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• Live insects shipped with UPS 2nd Day are only shipped on Mondays or Tuesdays. This is to prevent packages from potentially being held over the weekend if UPS has a delay in transit, since they generally will not deliver on weekends (or at least not without having paid for Saturday delivery.) Delays with UPS are relatively rare but do happen sometimes, but fortunately so far I have never had any DOAs because of them! In certain situations USPS Priority may be offered to ship as late as Wednesday, or can be requested by contacting me. See the LAG Policies for notes about choosing Priority.

• The weather at my location on shipping days (Monday/Tuesday & sometimes Wednesday) and your location on delivery days (Wednesday/Thursday & sometimes Friday) will be evaluated for the safest opportunities to ship. Weather along the route may also have an effect. Orders will not be shipped to locations at 90°+ unless Hold for Pickup (HOLD) is selected. Next Day shipping may be required in particularly extreme nation-wide temps. Be sure to understand the LAG & DOA Policies, Weather Holds, and Refund Policies before ordering.
   

• Packages are lined with styrofoam to prevent the box from being crushed (as I have seen happen multiple times with packages from other sellers!) and to provide the best insulation. Cryopaks (phase 22) and/or heat or cold packs are added as needed depending on the weather. Packages are pleasantly packed and personalized for a nice unboxing experience!

• Orders ship from northeastern Iowa to all continental states in the US. Shipping to Alaska may be possible (and has been done before), but may require Next Day shipping which will be quite expensive; you will need to contact me directly to discuss an order.

• Local pickup in Elk Run Heights, IA can be scheduled.

Live insects shipped via UPS 2nd Day or UPS Next Day shipping are covered by LAG (Live Arrival Guarantee), including being free from fatal mismolts during transit, when the LAG requirements are met. USPS Priority is not available onsite (except to California) but in direct purchases is occasionally offered or can be requested; however, note that choosing Priority may void LAG due to longer potential transit times and more common delays, unless the package was successfully delivered within 2 days and all other LAG requirements are met.

LAG requirements:

• Somebody should be available at the delivery address to bring in the package when it arrives. If you know that nobody will be around at the times packages may be delivered, and temperatures at the time of delivery will be outside a range of 60°-75°, you must select a "HOLD" (Hold for Pickup) shipping option for your order to be covered by LAG. You can also contact me to have this set up later if need be (but must be, at the latest, during the day before the delivery day for me to be able to set it up.) In either case, please provide a phone number when requesting a hold, as UPS asks for this. You cannot choose the pickup location; it will be the UPS Customer Center that the package would normally go out for delivery from, not the closest UPS Store, Access Point, etc. (which would make it a reroute rather than a proper hold.) Note that ID for the addressee may be required when picking up the package. Your package must be picked up the same day to be covered by LAG. Please pick up your held package as soon as possible!

• Packages shipped via 2nd Day to locations at 85°+ without being held for pickup will void LAG. If temps in your location on delivery days for the foreseeable future are outside of this range and you did not choose HOLD nor leave any checkout notes, it is assumed that you cannot pick up the package from a facility and are choosing to have it shipped anyway at your own risk. You may be contacted to confirm and/or your order may be cancelled depending on how extreme temperatures are. See Weather Holds and  Order Cancellation /  Refund Policies.

• Note that if temperatures at your location will be above 80° on the delivery day, it is better to have the package held for pickup if you have the ability to pick it up, even if you will be home, as the insects will have one less truck drive to sit through. Remember, delivery trucks are unfortunately not temperature controlled! In hot weather, the drive for delivery is generally when packages will experience the most heat. Packages arrive at the facility very early in the morning, and when held for pickup, they do not have to go back out on a truck for hours during daytime temps until the eventual delivery to your home.

• In the very rare but unfortunate event of any DOA (Dead on Arrival), you must contact me within 1 hour of delivery/pickup with proof of the dead insect(s) via pictures or video with the packaging/label showing. I am not responsible for packages left outside in extreme temperatures or out in the sun, packages not picked up from facilities, delivery issues due to incorrect provided addresses, or accidents/deaths that happen after insects are unpacked. If an animal arrived in poor condition, this also must be brought to my attention right away with proof for documentation if the animal dies soon after as a result. See Refund Policies for additional information.

DOAs that meet the LAG requirements will typically be refunded for the cost paid for the insect. While situations will be assessed on a case by case basis, replacements may be subject to shipping costs if you choose a replacement over a refund. For example, if you ordered several mantises and 1 was DOA, depending on the order and price of the mantis that was DOA, I will likely not ship a replacement for a single insect (for free) rather than refunding due to shipping/packaging costs. This is also one of the reasons I recommend buying multiple — you never know what will happen to just one individual, whether during or after shipping. The risk of DOAs is complicated and unfortunate for both sides, especially when something goes wrong on the shipping carrier's end; especially since after policy changes during COVID, UPS might still only be providing refunds for late delivery claims on Next Day shipping.

• If temperatures at your location are too extreme for me to ship to, your order may be held to an extent for weather to ease up. Please be conscious of the weather before ordering — if there will not be any good temperature ranges in the foreseeable future, you should generally wait to order (or at least contact me first.) I do not want to have to constantly refund orders due to extreme temperatures, nor hold onto insects from many orders for an indefinite amount of time rather than being able to get them sent out to new homes sooner. Beyond around 2 weeks of unfavorable weather in your area, if you declined having your package held for pickup, your order might only be held for as long as stock lasts without interfering with other orders that could be shipped sooner.

• Shipping delays due to local or nation-wide temperatures or other reasons such as problems with postal carriers or holidays will be announced in the News and also likely on the site banner; therefor, it is assumed that you accept any wait times mentioned at the current time if you place an order. Cancelling an order due to wait times that were already announced (including preordering nymphs that are still i1 and must molt before shipping) will be subject to the Order Cancellation & Refund Policies. Unexpected delays that may occur after orders were placed will be announced via email, with options (if any) provided on a case by case basis.

• Depending on current stock, weather holds or other shipping delays may affect if you will still be able to receive instars as young as you originally ordered. I try to only send nymphs that should be safe to ship without molting in transit, which may result in needing to send nymphs that have already molted to the next instar if I do not have any younger ones available and safe to ship. This also applies to other species in your order if your order is a mix and contains preordered i1s.

• If an order is cancelled due to persistent extreme temperatures in your area and a refusal to have the package held (see Weather Holds), because you changed your mind, or because you did not read the Policies or News before buying (in other words, for reasons not my fault), there will be a small fee excluded from the refund due to transaction fees I lose from PayPal even if the payment is refunded. Otherwise, I would be paying money every time somebody orders without checking their weather or backs out of an order for any reason!

• I am not responsible for insects after they are in your care, and cannot refund or replace them if they did not perish due to shipping (when covered by LAG) or any other issues related to me or their pre-existing health. I do want all tiny aliens to thrive after their journey to you, so I try my best to provide much of the information you will need to properly take care of them in the Care Guide! However, premature losses will sometimes happen in the hobby, whether due to care issues or just bad luck. Again, it is a good idea to buy more than one mantis, especially as a beginner, in case anything goes wrong; especially with shipping costs!