Legal

Shipping & Returns

Everything you need to know about how ResearchWater dispatches orders, protects laboratory-sensitive product in transit, and resolves the rare cases when something goes wrong on the way to your bench.

Orders placed before 2 PM Eastern Time on a US business day are picked, packed, and dispatched the same day. Orders placed after that cutoff, on weekends, or on US federal holidays are dispatched on the next business day. Standard ground service typically delivers in two to five business days, depending on the destination's distance from our fulfillment hub. UPS and FedEx options — including Ground, 2-Day, and Overnight — are presented at checkout, and you may select the carrier and service level that best fits your project timeline.

Standard ground shipping is offered at a single flat rate calculated at checkout, with free standard ground service on any order with a merchandise total of $199 or more. Expedited and overnight services are billed at carrier rates with no markup, so you see exactly what we are paying the carrier on your behalf. Volumetric (dimensional) weight may apply to large multi-case orders; the actual rate is always shown before you confirm the order.

A tracking number is emailed to the address on file as soon as the carrier scans your shipment at our dock, typically within minutes of dispatch. The tracking link refreshes throughout transit and updates automatically with delivery confirmation. If you do not receive a tracking email within twenty-four hours of your order-confirmation email, please check your spam folder and then visit our Contact page so we can re-send the tracking details and verify your delivery address.

Bacteriostatic water and sterile water for injection (SWFI) ship at ambient temperature with a temperature-monitored protocol from April through September, when transit-lane temperatures present the greatest risk of thermal excursion. Cell-culture-grade and nuclease-free water are cold-packed from April through October using validated phase-change material and insulated mailers sized to maintain target conditions for the full transit window of the selected carrier service.

Outside of these windows, all products ship at ambient temperature with our standard protective packaging, which is qualified to withstand normal common-carrier handling.

ResearchWater currently ships only to street and suite addresses within the fifty United States. We are unable to dispatch orders to PO boxes, US territories, APO/FPO/DPO addresses, freight-forwarders, or international destinations through this site. Institutional researchers, distributors, and contract-research organizations located outside of the fifty US states are encouraged to contact us via the Contact page so we can determine whether a direct institutional supply arrangement is feasible.

If a shipment arrives with visible damage, with seal-integrity issues, or with product that fails inspection on receipt, contact us within seven days of delivery. Email support@researchwater.com with photographs of the outer packaging, the inner packaging, the affected product, and the lot number printed on each affected unit. We will validate the claim against our retention samples and dispatch a no-charge replacement, typically on the next business day. Please retain the damaged packaging until we confirm receipt of your photographs in case the carrier requests an inspection.

Unopened, sealed product in its original packaging may be returned for refund within fourteen days of delivery. A restocking fee of 15% applies to multi-pack returns; full cases returned in their original sealed master carton are not subject to a restocking fee. Custom-blended formulations, custom-fill volumes, and special-order items are non-returnable. Return shipping is the responsibility of the customer unless the return is the result of a ResearchWater error or quality issue, in which case we provide a prepaid return label.

To initiate a return, email support@researchwater.com with your order number and the items you wish to return; we will issue a return-merchandise authorization (RMA) and the appropriate return address. Refunds are issued to the original payment method within five business days of the returned product passing inbound inspection.

If carrier tracking has not progressed for ten business days past the carrier's expected delivery date, ResearchWater will file a lost-in-transit claim with the carrier on your behalf. Once the claim is open, we ship a replacement order at no additional charge so that your research is not delayed pending the carrier's investigation. If the original shipment is later recovered and delivered to you, please contact us so we can arrange return of the duplicate at our expense; otherwise the carrier reimburses ResearchWater directly and you keep both shipments.