Have a question...first time customer wants to order.

[sophia101]

Dear Staff at Liveaquaria.com,
I am 13 years old and i started a FOWLER aquarium about 3 months ago. Currently it has no livestock in it other than some snails/hermits as well as LR and LS. I really would like to purchase live corals and fish from liveaquaria, but i dont have a lot of money. The thing that kills me is the shipping charges (i know thats the average price). This would be my first time ever ordering from LiveAquaria.com and wanted to see if you could provide me free shipping or something even if i don't spend $250 or more? That would tremendously help me out! Thank you so much in advance.

Sincerely,
Sophia Graniela

 

[dfs/la2]

Sophia,

Thank you for your post. We are constantly monitoring shipping costs and this remains a concern to both you and us. We do understand that the charges may seem inappropriate at times, especially when ordering smaller specimens or quantities. However, orders small and large require the same amount of people to process and ship the order. Some companies prefer to reflect these by charging higher product costs, separate box charges or by charging a percentage of the shipping and handling costs as a separate consideration. We have been able to hold our shipping costs in the past, but our shipping charges reflect the general carrier costs in shipping.

Although we do not have any offers of free shipping at this time, we may in the future re-instate the special offer of free shipping on orders of a significant amount. We suggest that you sign up for our email newsletter, which will keep you advised of any specials.

If we can be of any additional assistance, please feel free to contact our Live Aquaria Department at 1-800-334-3699 or via email at customerservice@liveaquaria.com and we will be happy to answer any question(s) you may have.

Thank you,

Michelle H.
Drs. Foster and Smith, Inc.
Live Aquaria

 

[aquaticvet1]

Sophia,
Please contact our call center manager, Laura Arbogosh. One way or another she will make sure that you get some livestock and provide whatever education that you may need to keep them healthy. I want to make sure that you get the correct things for your tank . She will assist and help you.
Welcome to the hobby and Laura will make sure that we get you some livestock in an affordable fashion along with proper care information.

Race Foster, D.V.M.

 

[sophia101]

Greetings Race,
Thank you oh so much for your kind help! Liveaquaria has been amazing to me and helped me with past issues with my tank I will call now and ask to speak with Laura Arbogosh and hope she can help me and get me affordable livestock from you. Thank you again!

Sincerely,
Sophia Graniela

 

[ybenormal]

Sophia,

I have no idea where you live but I'll bet there is a good Marine/Reef club somewhere close to you (do a quick Google search). Most reef clubs have members that will bend over backwards to help out newcomers. Our local club members even drop by to help with setups and many of them offer free frags to newbies!

Another benefit of club memberships is that you can join in on group buys to save on shipping costs. Larger group buys often result in discounted prices from vendors, saving you even more money.

Anyways, welcome to the hobby and remember the golden rule of saltwater--the only thing that happens fast is disaster. Take your time, learn all that you can and have fun!

 

[sophia101]

Thanks for the info ybenormal! We do have a reef club..but i didn't think of that I ordered from Liveaquaria Wdnesday night and will be getting my livestock today I will make a new post with my opinion.

 

[aquaticvet1]

ybenormal is exactly correct as to the benefits of belonging to a hobby club. Most areas of agriculture whether they be animal related or plant and forestry are served by organizations such as University Extensions. This is not the case in the reef industry. Expertise comes largely from others within the hobby and to a lesser extent, from those attempting to sell you something.
Last month, I presented a speech to about 125 preveterinary students at Michigan State University and it was interesting at how quick the audience focus went to the fish and coral trade. There is a great need for education.
I would urge everyone with an interest in aquariums to join their local hobby club and in turn, support MASNA. Reef Central is also an invaluable resource.

Thank you, Race Foster----- LiveAquaria.com

 

[sophia101]

Hi Race, if you read the other post i made this morning, im very happy with my order other than when i ordered the nano soft coral pack they sent me polyps and muchrooms and this coral that looks like its dying from your divers den thats like $150 i think. I didnt get a soft coral like the toadstool or anything I am emailing pics of this dying coral thing to your tech support now to find out what it is. Thanks.