Live arrival and DOA
What dead-on-arrival means in peer sales. Not a platform insurance product.
No platform live-arrival guarantee
Coral Auction only provides listing, bidding, and messaging tools. We are not a party to any sale. Buyers and sellers are solely responsible for agreeing payment, packaging, shipping, customs, insurance, animal welfare, and resolving disputes (including DOA). The platform takes no commission and provides no live-arrival guarantee during community launch.
If a listing or seller mentions their own DOA policy, that is their promise to you, not Coral Auction’s.
What keepers usually handle peer-to-peer
- • Clear DOA terms agreed before shipping
- • Photo evidence on open-box
- • Refund, partial refund, or replacement from the seller
- • Wrong species / empty bag if that was the deal
What Coral Auction does not do
- • Guarantee livestock arrives alive
- • Insure parcels or force refunds
- • Process DOA claims as a platform
- • Hold seller funds in escrow during community launch
If something arrives dead
- 1
Document quickly
Many private sellers expect photos within a short window of delivery. Check what you agreed.
Useful photos
- • Coral in bag / as opened
- • Tissue close-up
- • Box and packing
- • Label / tracking if relevant
- 3
Contact the seller
Message them with photos and delivery time. Resolution is between you two.
- 4
If you cannot agree
Coral Auction is not a dispute court. Use payment-provider tools only if they apply to how you paid, and learn for the next private sale.
Reduce DOA risk
- Solid packing and weather-aware ship days
- Buyer home for delivery
- Realistic colour and size in the listing
- See shipping guidelines
After it is in your tank
Stress, pests, lighting, or parameter issues days later are husbandry, not a platform claim. Plan acclimation and quarantine as you would for any private move.