BETTA

IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO READ THIS PAGE COMPLETELY PRIOR TO HAVING YOUR FISH SHIPPED!

Due to a recent rise in labeling errors on the bags, I have incorporated a new step to my transship procedures. I will now send you an email with the description of the fish as well as which Seller/s they came from. I will not ship your fish out to you until I have received an email from you confirming that it/they is/are the correct fish that you ordered. This will help to insure that every customer gets the correct fish. I have not done this procedure for the last 6 years of transshipping but have noticed recently a need to incorporate this extra precaution and I hope that it will prove to result in a positive transaction. So please read your emails and reply to me as soon as possible. Especially if you are a pre-pay that wants your fish shipped out immediately :o)

For some reason this still remains a problem for some customers.........I Need Your Address when you send payment. Include it in your payment, not a separate email (it will get buried). If you do not include your address, payment will be refunded....PERIOD. Please select "Goods" when sending your payment to me.If you are unsure of whether your shipping address is included or not, just enter that info manually into the NOTE/MESSAGE section of the payment! And please do not assume that the Seller has sent me your address. Even if they do I need this info directly from you to insure accuracy as well as a policy of Paypal. Thanks to an unscrupulous customer, I will have to refund ALL payments that do not include an address. I apologize for any inconvenience this causes to the honest customers, but one dishonest customer is all it takes to ruin it for everyone!

Boarding Fees

I hope the following paragraph encourages buyers to be responsible for having funds available at the time of the arrival of their transshipped fish within the United States. Unfortunately this had to be added because of irresponsible customers that neglected to pay for their transship fish in a timely manner. And the flippant attitude of "how much food could my one little fish eat". If every customer left their "one little fish" in my care for an extended period of time, then the one little fishes add up. Not to mention that the bettas are kept in small containers that require DAILY water changes. This is my time and the value of my time will be decided by ME. If you have email issues, email me from another email address, you know that you have fish.

Up to 300 fish are received per International shipment. Imagine an airplane arriving of 300 children that must be fed, monitored and taken care of all by one person until the parents of each individual child decided it was time to receive their child. Transshipped fish are to be paid within a 2 day period of arriving.

A "boarding fee" of .50 cent per day per fish is assessed if shipping payment has not been received within 7 days (one week) of shipment arrival. This fee will apply to each day the fish has to be cared for in between shipping days. Therefore if payment is not made before the next shipping day another days "boarding fee" will apply automatically. It is the responsibility of the buyer to have funds available for immediate shipping at the time of transshipped arrival in the United States.

After 10 days with no payment, fish will be considered my property and will be resold to recoup the cost of importing and care.

Unless you have made prior communications with me to let me know that your fish will be boarded here longer than 1 week. If you email me and let me know what is going on and that your fish will need to board here for longer than 1 week, the above Boarding Fees will apply. Please remember that communication is key!! I do not have a crystal ball and can not anticipate what it is that you are doing. Due to the overwhelming popularity of fish abandonment, if I have not heard any communication from you after 10 days, the fish will be resold!

I appreciate your understanding and look forward to sending you your transshipped fish quickly and safely.

For customers that have abandoned fish in the past, you will only be allowed one week to pay for your fish before it is gone. Not the standard 10 days. For customers that do not contact me or reply to emails, your fish will be considered abandoned after a week and will be resold. Do NOT avoid emails, just hit reply and shoot an answer back. Emails don't bite and I am not a mind reader.

