Our Quality Guarantee and Return Policy

Thank You for your interest in Harbour House Crabs.  We take great pride in the quality of our seafood and take every measure possible to ensure that your order arrives in the same condition as when we packaged it.  Delivering live and steamed Maryland blue crabs and other fresh quality seafood throughout the country is very challenging.  We are always trying to perfect the sourcing, processing and packaging of all our seafood.  We strive to make sure your experience with Harbour House Crabs is the best it can be and that our seafood is the highest of quality available.  We rely 100% on FedEx to make sure your order is delivered as scheduled.  For over a decade FedEx has proven to be the best perishable shipper and has delivered over 99% of all our packages on time.

With all that being said, there are some things that may cause a package to arrive late or after the scheduled time.  We do realize that when an issue occurs it can be very frustrating.  One thing to keep in mind is that delays happen on less than 1% of our orders.  We will do whatever we can to help resolve the issue at hand and will handle every issue professionally.  Below is a list of how we handle these issue if they may arise. 

(Covid update – FedEx continues to operate with a very high on time rate, however, the on time rate has dropped to 96% on time with approximately 4% being delayed in transit by a day.  We pack every order to last at least an additional day in transit if needed)

We strongly recommend having perishable orders (excluding live crabs) delivered at least a day earlier for time sensitive special occasions. FedEx and UPS are seeing increased volumes along with weather and other delays.  The services and estimate arrival times and dates are just estimates.  We pack every order with enough gel ice/dry ice to last additional days in transit.  All packages delivered within one day of the estimated arrival date will be considered on time. 

• Package arrives after the scheduled day due to a weather issue or an issue out of FedEx’s control – Each of our orders is packed with enough gel pack ice to ensure an extra day of shipping if needed.  In the case that weather has caused FedEx a delay greater than one day in your shipment and the contents of your order are spoiled, we will issue a store credit for the cost of the products in your order.  Because FedEx waives all guarantees when weather is the cause of the delay, we are unable to reimburse the shipping cost.
• Package arrives later than the estimated time on the scheduled day - Estimated shipping arrival times may vary according to zip code and destination. FedEx always strives to meet to their estimated daily delivery times. However, situations or delays can occur where a package may arrive later in the day. If the package is date/time sensitive or for a special occasion, we highly recommend scheduling your order to arrive a day sooner.
• Package arrives more than a day later than scheduled day -  Each of our orders is packed with enough gel pack ice to ensure an extra day of shipping if needed.   In the case there is a delay greater than one day in your shipment and the contents are spoiled we will reship another order.
• Package arrives after the scheduled day due to a weather issue or an issue out of FedEx’s control – Each of our orders is packed with enough gel pack ice to ensure an extra day of shipping if needed.  In the case that weather has caused FedEx a delay greater than one day in your shipment and the contents of your order are spoiled, we will issue a store credit for the cost of the products in your order.  Because FedEx waives all guarantees when weather is the cause of the delay, we are unable to reimburse the shipping cost.
• Package arrives on time but there is an issue with the order - Each and every item we sell is carefully inspected before it is shipped.  If the merchandise is defective or damaged upon receipt please contact us immediately after your package arrives.  All claims must be made the same day of the receipt of order.  We are in the business of making sure every customer is satisfied with their order.  If there is an issue we will always try to resolve the issue in a timely matter.  In doing so we need to obtain as much information as possible to try and determine what was the root cause of the problem.  Depending on the issue we may ask you to reship the package back to us for inspection. Shipping charges will not be refunded.
  *** Hard Shell Crabs – We strive to make sure every customer is completely satisfied with their order and we back all of our products with this guarantee.  This can be a challenge because the crabs we catch change from day to day. Some days the crabs have longer points and smaller bodies…..some days they have small points and big bodies…..some days the crabs have smaller claws or just one claw or no claws at all……some days the crabs are lighter and not quite full and some days the crabs are perfect.  We always strive to sell the perfect crab, but in most cases we can get close but not quite perfect.  Availability can sometimes cause a delay in shipment.  We have quite a few waterman crabbing different bodies of water to try and maintain a consistent supply of quality crabs.  Wind and Cold weather (winter months especially) can sometimes prevent our watermen from going out crabbing.  Bottom line is…..if we can’t catch them we can’t ship them.  If we cannot fill the order we will call and/or email you to determine a better arrival date.
FedEx Ground service is a great economical shipping solution, however, ground deliveries may be delayed in transit.  We strive to pack each shipment to be able to last additional days in transit.  We do highly recommend using FedEx Air service for date sensitive orders.  FedEx ground service is a great economical service but does not have the same guarantees as FedEx Air services. 

FedEx Ground service is a great economical shipping solution, however, ground deliveries may be delayed in transit. We strive to pack each shipment to be able to last additional days in transit. We do highly recommend using FedEx Air service for date sensitive orders. FedEx ground service is a great economical service but does not have the same guarantees as FedEx Air services.

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Please Note:  if you have any packaging or product concerns please contact us immediately on the day of delivery.   

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