Plants
If your plant arrives dead, or with damage it can't recover from (crushed, rotted, moldy), we'll replace it or refund you — your choice.
The upwegrow Promise
Our Promise
Buying something living, sight unseen, takes a leap of faith. Here's exactly what we do to make that leap worth it — and exactly what happens if something goes wrong.
Healthy Arrival, Always
The upwegrow Guarantee
Plant, reptile, amphibian, or full bioactive build — if it arrives anything less than thriving, we make it right. Here's what that means in practice, category by category.
Reptiles & amphibians
If your animal arrives dead or seriously injured, we'll replace it or issue store credit for its full value. We don't offer cash refunds on live animals — nobody in this trade does, because there's no way to "return" an animal to verify a claim. Replacement or credit keeps claims fast and keeps the guarantee sustainable, which keeps prices fair for everyone.
Bioactive builds
The living parts of your build — plants, cleanup crew, any animals — are covered under the rules above. The hardscape, substrate, and enclosure itself are physical goods, covered under our standard returns policy below, not the live guarantee.
No return shipping required for a valid claim. We just need to hear from you in time, with the right evidence — details below.
What’s covered and what’s not covered
What's Covered
- Arrives dead on arrival (DOA)
- Arrives with damage or injury it won't recover from — crushed, broken, rotted, moldy, or visibly injured and unresponsive
What's Not Covered
Living things get a little dramatic in transit. A few dropped or curled leaves, some temporary droop, or a lethargic animal that perks up within a day or two of settling in isn't a defect — it's normal shipping stress, and it's not a valid claim on its own. If you're not sure whether what you're seeing is normal, reach out — we'd rather answer a question than have you worry.
The guarantee doesn't cover:
- Unrooted cuttings, seeds, and spores — propagation material is inherently unpredictable to establish, and success depends heavily on your setup and care.
- Clearance, final sale, and "as-is" items — marked clearly at checkout.
- Small livestock (isopods, springtails, and other cleanup crew) — covered for dead-on-arrival only, at time of delivery. Because they ship and arrive in numbers, we can't verify individual fail-to-thrive claims on these.
- Sex and morph on juvenile reptiles/amphibians — where sex or morph isn't guaranteed at the age we ship, that will be stated on the product page.
If something's wrong
How to File a Claim
Plants
Contact us within 48 hours of delivery with your order number and a clear photo of the plant.
Reptiles & amphibians
Contact us the same day your package is delivered, with an unboxing video (not just a photo) showing the animal's condition as you opened the box. Animals can decline quickly, so the faster you reach us, the more options we have — and a video is the standard of proof across the reptile trade, because a still photo alone can't show whether an animal arrived in poor condition or was affected by handling after the box was opened.
We'll respond within one business day and walk you through next steps.
What keeps the guarantee valid
Shipping Requirements
A few things have to be true for the guarantee to apply — mostly because they're the same things that keep your plant or animal safe in transit:
- Your order must ship using the tracked, expedited shipping method we use for live goods. We don't offer a slower/cheaper option for anything living, and the guarantee doesn't extend to it.
- Someone needs to be available to receive and inspect the package on delivery day — especially for reptiles and amphibians. If delivery is refused, left unattended at your request, or delayed because no one was available to receive it, that's outside what the guarantee covers.
- We ship to the address you provide at checkout — please double-check it. We can't cover losses caused by an incorrect or incomplete address.
- You must be 18 or older to purchase and receive live reptiles or amphibians.
We watch the forecast
Weather Holds
Hold below-5°C / 23°F
Hold above26°C / 79°F
We watch the forecast, not just the calendar. If the forecast dips below -5°C / 23°F or climbs above 26°C / 79°F anywhere along the route — our greenhouse, a delivery hub, or your doorstep — we'll hold your shipment until it's safe to travel, and let you know. A live plant or animal doesn't survive an hour in a cold truck at -15°C, guarantee or not, so this isn't us being overly cautious — it's the whole reason the guarantee is possible in the first place.
A little biology
Live Goods Are Living Things
Every plant and animal we ship is an individual. The exact specimen you receive may vary slightly from any photo shown — in size, coloration, leaf count, or pattern — unless you've purchased a specific, individually photographed animal or plant. That's not a substitution; it's biology.
Non-living goods
Returns on Everything Else
Supplies, hardscape, enclosures, and other non-living goods can be returned within 14 days of delivery, unused and in original packaging. Return shipping is on you unless the item arrived damaged or we sent the wrong thing — then it's on us. Contact us to start a return.
Canada only
Where We Ship
We currently ship within Canada only. Some provinces and territories restrict ownership of specific reptile and amphibian species — it's your responsibility to confirm a species is legal to own where you live before ordering. If we discover we can't legally ship an animal to your address, we'll contact you before anything ships.
Still wondering?
Frequently Asked Questions
My plant looks droopy/is missing a leaf — is that covered?
Probably not on its own — that's typical shipping stress, and most plants bounce back within a few days of normal care. If it's still struggling after a week, reach out and we'll take a look.
Can I get a cash refund on a reptile or amphibian?
No. Live reptiles and amphibians are covered by replacement or store credit for the full value, never a cash refund. That's standard practice across the reptile trade.
What if the carrier delays my shipment?
Weather- or carrier-caused delays are outside our control, but they don't automatically void your guarantee — contact us as soon as your package arrives and we'll assess the claim based on the animal or plant's actual condition on delivery.
What if I miss the claim window?
Reach out anyway. We can't promise a specific remedy outside the window, but we'll always look at what happened — this policy exists to be fair, not to find reasons to say no.
My cleanup crew (isopods/springtails) died — is that covered?
DOA claims at time of delivery are covered. Because they ship and establish in numbers, we can't cover individual losses that show up after your build is set up and running.
Do you guarantee an exact color, pattern, or sex on a young reptile/amphibian?
Only where the product page says so. Juvenile sexing and adult coloration/pattern aren't always determinable at the age we ship — we'll always tell you upfront when that's the case.
What about clearance or final sale items?
Those are excluded from the live-arrival guarantee, and marked clearly at checkout before you buy.
zero risk
Find your next plant
Shop with the promise behind every box.