Originally Posted by
jeep
I'm not sure of all carriers policies, but FedEx does not, or did not, guarantee shipments that contain living things, even including plants. It's a tough call on guaranteeing live arrival on fish. I'm no pro shipper but I've received nothing but praise for the way I pack my fish.
I tend to think if the shipper is in it as a business, the guarantee should be unconditional with exception to shipping cost if the package is delayed or destroyed. However, I also think I would offer a total refund because it's the risk you take when you offer to ship a live fish. If one out of several fish died, I would certainly offer a refund on that fish, but I don't think I'd offer a free replacement including shipping for a single fish. Not everyone can afford that, including myself.
If the fish are packed good, then even a slight delay or damage shouldn't affect their health. Years ago someone in California shipped me some discus on a Friday for overnight Saturday delivery and the person at FedEx counter didn't check the Saturday delivery box so their idea of "next day" was scheduled for Monday. This happened to be on Memorial Day weekend so "next day" was actually Tuesday. The box finally arrived around 10am Tuesday, 5 days after being bagged, and the box was totally destroyed and even had a dirty boot print imbedded on the top of the box and the styrofoam was smashed and the bags were all popped. Surprising thing is the fish, even without water, were still alive. This tells me the driver had to be the one who intentionally destroyed the box. There's no way the fish would have survived if anyone earlier in the chain did the damage. Even though the FedEx counter person was responsible for the delay, and even though the FedEx driver did the damage, FedEx wouldn't refund the shipping charges because the package contained live fish. This is why I don't put a "Live Fish" sticker on my boxes. I just use a "Perishable" sticker...