Ordering Information

Learn more about The Marine Center
The web’s most trusted livestock dealer™.

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The fastest way to get Marine Center’s great service.

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The most knowledgeable staff in the industry.

When We Receive Your Order
When you place an order with marinecenter.com , we promptly confirm receipt of your order. If we have any questions or comments regarding your order, we’ll contact you within 24 or less (Monday-Friday).  You’ll receive an “Order Shipped” email the night your order is shipped. 

PLEASE NOTE:  Due to the inherent nature of email and spam filtering, etc, occasionally your “Order Shipped” email we send the night the order is shipped might not make it to you, although your order has been shipped. Remember, orders of in stock items are shipped one day after we receive your order unless you specify another arrival date, (see Shipping and Delivery Schedule below), so you can expect your order to arrive on that day, per the schedule below, even if you don’t receive your “Order Shipped” email.   

IMPORTANT:  To prevent your Marine Center email messages from automatically going into your bulk or junk email folders, you will need to check your spam filter settings and add marinecenter.com to your address book, safe lists and spam blocking programs, etc.

Friday Delivery Policy
Please Note:  Live arrival is of course guaranteed on Friday providing it arrives on Friday. However, in the event of carrier delay on a Friday delivery, and the package does not arrive on Friday, live arrival guarantee is void.  In specifying Friday delivery, the customer accepts that Marine Center will in no way be liable for losses or provide any live arrival guarantee for merchandise, nor reimburse shipping costs. In specifying Friday delivery, customer accepts full responsibility and liability for retrieving packages from the carrier in the event the carrier fails to deliver or delays delivery. In the event of a Friday carrier delay, your package may not arrive until Monday or later unless you retrieve it from the carrier sooner, which is not always possible.

Order Filling
Our general policy is if two thirds of your order is in stock, it will be shipped, although our fill rate is generally higher, and we will our discretion in filling your order.  Due to the living nature of our products, livestock cannot be backordered.  Any unshipped items will be canceled and will not be shipped at a later date.  Please note, all orders are filled on a “first shipped first served” basis. Orders cannot be held for any reason.
 

Substitutions

This is a great option!  With over 100,000 gallons of water, our selection is the largest in the industry. Thousands of items are always in stock, which means if a particular item isn’t available, we’ll always have a huge selection of other items to chose from. For example, if your order is for three items, feel free to list as many alternate choices as you like, and we’ll ship only three items. This means that instead of getting fewer items than you wanted, or no order at all, you can get a great order every time! Please note, substitutions must be specified when you place your order, during checkout. We do not call you when your order is being packed if something happens to be unavailable— this is why we give you the option to tell us your preferences when you place your order.   Although the choice is yours, we encourage you to take advantage of our huge selection!

Payment Options
We accept Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express.

Frequently Asked Questions

“What days do you ship?”

Shipping days are Monday through Thursday. We do not ship on Friday Saturday or Sunday. Orders must be received by 5 pm Pacific time one day prior to shipping. (See table below). Livestock orders are shipped via overnight delivery.  Live Rock can be shipped via 1-5 day service or overnight. Orders of in stock items are shipped one business day after we receive your order unless you specify another arrival date.

Orders placed by	Will be shipped on	For arrival on
7pm PST Sunday	Monday	Tuesday
5pm PST Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
5pm PST Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
5pm PST Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
5pm PST Thursday	Monday	Tuesday
5pm PST Friday	Monday	Tuesday
5pm PST Saturday	Monday	Tuesday

 

“How much is shipping?”

Shipping starts at $49 and is calculated in our shopping cart. You will always see the total price before submitting any payment information.

 

“Do you guarantee live arrival?”

Live arrival is guaranteed.  We hand select and ship only ship animals that we know are healthy and eating! This means that problems arising from import are dealt with here, not passed on to you. We lose some livestock this way, but better us than you. The Marine Center is unique in devoting this level of care. Learn more about The Marine Center.

 

“What about fill rate and backorders?”

Our general policy is if two thirds of your order is in stock, it will be shipped, although our fill rate is generally higher, and we will our discretion in filling your order.  Due to the living nature of our products, we cannot backorder livestock.  Any unshipped items will be canceled and will not be shipped at a later date.  Please note, all orders are filled on a “first shipped first served” basis. Orders cannot be held for any reason.

Learn more about The Marine Center.

 

“What about substitutions?”

This is a great option!
With over 100,000 gallons of water, our selection is the largest in the industry. Thousands of items are always in stock, which means if a particular item isn’t available, we’ll always have a huge selection of other items you might like. For example, if your order is for three items, feel free to list as many alternate choices as you like, and we’ll ship only three items. This means that instead of getting fewer items than you wanted, you can get a great order every time!  Although the choice is yours, we encourage you to take advantage of our huge selection!

 

Tell me about your packing

According to our customers, our packing is second to none. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with the effort put into our packing. We view packing animals from the standpoint of their safety and health, not how little water and bags can we get by with. Our animals are packed to travel comfortably 48 hours or more, although they arrive in under 24 hours. Our animals are generously packed in multiple layers of bags filled with specially prepared seawater and pure oxygen. Learn more about The Marine Center.

I’m nervous about having livestock shipped…

Keep in mind, marine fish, corals and invertebrates are collected from all over the world and are in transit an average of 24 to 48 hours from their origin, and are packed in far, far less water than we use in shipping to you. Our animals are packed to travel comfortably 48 hours or more, although they arrive in under 24 hours.

On the other hand, our years in the business has taught us that some folks just have too much trepidation to mail order livestock. If you’re the type who expects livestock to look just like pictures, or you’ll be really upset if a package gets delayed, we recommend buying locally and avoid mail ordering completely.

Also see:
Learn more about The Marine Center
The web’s most trusted livestock dealer™.

Order Online 24 hours a day
The fastest way to get Marine Center’s great service.

Contact us 24 hours a day by email.
The most knowledgeable staff in the industry.

Policies & Terms
Live Arrival Guarantee Terms: As we have no control over animals once they leave our care, our Live Arrival Guarantee is limited to live upon arrival. No guarantee or warranty is made or implied once the animals are in your aquarium. Losses that occur once the animals are in your aquarium are not covered by our live arrival guarantee. Shipping charges are not refundable under any circumstances.

Friday Delivery Policy
Please Note:  Live arrival is of course guaranteed on Friday providing it arrives on Friday. However, in the event of carrier delay on a Friday delivery, and the package does not arrive on Friday, live arrival guarantee is void.  In specifying Friday delivery, the customer accepts that Marine Center will in no way be liable for losses or provide any live arrival guarantee for merchandise, nor reimburse shipping costs. In specifying Friday delivery, customer accepts full responsibility and liability for retrieving packages from the carrier in the event the carrier fails to deliver or delays delivery. In the event of a Friday carrier delay, your package may not arrive until Monday or later unless you retrieve it from the carrier sooner, which is not always possible.

If You Receive a DOA/DOA Policy
Although it is a rare occurrence, if you receive a DOA, DO NOT DISCARD THE ITEM, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO RETURN IT.  As with any merchandise, you will be required to return the merchandise if you wish to receive credit. If you receive a DOA, you must contact us  immediately upon receipt of the order to establish your DOA claim and for return authorization and further instructions. DOA claims not reported immediately upon receipt of the order will not be honored. The Marine Center will not honor claims on items claimed DOA and not returned. Shipping charges are not refundable under any circumstances.
 Live specimens cannot be returned for any reason.