If you plan to be "out of town" or want your fish to be Boarded past the 1st week of arrival, it would behoove you to contact me FIRST and make sure that this is alright. If I have plans already arranged and I get an email stating that you are leaving your fish, I will NOT change my plans b/c of an inconsiderate customer that failed to make prior arrangements and assumed that I would take care of their fish. Regardless of the Boarding Fee policy you need to check ahead of time to make sure that someone will be home to care for your fish, the Boarding Fee "policy" is set up to cover the fees, it does not automatically guarantee that someone will be here. If I am out of town then I may have to hire someone to care for the fish that are left here. That will be more expensive than the standard Boarding Fees and you can expect at least an additional $20 to cover that person's gas, travel & time. Please do not give me a whiney story about your one little fish in one little bowl and only eats a little bitty amount, that is not the point. The person that helps me care for these fish when I have to leave town does not do this for free. Your "one little fish" must have water changes and must be fed. It takes a live person to do this and when I am gone this live person must take time from their schedule, drive the 20 miles to my home and change the water and feed the fish. Then drive 20 miles back to their home. This will NOT be done for free!! So be responsible and make the necessary arrangements ahead of time if you plan to "be out of town" when your fish arrive. I make frequent trips out of town in between shipments, so please check. And holidays are even busier and MORE expensive if I have to ask someone else to take time (during the holiday) to drive over and care for a lone fish that was left here. He typically charges $50 per week during the holidays to do this. And I am DEFINITELY traveling frequently during the holidays.

TRANSSHIP FEES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

**Be sure to let me know if you are a member of UB

Please read the following fees carefully. If you do not agree with these fees, please do not use our service and then complain later about the fees.

We will refund the Box Fee if you return ALL of the purple foam from your shipping box. You can easily pack the foam into an envelope and ship it back 1st Class mail. ;o)

*Import Fee @ $2.00 per fish

*Handling Fee @ $2.00 per fish.........If you have 5 or more fish then it is $1.75 per fish!!

*Box Fee - $5.00 (Box Fee will be refunded if all of the pink foam inserts are returned)

*Heat Pack - $2.00 (during cold months-Oct-April)

**Shipping : USPS Express (Live Guarantee from Seller):

(1-2 bettas) $28.00; (3-4 bettas) $33.00; (5 bettas) $35.00; (6-7 bettas) $38.00; (8-9 bettas) $43.00; (10 bettas) $45.00; (11-13 bettas) $50.00; (14-15 bettas) $55.00; (16-17 bettas) $60.00; (18-19 bettas) $65.00; (20 bettas) $70.00

USPS PRIORITY IS NOT AVAILABLE UNTIL SPRING 2011 (April)

***Shipping : USPS Priority (Voids Live Guarantee from Seller):

(1-2 bettas) $10.00; (3-4 bettas) $13.00; (5-12 bettas) $15.00 (Flat Rate Box); (13 bettas) $25.00; (14-15 bettas) $30.00; (16-17 bettas) $35.00; (18-19 bettas) $40.00; (20 bettas) $45.00

Shipping rates are NOT exact shipping and do include a small amount to cover other expenses.

FedEx & UPS shipping are available upon request and fees will have to be quoted and will run higher.

Payments received after 9 P.M. Eastern Time will put your ship day 2 days following the day payment was sent. I must have payment by 9 P.M. Eastern time to allow time to pack the fish and have them ready to leave out for the PO the following morning. Also, if paying with an eCheck through Paypal, keep in mind that it will take 5 business days for payment to clear.

Shipping days are Wednesday, Thursday & (upon request) Friday the week of shipment arrival. The following week's shipping days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & (upon request) Friday. Please keep in mind that Friday shipments are at risk to be stranded at the PO for the entire weekend if the PO makes an error so try not to ask for Friday shipping unless you have no other choice. You are able to have fish shipped to your work address or ANY address you request. Just be sure to type that address into your Paypal payment and let me know the ship day as well in your payment. If you do not specify a ship day then I will ship your fish ASAP.

Local Pick-Up is available within 24 hours of shipment arrival here. Local pick ups must be made within the same week as the shipment arrival, otherwise you will have to add Boarding Fees to your Import/Handling Fee. We are located in McDonough, Georgia 30252, which is 20 minutes south of Atlanta.

** Shipping fees are "set" fees, not actual fees, no refunds in difference of actual shipping amount/shipping paid will be issued.

* Questions regarding the following fees? Take a look on this page for an explanation of WHY you are charged these fees.

HAWAII PLEASE EMAIL FOR QUOTE. HAWAII Customers, you are required to get a permit from your state in order to receive live fish shipments. For more information please visit the HDOA website. CLICK HERE to go to the page where you can apply for the necessary permit.

