Our general terms and conditions of sale
These terms and conditions should be read before ordering to understand our terms and your rights; they apply to all orders placed with our company
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed:
This means that we do everything reasonably possible to satisfy our customers by offering the guarantees and services mentioned below:
Guarantee on the Health of the Ants and their Transport:
We put our experience at your service to guarantee the good health of the colonies throughout our breeding process and until delivery, as evidenced by our charter visible on each page concerning a colony for sale.
The arrival of the ants in good health at their destination is guaranteed as follows: if the queen does not survive the journey, another colony will be sent or a refund will be issued (valid for any destination subject to delivery within 48 hours).
A partial refund is possible if the colony has fewer workers upon receipt than stated.
The health of our ant colonies is guaranteed as follows: we only ship colonies with brood (eggs, larvae, or pupae), which proves that the queen is laying eggs and is healthy. We also check for the absence of parasites.
Stress during transport can sometimes cause the colony to lose its brood. Therefore, we do not offer compensation in the event of a brood loss.
Resumption of colonies with costs covered:
When you buy ants, you must avoid releasing them into the wild. If you wish to sell your colony, please contact us. We can cover your costs up to €6 to take it back, but only for colonies purchased for more than €10. The colony must arrive in good health.
A larger compensation is possible for a valuable colony (rare species or large number of workers) and must be discussed beforehand.
Guaranteed Delivery or Your Money Back:
Pay for all your online purchases with PayPal; if the seller doesn't ship your order, PayPal may offer a full refund!
Right of withdrawal: Money-back guarantee up to 30 days
If you are not satisfied with your order, please contact us within 30 days of delivery to return it under the conditions below; you will receive a full refund or an exchange.
– Shipping costs paid at the time of order: Refunded up to €10 and only if your entire order is returned.
– Return shipping costs: reimbursed up to €10 upon presentation of an invoice corresponding to the shipping service (only standard Colissimo or collection point delivery is eligible). Compensation will be in the form of a voucher.
– The return must take place within 14 days of the decision to exercise your right of withdrawal.
– Refunds or exchanges will only be processed if the product was not damaged during return shipping. Please ensure you use the original packaging correctly to protect the product.
– We only accept returns of products showing minimal signs of normal wear after 30 days. We do not accept returns of damaged, stained, or scratched products, and we reserve the right to refuse a refund or exchange if these conditions are not met, or we will inform you of the cost of repair.
– Reimbursement in the form of a voucher, Paypal transfer, bank transfer or personal check.
In case of damage upon receipt:
Upon receipt of a damaged package, we undertake to replace or refund any product damaged in transit, but only if specific reservations are clearly noted on the delivery slip (example: broken Plexiglas container). You have the right to unpack the package in the presence of the delivery person. If the package appears undamaged externally and/or no reservations are noted on the delivery slip, we reserve the right to provide compensation as we deem appropriate.
Price
The prices shown are exempt from VAT (VAT not applicable, article 193 B of the CGI).
Shipping costs are calculated automatically and displayed in your shopping cart before you confirm your order. Shipping costs are indicative only and may be adjusted.
Shipping costs:
Shipping costs are calculated automatically but are only an estimate. We may charge an additional fee or offer a discount depending on the weight and size of your package once packed. Please contact us beforehand to confirm shipping costs and obtain a precise quote from all available carriers in your region.
To contact us, please send an e-mail to contact@fourmicultureor call 09 72 61 23 41 (2 p.m./7 p.m.) from France, 0033 972 612 341 from Europe.
Photos are for illustrative purposes only
The delivered product and the photos showing it may differ. We do our best to provide representative photos, but particularly in cases of rapid model changes, hand-painted decoration, or other reasons, the final product may vary from the photographs.
Order cancellation:
You can request cancellation and refund of an order before it is shipped or exercise your right of withdrawal afterwards (up to 14 days after or 30 days on the products marked).
Shipping conditions and times
We do our best to ship your order within 24 to 48 hours of receiving payment and will inform you of any potential delays. However, all delivery times are estimates only. Colonies are preferably shipped between Monday noon and Thursday noon.
Please note: if you order one product with a shipping time of 2 weeks and one with a standard shipping time (24/48h), your entire order will be shipped within 2 weeks.
Parcels shipped on Saturday are only processed by the Post Office from the following Monday.
Problem with delivery.
If you are not home when the postman or delivery driver attempts delivery, they will leave a delivery notice. Please go to the post office promptly to collect your package, bringing your ID, or be present for the next delivery attempt. Otherwise, the order will be returned to us. The cost of resending the package to your address will be your responsibility.
Force majeure
The shipment of the colonies may be postponed if we deem the temperatures or conditions dangerous for your ants: risk of frost or extreme heat, transport strikes, etc
Taxes and customs fees:
In some cases, you may be charged additional fees to receive your package outside the European Union. We are not responsible for these fees and advise you to check with your local customs office to estimate them. These fees are your responsibility and must be paid to receive your package.
Comments
We are happy to receive feedback from our customers regarding their order in the product descriptions or by email if they contain photos or questions.
However, it is important to understand that we must approve the comments ourselves because:
– Comments are not intended to report a problem or ask a question, as we cannot respond to comments (for any questions, please email us)
– Comments must not mention any sites other than ours
– We may prevent a comment from appearing on the site if it did not comply with the constraints indicated above or if it was written in French that was too difficult to read.
– We may periodically delete comments if their content is no longer relevant to the product. For example, the comment may concern a product feature that has changed.
– It is possible that only part of your comment will be deleted in accordance with the points mentioned above. However, we will not edit your messages (except possibly for spelling corrections).
– We reserve the right to translate your comments as accurately as possible so that English-speaking customers can benefit from your experience.
Personal data
The personal data that you must leave to place an order on our store will not be exchanged, sold or transferred to third parties. Your bank details are encrypted and protected by Paypal, and invisible even by Fourmiculture. Only your payment is sent to us.
Intellectual property
All images, videos, and texts present on the site are the property of Yvain Samuel, legal manager of Fourmiculture.com (unless otherwise stated). Their use on another medium requires authorization. Any unauthorized use is subject to legal sanctions.
Contact information, assistance and advice
You can ask for advice at any time, preferably by email:fourmiculture
Environment
We strive to make the fairest choices to respect the environment.
The species we sell are not threatened with extinction or protected, and we offer the best possible information to ensure they are raised under good conditions.
We use recycled packaging in most cases and offer recycling services for our supplies.
