Terms & Guarantees | Northern Gecko

TERMS & GUARANTEES

PAYMENT OPTIONS

Canadian and USA methods of payment:

ALL CANADIAN ORDERS WILL BE CONVERTED TO CANADIAN DOLLARS (CAD) AT CHECKOUT with the current exchange rate applied.

**Please note that all pricing on animals on this site DO NOT include applicable Provincial or Federal Sales Taxes.

We accept the following payment options:

PayPal or email money transfers.
Electronic Money Transfer (Interac EMT) Please make the answer to your security question: geckoin
Payment via MasterCard or VISA over the telephone. Please call us at 416-630-0063 to process your payment. If you are in North America you can call us Toll-free at 1-855-GECKOIN’ (432-5646).
Credit card payments can also be made via PayPal if you so desire.
Bank Wire Transfer (please contact us for transfer information).
In person at trade shows we accept Interac, VISA & MasterCard as acceptable forms of payment.

Update as of June 2019:

With the influx of fraudulent payments we will require purchases over $2000 USD to be sent by PayPal Friends and Family, EMT, or Bank Wire Transfer. This is to protect us as a seller and our animals.

International methods of payments:

ALL INTERNATIONAL ORDERS ARE TO BE PAID IN US DOLLARS (USD).

Bank Wire Transfer (please contact us for this information).
PayPal (European Union Countries & USA ONLY)
Payment via MasterCard or VISA over the telephone. Please call us at 416-630-0063 to process your payment. (European Union Countries and USA ONLY)
Credit card payments can also be made via PayPal if you so desire. (European Union Countries and USA ONLY)
*All pricing on animals and dry goods quoted on this site DO NOT include applicable Provincial or Federal Sales Taxes. Export orders are exempt from these taxes (duties and taxes may be required by your country upon import).

DEPOSITS

A gecko can not be put on HOLD without a deposit. Unfortunately, we have had a few too many customers tell us they want a certain gecko and then not follow through with the payment. We feel this is unfair to other customers who end up picking their 2nd or 3rd choice, only to find out their first choice has become available again. As a result, we will not mark any gecko on HOLD or SOLD without a non-refundable deposit or full payment. These two methods are the only way to ensure a gecko(s) is reserved for you. We will process reservations and payments for geckos in the order in which they are received, via e-mail or phone. Phone calls will take priority over e-mail communications. Until a deposit or payment is received all geckos are for sale to any customer.

A 50% non-refundable deposit is required to put an animal on HOLD. After this deposit is received the animal will be marked as ‘on HOLD’ with your initials until the final payment is received. If payment is not completed for any reason during the agreed upon time period, your deposit may be forfeited at our discretion. We reserve the right to deny a HOLD payment on certain items.

PAYMENT PLANS

We only offer ONE PAYMENT plan. And this is to split your payment into two payments due one month apart. You will be required to pay a 50% non-refundable deposit to HOLD your animal(s). The final payment will then be due one month from the deposit date. Sometimes for larger sized orders (10 or more animals) we can negotiate other plans. If I agree to the plan, then we have a deal. We will work out a payment schedule and agree upon the schedule. The catch is that you must follow through with all payments as agreed upon or you forfeit all payments that have already been made. The animal will be put on HOLD until the payment plan is complete. The animal can then be shipped after full payment has been received.

WAITING LISTS

Some of the animals we breed are in super short supply and we only produce several per year. If you wish to be added to a waiting list for any particular animal, please send your request to Northern Gecko and we will add you to the waiting list for that particular animal. Sometimes, with high demand animals, a deposit may be required to hold this animal for you.

If a HOLD payment had been made and we can no longer provide this animal for you, we may offer you a substitute animal (we usually make these deals VERY sweet as we HATE to disappoint our customers) or we will refund your deposit.

ALL SALES ARE FINAL

Unless the item(s) purchased are not available at the time of sale or final payment, all sales are final. After purchase you are still protected by our seven-day health guarantee (please see further down this page) once the animal is in your possession. In the event that the item can no longer be provided and a payment has already been made a credit or refund will be offered at our discretion.