Beware of transhippers that will try to discourage use of other transhippers. This alone shows bad character since they do not personally have knowledge of how another transhipper handles things. I do not need to bad mouth or trash another person's reputation for my own gain.......I am not that desperate for the customers, plus it's just tacky and my mama didn't raise me that way. You as the customer have the right to choose whomever you wish to tranship for you. I will not try to pimp my services or advertise that your fish will be kept in a private swirling Jacuzzi w/ temperatures of 80 degrees while music from their homeland plays softly in the background and a gourmet chef will prepare daily meals for your fish from the finest fresh ingredients. But I will assure you that I sanitize and clean prior to each shipment. Fish are kept in individual containers (beanie boxes) in a separate "Fish Room" that maintains a temp of 80 degrees. Daily feedings and water changes are maintained until the fish ships out to you. Nothing elaborate, but clean, simple and quality service......period. Our house (main floor) is 2400 square feet. We have a full basement (another 2400 square feet) with a dedicated fishroom full of aquariums, shelves and fish containers that are cleaned and sterilized after each shipment. I have plenty of room to house your fish adequately and safely. In order for me to maintain reasonable rates, I have the policies set forth on this page. It's that simple. If a fish dies or arrives DOA, I will immediately send you and the Seller a clear photo and/or video of the fish as per most Sellers DOA policy.

I will treat each customer with the same respect that I am shown. If it makes you feel better or like you have the upper hand to send me emails about how you will single handedly try to tank my business by word of mouth or by taking your business elsewhere, go right ahead. But I can assure you that any customers that have used my services consistently will tell you that I provide fast, quality service with good communication (via email). If you want a transhipper that will call you and chit chat on the phone then I will go ahead and suggest you use another transhipper. I have an extremely busy life that includes many other aspects beyond fish. If you are unable to communicate effectively via email then our business together will be bumpy at best. The one key thing that is required for a smooth transaction is READING. As long as you apprise yourself of the information that I provide you with things will go smoothly. If you make a mistake and send me the wrong payment amount for a transaction, please do not turn around and get indignant with me because of your mistake. As I stated earlier I tend to reciprocate the treatment that I receive. I will not sit idly by while someone sends me whiney, complaining & threatening emails because of an error made on their part. Believe it or not transshipping does not result in huge profits for the transshipper. I am doing this simply to allow people in the US to acquire fish they want from overseas and to have some extra mad money. It definitely does not pay the bills (LOL). Read up on the prior page about the steps involved in importing a shipment from overseas. It will cost the transshipper around $200+ in import fees just to get the fish into the states. Then you have to add in all of the other supplies, etc needed to house and maintain keeping the fish.

Packing:

I dechlorinate my water with Prime, a touch of aquarium salt and add Nitrofuracin Green. Fish are double bagged in standard shipping bags. I have 3 mil bags that I use which are clear w/ a slight opaqueness to them. And I have some "crystal clear" shipping bags that I get from some of the overseas sellers (sometimes I have Sellers that send me extra bags). Shipping boxes are acquired from USPS and are free of charge. However the 1/2" lavender, closed cell foam lining used to make the box suitable for shipping live fish is not free, therefore a Box Fee is charged. I use either shredded paper and/or styro peanuts in the box to cushion the fish during shipment.

SHIPPING:

