While I am waiting to hear back from @Dr. Reef to process my DOA, I wanted to leave vendor feedback here regardless of whether I'm able to resolve this positively with the vendor.
I ordered 10 quarantined Trochus Snails and just received it this morning. It cost me $79.99 for the snails and another $54.99 for shipping for a total of ~$135 for 10 snails. That's $13.5 per snail, which is in no way a cheap purchase. That said, I happily purchased it from @Dr. Reef because they are in the business of quarantining their livestock so I assumed that maximum care would go into the livestock both before shipping and when shipped.
So what did I receive? I got what I assum is ~12" box with a styrofoam box inside. Inside the styrofoam box were the snails. The snails were in a small plastic bag with a piece of newspaper inside with the snails and maybe ~10mls of water that was black. In addition to the small plastic baggie of 10 snails, the styrofoam box was filled with newspaper.
As soon as I open the box, open the styrofoam lid, I am greeted with a rancid smell. I am used to skimmate and let me tell you this was no joke... the rancid smell that came from the styrofoam box was indescribable... I pick up the bag of snails and notice very little water in it with the trochus snails. The water was black. Not dirty brown, straight up black. As to not offend my family with the rotting smell, I take the bag of snails outside my home and acclimate them into a 5 gallon bucket with water from my sps reef tank. I fished out each snail out of the baggie and put them in the bucket to avoid any of the black water in the bag from entering the bucket. As I grab each snail, I notice their flesh is not moving, not shutting, and most had tattered flesh with strands loosely attached.... So at this point, I'm invested in the acclimation process... Heck I wore my freaking n95 mask in hopes of reducing the stench... I wait 15 minutes and the snails haven't moved, their flesh hanging outside their shells. and the clean water from my tank is not turning a strong yellow over time. I fish the snails out, and toss them.
All in all, I paid a premium for some trochus snails hoping that care went into them prior to shipping but also during shipping. I got dead snails, all 10 dead. I check their DOA policy (should have done it before purchasing admittedly... and apparently the best I can get is store credit or pay for part of the shipping cost to get another batch sent. At this point, I'm torn... I want my money back or at least my money's worth back... But at the same time, I'm doubting whether @Dr. Reef does in fact send out quality livestock. I pay extra $$$ for some snails in hopes of reducing the chance of getting weird pests into my system, which I've poured lots of $$$ into. If the way snails are sent are in a small bag, with a piece of newspaper and the tiniest bit of blackened water... how can I trust the vendor to send me quality livestock?
@Dr. Reef you don't guarantee perfect quarantine and quality, which I understand (you don't want to make absolute statements). That means, your customers need to trust you. How can I trust your livestock quality when I get 10 snails like this? Even if you send me 10 more snails, how can I trust that they have been quarantined or cared for with the level of care you advertise? If you are confident in the quality of what you sell, why don't you have a money back guarantee?
I understand that this has turned more into a rant than constructive feedback, but this is what happens when I deal with rancid snails and try to acclimate them in order to qualify for some form of DOA guarantee...
I ordered 10 quarantined Trochus Snails and just received it this morning. It cost me $79.99 for the snails and another $54.99 for shipping for a total of ~$135 for 10 snails. That's $13.5 per snail, which is in no way a cheap purchase. That said, I happily purchased it from @Dr. Reef because they are in the business of quarantining their livestock so I assumed that maximum care would go into the livestock both before shipping and when shipped.
So what did I receive? I got what I assum is ~12" box with a styrofoam box inside. Inside the styrofoam box were the snails. The snails were in a small plastic bag with a piece of newspaper inside with the snails and maybe ~10mls of water that was black. In addition to the small plastic baggie of 10 snails, the styrofoam box was filled with newspaper.
As soon as I open the box, open the styrofoam lid, I am greeted with a rancid smell. I am used to skimmate and let me tell you this was no joke... the rancid smell that came from the styrofoam box was indescribable... I pick up the bag of snails and notice very little water in it with the trochus snails. The water was black. Not dirty brown, straight up black. As to not offend my family with the rotting smell, I take the bag of snails outside my home and acclimate them into a 5 gallon bucket with water from my sps reef tank. I fished out each snail out of the baggie and put them in the bucket to avoid any of the black water in the bag from entering the bucket. As I grab each snail, I notice their flesh is not moving, not shutting, and most had tattered flesh with strands loosely attached.... So at this point, I'm invested in the acclimation process... Heck I wore my freaking n95 mask in hopes of reducing the stench... I wait 15 minutes and the snails haven't moved, their flesh hanging outside their shells. and the clean water from my tank is not turning a strong yellow over time. I fish the snails out, and toss them.
All in all, I paid a premium for some trochus snails hoping that care went into them prior to shipping but also during shipping. I got dead snails, all 10 dead. I check their DOA policy (should have done it before purchasing admittedly... and apparently the best I can get is store credit or pay for part of the shipping cost to get another batch sent. At this point, I'm torn... I want my money back or at least my money's worth back... But at the same time, I'm doubting whether @Dr. Reef does in fact send out quality livestock. I pay extra $$$ for some snails in hopes of reducing the chance of getting weird pests into my system, which I've poured lots of $$$ into. If the way snails are sent are in a small bag, with a piece of newspaper and the tiniest bit of blackened water... how can I trust the vendor to send me quality livestock?
@Dr. Reef you don't guarantee perfect quarantine and quality, which I understand (you don't want to make absolute statements). That means, your customers need to trust you. How can I trust your livestock quality when I get 10 snails like this? Even if you send me 10 more snails, how can I trust that they have been quarantined or cared for with the level of care you advertise? If you are confident in the quality of what you sell, why don't you have a money back guarantee?
I understand that this has turned more into a rant than constructive feedback, but this is what happens when I deal with rancid snails and try to acclimate them in order to qualify for some form of DOA guarantee...
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