What exactly does "arrive alive guarantee" mean

[Glenn Siegel]

I purchased an expensive and typically hardy fish from what I understand to be a reputable seller with an arrive alive guarantee.

I was informed that the fish was quarantined in his system for a month and I was told it was eating and doing great (I have no reason to doubt that). After acclimating and putting in my tank it was apparent that something was off (neurologically?) with the fish. It was swimming into rock/coral almost like it is blind. 2 weeks later it is still alive but has still not eaten and is progressively getting worse. If I put my hand next to it there is no reaction so he is not seeing it. The eyes (the entire eye and socket) are also twitching back and forth.

When you receive a fish that is alive but is clearly not healthy (perhaps the shipper threw the box?) how would you interpret the arrive alive guarantee and expect the seller to handle this situation if the fish does not come back? I have kept the seller informed but he has not yet responded to my question about what happens if the fish does not make it. Any feedback especially from vendors is especially appreciated.

 

[sbash]

I'm in Ontario, Canada and have done shipping business with many resellers. The arrive alive guarantee here is literally that it is not dead in the bag. There should not be any room for interpretation of the guarantee, if there is, I wouldn't do business with them. This policy should be very clearly documented.

However, the businesses know that they need to fix a problem or you won't order from them again. If you call them, explain the situation and they do nothing, then you don't have to buy from them any more and if you do, you do so at your own risk. Best case, they give you store credit and apologise.

This also applies to local stores. If I buy a fish and it is dead by the time I get home (under reasonable circumstances), the LFS should give you store credit (hopefully for the full amount). But if the fish goes lame by the next day, I could see a half credit being fair.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

I had a fish arrive with these same symptoms, but after a few days it stopped swimming into everything and has begun eating.

 

[Geebs19]

I agree with the above. It arrives alive or dead. Thats what it means. Now your issue seems to deal with more of a customer service issue and what the seller is willing to do about it.