Freight Shipping
Grow Beds and Hydroton Expanded Clay Media

Any product that is too big or too heavy (over 50 lbs) to be shipped by Federal Express, UPS or the U.S. Postal Service must be shipped on a truck.  A single 50 liter bag of Hydroton will be shipped via UPS, but once you get up to two bags it is too heavy for UPS and will be shipped through freight.  While this sounds very expensive, it often isn’t as much as you would think.

When shipping by freight you pay by the pallet.  A pallet is a 4’ x 4’ wooden structure that the product is stacked on top of, and then everything on the pallet is wrapped in plastic wrap to keep it stable.

Freight shipping rates are directly dependent on how far the destination location is from the distribution center.  The distributor we work with has five distribution centers in the United States

1. Petaluma, California
2. Broomfield, Colorado
3. Medley , Florida
4. Grand Prairie , Texas
5. Fearless Hills , Pennsylvania

Your order will ship from the distribution center nearest to you. While rates vary (sometimes dramatically) across the country, here is an example of what you might see for shipping rates if you lived closest to the Colorado location

1. Within the Denver / Boulder metro area – approximately $75 per pallet
2. Ft. Collins / Colorado Springs – approximately $100 per pallet
3. Rest of the state – approximately $130per pallet
4. Outside the state $130 – $300, depending on the location

IF you live in New York, however, your shipping will be calculated as the distance from the Pennsylvania warehouse.  We will always calculate your shipping based on your proximity to the nearest distribution center.

We will also pass along the “drop ship fee” that our distributor charge for the labor and materials involved in palletizing the products.  This fee usually ranges from $5 – $15.
Other factors that drive cost are whether the delivery is to a residence or a business address (business is cheaper) and whether or not a lift gate is required to lower the pallet to the ground.

Here is the good news:

You will be charged the same amount for shipping no matter how much you put on that pallet (up to a maximum weight of 3000 lbs and a maximum height of 70”)!

• 5 grow beds or 30 grow beds – shipping costs the same!
• 5 grow beds or 5 grow beds with Hydroton grow media – shipping costs the same!
• 5 -50 liter bags of Hydroton will actually cost MORE to ship than 30 -50 liter bags of Hydroton

Once you have placed your grow bed and/or Hydroton order with us we will contact you with the shipping quote and arrange for payment before we ship your order.  If you decide not to continue with your order we will refund your money.  You are also welcome to contact us in advance for a quote estimate at info@theaquaponicsource.com, although this won’t be firm until your order has been placed and we send you the final quote.

Freight Damages Policy

While we don’t expect damage to your shipment, it sometimes happens.  When your shipment arrives please inspect it before signing off with the trucker.  Freight damage must be documented on the Bill of Lading at the time of delivery – we cannot be held responsible for damaged item claims that are not noted on the BOL.  If there is damage, digital photos of the damages are highly recommended and should be sent to us within 48 hours so we can report them to the carrier.  If you unwrap the shipment and find damages that were concealed at the time of delivery those also need to be documented and reported to us within 48 hours of delivery. We will work with you to repair or replace damaged items but please understand that most freight companies will only compensate on a reduced level of damages for anything not noted on the Bill of Lading.

If you still have questions about how this works please send us an email at info@theaquaponicsource.com and we would be happy to answer them!