Reviews Of Online Retailers

[rembranty]

Well I figured that even though we all trade that buying from an online retailer is a great way to bring some diversity to your reef tank. Let's use this forum to report our experiences with online retailers.

I will start:



LiveAquaria.com
The corals and fish are both great and any problem can usually be attributed to a species be somewhat difficult. I have ordered many times. Shipping is cheap compared to many others. The selection is excellent but eventually you will not want anything else because the selection does not change often. Customer Service is the best I have dealt with for any animal problems. They ship out of California. Very nice and fast responses. Be nice to them and they will be nice to you. 14 day guaruntee on livestock. Highly Reccomended!!!!!!!

eTropicals.com
It is a different site that LiveAquaria but the same people and company. They however ship out of Florida. The customer service is the same as LiveAquaria, once again just a different site with Carribean/Florida sections. I was missing a frag once and another time the wrong ricordea were shipped, more but still not the right ones. 14 day guaruntee on livestock. They never had any problem giving a credit and I would highly reccomend this site.

SaltwaterFish.com
Great livestock from my one order. Amazing Naso Tang I had received. Issued a credit with now problem, however I had mailed them the dead fish as required. Now they do not always ship out the day ordered so just make sure you know this first. Shipping included in price plus $10 surcharge. Great site and I highly reccomend them.


DrMacCorals.com
Well I have not received my order yet but expect it first thing tomarrow morning. While they only offer an arrive alive guaruntee, they do only ship with Priority Overnight and not just Standard. I have read and found out myself that their shipping is expensive. When I get my package tomarrow I will maybe be able to justify why. I am expecting a larger than normal box with a significant amount of water in the bags. I ordered a total of 18 frags so they should not be able to fit in the standard box that ships overnight for around $35 to $45. My shipping was $85!!!! Now Overnight Priority is more expensive than Standard(by 3:00pm compared to 10:30am) and they must not have the shipping deal that LiveAquaria had with FedEx but I do know they get 10% off just for having an account. So in essence this shipping might be legit. It is just unfortunant. They seem to want to solve any problems for customers. When I get my order tomarrow will will post my endorsement if earned.
UPDATE: Ok I just found out the package weighs 34 pounds. Yeah that is heavy.
UPDATE: Ok corals received, excellent but there was a dlay on part of FedEx due to an new pilot and some lightning, but arrived very well packed and in a larger box with a lot of water. TWO EXTRA FRAGS INCLUDED!!!!!

[FragOutpost]

Great Thread Topic!

Here are a few companies I have purchased from in the past.

DrMacCorals.com
They usually has a wide variety of acropora in stock. Frags are usually a very decent size. Shipping is expensive from Dr. Mac. My shipping costs ran $65 + $10 box charge. The package should arrive before 10:30 AM with FedEx Overnight Priority service and pickup at a local FedEx office is recommended by Dr. Mac. My corals arrived packaged very well with each coral in numerous bags with a fair amount of water. Good customer service as well. I would recommend them to others.
http://www.drmaccorals.com/

eTropicals.com
Good service. Decent size frags. I would recommend this site as well. Low shipping rates.
http://www.etropicals.com/

FloridaPets.com
Great company to deal with. Excellent customer service. Website has a good selection of macro algae, stars, snail, crabs, and various other critters. Highly recommended. Sometimes carries hard to find items.
http://www.floridapets.com/