LIVE ANIMAL SHIPPING PROCESS

a. Shipping Within Canada:

After you purchase your gecko(s) you can be confident that we take care of every aspect required to make sure that your purchase arrives safely in your city. Your gecko(s) will fly from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) to an airport in Canada that you specify. Your gecko(s) will fly via Air Canada Cargo Live or West Jet services. When your gecko(s) arrive at your airport of choice you will be required to pick them up at the appropriate cargo desk. It is that simple. Please read this entire section to familiarize yourself with what you will need to do after you pay for your gecko(s).

Weather dependent, we can also ship through Reptile Runner to have the gecko(s) shipped directly to your door next day or the nearest FedEx Hub. The method in which your animals are shipped will be discussed with you prior to shipping.

Shipping Address When Using PayPal:

When you purchase your gecko(s) via PayPal it is very important that you include your shipping address with payment. This policy MUST be followed with every purchase in order to comply with PayPal’s buyer and seller protection policies. If you do not provide a shipping address within PayPal I cannot be held responsible for misdirected shipments that are addressed incorrectly.

Scheduling:

I DO NOT ship out automatically after I receive payment for an animal as I need to know that the customer will be available to pick them up. After you have paid for your animals via an appropriate method we will mutually arrange a shipping day and destination airport where you would like to pick up your animals.

I am more than willing to hold your animals for you (free of charge) until we can find the right day to ship (for you, me and the geckos). Your geckos will be treated and cared for just like any other gecko in my facility. I would rather keep the geckos safe at my place for a longer period of time then risk their welfare by shipping during less than optimal conditions.

Shipping must be scheduled a minimum of 24 hours in advance and will only be scheduled after payment has been made in full. For example, I cannot schedule a shipment contingent upon payment being made that day.

A Note about Extreme Weather Conditions:

As you know, we live in a country that has some pretty extreme weather conditions. Please remember that I will not ship geckos in conditions that would prove to be lethal for the animals. This means that I will not ship New Caledonian geckos if outdoor temperatures are lower than 1°C (34°F) or greater than 25°C (77°F) in either my city or yours. NO EXCEPTIONS.

A current Toronto five-day weather forecast can be found here: Toronto Weather

It remains the customer’s responsibility to check local weather forecasts on shipping day to make sure that temperatures will remain inside these parameters at the destination city.

· In the summer, evening flights are sometimes an option in order to avoid daytime highs, as the gecko will arrive at the destination airport before/after daytime highs occur.
· In the winter, there are usually some days that are above 1°C (34°F). These days, while few and far between, provide the perfect window to get geckos to their destination. Please be patient.
· Heat packs and cold packs are provided at no additional charge and will be used as required. They cannot be used to avoid otherwise lethal temperatures though.If a shipment is delayed the heat/cold pack may stop working before the animal arrives at its destination.
Please be patient and wait for the right day to ship. This is better than receiving a gecko that is extra crispy or requires thawing. Rest assured that until your geckos ship I will look after them the same way I look after all of my geckos.

While I want to do everything to make my customers happy, please remember that the health and well-being of an animal will always come first. I will not knowingly jeopardize the welfare of an animal by shipping them when it is not safe to do so. I do not offer refunds because a customer does not want to wait for an animal to be shipped safely.

Shipping Method:

After you purchase your geckos and we have scheduled a flight, your geckos will be packed up very carefully in a certified approved container for shipping live reptiles. The container has ¾” Styrofoam inserts for insulation. This maintains the temperature inside the box during travel. The box is clearly marked indicating the presence of live animals within the box and that it should be handled with one side up and kept at room temperature as much as possible. Hot or cold packs are inserted (when required) to ensure that your animals remain at the appropriate temperature for shipping.

