Frequently Asked Questions
How soon are orders shipped and what are typical delivery times?
USA Orders are typically shipped within 2 - 3 days of payment receipt. Except during times of heavy sales volume or bad weather when it may take longer. Orders are shipped via UPS or Priority mail and will arrive in 2-9 days of shipping depending on location and shipping method. Our default shipping method is UPS Ground with tracking and insurance. Some orders may require a signature depending on value and UPS policy guildlines. International orders may arrive within 10-31 days of shipping depending on location. Some areas may require additional time for shipping. Contact us prior to ordering to pick another carrier.
How are the shipping charges calculated?
Orders are shipped via UPS and our shopping cart will look up the rates provided by a UPS maintained site and display the rate to you at check out. Rates are based on the weight and destination. We have no control of UPS shipping costs. We do add a small nominal handling fee to help cover the cost of packing materials including boxes, fillers and laber. We do try to recycle our packing material when we can. This fee is generally around $5 per package. UPS charges us to pick up packages as well as the cost to ship them.
What is The MycoFactory LLC privacy policy?
As a company policy we do not sell, trade, or otherwise reveal our customers or their personal information to anyone outside our organization. We do maintain customer mailing and email lists to aid us in our business promotions, accounting and record keeping only. Credit card orders and information will be shared with the bank processing the transactions and your delivery information will used in conjunction with USPS, UPS, FedEx or other delivery service to have your order safely and securely delivered. These are the only agencies outside of The MycoFactory LLC that may have any accesses to your private, personal information. This access is restricted to data needed to perform their specific functions, which is part of any e-commerce operation. This policy is subject to change without notice.
Can I place my order through the mail, or pay via PayPal?
PayPal payments can be made to: contact@mycofactory.com . To ensure you are placing your order correctly, or have calculated shipping costs accurately, please use our site and cart system to calculate all costs and fees. We only accept and ship to confirmed addresses - please do not ask us to ship to another address as we will not do so. We also accept money order payment via snail mail. NO PERSONAL CHECKS accepted, they will be returned to you. Please make sure you are including the correct amount for shipping. Unsure of shipping costs, PLEASE use our site and cart system for acurate totals being sure to submit your order to our system so that you can track the progress of your order. Make money orders payable to "The MycoFactory LLC" and mail to The MycoFactory LLC, PO Box 1440, Denver NC 28037.
What sort of packaging do you use and how is it labeled?
We typically use a a plain brown box or a flat rate USPS box . Packaging will depend on the items ordered. Domestic packages will only contain the needed labels for shipping and will not display outside descriptions of the packaged contents. International orders requiring will be labeled with a customs claim ticket describing the contents of the package. The return address on your package will be labeled from "The MycoFactory LLC."
What delivery options do I have and will I receive multiple packages?
MycoFactory LLC currently uses UPS & rarely the USPS (United States Postal Service) as delivery options. In addition, we can ship orders "Overnight" or "2nd Day." Shipping "overnight" or "2nd day" delivery does not mean your order will be processed and shipped any faster, only that the carrier will deliver it that way once they get the package from us. It is a delivery option and not a processing option. Please keep this in mind when you select your delivery option. A tracking number or a Delivery Confirmation number may be provided with all domestic purchases, allowing you to track the delivery status of your shipment. Our items are shipped from the same location, but you may receive multiple shipments if a single item is temporarily backlogged and delaying the rest of your order. All orders are shipped as requested during the checkout procedure (unless otherwise arrange prior to order placement by contacting us).
How do I know if my order has been shipped?
When placing your order be sure to include a valid email address we can use to auto send you with order status & tracking information and to inform you if any problems arise in processing your order. As soon as your order is processed and shipped an automated email will be sent to the provided email and include your tracking number.
Yes we now ship to Canada and other countries. Our shopping cart system was set up to charge the correct shipping costs for the USA and international deliveries to
What is your return policy?
All sales are final on pre-sterilized items. We do offer a sterility guarantee on these items for 30 days after purchase providing they remain in a new and unused / undamaged condition. A 20% restocking fee will be charged on all returned items which are not pre-sterilized. Items must be in original unused condition. No returns without written authorization. No returns after 30 days. Shipping charges are not refundable. If the shipper, for any reason, returns orders you will be billed for additional shipping charges. If after 45 days you have not provided us with additional shipping we will be unable to re-ship your order nor issue any refund or credit.
Our tests have proven the shelf life of the MyShroominBag™ to be at least 4 months (& in some cases over 2 years!) from the time of product arrival before possible expiration. If the bag is stored in a relatively stable environment with normal humidity (dry air could dry out the substrate mixture) then there is reason to believe the bag could store as long as 6 months. All bags shipped from our store are from recently sterilized batches, so you can be guaranteed to receive a fresh product with a full shelf life expectancy.
What is the MyShroominBag™ made from?
The substrate included pre-mixed and sterilized inside the MyShroominBag™ has been specially prepared for optimal growing of many different types mushrooms. MyShroominBag™ products are listed with the applicable substrate material included in each bag. Currently we several different substrate mixtures with our: Grain Based MyShroominBag™, "Black" (coffee) Grain Based MyShroominBag™, Yellow Corn Meal Southern Style MyShroominBag™, Wood Based MyShroominBag™, Sclerotia Formula™ MyShroominBag™, Corn MyShroominBag™ and our Rye-z-Morph™ Spawn starter bags.
