anyone interested in a massive fish group buy???

[GTR]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7522735#post7522735 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gcarroll
If the fish are already acclimated and healthy I would be interested. I would however like to pick up at the facility as to minimize stress from extended time in the bag.

Hmmmm... sounds like buying them from the LFS. :lol:

SteveU

 

[rbdesigns]

I've done two group buys on livestock and it was the worst decision I have made. I tried to save people money, but I ended up having to cover some deaths out of my pocket. The first was from ORA like Sam mentioned. I didn't want them acclimated into the LFS water so I asked them to be individually bagged so I could distribute them the same day to everyone and they wouldn't catch any diseases. Something like 25-28% of the fish died within a couple of days to a week. When I brought up the problem they told me that they had to be quarantined a minimum of 2 days because they could break down from stress in shipping, and this was only from Florida overnight. When I did the invert group buy I did things differently and acclimated the order into my system. I held them for a week, but the problem was getting the entire order in at once. It took almost 3 weeks to get the entire order in and finally when I got everyones order in, one of my tanks crashed because of my hob filter malfunctioned, two people were out of their order and I ended up returning their money because they died in my care.

 

[Bebo77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7522854#post7522854 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rbdesigns
I've done two group buys on livestock and it was the worst decision I have made. I tried to save people money, but I ended up having to cover some deaths out of my pocket. The first was from ORA like Sam mentioned. I didn't want them acclimated into the LFS water so I asked them to be individually bagged so I could distribute them the same day to everyone and they wouldn't catch any diseases. Something like 25-28% of the fish died within a couple of days to a week. When I brought up the problem they told me that they had to be quarantined a minimum of 2 days because they could break down from stress in shipping, and this was only from Florida overnight. When I did the invert group buy I did things differently and acclimated the order into my system. I held them for a week, but the problem was getting the entire order in at once. It took almost 3 weeks to get the entire order in and finally when I got everyones order in, one of my tanks crashed because of my hob filter malfunctioned, two people were out of their order and I ended up returning their money because they died in my care.

when i did the keys critters buy i told everyone who did not pick up that day that i could not promise them anything.. live stock is not the best thing to do wholesale/ group buy as there WILL BE losses.. so long as the people going in understand that there are no promises on the livestock in exchange for a great price go ahead and get in on the buy.. but if you want a promise you are better off paying retail.

 

[noschmo]

dopey idea! Massive? Not likely:rollface:

 

[Charles99]

PM list- interested. thnx

 

[dopeyx27]

Thanks for all the input, I was wondering what to do about the people who dont pick up the same day, because I wouldnt really have a big place to put them. Im going to see what my friend thinks, honestly, it might just be better for me to get most of the heartiest, peaceful and common fish out of my own pocket and just take orders from there; that way, I dont have to worry about so much bags or separation of tanks because of aggressiveness.

 

[dopeyx27]

Well in the mean time, I have connections to get full metal halide systems w/ or w/o moonlights for very great prices.

 

[cthetoy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7523404#post7523404 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dopeyx27
Thanks for all the input, I was wondering what to do about the people who dont pick up the same day, because I wouldnt really have a big place to put them. Im going to see what my friend thinks, honestly, it might just be better for me to get most of the heartiest, peaceful and common fish out of my own pocket and just take orders from there; that way, I dont have to worry about so much bags or separation of tanks because of aggressiveness.

Since this is a group buy for LIVE items and not dry items you probably have to at least to provide a date on when your live goods and this would be the only day you will have to pickup and anything not picked up will not be guaranteed to live after that but will do your best to take care of it. Im sure other reefers here can help pickup their buddy's order if they can't make it.

It also depend how cheap the fishes can be bought if this group buy will fly. If its just a few dollars less than the LFS then its not worth it. If its like 60% or 75% off then perhaps more people will be willing to take this risk.

 

[rbdesigns]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7523404#post7523404 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dopeyx27
Thanks for all the input, I was wondering what to do about the people who dont pick up the same day, because I wouldnt really have a big place to put them. Im going to see what my friend thinks, honestly, it might just be better for me to get most of the heartiest, peaceful and common fish out of my own pocket and just take orders from there; that way, I dont have to worry about so much bags or separation of tanks because of aggressiveness.

Like Bebo77 said, no guarantees if they are picked up after the date they arrive. Also make sure you have a couple of cycled tanks to hold them if u have a couple of orders that aren't picked up, last thing u want is an ammonia spike.

 

[dopeyx27]

lol, Im bridging up a whole army of nano cubes for this. Its going to look weird but it should work. I will produce a date as soon as I find out whats going on and if we even have enough to work with. As for the pricing, im pretty sure its going to be very competitive.