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Bayliner has it right- YEARS ago I used to work as a prep cook at McCormick and Schmick's restaurant in Denver (McCormick's Fish House) and we always got fresh stuff flown in every day....the menu was printed up new every day depending on what was available. We always had several varieties of oysters, as well as blue crabs occasionally which were also shipped live. They were very cold, so they couldn't move too quickly, which helped when you had to grab them and 'clean' them !!
Clams and oysters occasionally would be partially open, but you can tell if they're alive by sprinkling a bit of freshwater on them which should make them close their shells....they move slowly when they are kept cold for storage/shipping but they will definitely move. We'd always throw out the ones that didn't, because they were dead. This is one of the reasons you're supposed to rinse them before you cook 'em- for sorting them out. Clams and other mussels go bad REALLY fast after they die- a lot faster than fish or most other items. They can look healthy today and be totally dead and loose from their shell by the next morning.
Hope this helps- I'm considering a few of these 'store clams' myself- partially for filtration, but also for some additional diversity and interest factor!
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