Each shipment arrives on a Tuesday (typically) every 2 weeks and the fish are here physically at the house by 6 p.m. It is an all day process for the shipment to be inspected by USFW & clear customs and then to be loaded up from the dock at Air Cargo (then of course you have to fight rush hour traffic to get back home). I begin shipping on Wednesday, however Wednesdays are reserved for prepays only (people that pay prior to shipment arrival). Then shipping is Thursday (or Friday upon request), respectively in the order in which payment is received. The following week I can ship Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & (upon request) Friday. Keep in mind that you are NOT the only customer for a shipment and I cannot ship everyone's fish out on the same day (thus shipments are sent in order payment is received). If you prefer a certain ship day, you will need to make note of that in your Paypal payment. Paypal has a Note/Message section available when making payments. This is where all pertinent information needs to be put (address, specific ship date, waiver of signature, etc). Once fish ship, you will be emailed tracking information with an arrival time. Unless you have specified in your Paypal payment for waiver of signature, someone will need to be present to sign for the package. If the arrival time you were given in your email comes and goes and no package shows up you can find out tracking info (for USPS Express) by visiting www.usps.com or calling 1-800-222-1811. Or contact your local P.O. and provide them with the tracking information. This will help get information on your package whereabouts more quickly since the carrier is then in possession of the package. For further info about this, please read the next paragraph.

About Shipping: Once your package leaves my hands it is out of my control. With that said, I will make any phone calls I can to try to help out in the case of a lost or misdirected package. But do not expect miracles as I DO NOT CONTROL THE P.O., nor am I a deity. If you expect for me to be at my computer awaiting each email that may come in from every customer, you will be disappointed. Disappointment leads to unnecessary disagreements. Misdirected/Late packages happen on occasion and for that I apologize for, but again have no control over. If you become nasty, arrogant, even in some cases to the point of psychotic with your communication b/c of a Postal error, I will not seek a refund on your behalf from USPS. All I ask is that people behave within reason and have reasonable expectations. If you cannot, then get your parents (for minors) to communicate with me or your spouse or another mature adult (for adults). If your package gets misdirected or lost, it does not mean the end for your fish. Case in point, I used to use the fish that survived for 10 days in transit as an example. Until I had one that survived for 17 DAYS in transit!! The heat pack was long since gone but surprisingly the fish was still alive when he arrived back here to my door (the customer never took delivery)!! You would be surprised at how long a betta can sustain if it is healthy and packed properly. That was during cooler weather (mid fall). Of course the hot summer months are actually more tricky to ship in b/c of the heat. If the package is left in an area during transit where the temperatures reach extreme heat levels then it will quickly kill a fish. I do pack with more water during the hot months but even with more water, if left too long, it will not help for the survival of the fish. Please keep this in mind when using Priority shipping during the summer months.

Things That May Happen When Shipping Bettas (Live Animals):

Bettas sometimes damage their fins during shipment. The fish may not arrive as perfect as the Aquabid or auction photo. Most HM, OHM and Rosetail bettas will chew their tails during shipping. This sometimes happens and cannot be helped. There is nothing that can be done to make it "less stressful" on the fish during shipment. Every fish handles the stress of shipping differently. The only thing that can make shipping less stressful is less time in transit (which means Express shipping).

Fish will arrive lacking color. Your fish has been in a dark box for several hours, sometimes days and has been bumped and jostled by the carrier. So it is natural for the fish to lose color during shipment. After a day or two and in proper water conditions (including adequate temperature for a tropical fish) the fish should color back up nicely.

Sometimes injuries can occur during shipment. This is very rare but it DOES happen, it has happened to me. Unfortunately the breeders nor myself can hand deliver the fish to each doorstep so they are left in the hands of the carriers. During which time they travel through many hands and great distances and are handled quite roughly. I once received a fish that looked like it had "Popeye" and after contacting the breeder was told this was not the case and it was likely a shipping injury. After a few days of frequent water changes the fishes eye returned to normal, thankfully I was not too quick to medicate.

Last, but not least......DOA. Unfortunately these are live creatures not inanimate objects. Despite the best packing jobs and preventative measures, some fish simply cannot handle the rigors of shipping or the shipping carrier may make an error during shipment (misdirected or late package). This can result in the fish passing away during transit. Just be sure that you have carefully educated yourself on your Seller's DOA policies and procedures prior to the arrival of your fish so that you can follow them and work out any refund/replacement with your Seller. Below is a representative example of a Seller's DOA policy. Please be sure that you read the DOA policy for your specific Seller.

