Do You Have Questions About Oysters?

Shipping and Returns

We ship Monday through Friday to the 48 continental states, not including Alaska and Hawaii, for Tuesday through Saturday delivery. Once we ship a package, we will send confirmation, usually including a tracking number. You can track your package, if available, to know where it is exactly in transit the following day.

Delivery Dates

Please note, when you select a desired delivery method/date, we reserve the right at our sole discretion to ship your package for a different arrival date. Shipping packages to arrive on a precise delivery date when using third party shippers such as FedEx/UPS is an extremely difficult task over which we have very little control, especially given weather delays, and periods of high volume. We regularly monitor weather patterns, volume levels, and UPS/FedEx exception frequency. Given our best judgment, we may choose to ship your package early in order to lessen the chances that your package will arrive after your desired delivery date. We may also have to ship later than your desired delivery date due to FedEX/UPS volume levels and days it is closed so as to attempt to minimize food spoilage. If a package arrives at a different date than your desired delivery date (including shipment arrivals after your desired delivery date), including any potential food spoilage that may occur as a result of any delays, we will have no obligation for a full or partial refund of any kind. By acknowledging these shipping policies and making your purchase you accept and understand that we cannot guarantee a delivery on a particular date, and by making the order of a perishable food product to be shipped via UPS/FedEx at your direction, you assume all risk of loss spoilage and that we bear no risk of loss, obligation to refund, or provide credits of any kind.

Shipper Substitution

Please note, when you select a preferred delivery date and shipper, we reserve the right at our sole discretion to substitute shipping companies. As an example, if you select a preferred delivery date that is associated with FedEx Home Delivery, we reserve the right and may choose to to ship using UPS Ground. We regularly monitor shipping company performance, especially during periods of high volume, and try to avoid using shipping companies when they are experiencing a high incident rate of delivery problems. As a result, we may change shipping carriers in our sole and absolute best judgment in an attempt to reduce the risk to you of having a lost/damaged package, or a package that is delivered late. In no way does substituting shipping companies in any way constitute eligibility for a partial or total refund of any kind whatsoever.

Food Shipping

Please note, most of our food such as fish, and meat, ships fresh. In some instances certain types of food will ship frozen such as ground beef, lobster tails, or snow crab. These frozen items will initially ship frozen but will thaw in transit in our shipping coolers that are packed with gel packs. These packages are not intended for the initially frozen item to arrive frozen, but rather it will arrive thawed. By acknowledging these shipping policies and making your purchase you fully accept and understand that claiming a food item did not arrive frozen DOES NOT qualify you for a refund of any kind whatsoever.

Spoilage

Please note, it is common to have some live shellfish such as oysters, clams, mussels, crabs, or lobsters perish in shipment, or have shellfish, fish, meat, and food items spoil in shipment. You exclusively accept this risk as a condition of placing your order with us. The company ships at your direction, and what happens in transit is your risk, and subject almost exclusively on how FedEX/UPS handles the box during transit and whether they deliver the package in a timely manner. We have no control whatsoever to what happens once a package leaves our possession as it is in the hands of FedEX/UPS, and any claims of a perished, gaping, or spoiled shellfish or spoiled food DOES NOT qualify you for a refund of any kind whatsoever. Said differently, you bear the risk of any shipments we ship at your request, and we have no responsibility for the product once it leaves our possession. You must take responsibility for filing any and all claims for a damaged, destroyed, perished, or spoiled food product with FedEx/UPS, and we bear no obligation or responsibility for a refund, or any responsibility or liability whatsoever caused by spoiled food. If you received spoiled food you are uncomfortable eating, you should throw it out and contact FedEX/UPS for a claim. The company bears no responsibility or obligation in assisting you or any third party in any way whatsoever in the claims filing process with FedEx/UPS.

Acts of God/ Weather Delays

Weather delays can be unexpected, and can result in the delay of your package. Please note, neither Anderson’s Neck Oyster Company or our shipper will be held responsible for delays caused by “Acts of God” such as war, weather, natural disaster, pandemics, etc. This is stated in our shippers’ policies and, therefore, is also our policy. We will, however, do everything we can to get your package delivered as soon as possible to minimize the chance of loss.

Shipping Restrictions

We are unable to ship to APO/FPO, P.O. Boxes, rural routes, and destinations outside the U.S.A. If you are unsure if your address can be shipped, please contact us prior to placing your order or obtain an alternate address that is a physical business or residential location.

Shipping routes, time of delivery, and cancellation of what was once deliverable locations change on a daily basis depending on our shippers’ policies. We are not notified of these changes immediately and thus do not know until we prepare the package for shipment. We apologize for any discrepancies that this may inflict and we will contact you immediately when this impacts your order.

Address Corrections

Please ensure that you’ve entered the correct and complete address of the intended delivery location. Incorrect inputs of addresses can inflict delays and additional fees to correct/reroute. We will not be held responsible for the spoilage of foods, reimbursement of shipping charges, and address correction fees should this occur. Please keep in mind incorrect addresses can take an additional day to be re-routed and re-delivered.

