Live Arrival Guarantee

A live arrival guarantee is a seller’s promise about what happens if an animal arrives dead (DOA) or seriously damaged. It is not a general return policy, and it does not cover livestock that later develops problems after it has been acclimated into your tank.

Most seller guarantees on Garage Farmers work the same basic way: report the issue quickly, provide photo proof of the animal still in its sealed shipping bag, and the seller arranges a replacement if the claim qualifies.

Read the listing and any messages from the seller before you pay — many sellers state their own claim window, proof requirements, and exchange terms, which take priority over the default described below.

A seller’s own terms can be more specific than the default (for example, a longer claim window), but they cannot lower the platform-wide requirements described in Shipping Standards, and they cannot promise a refund — the only remedy on Garage Farmers is a seller-arranged exchange.

If a seller has not published their own terms, the Default Seller Policy automatically applies: report a DOA or damage claim within 2 hours of delivery, with clear photos of the animal in its original, unopened, unacclimated bag.

Under the default, a qualifying claim is resolved with a seller-arranged exchange at the seller’s discretion — never a refund.

Message the seller through Garage Farmers as soon as you notice a problem, ideally as soon as the package arrives and before you open the shipping bag for acclimation. Explain what happened and attach clear photos.

Keep the conversation on the platform — it becomes your record of what was reported, when, and what the seller agreed to.

Livestock that has already been acclimated into your tank is not eligible for a claim, even if a problem shows up shortly afterward. Photograph the animal in the sealed bag before acclimation to protect a qualifying claim.

A live arrival guarantee does not cover buyer husbandry mistakes, incompatible tank parameters, disease introduced by other tank inhabitants, or issues that develop well after a normal acclimation window.

We may update this explanation as guarantee practices, the Default Seller Policy, or Shipping Standards change. The “Last updated” date on this page identifies the current version.

This page is a guide, not a contract — the terms that actually govern a purchase are whatever the seller stated (or, absent that, the Default Seller Policy) at the time you bought.