Shipping policy

SHIPPING RATES & POLICIES

IMPORTANT SHIPPING INFORMATION

There is currently no free shipping available.

The minimum merchandise total for a shipped order is $100, excluding shipping charges. If your order is below $100, you may add more coral or have the order canceled and refunded.

SHIPPING RATES

NEAR STATES — $39.99

Near states include:

• Michigan
• Ohio
• Indiana
• Illinois
• Wisconsin
• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• New York

ALL OTHER ELIGIBLE STATES — $49.99

LIVE SALES AND FLASH SALES — $49.99

A flat shipping rate of $49.99 applies during designated Cherry Corals live sales and flash sales, regardless of the coral total.

AUCTION SHIPPING

• Near states: $39.99
• All other eligible states: $49.99

SHIPPING METHOD

All livestock orders are shipped using FedEx Priority Overnight.

Most packages arrive by 10:30 a.m. Delivery commitments in some rural areas may be 12:30 p.m. or as late as 5:30 p.m. Please contact us if you have questions about the delivery time in your area.

Next-day air shipments are not guaranteed to arrive on time. Shipping charges are nonrefundable, and no credits will be issued for shipping charges under any circumstances.

Orders may only be shipped to the billing address unless alternate arrangements are made by email before shipment.

PACKAGING

Our coral specimens and frags are packaged in heavy-duty bags to help prevent leaks. Orders are placed in insulated Styrofoam boxes with protective cardboard shells. Heat packs or cold packs are included when environmental conditions require them.

SHIPPING DAYS

FedEx livestock shipments depart Monday through Thursday.

We do not offer or recommend Saturday delivery. If a Saturday shipment is delayed, the corals may not arrive until Monday. Saturday deliveries have a higher rate of delays.

SHIPPING AREA

We ship only within the 48 continental United States. We do not ship to Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico.

We do not ship live animals or dry goods internationally. Exporting live stony corals requires CITES paperwork and additional expenses that make small international shipments impractical.

LOCAL PICKUP

Local pickup is available at our facility in Livonia, Michigan.

Sales tax will automatically be charged when local pickup is selected. Please choose a pickup date during checkout or contact us to arrange your pickup.

SCHEDULING YOUR SHIPMENT

Livestock shipping dates must be scheduled with Cherry Corals.

You may select a shipping date using the date picker during checkout or contact us directly. The date selected is the day your order will ship. Your order should arrive the following day.

We do not ship live animals without notice or without a scheduled shipping date.

You will receive a tracking number by email on the evening your order ships. If you do not receive a tracking email by the night before your expected delivery, please call or email us to confirm the shipment date.

We strongly encourage customers to have their packages held at a local FedEx facility. You may request FedEx “Hold at Location” service so your package can be picked up at your convenience.

We will do our best to keep you informed about weather concerns and possible shipping problems. Cherry Corals is not responsible for personal time, missed work, or other expenses resulting from unexpected shipping delays.

ORDER SHIPPING DEADLINE

All orders must ship within two weeks of the order date.

If you cannot accept delivery during that period, please contact us.

At your request, an order may be canceled and refunded, minus the 3% payment-processing fee, during the two-week shipping window.

After two weeks, a canceled order will receive store credit instead of a refund. Store credit is valid for one year.

WYSIWYG CORALS

Unless otherwise stated, all corals listed on our website are WYSIWYG—what you see is what you get.

If we determine that a coral differs significantly from its website photograph, is damaged, is missing, or is not healthy enough to ship, we will contact you and offer a refund or replacement.

If we cannot reach you before the scheduled shipping date, your order may be delayed. When available, an identical coral may be substituted.

LIVE-ARRIVAL GUARANTEE

Our corals are healthy when they leave our facility. Our packing methods have achieved close to a 99% shipping success rate.

If an order or individual coral does not survive shipping, you will receive credit toward another order in the form of a Cherry Corals gift certificate. We do not issue cash refunds for livestock losses.

For a large partial loss or complete shipment loss, we may choose to send a replacement shipment.

Any replacement or credit is valid for one replacement coral or one credit only.

DEAD-ON-ARRIVAL CLAIMS

You must notify us by email within two hours of delivery if a coral arrives dead.

Do not discard the coral. We may require photographs of the affected coral or request that the coral skeleton be returned.

In certain cases, we may ask you to allow two to three weeks for a stressed or damaged coral to be evaluated. Many corals recover quickly after experiencing shipping stress.

Credits are valid for one year.

Shipping charges are nonrefundable under all circumstances.

If a DOA occurs on an order that received promotional free shipping, we may deduct the actual per-item shipping expense from the credit at our discretion.

REEFKEEPING RESPONSIBILITY

All purchases assume that the customer has intermediate-to-advanced reefkeeping experience.

Cherry Corals is not responsible for losses caused by acclimation or general-care errors, including:

• Improper lighting
• Excessive or insufficient water flow
• Improper water chemistry
• Incorrect temperature
• Aggression between coral species

Please contact us if you are unsure about caring for a coral. We are happy to help.

CANCELLATIONS AND PROCESSING FEES

If you place an order and later request cancellation, your refund will be reduced by the 3% credit-card or PayPal processing fee charged to us.

Payment processors do not return this fee to us. We will return the 3% fee to you in the form of a Cherry Corals gift certificate.

Refunds for canceled orders or coupon errors may take one to two weeks to appear on your billing statement.

Please contact us by email before disputing a charge. Chargebacks for an entire shipment, including shipping charges, made without first contacting us may be treated as fraudulent.

HOLIDAY SHIPPING RESTRICTIONS

We do not ship immediately before or during major holidays, including:

• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
• New Year’s Day
• July 4th

The increased volume handled by overnight carriers during these periods creates too much risk for live coral shipments.

We do not ship during the week before Christmas or between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

CONTACT US

If you have questions about your order, shipping date, or delivery, please use the Contact Us form on our website or call:

734-776-5457
248-345-0967

We generally respond within 24–48 hours.

Thank you for visiting Cherry Corals. We hope you enjoy your purchase!