Authorized Release

Please note, we ship all parcels with Authorized Release, meaning if no one is home, the parcel may be left by the carrier at your door, only if the carrier feels it is safe to do so. Shippers sometimes leave packages behind bushes or at locations to avoid theft. If at all possible, we recommend that you make arrangements to have someone available for delivery. Please note, we take no responsibility for stolen or lost packages after FedEx/UPS delivers the package. Packages that are not left at the door will be returned to the station for re-delivery the following delivery day or available for pick up at the local shippers’ station. Please be aware that we do not guarantee products after the first attempt of delivery.

Losses & Damages in Transit

On occasion, FedEx or UPS may accidentally lose or damage a box in shipment. If this happens, please contact FedEx or UPS and file a claim. Please note, you agree to accept all risk of loss in shipment and if your package is lost or damaged in transit you will need to contact FedEx or UPS and handle the claim filing process. We are not responsible for any lost packages or damages that occur in transit whatsoever. You assume all risk as a condition of us making this shipment to you using Fed Ex or UPS and you agree to accept the risk of any and all loss that may occur as a result of any lost packages or potential damage in transit. We are not responsible or liable for making any refunds of any kind whatsoever for any lost or damaged packages that might occur in transit. The company bears no responsibility or obligation in assisting you or any third party in any way whatsoever in the claims filing process with FedEx or UPS.

Returns & Credits

At Anderson’s Neck Oyster Company, we strive for customer satisfaction by upholding to our promise of providing the freshest food. Obviously, we cannot accept cancellations or any kind or returns of food, seafood, or oyster shipments. In other words, once an order is placed, all sales are final. If you refuse delivery for any reason whatsoever, including claiming it arrived at a different time that you wanted, you have just willfully destroyed the perishable food items you ordered under these terms that you understood and agreed to as a condition of purchase, and will receive no refund whatsoever. Please also note, claiming that a gel pack insert is melted DOES NOT qualify you for a refund of any kind whatsoever. Our packaging system (including the insulated cooler and gel packs) are designed to keep the food at a comfortable temperature range in transit. Items that ship frozen will not arrive frozen, but will thaw in transit and be ready for consumption art arrival. Claiming your food wasn’t frozen at delivery does not DOES NOT qualify you for a refund of any kind whatsoever.

Please also note that seafood and oysters are harvested in an open marine environment and shellfish such as oysters, clams, and mussels will likely have other marine animals that may be attached or in their shells such as worms, sea squirts, small crabs, shrimp, crustaceans, etc. While we will wash the shellfish prior to shipment, there is no way to avoid aquatic hitchhiker animals from being attached to the shells at delivery. Such aquatic hitchhikers shall not be a cause in any way for us to be obligated to offer a full or partial refund of any kind whatsoever. These hitchhikers will likely perish in shipment and may cause a smell even though the shellfish (oysters, clams etc) you purchased are still alive and well, and perfectly safe to eat. The existence of a smell of the dead aquatic hitchhikers does not qualify you for a refund of any kind. These are the terms you accept when you place an order with us. Please note, that by acknowledging these shipping polices and making your purchase you accept and understand that all sales are final and we cannot guarantee a delivery on a particular date, and by making the order of a perishable food product to be shipped via UPS/FedEx at your direction, you assume all risk of loss spoilage including any damage in transit and that we bear no risk of loss, obligation to refund, or provide credits of any kind.

Gifts

We strongly encourage you to make sure the recipient of a gift package you are purchasing is made ware of the delivery so they can arrange to put the food into refrigeration immediately upon delivery. We also encourage you to make sure your gift recipient is aware of these policies before the package arrives. If a recipient is unfamiliar with these policies (or is generally unfamiliar with proper food, shellfish, or seafood  handing/storage practices in general), and throws the food away away at delivery, that will waive your and the recipients rights for a refund of any kind.

Product Substitutions

Given the extremely volatile nature of oyster farming in a natural environment that is subject to various weather and growth issues, closure areas, supply chain disruptions, and COVID interrupted multi-year growth cycles, plus the highly perishable nature of many of the meat, seafood and food products we offer, we often run out of inventory or may no longer have available certain products/varietals (including for extended periods) you have ordered. By placing an order on our website, you understand and agree that we reserve the right to substitute a similar product of comparable value in order to fulfill your order if we do not have in inventory any items you purchase. By agreeing to these policies as a condition of the purchase, you waive all claims and any rights to a refund if a substitution is made, and we have no obligation to refund or provide credits of any kind in the case of where we have made a substitution. As an example, if we run out of inventory of a specific varietal of oyster that you have purchased, we will substitute a different varietal of oyster to fulfill your order, and you will have no right for a credit or refund of any kind whatsoever, given our right of substitution that you are explicitly agreeing to as a condition of your purchase. Please note that oyster varietal substitutions are a regular and necessary practice in our fulfillment of orders for the reasons described above.