Delivery

Delivery

All orders on aquaplants.biz are shipped from our warehouse in Liepāja, Latvia. Because we ship live aquatic plants, every shipment is packed to keep plants healthy in transit. Details on packaging, shipping zones, lead times, fees and delivery problems are listed below.

1. Dispatch time

Orders placed before 12:00 EET on a business day are normally dispatched the same day. Orders placed after 12:00 EET, on weekends or on Latvian public holidays are dispatched on the next business day. Live plant orders are dispatched only Monday through Wednesday so that the shipment does not sit in a courier depot over the weekend.

2. Carrier and services

All orders are shipped with UPS. We use two services:

  • UPS Standard — road transport, used for all European Union countries and mainland United Kingdom.
  • UPS Express Saver — air transport, used for non-EU Europe (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein), European islands where Standard is not available (Cyprus, Malta, the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla) and overseas destinations (United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Israel).

Every shipment receives a tracking number by email as soon as the parcel is collected by the courier. You can track the parcel on ups.com.

3. Delivery times

Delivery times below apply after the order has been dispatched. Transit time is counted in business days.

  • Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia (UPS Standard) — 1–2 business days
  • Other EU countries (UPS Standard): Poland, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Czechia, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Italy, mainland Spain, mainland Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia — 7–10 business days
  • United Kingdom — choose at checkout: UPS Standard 7–14 business days or UPS Express Saver 2–3 business days
  • Non-EU Europe (UPS Express Saver): Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein — 2–4 business days, subject to customs clearance
  • European islands outside Standard coverage (UPS Express Saver): Cyprus, Malta, the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla — 2–4 business days. Island delivery tariffs are significantly higher than for mainland addresses.
  • Overseas destinations (UPS Express Saver): United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Israel — 5–10 business days, subject to customs clearance

In peak season (spring and early summer) carrier transit can be 1–2 days longer. We never dispatch live plants on a Thursday or Friday because weekend storage at a UPS depot damages the plants.

4. Remote zones and territories

For remote destinations, surcharges and longer lead times apply. Exact quotes are shown at checkout.

  • Zone 5 — Azores (PT), Cyprus, Madeira (PT), Malta
  • Zone 6 — Faroe Islands (DK), Gibraltar (UK), Iceland, Canary Islands (ES), Melilla (ES), Ceuta (ES), Channel Islands — Guernsey (GG) and Jersey (JE)
  • Greenland (DK) — aquarium care products only (no live plants). UPS air service is not available (no landing infrastructure due to glaciers). Delivery is handled by sea freight, transit time 2–3 weeks.

5. Address restrictions

We ship only to a physical street address — to a private individual or to a registered business. We do not ship to PO boxes, mail-forwarding services, or military bases and postal compounds without a real physical location. If UPS cannot deliver to a real address, the parcel is returned to our warehouse and a second shipping fee applies for any re-dispatch.

This is particularly important for addresses within NATO countries: personnel listed in the UK or the US may actually be based on overseas islands or remote outposts. A PO box under a British address can fall into Zone 10 once UPS finds the true destination, and the parcel is returned. For this reason we accept only addresses with a real street, house number and postal code.

6. Shipping fees

Shipping fees are calculated automatically at checkout based on the delivery address and the total weight of the parcel — not per item. Lightweight items (live plants are around 0.5 kg) have a much lower fee than heavy items such as substrates (about 9 kg each) or aquarium equipment. For example, three bags of substrate (27 kg in total) sent overseas can cost significantly more than a parcel of plants to the same address. The final amount is always shown before payment, so there are no surprises. Free shipping promotions, when available, are announced on the home page.

7. Packaging for live plants

Each parcel is packed in a double-wall cardboard box lined with thermal insulation. The plants are wrapped in moist sphagnum moss and individually bagged to retain humidity. In temperatures below +3 °C or above +28 °C we add a heat pack or cool pack to the parcel at no extra cost. If the forecast at the destination shows extreme weather on the expected delivery day, we delay dispatch by 1–2 days and inform you by email — this protects the plants.

8. Partial shipments

If one or more items in your order are temporarily out of stock, we will contact you within 24 hours and agree on a partial shipment or a delay. We never split a shipment into two parcels without your consent, because a second shipping fee will apply.

9. Delivery issues

If a parcel is visibly damaged on arrival, please refuse delivery or note the damage on the courier's document and contact us at info@aquaplants.biz within 48 hours with photos. If the plants arrive in poor condition because of a transport delay, please also contact us within 48 hours of delivery. We will arrange a replacement or a refund — see our Shipments and Returns policy for details.

10. Addresses outside the EU

For addresses outside the European Union, the recipient is responsible for any customs duties, import VAT and clearance fees charged in the destination country. We cannot predict these charges. Please check with your local customs authority before ordering live plants — some countries require a phytosanitary certificate, which we issue for an additional fee on request.

11. Destinations we do not ship to

At the moment we do not ship to Russia, Belarus or Ukraine. UPS Standard is not available for these destinations (they are not part of the European Union) and regular air freight from Latvia is not operating due to the ongoing war. We will announce any change on the home page as soon as the situation allows.

We also do not ship to San Marino. Although San Marino is geographically enclosed within Italy, its customs require a special declaration (Form 2) that is not part of the standard UPS procedure. If your delivery address is in San Marino, please provide an Italian address to which the order can be shipped.

Contact

Any question about an order that has already been dispatched: info@aquaplants.biz or WhatsApp +371 27510400. Replies within one business day.