Click here to shop!

Frequently asked
questions

Shipping, terms,  & information

Wholesale

Idea Pictures

Catalog

Join our guest list

Cool sites

Hot new stuff!

Contact Us

About us

Tell a friend!

Home

___________

Shipping , terms, & info.

So that we may take care of as many shoppers as possible and continue to keep our prices as low as possible we have a $16.95 minimum purchase for total items purchased.  (not including shipping)   We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.   With labor costs on packing and invoicing as well as the costs of packaging materials this minimum is necessary.  Note: You can still order under the minimum, but the system will increase the dollar amount to $16.95 for the order plus shipping.  We have several items around $3-4 you may want to add to get to the $16.95 minimum if this is the case.

Ordering is easy!   You can order by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and now Paypal online on our secure server, or you can print the invoice and mail, fax, or leave a message if you wish to phone in the order!   (Remember to leave us your phone number and we will call you back if we are out of the office.)  When paying with a personal or certified check, print off the invoice and mail it to us with your check for the full amount.  Remember to give us all information including your address, a number that you can be reached at, and your e-mail address so we can contact you if necessary.  Online orders are charged at the time you authorize the sale online as in most online stores.  Also note that faxed and phone credit card orders are charged when the fax is received or phone call made.

Our track record!   For the last few years we are extremely proud to announce that damages, returned goods, and defective goods COMBINED were less than 1% of all items shipped!    Out of stocks for this period for "stock" items were less than 2%!   We are always trying to improve so we have even more happy customers!
Note: Many other web stores don't stock ANY merchandise at all.   When you order from them you always are at the mercy of the 3rd party shipper and THEIR shipping timeframes and stock situation.  We stock the vast majority of our items at our headquarters, so we can take better care of our customers.   We do, on occasion have our suppliers send merchandise out for us that we don't have in stock to take care of our customers.   Our suppliers have a great working relationship with us, and work as we do to take care of our customers for us when necessary!

Shipping timeframe... All stock items ordered by certified funds, such as a money order or cashiers check in the exact amount, or paid with a credit card will usually be shipped within 3-6 business days.   (Typically closer to 3)  We will inform you if there are any backorders if not available to ship within 10 business days.  Any items ordered from November thru December that cannot be filled within 7 business days will automatically be cancelled and refunded.  No backorders will be done during the months of November or December.

Please note that with the gas price increases and the rising cost of shipping we have had to increase our shipping prices slightly recently...our first increase in a long time.   We will continue to monitor shipping costs and will do everything we can to keep them as low as possible for you...our customer. 
Shipping and handling charges are... 
If merchandise totals $21.99 or less, $9.99 Shipping &Handling
$22.00 to 44.99, $10.99 S&H
$45.00 to $69.99, $11.99 S&H.
$70.00 to $89.99, $12.99 S&H.
$90.00 to $109.99, $13.99 S&H
$110.00 to $123.99, $14.99 S&H.
$124.00 to $149.99, $16.99 S&H.
$150.00 to $169.99, $18.99 S&H.
$170.00 to $199.99, $21.99 S&H.
$200.00 to $239.89, $25.99 S&H.
$239.90 to $299.99, $30.99 S&H.
$300.00 to $388.99, $38.99 S&H.
$389.00. to $478.99, $46.99 S&H
$479.00 to $579.90, $53.99 S&H**See note below
$580.00 to $669.99, $60.99 S&H**See note below
$670.00 to $769.99. $71.99 S&H**See note below 
$770.00 to $869.99. $81.99 S&H**See note below 
$870.00 to $999.99. $92.99 S&H**See note below 
$1000.00 to $1249.99. $119.99 S&H**See note below 
$1250.00 to $1499.99. $139.99 S&H**See note below 
$1500.00 to $1999.99. $179.99 S&H**See note below 
$2000.00 to $2499.99. $219.99 S&H**See note below
$2500.00 to $2999.99. $259.99 S&H**See note below
$3000.00 to $3999.99. $349.99 S&H**See note below
$4000.00 and up.** $399.99  S&H**See note below. 
(**Bulky, large, oversize, or heavy items may have an additional shipping charge on orders.  We will inform you if that is the case)
All shipping charges are before any applicable tax*, and shipping is normally UPS ground...We cannot ship to P.O. boxes or military bases or anywhere UPS cannot deliver to.   We insure all shipments sent by UPS.     Shipping rates are for the continental U.S.     For  Alaska and Hawaii inquiries, e-mail us at sales@nauticaltropical.com for a shipping quote.   *Orders going to Georgia residents pay applicable sales tax.   Larger items ship by common carrier and are subject to different shipping/handling pricing.