In case of DOA: NOTE: THE FOLLOWING DOA POLICY IS TO HELP YOU GET A REFUND/REPLACEMENT FROM THE SELLER. I DO NOT GIVE DOA REFUNDS! Do NOT open the bag! Email me immediately (w/in an hour) so that I can verify with the Seller that you emailed me a clear picture of the fish dead in the bag. I am sorry, but I have to stand firm on this because there are many dishonest people who fail to acclimate the fish properly, or are otherwise responsible for the death of the fish, and then claim the fish was DOA and demand refund/replacement. Take a clear photograph (as clear as possible) of the fish in the original, unopened shipping bag. You will also need to provide the Seller with a photo of the DOA fish in the unopened bag. You and the Seller can then make arrangements for how to handle it from there. If you chose to go with Priority shipping then you do not have a Live arrival guarantee. Avoid death after arrival by following these ACCLIMATION instructions!! Again, DOA refunds/replacements will need to be arranged between you and the Seller. Since these fish are not bred nor kept by me, I cannot offer any type of DOA assurance for these fish. I can however assure you that the DOA rate I have had in the past 6 years is extremely low with almost all being caused by customers leaving their fish unclaimed at the PO for numerous days after repeated delivery attempts. Unfortunately I cannot be there to accept delivery of the fish for customers, once they ship it's up to the customer to be there to accept delivery or to arrange pick up w/ their PO if delivery is missed (and within a timely manner for the sake of the fish). Please follow these instructions for DOA, including contacting me, as the Seller will email me as well. If you have not contacted me then I cannot provide the Seller with the assurance that procedure was followed and it may make a refund/replacement more difficult. Replacement fish from the Seller will still have transship fees due at the time of reshipment. Customers who use "Waiver of Signature" or who are not home to accept delivery of their fish void any warranty on Live Arrival. Transship fees are not refunded for DOA fish.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING AS IT IS BECOMING A PROBLEM: PLEASE BE RESPONSIBLE AND MAKE SURE YOU ARE AVAILABLE TO RECEIVE YOUR FISH ONCE IT IS SHIPPED. IF YOUR FISH HAS BEEN SHIPPED AND IT DOES NOT ARRIVE THE NEXT DAY, PLEASE CHECK YOUR TRACKING NUMBER AND CONTACT YOUR POST OFFICE. IF YOU RECEIVE NOTIFICATION FROM THE POST OFFICE THAT THEY HAVE ATTEMPTED DELIVERY OF YOUR FISH PLEASE GO TO THE POST OFFICE AND RETRIEVE YOUR FISH, THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. IF YOU WANT THE POST OFFICE TO LEAVE THE FISH WITHOUT REQUIRING A SIGNATURE THEN YOU MUST LET ME KNOW BEFORE I SHIP......I AM NOT A MIND READER, NOR DO I KNOW WHAT YOUR SCHEDULE IS OR WHAT YOU MAY BE ASSUMING WILL HAPPEN. ALL FISH SHIPPED WILL REQUIRE A SIGNATURE UNLESS YOU MAKE ARRANGEMENTS WITH ME PRIOR TO SHIPPING. BUT PLEASE BE AWARE IF SIGNATURE IS WAIVED, SO IS INSURANCE. IF YOU WISH FOR YOUR FISH TO BE SHIPPED TO AN ADDRESS OTHER THAN THE ONE LISTED ON YOUR PAYPAL PAYMENT, THEN STATE THE ADDRESS AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION (i.e. SPECIAL SHIP DATE) IN THE MESSAGE/NOTE SECTION OF YOUR PAYPAL PAYMENT. I DO NOT SAVE ALL THE VARIOUS EMAILS, SO THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!! ALSO, BE SURE YOUR SHIPPING ADDRESS IS IN YOUR PAYPAL PAYMENT, NO ADDRESS, NO FISH WILL BE SHIPPED. I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO SIFT THROUGH HUNDREDS OF EMAILS SEARCHING FOR YOUR ADDRESS.

