How to order

Ordering from the Roscoff Culture Collection

Ordering from the RCC is simple but please read the following instructions very carefully - there are often problems/delays because users have not carefully read the instructions.

We DO NOT provide individual price quotes ("devis" en français). During the on-line ordering procedure on the web site, you can generate a quote in pdf format. You can use this document for your adminstration to place a purchase order ("bon de commande" en français) if necessary.

1. Registering

​2. Selecting the strains and placing the order on the web site

  • Every distributable strain can be added to your order using the "Add to Cart" button on the strain page.
    • Some of the strains listed as "non-distributed" can potentially be distributed under certain circumstances (see below).
  • When you have added all of the strains you require to the cart, review your cart tto check your order.
  • Add other services (culture medium / cryopreservation / identification) if required.
  • Once you have added strains/services to your cart you can proceed to checkout.
    • Click the checkout button.
    • Enter the requested information (billing/shipping address, intended use of strains, etc..).
    • Accept the terms and conditions.
  • Proceed to the next page to add shipping fees.
  • On the next page verify that all of the information concerning your order is correct and then proceed to payment.

3.  On-line credit card payment

  • In order to pay for your order you will be redirected to the external Paybox secure payment site.
  • Follow the instructions on the Paybox site to provide payment details.
  • Once the payment is completed you will receive a receipt from the Paybox site and then be redirected to the RCC site.
  • Please note that Paybox is an established, fully secure e-commerce site that accepts payment via most major credit cards. All encrypted transaction data remains exclusively on the external Paybox site and is not shared with the RCC.

4. Order processing by RCC staff and shipping of cultures

  • Please note that we will not ship the cultures until we have received confirmation of on-line payment.
  • An RCC Curator will then contact you by e-mail to confirm your order and to arrange shipment.
  • It takes in general 1-2 weeks to prepare the cultures from our stocks (or sometimes longer for 1L cultures).
  • If the culture is only kept as a cryopreserved stock, culture preparation (thawing/regrowth) will take 3 to 5 weeks. On the web site we indicate alternative strains (same species, same or similar sampling location) for strains that are only cryopreserved.
  • We will send a proforma invoice with the shipment to facilitate passage through customs in your country. This profoma invoice is the only document that we can supply. If cultures are blocked or delayed in customs, we will not resend the cultures free of charge since it is your responsability to arrange transfer through customs.

Non-distributed strains

In general, we do not distribute :

  • strains that originate from other collections. If you need strains from other collections, please order directly from the original collections;
  • mixed strains (for example strains contaminated by heterotrophic flagellates);
  • uncharacterized strains;
  • strains that are in the process of being characterized or described by RCC staff;
  • strains that have been deposited in the RCC by researchers who request restriction on distribution until they have published on the strains (e.g. new species).

If you are interested in obtaining these strains, this will be through a special collaboration arrangement.  Please contact us if you are interested in non-distributed strains.