RUSH SHIPPING...If you need next day, or two day shipping, just contact us before ordering!  We are glad to help, and will inform you of the charges prior to shipping.  We now offer rush shipping also on ground orders with the rush fee.  You are asking us to put you ahead of others for a rush...that is why the fee.   We will also verify stock before shipping.  We charge an additional 5% of the order total handling charge (minimum $5.00 charge) for each air rush order above the next day or 2nd day air charges for orders.  If you have your own UPS shipping number for billing or your own shipper number, we will charge the additional  handling charge even if not a rush.    Special order merchandise can not be shipped rush unless you contact us to do so when we receive the merchandise.

Did you know?
Did you know that a 4"square EMPTY BOX, weighing under a pound, shipped from our location to the west coast costs us about $7.50, and an 18"x18"x16" EMPTY BOX costs us about $22 to ship there too?  A larger empty box of say 24"x24"x20" costs us about $40. That is raw shipping cost before the time it takes to pull the merchandise, pay for packing materials, boxing, invoicing, labeling, and inputting the info for UPS.  Why do we tell you this?   We want you to know that our shipping and handling charges average about what we pay for shipping alone.    Some orders cost us more to ship than our shipping charges reflect.   This is one of the main reasons we require a minimum purchase.    We apologize to those customers who want to purchase an inexpensive item only.  Our intent is to continue as a unique store with great items and prices that you can count on being there for you for years to come!

STOCK, "SOLD OUT" and "SPECIAL ORDER" ITEMS...
"Stock items" are all items on the site except ones marked special order, price break, sold out, or limited quantities.    Items marked sold out will usually be replaced with a different item.  Items marked "temporarily sold out" should not be ordered as they are expected to come in again, however some vendors take as long as 3-6 months to replenish stock.  We take off the "temporarily sold out when they arrive back in stock.
Items marked "special order" on the site can take up to 3 or 4 weeks unless noted differently, but usually are shipped much sooner.   If time is a concern, contact us before ordering and we'll get a closer estimated time for you.   If we have a rare situation where it will take longer than 3 or 4 weeks to ship a special order we will contact you with the anticipated date.    If the date is too far out for you, you may cancel that item or items for a refund.     ****NOTICE**** We do not split shipments on an order.   When there is an order with a combination of stock and special order or backorder merchandise we will ship all the merchandise after it all is in.  We suggest you do separate orders if you want the stock items sooner than special order items.  

BACKORDERS... Chances are that "stock" items you order are in stock now, but if an item is on backorder, we will notify you by e-mail or fax within 10 business days.    When we notify you of a backorder, we will inform you of the anticipated date.  If you prefer not to wait for your backordered order let us know immediately so we can cancel and refund that item.  Due to the costs associated with shipping we cannot split orders.  All backorders will be automatically cancelled and refunded after 2 weeks unless prior arrangements have been made.   Any discontinued item that we cannot fill fully will be refunded and you will be notified.

PERSONAL CHECKS...With any items purchased by a personal check, add an additional 10 days to all shipping.  The same applies for business checks.

RETURNS...DAMAGES    See Frequently asked questions page for return policy and more info, also damaged merchandise info.

PRIVACY...All e-mail addresses are kept confidential and are not sold to other companies.   We will never share, sell, or rent your personal information with third parties for their promotional use.  We offer new merchandise arrivals and special discounts with our customers occasionally as well as those that have signed our guest list.   You may opt out if you do not wish to receive the special mailings in the future.  Only UPS or other shippers may receive your e-mail address for shipping confirmation purposes only.   We respect your privacy.

CHANGES AND OTHER INFO...We are not responsible for typographical errors as we too are human.  All dimensions on items listed on this site are approximate.   Colors can vary sometimes with the lighting, picture taking, and products themselves.    Any changes in shipping, pricing, products, or policies will be published on this site.  

LARGE ORDERS...We may contact you for further information or ask for a signature on larger orders for verification purposes.    Because of our low prices, we can't give additional discounts on quantities of an item or items, however if you are putting together an order over $2000 contact us first so we can check to see if any discounts are available.   

CATALOG REQUESTS...Sorry, but due to our constantly changing and adding merchandise we do not have a catalog.  Besides, not having the added expense of a catalog helps us keep our prices low to save you money!

WHOLESALE...We have a limited number of new items available to the trade only.   E-mail us at imports@nauticaltropical.com if interested.  Sorry, we do not have a catalog for import items.

Warranties...Items are "as is" after our return timeframe just as in many gift and decor stores.  In the rare case that a manufacturer warrants a product we sell, you would need to consult the manufacturer on warranty issues.   No warranties are expressed or implied on items found in our retail or wholesale web stores.

Thank you in advance for your order...we appreciate your business.   Please visit us often!
Return me to the store directory!

Cool Nauticals / Hot Tropicals Inc.
3939 Royal Drive
Suite 230
Kennesaw, GA 30144
  sales@NauticalTropical.com