Payment Instructions:

*****BE SURE YOUR SHIPPING ADDRESS IS IN YOUR PAYPAL PAYMENT. I CAN NOT SIFT THROUGH HUNDREDS OF EMAILS TO TRY AND FIND AN ADDRESS (AND TRUST ME I GET HUNDREDS OF EMAILS DAILY). IF YOUR ADDRESS IS NOT IN YOUR PAYPAL PAYMENT, YOUR FISH WILL NOT SHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*****

I accept the following payment methods:

Paypal

Money Order (US Postal M.O. ONLY)

MoneyGram/Western Union (Additional $5)

PAYPAL: Please make Paypal payments to hopdiggity@bellsouth.net . Please select "Goods" when paying via Paypal. Your betta/s will be shipped to the address on your Paypal payment. If you wish for the betta/s to be shipped to a different address then you must state this in the "Comment/Note Section" of your Paypal payment. If you have special shipping request (No Signature, Certain Ship Date, Etc.) this must also be in the comment section of your Paypal payment. With 200 + fish each shipment and hundreds of emails daily I cannot remember special requests, etc for each customer.

MONEY ORDER: I will only accept US Postal Money Orders. All others will not be accepted!!! Please email me for the address.

MONEYGRAM/WESTERN UNION: Any payments sent via MoneyGram or Western Union will have to add an additional $5.00 to the tranship total for gas/time of having to go and pick up the payment. Also any fees charged by MoneyGram/Western Union are the responsibility of the customer. Monies sent via this method must be sent w/in 24 hours of fish arrival here (giving us time to pick up the money prior to shipment). Western Union or MoneyGram payment is to be sent to my husband's name, Glenn Viveiros. NOT ME. I do not have time to pack up our twins and retrieve payments 15 miles away. My days are pre-planned so I have to work that into the schedule. My husband (on the other hand) is out in town during work and can easily swing by to pick up the payment.

NOTE: NEW INFO ADDED B/C OF A PROBLEM CUSTOMER THAT COULD NOT SEEM TO READ HIS EMAILS!! Your total due for transship fees are to be paid in ONE payment when paying via Paypal. If you want to send Money Orders, MoneyGram or Western Union you can send multiple payments all day long. But to protect myself from less than honest customers I must insist that all payments made via Paypal are made as ONE payment, not broken up into multiple payments :o) Also Paypal hits me with fees each time a payment is made and I do not want multiple fees.

Please do not send me whiney emails with tales of your financial woes. The economy is hard on everyone (including my family) and I assure you that the transship fees are just enough to cover the expenses of importing the fish into the country. Transshippers do not make huge profits from transshipping fish. The policies and fees set forth on this page are not negotiable.

Have questions that were not answered here? For Frequently Asked Questions, Please see the following page:

2010 Shipping Dates Schedule (Tentative)

The Seller/s will deliver their fish to the Exporter in Thailand on Monday by 3pm. All fish are packed up in large coolers and are taken to the airport in Thailand on Monday evening and shipped out on Tuesday. The plane leaves on Monday and arrives here in Atlanta on Tuesday. Once the fish are unpacked from the plane cargo and taken to the air cargo loading docks, they sit and wait for a USFW agent to inspect the shipment. Once inspected, the agent clears the shipment and the transhipper will go to Air Cargo and gather the original paperwork. The original documents are then taken to the US Customs office to be stamped and cleared. Once cleared through customs the documents are then taken back to Air cargo and the transhipper has to sit and wait their turn for the coolers to be brought to the front by a dock employee. Then they are loaded up into the SUV and headed back to our home. The shipment usually gets here physically around 6 p.m. the day of shipment arrival. All fish (anywhere from 100 - 400) are then unpacked, inspected and inventoried and emails go out to all the customers. Then the rebagging/packing begins. Please keep all of this in mind when emailing inquiring about your fish. I am not at the computer waiting for individual emails to arrive, shipment day is a VERY hectic and busy day. Also, I turn my phone OFF on shipment day. Please do not blow up my phone with calls the day of a shipment arrival, I do not answer my phone on shipment day.

Ships from Thailand: Arrives here in Atlanta:

October 26 October 27

November 7 November 8

November 21 November 22

December 5 December 6

December 19 December 20