Shipment Policy
Domestic orders will be shipped via
UPS Next Day Air and international orders via Federal
Express International Priority or UPS International
Express, whichever is cheaper based on the destination.
Both Federal Express
International Priority and UPS
International Express provide a
two to five-day delivery to
most destinations. If for some reason
an alternate courier is required, the customer should
contact the Office Manager.
Shipment by postal service is also available, but
cultures shipped this way are not guaranteed; UTEX
strongly recommends that all shipments of living
cultures be sent by the fastest service available.
Cultures are only shipped on Mondays (or Tuesday
following a Monday holiday) unless requested by the
customer and approved by the Office
Manager. No cultures are shipped during the weeks of
Christmas and New Year's
Day.
When an order is received by
Wednesday 5PM CST of a given week,
it can generally be sent on
the following Monday. When an order includes several
cultures that require different lengths of preparation
time, the shipment is delayed until all of the cultures
can be packaged and shipped at the same time.
Some countries have restrictions that limit, control, or
prohibit the
import of living algae. It is the responsibility of the
customer to know which laws
apply to the country that is to receive the shipment.
Shipments to some countries
must include an import permit to ensure that the
shipment will not be confiscated in transit. The
official permit may be prepared by the purchaser and
sent via fax to UTEX at +512-471-0354.
Replacement Policy
Although efforts are made to ship cultures under
conditions that keep them viable during shipment,
some cultures are very sensitive to environmental
conditions and may die in transit if exposed even
briefly to temperature extremes. UTEX can not assure
the viability of cultures upon arrival at their
final destination.
If a culture reaches its destination in a non-viable
state, the recipient may request a replacement.
Requests for a replacement must be made within
48 hours of receiving the culture. At the
discretion of the Curator,
a replacement culture may then be shipped.
Replacements will be shipped without a charge for
the culture only if the original culture was sent by
Federal Express or UPS. The original purchaser will
be charged only for shipping and handling for
replacement cultures. Shipment of replacement
cultures may be postponed if weather reports
indicate temperature extremes exist along the
transit route.
Any error by UTEX in filling an order will be corrected
without any charge to the customer.
