Ordering, Contact & Checkout
(updated 02.15.23)
We’re located in north-central Massachusetts near the NH border. All species are presented on a single, scrollable column. Most Store page photos show specimens with adult coloration. Sometimes, captions will specify specimen for sale or typical specimen appearance. To purchase, add items to your shopping cart from the Store page. Use the Checkout page to get a shipping quote for your location/order subtotal. We ship year-round, FedEx Priority Overnight, most Tuesdays and Thursdays, to any address in the continental US. Additional shipping days will be mentioned on the Store page.
Pay by credit card via Stripe: American Express, Visa, Mastercard or Discover. PayPal also available: PayPal, Venmo, Pay Later, debit or credit card.
Please order no more than a week before you would like your item(s) shipped. Within 24 hours we’ll confirm inventory and provide shipping information by email.
To add to an existing order anytime within a week of shipping, use the free_shipping2023 coupon code to avoid a second shipping charge.
Customer pickup is available in the New England area. Pickup points are Route 2, Leominster exit (late afternoons and most weekend mornings) and Cambridge, Massachusetts Avenue (Thursday mornings, but infrequently during the pandemic). Choose “Local Pickup” upon checking out. We’ll email you upon receiving your order and arrange place and time. Contact us with questions.
Telephone numbers are collected for FedEx purposes only. All standard business correspondence is by email. Some prefer Instagram for trade and chat (Instagram).
Trades, sacs, pairs, males, females and collection offers are welcome as are questions not answered on this page [contact us].
Have immature or mature males you’ve raised but just want females? We’re often able to trade for items on the website and sometimes off [contact us].
Shipping, COVID-19 & Live Arrival Guarantee (LAG)
(updated 02.15.23)
The pandemic has affected every aspect of delivery. FedEx COVID-19-related delays during peak holiday season have improved, yet FedEx continues to report pandemic-related, record-high volumes. Their delivery-time guarantee has been suspended and verbal confirmation instead of signature upon receipt is used in most instances. Some customers may experience delays up to 24 hours. To help avoid having to wait all day as well as the next to accept a delayed delivery, we suggest using our checkout system to ship to the nearest FedEx Ship Center. Especially in winter and summer, it’s safer for live contents to use FedEx Ship Centers.
LAG applies to all FedEx Priority Overnight shipments. Required: (1) correct address and acceptance upon first delivery attempt, (2) notification of problems within 2 hours of delivery or 3 hours of same-day pickup at a FedEx Ship Center (see next paragraph) and (3) photographs of dead specimens with a pin through the carapace. LAG covers spider cost or replacement excluding shipping. Specimens arriving alive but showing poor activity are also covered if they fail to recover. Contact us in the above-mentioned time frames for advice; video required.
FedEx Ship Center (FSC) Hold at Location-LAG in Cold Weather
We use heat packs during cold weather and have an excellent record shipping when temperatures fall below 32℉. While it is safer and cheaper to use FSCs in cold weather, the presence of a heat pack means the box should not sit long indoors; live contents may overheat. When we use a heat pack for a FSC delivery we’ll tell you in the confirmation email. If a heat pack is present please do not let spiders sit at the FSC more than 1 hour past the time it becomes available. LAG will be void.
FedEx, FedEx Ship Centers & Sliding-Scale Rates
(updated 02.15.23)
FEDEX PRIORITY OVERNIGHT: Priority Overnight shipping charge is based on your zip code and subtotal. Shipping charge decreases as subtotal increases (sliding scale, $25 increments) such that by $350 shipping is free. Use the Checkout page to obtain an exact shipping quote. Some orders can be shipped if placed as late as the day before a ship day. However, better to give us at least a full day so we can make sure everybody’s eating.
Apartment dwellers: When entering your address, type street address followed by a space and your apartment number. Information entered otherwise has resulted in FedEx non-delivery and LAG voidance.
The sliding scale also applies to FedEx Ship Center (FSC) deliveries.
FedEx Ship Center (FSC) Hold at Location
Select “Ship to a different address” in Checkout. (Safari users must first enable Location Services and may have to clear cache.) Choose “FedEx Hold at Location” and you’ll be taken to a map. Enter your zip code and select the city from the drop down menu. The map will show pickup locations near your zip code. Click on the location you’d like and select “Use this address.” Any savings are passed on to you. See FSC Hold at Location-LAG in Cold Weather.
Note: FedEx does not allow live animal delivery to secondary FedEx centers (e.g., Walgreens, FedEx Office, FedEx Print & Ship Centers, FedEx Authorized Ship Centers), only FedEx Ship Centers (just those three words). Please do not send or reroute packages to a secondary center. LAG will be void.
Keeper’s Corner
This category is a ‘classifieds-type’ for sale section by customers for customers. Customers with species or sexes they’d like to sell may post here. Purchases must be placed in a stand-alone order (separate from Arachnoiden products) due to separate shipping modes and locations. Shipping is FedEx Priority Overnight (flat rate $50). LAG applies as stated above. If a seller offers more than one item, specimens can be shipped together. Once the buyer confirms healthy arrival according to LAG terms above, the seller will receive payment. Buyers and sellers agree that Arachnoiden will arbitrate as needed. Photos, sizes and prices by the seller. Molt or ventral photos welcome. If you have questions, please contact us.
Safety
(updated 04.02.21)
We do not advise handling. Owners who handle put themselves at risk of bites, urticating hairs, allergic reactions and infections.
Bites from New World tarantulas are painful and associated with local inflammation, akin to a wasp sting. Bites from Old World tarantulas may in addition cause neurologic symptoms, sometimes lasting weeks. All tarantula bites have potential to cause more serious symptoms if infection develops or an allergy to venom exists. Fortunately, to date there have been no deaths reported from a tarantula bite.
Many New World tarantulas will upon disturbance flick urticating (itchy) hairs from their rumps. These hairs have potential to land on skin, eyes or be inhaled. Self-limited, local irritation is the most common result, but allergic reaction and infection are possible. Consultation with an ophthalmologist or other medical professional may be needed.
If in doubt about a tarantula-related symptom you have, seek medical attention.