All products are shipped for research purposes only. By placing an order you confirm that you are a qualified researcher and that all applicable laws are being followed in your jurisdiction.
This policy governs dispatch, delivery, returns and refunds for orders placed at catharoslabs.com. It forms part of the Terms of Sale & Service. Returns and refunds are set out here rather than on a separate page, so that there is one statement of them and not two.
1. Order Processing
Dispatch runs on business days from Lantana, FL 33462. Orders confirmed by 4 PM ET on a business day are prepared for dispatch the same day. Orders confirmed after 4 PM ET, and orders confirmed on a weekend or public holiday, are prepared the next business day.
An account is not required. Guest orders are prepared on the same schedule as orders placed from an account.
Payment is by peer-to-peer transfer services (as listed at checkout). Payment is sent outside the store, so an order stays pending until payment is confirmed as received. Nothing is packed and no label is bought before confirmation. An order that has not been confirmed as paid within 48 hours of being placed is cancelled and the items return to stock. A cancelled order may be placed again at the prices and availability shown at that time.
An order is accepted only where the three checkout attestations are all recorded as true: that the buyer is at least 21 years of age, that the items are for in vitro laboratory research, and that the buyer accepts the terms linked at checkout. An order whose attestation record is incomplete is refused. What was agreed is the record stored with the order; see the Checkout Attestation.
Prices, discounts and availability shown when the order is placed are the ones that apply to that order.
Notices about an open order are sent by email through Resend. The dispatch notice is sent when the carrier records its first physical scan of the parcel, not when a label is bought and not when a tracking number is saved. The delivery notice is sent when the carrier records the delivery scan. These notices are transactional: while an order is open they are sent whether or not the buyer receives any other email from Catharos Ventures LLC.
2. Where We Ship
Catharos Ventures LLC ships to the United States. United States addresses only.
The reason is operational. Catharos Ventures LLC is not an exporter of record, does not prepare export or import documentation, and does not hold or apply for import licences or permits. The served list reflects what Catharos Ventures LLC is set up to do.
Checkout does not accept a delivery address outside the served list. An address that cannot be served is refused at entry with a message naming the restriction. Catharos Ventures LLC does not take payment for an order it cannot ship and then cancel it afterwards.
By placing an order the buyer represents that it may lawfully receive the items at the delivery address given, and that the address is not being used to forward them to a destination Catharos Ventures LLC does not serve.
Catharos Ventures LLC does not ship outside the United States and does not tender parcels to freight forwarders. Where Catharos Ventures LLC agrees in writing to a destination outside the United States, the buyer is the importer of record: duties, taxes, VAT, import licences, permits and certifications are the buyer's, and delay, detention or refusal by any authority arising from documentation the buyer supplied or failed to supply is not grounds for replacement or refund.
3. Services and Rates
Services and rates offered at checkout: Standard $7.99 (free on orders $150+), Priority $17.99, Express $29.99.
Standard shipping is free on orders of $150 or more. The threshold is measured on the order subtotal after any discount, excluding shipping and tax.
Labels are bought through Shippo against the weight of the packed parcel and the delivery address. The service and rate shown at checkout are the ones that bind for that order.
4. Carriers and Transit Times
Transit takes 2-5 business days after dispatch for the service selected. That figure is the carrier's estimate. It is not a guarantee, it does not include the dispatch day, and it does not include weekends or public holidays.
The carrier is not Catharos Ventures LLC's agent, including where Catharos Ventures LLC selects the carrier and buys the label. Catharos Ventures LLC is not liable for carrier delay, for a missed estimate, or for any loss arising from late delivery. Weather, carrier capacity, address access and carrier routing decisions are outside Catharos Ventures LLC's control.
5. Title and Risk of Loss
Title and risk of loss pass to the buyer when the parcel is tendered to the carrier at Catharos Ventures LLC's dispatch point.
From that moment the parcel is the buyer's, at the buyer's risk, including loss, theft or damage in transit and loss or theft after the carrier records delivery. The sections below state what Catharos Ventures LLC will do anyway.
6. Address Accuracy
The buyer supplies the delivery address and is responsible for its accuracy and completeness.
A correction requested before the label is bought is free. Email hello@catharoslabs.com with the order number. Once the parcel has been tendered to the carrier, Catharos Ventures LLC cannot change the address.
Deliverability depends on the address type as well as the address, including PO Box, APO and FPO addresses. Where the service selected cannot deliver to the address given, Catharos Ventures LLC emails the address on the order before dispatch and holds the order until an answer is received.
A parcel returned as undeliverable because the address was wrong or incomplete, refused at the door, or unclaimed after the carrier's hold period, is reshipped at the buyer's cost. The return leg and the new shipping charge are both the buyer's. A returned parcel is held pending the buyer's instructions, and storage as well as onward dispatch are at the buyer's cost. Where the buyer would rather not have it reshipped, Catharos Ventures LLC refunds the price of the items, less the original and return shipping charges, once the parcel is back with its inner seals unbroken.
7. Signature on Delivery
Catharos Ventures LLC may add signature on delivery to any order, at its own cost. Where a signature service is used, the carrier's signature record is conclusive evidence of delivery.
Signature does not change where risk passes. Risk has already passed at tender to the carrier, and a signature service is evidence of delivery rather than a shift of that point.
