Frequently Asked Questions

We receive several dozen emails each week from site visitors asking us questions. Below are some of the most common questions we receive. If your question is not answered below, please contact us.

Business Hours

Our business hours are 9am - 3pm PST, Monday through Friday.  We are NOT open weekends.  Orders received after 1pm will be processed on the next business day.  While phone calls are welcome, the BEST way to contact us is via email. 

Location

As a true online business, JoesKoi.com does NOT operate a traditional storefront location.  This is a major reason why we are often able sell quality Koi and pond supplies at prices far below our competitors.

Order Status Inquiries

We pride ourselves on offering fast shipping. When an order is received for an item that does not include free shipping, you will receive a separate invoice via email for applicable shipping charges.  In general, all orders are shipped within 24 hours after shipping payment is received.  If your order includes free shipping, it will generally be shipped within 24 hours after it was received.  As a courtesy, we will often ship orders for return customers before shipping payment has been received.  Whenever possible, we will also provide UPS/FedEx tracking information once your order has shipped.  If you fail to receive a message from us within 72 hours after placing an order, please contact us.  

Shipping Costs Not Calculated at Checkout

The following text appears atop every product section of our website, and is also repeated in our sales policy:

We proudly offer FREE shipping on several products sold in our online store.  Shipping charges for all other products are NOT calculated automatically at checkout.  Instead, you will receive a separate invoice via email for actual shipping fees due shortly after checkout.  This is done to help minimize shipping costs for our valued customers, as multiple items can often be shipped together in a single box.  If you would like to receive a shipping quote before purchase, please contact us. 

While we understand that receiving a separate invoice via email for shipping cost may be a bit unusual for some, we feel this method is superior because it enables us to minimize both shipping cost and transit time for our valued customers.

While we carry most of our products in stock, we also utilize various regional suppliers throughout the U.S.  If a customer on the east coast places an order for a product and is located closer to our supplier in NY than to our warehouse in CA, we can generally reduce shipping costs significantly by having this product shipped to them direct from our NY supplier.  This method can also significantly reduce transit time.  Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to accurately calculate shipping cost at checkout.

Thanks to our competitive prices, many of our customers often purchase multiple items from our online store.  Whenever possible, we try to minimize shipping costs by shipping these items in a single box.  This step alone can also significantly reduce shipping cost, especially for smaller items with relatively low shipping weight.  Unfortunately, this too makes it difficult to calculate shipping costs automatically at checkout. 

The only alternatives to sending a separate invoice for shipping fees after checkout are to simply charge a flat shipping fee for items sold based on weight, or to calculate shipping fees for every order from our warehouse location.  Both of these options, however, would inevitably result in our customers being overcharged for shipping fees from time to time, and this simply is not acceptable to us.  We also feel these separate invoices sent via email provide us with an opportunity to establish relationships with our customers, many of whom come back to us time and time again thanks to our personal service and low prices.

You will generally receive a shipping invoice from us within 24 hours after checkout.  If you would like to receive a shipping quote before purchase, please contact us.  Again, you will generally hear back from us within 24 hours.  We also proudly offer FREE shipping on several products sold in our online store. As always, if you have any questions, please contact us.

Koi Shipping Cost Inquiries

Shipping costs are NOT calculated automatically at checkout.  You will receive a separate PayPal invoice via email for actual shipping charges shortly after purchase.  If you wish to receive a shipping quote before purchase, please contact us.  We ship Koi to customers throughout the U.S. and guarantee live delivery.  While shipping costs may vary depending on your location, size, and number of Koi purchased, below is an estimate for shipping costs for Koi purchased via our online store. 

Product Shipping Cost Inquiries

Because customers often purchase multiple items from our online store, shipping cost is NOT calculated automatically at checkout.  Instead, you will receive a separate PayPal invoice from us shortly after purchase.  Shipping costs are based on your location (city, zip code), weight and dimensions of items purchased.  If you would like to receive a shipping quote before purchase, please contact us.   
 

Onsite Visit Requests

We receive several inquiries each week from persons wishing to visit our facility and view our available Koi in person.  One of the primary reasons we are able to offer large, high quality Japanese Koi at prices far below our competitors is because we operate as a true online business.  As private hobbyists ourselves, we understand the prospect of purchasing Koi from an online vendor whom you have never met based purely on a photograph can cause some concern.  There was a time we felt the same way.  If you see a Koi on our site that interests you, please feel free to contact us.  We would be more than happy to provide you with additional photos and/or videos of this Koi to help you decide whether or not you wish to make a purchase.

Because we are NOT a traditional storefront retailer, we simply cannot accommodate those interested in "browsing" our ponds for available Koi in hopes of "negotiating" a better price.  The price, size, gender, and breeder information is clearly posted for every Koi for sale in our online store.  We ship dozens of Koi every month to customers throughout the U.S. and guarantee live delivery.  If you prefer to purchase Koi from a traditional brick and mortar store in your neighborhood, we fully understand.  And we hope you'll still keep us in mind when the time comes to purchase supplies for your pond or water garden.  We offer the LARGEST selection of quality pond supplies on the Web at guaranteed low prices. 

