Shipping policy

Special Handling:
Some items such as glass aquariums, large filters, chillers, sand, salt, and water pumps have additional shipping charges per item. These items are marked with an * in the purchase description. Please click on the item in the “View Cart” Page to view a breakdown. This enhanced shopping cart is able to calculate express shipping rates much more accurately. This will reduce the chances of order processing delays and you should also benefit from lower shipping costs.

Most fluorescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs carry additional shipping. On the pages where these items are purchased, the additional shipping costs are listed. Please select one of these options. The shipping costs you select will be in addition to the Shipping Costs in the table above.

Terms and Exclusions:
- Offer valid only on orders shipping within the contiguous United States. Orders sent to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam or other US Territories will not qualify for this promotion.

- This promotion does not apply to livestock or live rock orders.

- Eco Store’s FREE shipping promotion does not include products sent in oversized or particularly heavy boxes. This may include but is not limited to chillers, external water pumps, metal halide magnetic ballasts, DIY kits and substrate/sand. These items may still be subject to additional shipping insurance and special handling charges. Should shipping surcharges apply, they will be noted on individual product pages and also displayed in the Eco Store shipping cart. We will, however, pay a portion of the shipping charges for these orders.

- Shipping surcharges, such as shipping insurance and special handling are NOT covered under the Eco Store FREE shipping promotion.

- Fluorescent bulbs require special handling and packaging. Therefore, Eco Store only ships fluorescent bulb orders containing a quantity of four (4) or more bulbs for FREE. Bulbs 46.5" and longer are shipped FREE only when six (6) or more bulbs are ordered.

- Shipping charges for returned merchandise is non-refundable. Please read Eco Store’s Return Policy for more information.

- Price matched or discounted orders do NOT qualify for our free shipping promotion.

These exclusions are necessary in order for us to be able to offer this type of promotion to our customers. We do our best to discount shipping as much as possible to make buying items from our online store easy and affordable.

Delivery Methods:
Online orders placed before 6 PM EST Monday thru Friday are generally processed and shipped the same day. Online orders received after 6 PM EST will usually be processed the next business day. Back ordered, drop shipped, custom-made and/or special ordered merchandise may take slightly longer to ship out. In the event of such a delay, a message will be prompted and displayed in your online shopping cart to alert your attention to any possible hold-up.

Eco Store ships to the contiguous United States via UPS Ground | http://www.ups.com/tracking/tracking.html.

Orders shipped to Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and Puerto Rico are sent via USPS | http://www.usps.com/shipping/trackandconfirm.htm and may not include refrigerated/frozen merchandise or aquariums. APO and FPO orders are also shipped via USPS | http://www.usps.com/shipping. Please note that Eco Store does not ship to P.O. Boxes and hotels. Orders sent via USPS to Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico and APO/FPO addresses are not shipped out every day. Since the volume of orders shipped to these destinations is less than the contiguous United States, we normally mail them out every 7-10 days.

For Back-order Items:
-Back-order items will be shipped via ground service at no additional cost.
-Shipping upgrades for the back-order items are available for an extra fee.

For Refusing Packages:
If the shipment is refused or marked “returned to shipper” by UPS, we will receive the packages back then issue a credit to the customer minus a 25% restocking fee. If not all items are refused, then only the items received back will be credited.

For Leaving Packages without Signature:
UPS sends tracking information to you via email. On the day that your order is scheduled for delivery, you can leave a note on the door instructing the driver to leave the package without obtaining a signature. Please note that this does depend on the specific driver and some will not leave the package.

You may also contact your local UPS office to file a signature waiver for all packages delivered to your home.

Tracking Numbers:
Tracking numbers for each day's shipped orders are automatically emailed in the evening. If a tracking number is not working, please give us a call at 949 581 4888

Missing Items:
Check the amount of tracking numbers you should have received. Verify you have received all boxes and checked all packing material for small items.

Check your invoice to verify that the item missing is not on back-order. Eco Store will add a note on your invoice next to the item that is back-ordered to advise you of the back ordered item.

Sometimes a package gets separated from its order and does not get scanned by UPS right away. Either way, give it a week to see if all the items on your order arrive. If not, give us a call and we will start a tracer with UPS for the lost package.

Damaged Items:
If your merchandise arrives damaged, please contact us within 24 hours of arrival. All damage claims must be filed with your carrier. We are more than happy to provide you with full assistance in this unlikely event. Please note that orders cannot be returned, cancelled, or rejected due to shipping delays unless express service was requested at the time of ordering.

If a package is damaged by UPS, Eco Store will file the claim with the carrier.

If a package is damaged via USPS, the customer will file the claim with the carrier. Eco Store explicitly recommends against using USPS as a carrier due to the high difficulty, complexity, and variation in the claims process.

Please contact Eco Store via email at support@ecostore-us.com or call us at 1-949-581-4888 ASAP. Eco Store will start a UPS Damaged Items Claim, and Eco Store will ship out a replacement for you right away.