Your status: under review

Reference checks against Reef2Reef threads, Aquabid history, social proof. Most decisions land in 24-48 hours. No update by day 4? Email vendors@wetyr.com.

Pre-pick processor →

The 5-step path to live listings

Most vendors close all five in a single afternoon once approved.

1 Apply

Done. We're reviewing now.

2 Connect processor

PayPal email is the fastest. Square is the most polished. Stripe Connect for international.

Read processor details →
3 Packing cert

10-question quiz. 80% to pass. The standards are non-negotiable - they keep DOAs low and keep your Trust Score high.

Pre-read the standards →
4 Vendor agreement

E-sign. Lawyer-reviewed. Indemnification, MoR, claims process spelled out.

Pre-read the agreement →
5 Pick a tier

30-day free trial. Switch tiers any cycle. Cheapest tier wins below $2,300 monthly GMV.

See the math →

What every Fast Aquatics vendor must know

Read once. Reference forever. The vendors who win on this platform are the ones who internalized this list.

Money flow

Buyer pays via PayPal in one click. PayPal splits the funds: your portion lands in your PayPal email instantly, Fast Aquatics' take rate (8% / 5% / 3% based on your tier) lands in Fast Aquatics' PayPal at the same instant. No settle-up, no chargebacks against you for our cut.

Square Subscription bills your monthly tier ($29 / $99 / $299) on its own schedule, separate from buyer payments.

You are merchant of record

Funds land in your account. You handle sales tax registration in your state. Fast Aquatics provides the marketplace and the buyer protection wrapper, but the underlying transaction is between you and the buyer. Talk to your CPA before your first month closes.

For states where Fast Aquatics has economic nexus and is required to collect/remit, we handle that automatically and report on your dashboard.

DOA is a 4-hour window

Buyer has 4 hours from carrier-reported delivery to file a DOA claim with photo evidence (sealed bag + specimen + label). You have 24 hours after that to approve, dispute, or request more info.

Three approved DOA claims in 90 days = probation. The system rewards good packing.

Trust Score is everything

0-100 composite of DOA rate, on-time shipping, response time, claim approval rate, satisfaction. Public on your vendor profile. Drives search ranking, featured slot eligibility, wholesale tier access.

Top 5% (Trust Score ≥ 90) get the green badge buyers look for first.

Climate hold protects everyone

When OpenWeather forecasts under 32°F or over 95°F at the destination during transit, Fast Aquatics puts the order on hold. Buyer chooses to wait or waive. If they waive, you're protected from the resulting DOA claim.

Heat packs and cold packs are mandatory below / above the threshold range, hold or no hold.

Carrier floor: overnight only

FedEx Priority Overnight or UPS Next Day Air. No exceptions for live animals. USPS only for non-perishables (dry goods, frags-only-with-vendor-DOA-coverage, etc.).

Cutoff times matter. Pickup before 4pm local or it ships next day - and you eat the delay.

State legality is non-negotiable

Our database blocks checkout when an item is banned or permit-required in the buyer's state (52 rules across all 50 states). Piranha to NY = blocked. Snakehead anywhere = blocked. Don't try to ship around it - the buyer's state will seize the package and you eat the loss.

Photos sell. Videos sell more.

Top vendors photograph under both actinic and white light for SPS / LPS. WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) listings convert at 3-4× the rate of stock photos. A 10-second video of a healthy specimen feeding is the single highest-converting asset on this site.

Pro vendor playbook

Patterns from the vendors crushing it on the platform.

  1. List your inventory the day it lands in your tank. Frags healed in your system 7-14 days fetch the highest prices. The "fresh frag" timestamp matters to serious collectors.
  2. Tag every listing to a cataloged cultivar when possible. Linking to "Pink Lemonade" or "Walt Disney Tenuis" gets your listing on the canonical hub page, where it sees 10× the eyeballs of an untagged listing.
  3. Reply to claim notifications within 4 hours, even on weekends. Vendors who beat the 24h SLA by >6 hours hold a 99.7% Trust Score median.
  4. Include a healthy parent-colony shot on every frag listing. The mother colony is the trust signal for SPS buyers. Hide it and the listing will sit.
  5. Use the live sale calendar. Coordinated drops outsell ad-hoc listings 4:1. Pro tier gets 3 featured slots / week - use them on Mondays at 7pm Eastern.
  6. Pre-bag for known buyers. If a buyer has bought 3+ times, ship in your premium acclimation kit. Repeat-buyer LTV is what makes this business work.
  7. Heat pack between 35°F and 50°F destination forecasts. Below 35°F use double heat packs and 72-hour duration. The packing standard tells you which - read it.
  8. If you can hit overnight cutoff, ship Tuesday-Wednesday. Friday shipments get hung up over the weekend at sorting facilities. Don't gamble.
  9. Voicemail and Slack notifications enabled on your phone. Buyers who pay $400 for a frag want to know it's in your hands. Even a 30-second confirm message converts skeptics into 5-star reviews.
  10. Pause listings when you're traveling. Auto-pause is in your dashboard. A listing that takes 4 days to ship will tank your Trust Score faster than a single DOA.

FAQ

Can I sell on Fast Aquatics while keeping my own website / Shopify / etsy?

Yes. We don't ask for exclusivity. Many vendors run Fast Aquatics alongside their existing channels. The only restriction: identical inventory cannot be listed at a lower price elsewhere - Fast Aquatics price-matches and we expect parity.

What happens if my Square subscription card declines?

Square retries automatically over 14 days. Your account flips to "past_due" on day 1 - listings stay live, but no new listings can be published. After day 14 we suspend listings and email you. After day 30 we deactivate the vendor account. Reinstatement is one click once the card clears. Take rates already collected via PayPal are unaffected - you can never owe us back-rake on completed orders.

What if I want to switch from PayPal to Square mid-stream?

Allowed once per quarter without penalty. Open orders settle on the original processor. New orders route to the new one starting the moment you connect.

Do I need a state aquaculture license?

Florida and California require state aquaculture certification for commercial sale of fish and inverts. Texas and Louisiana require it for tilapia and certain natives. Your state's Department of Agriculture or Wildlife knows. Fast Aquatics' onboarding asks for the cert URL - if your state doesn't require one, we collect a self-attestation instead.

How do refunds work?

When you approve a DOA claim, the buyer gets refunded via the original PayPal payment - your portion only. Fast Aquatics' take rate on that order is also auto-refunded so you're not penalized twice. If you choose store credit instead of cash refund, the buyer's credit is held in their Fast Aquatics balance and applies to their next checkout from any vendor.

What if the buyer files a PayPal dispute instead of a Fast Aquatics claim?

PayPal disputes go to PayPal's resolution center first - it's between you and the buyer there. If PayPal sides against you, Fast Aquatics is automatically notified via webhook and we open a parallel mediation. Most PayPal disputes are resolved by the buyer accepting Fast Aquatics mediation instead - we have the carrier data and weather data PayPal doesn't.

Can I list wholesale-only inventory?

Yes - flip the "wholesale only" toggle on a listing and it's visible only to approved wholesale buyers (LFS, online retailers, public aquariums). Pro and Enterprise tiers get wholesale eligibility automatically. Starter tier is retail-only.