As a courtesy, we do offer FREE onsite pickup for local customers who purchase Koi from our online store.  For clarification, this refers to customers who have already purchased Koi from our online store via PayPal and simply wish to pickup their Koi in person to avoid shipping costs.  

Koi Pricing

How much is a Koi worth? There really is no right or wrong answer to this question. Simply put, a Koi is worth whatever a dealer is willing to sell it for and whatever a buyer is willing to pay. If you browse through other dealer websites, you are sure to find Koi priced at $2,000, $10,000, $25,000, or you might even see the dreaded words, “call for price,” once or twice. Whether or not these Koi are actually worth their high asking price is entirely up to you. For what it’s worth, below is an actual message we received from a fellow Koi dealer, summarizing his personal experience with “call for price” ads. Take it as you will.
 

First and foremost, we are private hobbyists and always will be. As a result, many of the Koi featured in our online store, particularly larger Koi, are actually culls from our own private collection. This means that you’re actually getting a Koi for a fraction of its’ original cost. We’re willing to do this; however, in order to make room in our private ponds for other purchases. As a small-scale operation, we also don’t have the same overhead costs as larger dealers. This means we don’t have to mark up our prices quite as dramatically when we purchase Koi from our various suppliers. Simply put, we don’t rely on selling Koi as a source of income. As long as we make enough profit to cover our expenses, and maybe purchase a few nice Koi for ourselves in the process, we’re content – for now.
 

Koi Quarantine Procedures

Without exception, all our Koi are scoped for parasites, treated, and kept in a heated quarantine tank for a minimum period of three (3) weeks prior to sale. Our quarantine tanks are completely isolated from our personal, sale, and grow-out ponds to help minimize possible spread of disease, bacteria, and parasites. For this same purpose, we also use separate nets when handling Koi in our Q-tanks and do not mix Koi from multiple sources during the quarantine process. After a batch of Koi has finished our quarantine process, our quarantine tanks are completely drained, sterilized, then treated and cycled for a minimum period of two (2) weeks before any new Koi are added. 

KHV Testing

We are currently looking into the feasibility of offering Koi Herpes Virus (KHV) testing for sale Koi upon customer request.  There will likely be an additional fee for this service.  Details to come.

Discounts

Our special package deals are fast becoming legendary. Visit our Specials page for details.  We also offer quantity discounts on several products available in our online store.  Contact us for details. 


Special Requests

If you’re looking for a product or a special Koi not pictured in our online store, please contact us. We can definitely find what you’re looking for at an unbeatable price -- guaranteed.


Koi Rescue/Koi Adoption

Sorry, but we cannot risk taking in any Koi from unknown sources as it may pose a health risk to our existing Koi. We may; however, be able to assist you with finding someone who would be willing to take in your Koi. Please visit our Koi Rescue page for details.  As of June 2008, we also have a 3,000-gallon pond dedicated exclusively to adopted / rescued Koi.  Without exception, these Koi are treated for parasites, heat cycled more than once, and kept in our possession for a minimum period of 6 months before being made available for adoption.  
 

Payment Methods

We highly prefer to receive all payments through PayPal, but we can make exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Local customers, for example, often prefer to pay cash at time of pickup. This is fine by us; however, we reserve the right to charge a slightly higher price in order to accommodate such requests. Repeat customers are welcome to pay via cashier’s check, money order, or personal check. Personal checks must clear our bank; however, before purchased Koi are actually shipped.


Wholesale Pricing Inquiries

We receive inquiries all the time from other dealers looking to purchase our Koi wholesale, only to resell them to their customers at huge markups. Sorry, but we do not offer wholesale pricing and have no plans to do so. To be honest, our prices are pretty close to wholesale as it is. In fact, many of the Koi we sell for under $200 would easily be sold for $500 or more by other dealers. We know this, and we don’t care.


Sales Tax

Per the California Board of Equalization (BOE), we are legally required to charge 8% state sales tax for all  purchases made by California residents via our online store.  This tax rate is not applied to out of state sales.  

Source: http://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/pub109.pdf 
 

Additional Koi Available

We generally have several hundred Koi available not pictured on our site; however, the vast majority of these Koi are fingerlings and tosai – generally less than 6” in length. We prefer not to sell any Koi under 8" as our niche market tends to be persons searching of larger Koi at affordable prices. We update our online store on a daily basis, and new Koi are generally added at least once per week as they become available. We make frequent purchases from our suppliers, so let us know if you’re looking for something in particular. If you’re looking for something in particular, please contact us. We can definitely find what you're looking for at a great price from one of our suppliers.


How long can Koi survive in a bag?

If properly prepped and kept in cool temperatures, a Koi can easily survive 3 – 4 days in a bag. This is based on our own personal experience. To help minimize stress; however, we highly recommend limiting transit time to 48 hours MAXIMUM. Less than 24 hours transit time is ideal.