Terms of Service. You check a box agreeing to all of this during checkout.
Shipping Schedule and Weather:
We ship on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday on the basis of weather, when you place the order, and our workflow. You will see a tracking number via the email address you place your order with (sometimes your PayPal address) when we ship. We do not typically ship Wednesday orders same-day unless they are morning orders and you reply back about being okay with a same day shipment. And so, orders placed Wednesday through Sunday ship the following week.
We include ice packs for every shipment through September and at no extra cost. We utilize packs of different sizes to get your order shipped safely to you all season long.
If you have special requests, please ask. US Holidays may affect shipping days.
We do not have a minimum order, unlike many sites, and so we want to mention that you might consider protecting your cost of shipping investment by ordering more than one thing. But that's your choice to make.
Weather: You are welcome to place an order regardless of your weather. We provide free cold packs in hot months and heat packs in cold months. If we feel it is too risky to ship we will contact you and work together to watch for a safe and convenient shipping window. You may contact us to have your package held at a nearby FedEx pick-up location which is always best in any weather. Write us if you have questions or want us to send you a list of your closest 5 pick up locations, including many Walgreen's and Dollar Generals with "FedEx Onsite."
FedEx Overnight Live Shipments $45 to $55 based on state (except Arizona)
Overnight is a reference to time in transit, not "when" your order ships or delivers.
This is the recommended option for our live guarantee, as follows. If there are any deaths or health issues within an hour of arrival and photographic proof is emailed, we will refund you for the specimens in question (and not shipping fees). Review DOA's section below for more info.
We recommend that you request (in notes field at checkout) that we label your shipment "Hold for FedEx Pick Up" if your weather is outside of an overnight low of 33 degrees or above 83 degrees for the daytime high. Write us if you have questions or want us to send you a list of your closest 5 pick up locations, including many Walgreen's and Dollar Generals with "FedEx Onsite."
Overnight Arizona $25
If you live in Arizona, this is the only shipping option during May-Sept. Same state customers as us enjoy discounted overnight shipping but in warmer months MUST pick their shipment up at a Fedex location if temps are over 83 degrees. Put your requested Fedex pick up location in the order notes during checkout. Otherwise, we'll simply email you about this and ask if you want a list of nearby ones.
2 Day Live Guarantee $22 (Excluding Aquatic Insects)
Two day is a reference to time in transit, not "when" your order ships or delivers. Our shipping days are noted above.
This option is riskier than overnight because if the carrier is a day late with your delivery, that further extends the time in transit and increases risk.
If your weather is mild, we will still ship aquatic insects with your selection of 2 day shipping but we DO NOT guarantee live arrival on aquatic insects with any method of shipping but overnight shipping.
Note: If your weather is over 83 degrees, or below freezing at night (33 degrees) we recommend that you do not choose this service. If you do, we will have to write you and request that you upgrade to overnight shipping. We do not refund card processing fees (PayPal, etc. about 3%) for cancelled orders including if you fail to write back to us after 2 attempts to contact you at the email address you provided (and that the tracking number for your living shipment would otherwise have gone to, unseen).
*This 2 day option is not available to Arizona, Texas or Florida customers in June through September due to heat, sorry.
Substrate/Books Shipping $0 (free shipping)
Choose this $0 shipping option ONLY if you have substrates or books in your shopping cart.
Tracking Numbers
These are sent via email when we create your shipping label, and again a second time automatically after we ship. Check your spam/junk folder. The auto-generated email you get from Fedex will have the most information and so look for that one especially! It will contain a note from us, the shipping day and the expected arrival day and delivery-by time in most cases. You want to know these things and they are provided to you so that you can pull the package in from the porch immediately!
You know our shipping days. We will not be held responsible for you not receiving your tracking number and missing your delivery. Check your spam/junk folder. You know if you ordered LIVING material. If you don’t see your tracking number when you think you should and based on our shipping schedule, write us immediately! Don't depend on the delivery company to call you even if you requested that they do. You are given as much information as you need to responsibly watch the progress and delivery of your living shipment and we expect you to with respect to the living material we ship.
Cancellations
If you write in to cancel your order prior to shipping we will not refund the 3rd party paypal/credit card transaction fees. Your order will be refunded minus the 1 to $3 (on average) that these companies take in processing your order and sending the money to our account. Additionally, if we write you about your order prior to shipping with respect to apparent address errors or weather issues and receive no email reply through 2 email attempts, we reserve the right to refund your order minus paypal fees. It is unsafe to ship a living package later than expected when the person on the receiving end is not expecting it to arrive during that timeframe because they aren't watching the tracking. No exceptions, sorry.
DOA's (Dead on Arrival)
DOA’s are rare. An email informing us about dead specimens or health issues is required within the FIRST HOUR after home deliveries (later in the same day is okay if you choose the "hold at FedEx" for pick up option). A photo of the specimen(s) in question is required. A refund for the specimen(s) will be issued at our discretion. Due to the cost of shipping these days and the average order being comparatively small, and along with the nature of the products being alive and requiring expensive shipping, sending replacements is not an option, sorry. You have been made aware of this prior to ordering living specimens and through ordering you necessarily accept these terms of service by checking a box. We ship lots of bugs for lots of years now. Our reputation and reviews across the forums and boards are excellent. Accidents do happen, but we continue to ship our unique products with high confidence.
Failure to Pick up your Hold for Pick Up package:
If you fail to pick up your package being held at a pick up point, we take no responsibility for the contents therein or existence of the package whatsoever. You placed the order for living things and accept full responsibility for picking up your package in a timely fashion. The tracking number was sent via email about the shipment. If you didn't get the tracking number per our shipping day expectations we expect(ed) you to write to communicate about that with respect to the living things in your shipment. We offer no refunds for packages that are not picked up within 3 hours of delivery. This section is with respect to our 2 day hold for pick up shipping option and any package that is otherwise held for pick up. Please watch the tracking very carefully for these packages and contact us if you have any concerns.
Stolen Or Missing Deliveries
Buyer Beware! If your shipment is scanned as delivered at your given delivery address, but you cannot find it, we do not under any circumstances accept responsibility for a package that was stolen off of your property. If you live in a multi-unit complex, where thefts are always statistically more common than private residences, please consider the option of contacting us to arrange for package to deliver to a nearby FedEx pick up location.
Consumer Agreement for 49 States
While pictures typically represent the adult version of a species, most available specimens are shipped as nymphs, spiderlings, or various other immature stages. Sizes are noted on the website where applicable. Sexes are random unless specifically mentioned in the product listing.
By ordering through this website you agree to our Terms of Service on this page.
We accept all major credit cards and PayPal. We ship only within the US, excluding HI and PR. Alaska okay! International customers please visit BugzUK.com
We operate out of Arizona and if your shipping address is in this state the shopping cart will collect 6.6% in state sales tax.
We enjoy being a resource to our nation's educators, scientists, and enthusiasts for a diversity of arthropod species. I put this website up in 1997 and it has been my life's pleasure to be of service to a community I love.