Id say yeah!
When you look at what a retailer pays for fish and then sells them for in order to make a profit despite his live stock losses, YOU DESERVE to get a healthy specimen!
Im not bashing retailers. Ive been there and done that and know how the business works, especially if your not a high volume buyer, your lower on the food chain and get the scraps that are left over in their tanks after they have cherry picked for the high volume buyers that pay their bills and keep them in business. Its just the way things work. But a Retailer can cover his looses much easier than you can in a couple of ways if he has a savvy accountant. Number one, they get credit usually for any DOA specimens. Number two, they have a 300-600% mark up on live stock. That might sound really greedy but they have to do that in order to keep the lights on and stay in business as you have a lot of losses often times. Number three they can probably write it off on taxes so the loss aint quiet so painful and stay out of the red. Good retailers can make some money on this business but very few of them are "Getting Rich"!
You dont have these options available to you. Now dont get me wrong I have bought some croals and Frags in pretty crappy shape, but I got them for almost nothing and was able to face the challenges ahead with them. Some didnt make it but many did. For those that did I made out like a bandit on the deal! Those that didnt I lost very little. Its a risky gamble though.
If its deeply discounted and you know what your getting yourself into its not a bad idea always but if you dont, I would play it safe and wait for a healtheir specimen. JMHO...
