Dead on Arrival Policy- Live arrival guarantee

Dead on Arrival (DOA) Policy — Live Fish

At Legacy Line Aquatics, every fish we ship is bred and raised in-house by me in a small-scale, care-first setup. I’m not a mass-production operation, and I don’t ship “flipped” fish. Because live shipping always carries some risk, this DOA policy exists to protect you and to keep expectations clear and fair.

This policy applies to all live fish purchased through our website.

Live Arrival Guarantee (DOA Coverage)

We guarantee live arrival on all live fish orders when the requirements below are met.

To qualify for DOA coverage, the following must be true:

The package is delivered on the first delivery attempt
The delivery is not missed, refused, forwarded, or re-routed
The package is brought inside promptly and opened right away
The claim is submitted within the required timeframe with the required photos

Reporting Window (4 Hours)

All DOA claims must be reported within 4 hours of the package being marked “Delivered” by the carrier tracking. (If it is past this window, please still send email with picture and order number. We will review case by case.)

Submit claims to: orders@legacylineaquatics.com

Please include:

Order number
Full name used on the order
Short description of what happened
Required photos listed below

Claims submitted after the 4-hour window are not eligible for DOA coverage.

Required Photos (No Exceptions)

To approve a DOA claim, we must receive clear photos showing the following:

Clear photo of the fish inside the unopened bag (bag must be sealed)
Then a clear photo of the fish on a white napkin.
Photo of the shipping label on the box
If multiple fish: one photo showing all affected fish together on white napkin.

Photo requirements:

Photos must be well-lit and in focus
Photos must be taken within the 4-hour reporting window
Screenshots of tracking alone are not sufficient

If photos are missing or unclear, the claim may be denied.

What We Will Do

For verified DOA claims, we will provide the following:

Partial refund for the value of the affected fish (fish cost only)

Important details:

Refunds/replacements cover the fish only
Shipping charges are not refundable unless we determine the issue was caused by a carrier error on an overnight service.
A refund will be issued back to the original payment method as a partial refund for the affected fish.

What Is Not Covered (Claim Denials)

The live arrival guarantee is void if any of the following occur:

Claim is made after the 4-hour reporting window
No clear photos are provided as listed above
Package is left outside/unattended after delivery
Delivery is missed, refused, re-routed, or forwarded
Address entered at checkout is incorrect or incomplete
Extreme temperatures where a weather hold was recommended/required and declined
Delays or disruptions outside our control (examples: natural disasters, carrier disruptions, mechanical delays)
Any signs of tampering with the bag(s) before photos are taken

If the carrier tracking shows delayed delivery (not delivered overnight/when expected), we will review on a case-by-case basis, but coverage may be limited depending on the reason for the delay.

To reduce risk, we only ship live fish: