was my go to fish place because they went where others wouldn't go.
Free replacement on fish in the warranty period. Seemed like a pretty good deal considering how many fish I've ordered from them, only to be doa or dead the next morning.
Then it went to putting the money back to the credit card which was absolutely fair.
You did have to send pictures which is also fair, but when it came to coral frags, the demand for hi res pictures seemed excessive. I bought several frags of which a couple died. After sending in pictures they claimed the corals were still alive when the little bit of color was actually coraline.
But now it's just a store credit, pretty much like everybody else.
I'm finding other places now that I'd rather buy from.

I'm always looking for good vendors. Can you suggest some? Thanks

 

[motortrendz]

I had a fish die from them, I sent them the pix on a white cutting board.. I actually asked for store credit bc I planned on repurchasing the fish I lost anyway. And they said they only issued refunds. This was about 3 weeks ago maybe 4. But they were super quick and responsive.

There's another vendor on her which also asks for a picture on a whit background, I paid more for shipping guarantee and they said I purchased the wrong one at check out and since the fish wasnt doa(died a few hours later) that I was beat.found out they didn't even ship the fish, they had it direct shipped from the wholesaler, they never had their hands on the fish, have no control over quality or size.. (the box had a return label for 104th st in Los Angeles, wholesale row) Then after fighting they issued me a credit. I went to apply thos credit to another fish that was over the free shipping threshold and when I applied my credit of 45$ they then wanted to charge me 45$ for shipping bc i used a "discount" after i co.plained about it they just stopped responding to me emails....

LA even though more expensive is worth every penny in my book, between the quality of packaging and shipping, to the quality of the fish and the way they respond to issued and questions, I really think they're top notch. Getting a little pricey over the last couple years, but it seems the quality has also followed.

 

[mfinn]

I'm always looking for good vendors. Can you suggest some? Thanks

I'm still looking for better ones too.
The way Live Aquaria did business before, really spoiled me.

 

[smartwater101]

I'm always looking for good vendors. Can you suggest some? Thanks

I'm still looking for better ones too.
The way Live Aquaria did business before, really spoiled me.

If it's coral you're looking for, you can't get much better than Unique Corals. No silly names, no over-the-top photoshopping, and good pricing.

As for fish, KP Aquatics has been great for me. It's a small mom n pop, so they don't have a huge selection, but a great place nonetheless. I will say though, avoid Blue Zoo like the plague.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

As a whole my experience with LiveAquaria has been positive, like many of you. Annoyed such a large change wasn't publicized better. I'm fine with store credit, but their prices are definitely higher than many vendors, and if their return policy is the same, then why would people pick them? Most are direct shipping from wholesalers, so doesn't make a terribly large difference which vendor you go with. I'm hoping this might prompt them to lower prices.

You have to be careful with some vendors. Store credit cannot be combined with free shipping. Those type of vendors are not worth working with.

 

[Cassian]

This is the last time I buy from LIVEAQUARIA

ok, so I usually don't leave bad reviews on places, but I think this needs to be said. I've been a loyal customer to LiveAquaria for about 7 years now. Ive spent thousands at their store over the years, and have dealt with many incidents. I just recently got back into the reefing hobby after...

www.reef2reef.com

check out my recent experience with them. now they are setting expiry dates on the rewards

 

[Aquarist76]

There's another vendor on her which also asks for a picture on a whit background, I paid more for shipping guarantee and they said I purchased the wrong one at check out and since the fish wasnt doa(died a few hours later) that I was beat.found out they didn't even ship the fish, they had it direct shipped from the wholesaler, they never had their hands on the fish, have no control over quality or size.. (the box had a return label for 104th st in Los Angeles, wholesale row) Then after fighting they issued me a credit. I went to apply thos credit to another fish that was over the free shipping threshold and when I applied my credit of 45$ they then wanted to charge me 45$ for shipping bc i used a "discount" after i co.plained about it they just stopped responding to me emails....

Would you be able to message me where this was so I know to avoid them. Thx.

As for the OP, thank you for this. I found out about the new refund policy a couple of weeks ago when I had a fish DOA. They seemed to just covertly change that. I didn't know about the increase in price for free shipping. I just placed an order yesterday for $125 and just assumed I got free shipping. I checked this morning and $45 of shipping fees were added to the order. I called them right away and added a couple of more items to get the free shipping. Thx.

I used to love LA. In the last year or so the quality of the fish I get from them has gone down drastically. I'm getting many more sick fish and I've had 2-3 arrive DOA. I just last week ordered a retired brood stock pair of Marine Bettas and the female arrived dead. Very bummed. I can get a single Betta at any time and already had one for another tank; surely didn't need another lone Betta. I got the refund for the dead one but that doesn't really make up for losing out on what was supposed to be a pair of fish. Now the remaining male seems depressed and isn't eating at all.

Still, even though the quality and customer service has declined, they still have better selection than anyone and when they have coupons prices aren't too bad.

 

[EMeyer]

I'm always looking for good vendors. Can you suggest some? Thanks

For fish?
BlueZooAquatics
SaltwaterFish.com
Reefs4Less

All are top notch service and quality. Bluezoo is overpriced. Reefs4Less is the best I've found anywhere.

 

[smartwater101]

For fish?
BlueZooAquatics
SaltwaterFish.com
Reefs4Less

All are top notch service and quality. Bluezoo is overpriced. Reefs4Less is the best I've found anywhere.

Blue Zoo is notorious for selling things they don't actually have in stock. Then sending emails claiming the fish are in observation and can't be shipped yet. Their customer service is also notorious for being non-responsive. Blue Zoo should be avoided at all costs.

 

[corky1966]

I was looking at the site today and noticed a few differences.
1. Free shipping if now only for $149+, not $100.
2. The two week guarantee is for store credit not a refund. Also store credit expires after a year.

"Please preserve the deceased specimen by placing it in a plastic bag, sprinkling a teaspoon of salt over it, and then freezing, in the event we would ask for the return of your specimen. You may discard the remains after we have processed your claim and sent you a verification email. Store credit* for the purchase price of the qualifying item(s) will be applied to your account".

Seems like the change went into affect 8/9/19, not very thrilled. LiveAquaria is moderately more expensive than other online vendors, but differentiated themselves by offering a refund if fish died. If that is no long the case then they might have brutal competition.

I recently purchased through fishy Business and you don’t get any kind of warranty except DOA! You have to purchase the 1,2,3 week warranty! So LA is pretty fair with there warranty! Just saying!

 

[falconut]

I usually get my fish locally. But have used Liveaquaria twice for fish they weren't getting in stock. Many years ago the fish I received was bigger & extremely beautiful, was very happy with my purchase. Second time was after Petco took over & the 2 fish were so tiny along with the microscopic hermits. One had lympo, too. I called & they refunded me the difference between medium (which i ordered) & small which they sent. Unfortunately, the one with lympo never recovered and died after a month in QT. The other one was too small it got bullied and died in my tank, plus I've never seen the super tiny hermits (less than 1/8") after putting them in. Now I'm hearing the refund policy & it just makes it easier to not be tempted to use them.