I am a novice and don't have much equipment, will using the MyShroominBag™ require much time or effort?
The MyShroominBag™ was designed with the novice in mind. As such, all you need to successfully enjoy the experience of mushroom cultivation is a viable and healthy culture syringe of the desired grain loving fungus. The bags come pre-mixed and sterilized and require no additional equipment for production of edible, medicinal, or novelty mushroom species.
What sort of mushrooms can I grow in my MyShroominBag™?
The MyShroominBag™ has been constructed with a substrate mixture specifically formulated for the production of several different types of mushrooms. Any species of mushroom requiring low gas exchange and the listed bag substrate ingredient will perform as designed in the bags. The bag can be used to generate spawn for any sort of mushroom, however some species (those requiring other substrate materials for fruiting or higher gas exchange rates) may not fruit inside or from the bags.
I got my MyShroominBag™ Today, now what?
Once your MyShroominBag™ arrives there are only a few steps before you can begin to enjoy the wonders of mycological study. Simply follow the directions outlined on the MyShroominBag™ description page for the product you have purchased. Located below the general description of the product there is a link for "More Details". Once your bags have been properly inoculated simply wait until they become fully colonized with mycelium before exposing them to indirect light on a daily basis. Once fully colonized, exposure to indirect light for 12 hours a day is best to initiate pinning.
How do I inoculate my MyShroominBag™?
This information is also outlined in the "More Details" link for your MyShroominBag™ product. Locate the small foam disk sealed and attached in a plastic housing near the base of the MyShroominBag™. This disk is the self-healing injector site. Note: This disc will be covered by a small plastic shield. Do not attempt to remove the plastic covering the disk or the disk itself, you will inject through it. Sanitize the plastic shield directly over the foam disk with an alcohol soaked wipe. With the same alcohol soaked wipe, sanitize the needle on your culture syringe. Inoculate the substrate (material inside the bag) with culture syringe solution by inserting the needle through the plastic shield and foam port at the previously sanitized spot. Squirt 3cc - 10cc of culture solution directly into the substrate material. DO NOT insert the needle through the white filter patch found near the top of the bag. Place the MyShroominBag in a dark location and incubate at species specific parameters. It is recommended to store the bag fully extended as the developing Mycelia will give off gases that will slowly expand the interior of the bag. This ballooning effect is crucial for proper air exchange and culture development.
I do not see anything growing, is my MyShroominBag™ defective?
The MyShroominBag™ has been extensively tested and is prepared using very strict quality control guidelines. As such, we do not expect many of our customers to have problems with this product. If nothing appears to be growing in your bag (i.e. it looks just as it did the day it arrived, even after culture inoculation) then chances are the culture used to inoculate the bag has become unviable. Some of our products like the Grain Based MyShroominBag™ and the Grain Based Black MyShroominBag™ need to be mixed prior to use or growth may be slowed or inhibited.
The MyShroominBag™ is designed to work without any additional casing procedures or removal of the substrate from the bag. However, many customers have noted success in removing the colonized substrate from the bag, placing it in fruiting trays and applying traditional casing mixtures. Doing this will undoubtedly increase the productivity of the bag substrate and may allow you to successfully grow species unsuited for the traditional MyShroominBag™ grow procedure.
My MyShroominBag™ has finished fruiting, is there something else I can do?
Once the substrate contained in the MyShroominBag™ is exhausted and finished producing fruits inside the bag there are several options you can explore. Many customers have noted success by injecting sterilized or distilled water into the substrate through the injection port. Recharging the bags in this manner may allow more flushes to develop. Other customers have noted further success by removing the spent substrate from the bag and placing in traditional fruiting chambers and supplying supplemental humidity and air exchange. The spent substrate may also be used to spawn bulk mediums given the myco bag substrate has been handled in fairly sterile surroundings when opened for harvest.
My MyShroominBag™ is punctured or arrived contaminated, what should I do?
Our pre-filled and pre-sterilized MyShroominBag™ are guaranteed to arrive intact, sterile and contamination free. If your bag arrives and has been compromised (punctured or torn) in shipping, then please contact us to arrange for a replacement package to be shipped immediately. You may be responsible for shipping fees on replacement packages.
If your MyShroominBag™ develops contamination after culture introduction, then chances are your culture was not clean and you need to contact the supplier of your cultures or examine your sterile lab procedure for possible contamination vectors. We urge you to incubate the bags BEFORE they are inoculated to show they are clean and free of problems.
After the user has introduced any substance in to a sterile environment we can no longer guarantee it to be free of unwanted contaminates. Please also visit our home page and look at the index on the left. At the bottom of the index is a link to "Vectors of Contamination" for a more detailed look at contamination causes and solutions.
My question is not listed here, who can I ask?
Feel free to email us at contact@mycofactory.com with any additional questions you may have or think might be good to include in our FAQ section. Thanks