Where a signature is required and nobody is available, the carrier follows its own re-delivery and hold procedure. A parcel that comes back to Catharos Ventures LLC after failed re-delivery is handled as set out under Address Accuracy.
8. Packaging
Each item ships in the sealed inner packaging in which it is supplied, with its label as supplied.
The outer packaging is plain and unbranded: a box or mailer, a carrier label, and a return address. There is no product name and no branding on the outside.
Parcels ship at ambient temperature. No refrigerated or temperature-controlled service is offered, and Catharos Ventures LLC makes no representation about temperature in transit. Catharos Ventures LLC does not sell shipping insurance.
9. Storage and Handling After Delivery
Storage and handling after delivery are the buyer's responsibility. Catharos Ventures LLC is not liable for loss or damage arising after risk has passed, including damage arising from how the parcel or its contents were stored or handled by the buyer or by anyone the buyer passes them to.
Solvent choice, volume and working concentration are determined by the receiving laboratory under its own validated protocol. Catharos Ventures LLC does not publish them, does not advise on them, and the support desk does not answer questions of that kind.
10. Damaged or Incorrect Shipments
Notice of a damaged, short or incorrect shipment must reach hello@catharoslabs.com within 7 days of the carrier's delivery scan.
The notice must include all of the following:
- The order number.
- Photographs of the outer packaging as received, including the carrier label.
- Photographs of the inner packaging and of the items as found.
- Photographs of any damage, and of any item received that was not ordered.
Where the notice is made in time and the evidence supports it, Catharos Ventures LLC will, at its option, replace the affected items or refund them together with the shipping charge attributable to them. That is the buyer's sole and exclusive remedy under this policy, and it is the only one available.
Catharos Ventures LLC's total liability in connection with any shipment does not exceed the amount the buyer paid for the affected items plus the shipping charge paid for them.
Do not send anything back before Catharos Ventures LLC responds. A parcel returned without authorisation cannot be matched to an order.
11. Returns
The returns terms for this catalog are as follows.
Because our products are sealed for research integrity, we generally do not accept returns once a package has shipped, except in cases of a verified shipping error or damaged product. Contact us within 7 days of delivery to report an issue.
Those terms operate as obligations on both sides, as set out here.
Email hello@catharoslabs.com with the order number before returning anything. Catharos Ventures LLC replies with a return authorisation and the address to send it to. Returns received without an authorisation cannot be matched to an order and cannot be refunded.
An item qualifies for return only where it is unopened, its seals are unbroken, and it is in the packaging in which it was supplied, and only within the window stated above. The buyer pays the return shipping charge, and risk on the return leg is the buyer's until the parcel is received by Catharos Ventures LLC.
An item whose seal has been broken, or whose contents have been altered in any way, cannot be returned. Nor can custom and bulk orders.
The reason is custody of the goods. After a sealed item leaves Catharos Ventures LLC's control there is no way to establish that the item returned is the item dispatched, or that it is unaltered, and Catharos Ventures LLC does not return to stock anything it cannot account for. The rule is about the supply chain and the seal. It says nothing about any item.
Refunds are issued through the peer-to-peer payment services listed at checkout, to the same route the order was paid by, once the returned parcel has been received and inspected. Original shipping charges are not refunded on a return, except where the shipment was damaged, short or incorrect.
The process set out under Damaged or Incorrect Shipments applies to every order, including orders that are not otherwise returnable.
12. Lost and Undelivered Parcels
Where tracking has not updated for 5 days since the last carrier scan, or where the carrier records delivery and no parcel is there, email hello@catharoslabs.com with the order number and the tracking number.
Catharos Ventures LLC opens the trace with the carrier through Shippo, at its own cost, and supplies the carrier with the dispatch record, the weight and the label data. The buyer does not have to deal with the carrier. Traces must be opened inside the carrier's own claim window, so late notice can make a trace impossible.
A trace ends one of three ways.
- The carrier finds and delivers the parcel. Nothing further is owed.
- The carrier declares the parcel lost. Catharos Ventures LLC will, at its option, replace the items or refund them together with the shipping charge paid. That is the buyer's sole and exclusive remedy, and it is the only one available.
- The carrier confirms delivery to the address on the order. Risk passed at tender to the carrier, so a parcel the carrier records as delivered is delivered for the purposes of this policy. Catharos Ventures LLC will supply the carrier's record, including any signature or scan detail the carrier provides, so the buyer can pursue the carrier or file a report. Catharos Ventures LLC does not replace a parcel the carrier records as delivered.
13. Changes to This Policy
Catharos Ventures LLC may change this policy. A change takes effect when it is published at catharoslabs.com and applies only to orders placed after publication. The version in force when an order was accepted governs that order. The date at the top of this page is the date of the current version.
This policy is governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Venue is the state and federal courts serving Palm Beach County, Florida, as set out in the Terms of Sale & Service.
14. Contact
Shipping, delivery and returns: hello@catharoslabs.com. Include the order number in the first message.
General questions: hello@catharoslabs.com. Legal notices: hello@catharoslabs.com. Mailing address: Lantana, FL 33462. A return address is issued with the return authorisation and is not the same as the mailing address.
Privacy requests: hello@catharoslabs.com. Those are answered within 45 days under the Privacy Policy, which Catharos Ventures LLC applies to every buyer rather than only to buyers whose state requires it. Order and shipping records are kept for seven (7) years, as described in the Privacy Policy.