OMG! Liveaquaria switched their 14 day guarantee to a store credit!!!

jkcoon

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They have made quite a few policy changes recently. A couple I'm aware of...

$10 Box fee
Raised minimum free shipping to $150
Store credits instead of refunds.
Orders aren't gauranteed for 10:30am delivery anymore. (At least mine wasn't)


Nailed it... I'm looking for a new vendor now, ZERO desire to give Petco my money
 

Oldreefer44

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I stopped using them quite a while ago. It seems that they consider dead fish a write off. So far Pacific East Aquaculture has been great. They even called to make sure everything was ok with my last order.
 

mattzang

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i don't necessarily mind the store credit thing, although it's a pretty disappointing thing when you get a bunch of sick fish, they all die, and your recourse is to.. order more fish from that very same place.

the expert only arrive alive i get as well, but no way am i going to order expert only fish from LA if that's their stance. at least i want to see the fish eat at an lfs if i don't get a guarantee. FYI aqua locker guarantees all of their fish, so if you want an expert only fish that's the place i'd go. i think the better solution here would be to just charge a little more rather than do arrive alive only

maybe i just suck at QTing, but my recent order from LA is as follows:

christmas wrasse: dead day 2, spinal injury maybe?
royal gramma: doing ok, but might have a bacterial infection
starcki damsels x2: one seems to have either a bacterial infection or uronema, so that's fun

but i guess at least i get my money back. my last purchase from the lfs went as follows:

solon wrasse dead week 2
royal gramma dead week 2
yellow clown goby success!
azure damsel success!
 

shoelaceike

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I used to order from them as well. Now with all these changes, there is no benefit and only downsides to ordering online. At the LFS, you can see the actual fish, watch it eat, know how long they've had it etc....and there's no shipping minimum and no extra stress from the shipping
 

ca1ore

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They're owned by Petco so I would guess a lot of these recent changes are from the top.

Petco bought DFS in 2014 LOL ….. these changes are all quite recent. My guess, actually, is now that LA/DD sits on its own (after the rest of DFS was shuttered) that it no longer blends into the whole and must be able to stand profitably on its own.
 

ca1ore

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Just wondering - do any of your lfs provide any credit or guarantee on marine life?

It's pros and cons really. Buy from the LFS and you are insulated from last mile shipping stress/deaths and can see the fish eat; but there's no guarantee. Six to one, half dozen to the other.
 

Tamberav

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I stopped ordering from them and unsubscribed to their letter when they price hiked most fish, some double priced and added a $10 box charge.

I can handle credit only but they are just a rip off now.

I use my LFS but would probably try Aqua Locker if ordering online. It seems they stepped up to try and fill the role LA stopped doing.
 
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evolved

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DD animals are at a facility where the are qt'd and watched.
It's not really a true qt though; it's more of a conditioning process.

Still a place I order from myself.
 

Johniejumbo

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I used to use LA for just about everything. I understand a lot of the changes. Hey people gotta make a buck right? But at those prices my LFS is comparable. I did try out aqualocker for a couple of shipments last month and I was very happy with it. They are my new go to for fish right now. I haven’t decided on coral yet. Got plenty of options :) when I decide what I want.
 

pdxmonkeyboy

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I replaced LA with fishy business aquatics... which is now aqua locker.
If you want a guarantee then you can purchase it. I was never impressed with LA, but that is just me. I can see them loosing a lot of money from people mishandling, or not acclimating fish, or whatever.

 

Tamberav

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oof.. my friend ordered from LA and I asked him if his fish came today and he said it got delayed and fish were shipped Monday and wont arrive until Wed. He told me he called early Monday to ask for a different ship date because they were getting snow in his area and they said "it will be fine". It wasn't fine :( Hopefully the fishes make it.
 

Christopher Presley

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What drives me nuts about the credit is I assume most people do like myself and always purchase enough to get free shipping. So when my $150 order only has two DOA’s at $20 each now to get those two fish again I either have to pony up and order more that I didn’t intend to order In the first place or pay the shipping.
 

Clownreef

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I stopped doing business with them after being a customer for over a decade. All the fish I purchased from the in the last leg of being a customer arrived dead or died shortly after. My local fish store is my to go for fish and coral dedicated sellers online.
 

Kenneth Hooper

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Orders never were 'guaranteed' for 10:30 … if you read the fine print. UPS has always said that they aim for 10:30 ….

Agree that lots of policy changes have happened over the last 6 months, I suspect as an effort to bolster profits (mitigate losses perhaps). They are now on par with the industry rather than being ahead. Other changes beyond those listed by @Scurvy include arrive alive ONLY for expert fish and a photo of dead animals is required not just your word.

Being "ON PAR" with the rest of the industry does NOT earn a clients business. Being "AHEAD' is what makes you stand out and get not only a client's business but his return business as well.

Reading the posts, it looks like hobbyists are quickly abandoming this company in search of someone "AHEAD" of the industry.
 
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