We then take your geckos to the airport for shipping via either Air Canada Cargo or West Jet. If all flights depart and arrive as scheduled, there is no reason that your geckos should spend more than twelve hours inside the shipping container. This is much better than overnight shipping which is common in the USA. Although it is somewhat more expensive than overnight air shipping (not an option in Canada), you get same day delivery which is less risky and/or stressful for your geckos.

Shipping Costs:

Typically, your order can be shipped coast to coast within Canada for a maximum fee of CAN $65.00. This shipping charge is the customer’s responsibility and you will be required to pay this amount before we ship to you, unless otherwise agreed upon beforehand.

When required, boxes and shipping materials, heat and cold packs will be provided free of charge.

NOTE: Because air shipping fees are so costly, it often makes sense to purchase more than one gecko per order, as shipping costs do not increase if you order one gecko or ten. The animals are so light that really you are paying for the real estate of a decent sized box (16” x 12” x 8”), as there is a minimum box size that can be shipped. I often suggest if you have friends in the same city/area, that you pool your orders together so that you can split shipping charges. It is somewhat expensive to send one gecko via air, but gets considerably less expensive if you divide that cost by three geckos (or even ten).

Don’t Forget These Items before You Head To the Airport

· Remember to bring your waybill number (provided by me when I schedule the flight).
· Bring at least one piece of government issued photo ID, as you will be required to prove who you are before the geckos will be released to you.
Local Pick-up

Due to increased security concerns within the reptile hobby, I will no longer be offering local pick-up of purchased animals. If you live close to the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) and would like to arrange to pick-up your animals locally, we can arrange a mutual meeting location for me to deliver your geckos to you. Please contact me before placing an order to make sure that we can make adequate arrangements for local pick-up.

Additionally, we usually attend all Reptile Expos in the Greater Toronto Area (www.reptileexpo.ca ). If you wish to have your geckos brought to the next Reptile Expo for pick-up please notify me at least one week in advance and I will have no problem bringing your purchases to the show.

b. Shipping to the USA

After you purchase your gecko(s) you can be confident that we take care of every aspect required to make sure that your purchase arrives safely in your state. We personally drive to Buffalo FedEx Hub and ship out all packages from there. Because of this we SCHEDULE USA SHIPMENTS. All USA orders do not go out right away. We wait until there are multiple orders to keep shipping costs low for our customers (i.e Inspection fees, US Fish and Wildlife, Broker Fees).

Shipping Address When Using PayPal:

Shipping Costs:

All USA shipments are a flat rate of USD $75.00. This shipping charge is the customer’s responsibility and you will be required to pay this amount before we ship to you, unless otherwise agreed upon beforehand.

When required, boxes and shipping materials, heat and cold packs will be provided free of charge.

100% LIVE ARRIVAL & HEALTH GUARANTEE

Northern Gecko guarantees that from the moment you receive your gecko it is alive (obviously), healthy and alert. Whether you are picking up the gecko locally in Toronto or if you ask us to ship it across the globe, your new gecko will be in top shape. This is our commitment to you. Please review the policies below so that you can know how to get the most from our guarantee.

Live Arrival Guarantee:

Every gecko we sell is backed by a live arrival guarantee; however it is important that you are aware of the conditions in which I WILL NOT offer a live arrival guarantee:

· If outdoor temperatures are lower than 1°C (34°F) or greater than 25°C (77°F) I cannot guarantee live arrival as Rhacodactylus geckos are very sensitive to extreme temperatures (especially extreme heat). I will not put your gecko(s) at risk by shipping outside of these temperatures, however if you insist that I ship your gecko(s) against my recommendation the buyer shall assume responsibility and my live arrival guarantee is null and void. Please make sure that you are aware of local weather forecasts in your city on the day of shipping. You can check weather forecasts here .

· The live arrival guarantee assumes that someone will be present to pick up the gecko(s) when they arrive. If no one is there to accept shipment upon arrival then the live arrival guarantee shall be null and void. This INCLUDES leaving animals all day to be picked up at a FedEx or UPS hub. If you do not plan on retrieving your animal(s) right away (no more than three hours from arrival time at the hub) then do not expect us to honor a live arrival guarantee.

