Shipping, Pickup, and Delivery
How fulfillment works here
Alaskan King Crab Direct does not take payment on the website. You start with a reservation, we confirm what is actually available, and only then do we arrange the handoff and the payment.
When you submit the reservation form we confirm availability, agree the pickup or delivery window with you, and quote any shipping cost. After that we send a secure payment link by text or email, usually within 24 hours. Nothing is charged until you and we have agreed on the details.
Every box is wild Alaskan king crab legs, cleaned and split to the half shell, blast frozen. It is sold frozen for you to prepare at home, so how it travels and how quickly you receive it matters.
The four ways to get your crab
1. Free pickup in Gardena or Costa Mesa, California
Pickup is free at both locations. Pickup is by reservation only. We do not accept walk-ins, and there is no storefront to visit.
The exact pickup address is included in your confirmation after we schedule you. Your confirmation is the source of truth for where to go and when.
Bring a cooler or an insulated bag if you have any distance to travel. The product leaves us frozen and it is your job to keep it that way.
2. Local delivery in Los Angeles County, Orange County, and San Diego
We deliver locally across Los Angeles County, Orange County, and San Diego.
Delivery windows are arranged directly with you during confirmation, before you pay. If a delivery cost applies to your address, we tell you what it is at that same point, not after.
Someone needs to be there to take the handoff. See the receiving section below.
3. Scheduled Northern California runs
We run crab up to Northern California on a scheduled basis as orders accumulate in an area.
If you are in Northern California, submit a reservation anyway. We will tell you honestly whether a run is being planned for your area, and we will confirm the window with you before any payment. We do not take money for a run that is not real.
4. Frozen shipping across the USA
We ship frozen nationwide, packed with dry ice.
Shipping is arranged after your reservation. We confirm the destination, the pack, the cost, and the shipping window with you, and you approve all of it before you pay. We do not publish a fixed number of transit days, because the honest answer depends on the destination and the carrier situation at the time. What we do instead is agree a specific window with you in writing before the sale is complete.
Why shipping is quoted and not calculated at checkout
There is no shipping calculator on this site because there is no checkout on this site. Frozen seafood packed with dry ice is not a flat-rate parcel. The cost depends on where it is going, how heavy the box is, and how it has to travel to stay frozen.
So we price it by hand, tell you the number, and let you decide. If the shipping cost does not work for you, you cancel the reservation and pay nothing. A reservation is a hold, not a purchase.
Receiving your order
This is perishable food. Once it is handed off or delivered, the clock is on you.
- You, or someone able to receive and immediately refrigerate or freeze the product, needs to take the delivery when it arrives.
- Move it into a freezer right away if you are not cooking it soon. Move it to the refrigerator if you are cooking it within a day or two.
- Do not have it delivered somewhere it will sit outside, in a hot car, in a lobby, or on a porch all day.
- If your plans change, contact us and we reschedule. We would much rather move the handoff than watch good crab go to waste.
We cannot refund product that spoils because it was left unclaimed or unreceived after a confirmed handoff. That is the one thing that is genuinely outside our control.
Dry ice safety
Shipped orders arrive packed with dry ice. Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide. It is extremely cold and it turns straight into gas as it warms, which is normal and expected.
- Do not handle it with bare hands. Direct contact can cause a serious cold burn. Use tongs, thick gloves, or a folded towel.
- Keep it away from children and pets. Unpack the box somewhere they are not.
- Ventilate the room. The gas displaces air as it sublimates. Open the box in a well ventilated space, not a closed closet, small pantry, or sealed car with the windows up.
- Never seal it in an airtight container. No screw-top jars, no sealed coolers, no zipped bags. The gas needs somewhere to go and pressure can build.
- Let leftover dry ice sublimate on its own in a ventilated area, ideally outdoors and out of reach. It will disappear by itself.
- Do not put it in a sink, drain, toilet, or garbage disposal, and do not put it in a home freezer to "save" it.
An empty or flat dry ice pouch when the box arrives is normal. Dry ice sublimates in transit by design, so a spent pouch is a sign the system worked, not a defect. What matters is the condition of the crab itself.
If something is wrong when it arrives
If your order arrives damaged, incorrect, thawed, or otherwise compromised, contact us within 24 hours of pickup or delivery. Send photos of the product, the packaging, and the shipping label. We review the photos and then replace or refund.
All sales of perishable frozen seafood are final and we cannot accept returns of perishable food, but the photo process above is exactly how we make a bad box right.
Questions, changes, and cancellations
You can cancel a reservation at no cost any time before we confirm it, because nothing has been charged yet.
To reserve, reschedule, ask about your area, or raise a problem with an order, use the reservation form at alaskankingcrabdirect.com/#order. If you have already ordered, the contact details on your order confirmation are the fastest way to reach us about that specific order.