If an animal arrives expired (this has never happened yet) you MUST notify us immediately upon receipt. If I hear nothing from you within 12 hours I will assume the animals arrived alive and in good health and you are satisfied with your purchase. In the event that an animal arrives expired, photographic evidence will be required. If you cannot provide photographic evidence then you will be required to ship the expired animal back at your expense. An animal that is DOA will be replaced or a credit will be offered at our discretion.

7-Day Health Guarantee:

We guarantee that all geckos we sell are 100% healthy animals when they leave our facility. For this reason I am willing to extend a 7-day health guarantee on all of our stock. If you are having problems with a newly acquired gecko that you purchased from us it is essential that you to contact us as soon as possible so that we can offer suggestions to remedy the situation. If you contact us after a gecko’s demise there are no suggestions we can offer you at that point. Adjusting to a new enclosure and new surroundings can sometimes be a stressful period for a gecko. For this reason it is important to keep an eye on your new gecko(s) for the first week or so. Beyond the seven day period we are unable to offer a health guarantee as we have no control over how the geckos will be looked after or to what diseases or parasites they might be exposed.

Sexing Policy:

If we specify that a gecko is male or female then we make a 100% guarantee that it is sexed correctly. If we specify that a gecko is 95% female this means that there is a 5% chance that the assumption is erroneous, and it may in fact become male. Since all geckos look like females from birth and do not show any signs of being male until a certain size (usually 10-15 grams) I am not able to make a 100% guarantee on sex for animals quoted as such. There is always a chance, no matter how slim, that male organs can begin to develop. These geckos are not offered as 100% guaranteed sexable animals for this reason. Unsexed animals are offered with no promise of what sex they might become as there have yet to display any signs of sexual maturity. In the unlikely event that a gecko has been sexed incorrectly and our 100% sexing guarantee applies then the gecko will be replaced with one of the correct sex or a credit will be issued at our discretion.

Gecko Tails:

Geckos can drop their tails as a self-defense mechanism or for no apparent reason at all. I have personally witnessed this on several occasions and it can leave even the most avid hobbyist scratching their head. Some species regrow their tails while others will not. In the wild, many geckos will drop their tail to escape a predator and will live a long and normal life without it. It is for this reason that a lost tail is not considered to be a defect. This being the case, we will not be responsible if a gecko loses its tail in our facility or during shipping. This can sometimes happen and it is out of the realm of our responsibility as this is an act of nature. We do however, make every effort to not encourage tail dropping by limiting loud noises and startling situations.

Gecko Colour:

I have spent thousands of dollars on high-end lighting, camera equipment and software in order to represent my geckos as accurately as possible. Regardless of the quality of camera and lighting equipment used, colours will always look just a little bit different on each individual monitor. I have several monitors in my home I know that even from one computer to the next colours can appear slightly different. In fact, it is virtually impossible to make every picture look exactly the same on every person’s monitor. However, you can rest assured that the only modifications ever made to our photographs are resizing (shrinking), cropping and white balance adjustments (if the gecko comes out too red, too blue or too green). We will never modify a picture to make a gecko seem brighter or more high-contrast then it actually is.

There are many factors that affect a gecko’s colouration, such as the presence of food, level of stress and environmental factors like humidity. I photograph my geckos in a state when they are “fired up,” meaning that they are showing some of their finest colours. However, no matter how hard you try to get them in this state the geckos do not always cooperate. It is for this reason that I have often heard that the gecko ended up arriving looking “much nicer than it does in pictures.” To date, I have never had a single customer complain that the gecko they received had colouration that was misrepresented by its picture. In fact, I hear allot of the opposite as many people often tell me the picture did not do the gecko justice. With this in mind please be aware that I cannot offer refunds based on a lack of or misrepresentation of colour.

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