Cheap frags , corals and deals

[sadsak]

It's always nice to get a new coral, frag or otherwise for a bargain price. Their is a reason why! When jumping at the chance to by blowout corals from anyone you can, weather you know them or not is risky!
You have no idea what motives they have, maybe their low on cash and want to make a buck? But anyone whom enjoys going around checking out what local fish stores have could be harming their business, by bargain shopping.
The owners are their to make a livening. I have yet to see any fish store owners living in Gaillardia or Nichols Hills. I'm not saying their struggling but if we as consumers don’t support our LFS then they could choose another means of making money. Then it would be a bad day when the only way you could shop is online or threw friends online that cheap frag will require shipping so that 14 dollar frag will be 54 dollars. And may not look like the picture.

If at your job your boss started outsourcing your job soon you would have no job! the same for our lfs! Is it worth it?

So Is saving 3-9 dollars worth the chance that you would have to go on a nice long drive to see corals? I think not!!
Support you LFS

If you want a deal ask them many of them can hook you up you just have to ask It's not their fault if you shy!


We have some of the nicest Fish shops anywhere and right now your favorite piece is sitting at their shop waiting for you!!!!!

 

[RoGeTa]

I support our local stores all the time However, I just picked up a pair of Akindynos clowns from a fellow hobbiest last night. Not only have I never seen them locally, they were a great deal. That's not bad right?

 

[RoGeTa]

By the way, I agree almost completely. It is a sad day when LFS are gone

 

[sadsak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9887234#post9887234 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RoGeTa
I just picked up a pair of Akindynos clowns from a fellow hobbiest last night. Not only have I never seen them locally, they were a great deal. That's not bad right?

Congrats on the new clowns. I like the Idea that we can save sea life when someone grows tired of it!

That's not bad!

 

[tslabaugh]

I've bought a few frags offline (ORA) and I must say if I would have known that Wetpets or Aquariums could have ordered the same thing for me, I wouldn't have gotten them online.

I would rather buy stuff locally cause I get it when I pay! I don't have to wait a day! :lol:

Also if there is a problem with what you buy, I'd rather work something out with the person face to face vs. email or phone.

Many online vendors also give store credit for DOA's which is a guarantee you are gonna have to pay for that shipping again or lose the credit!



Buying coral and fish locally is always WYSIWYG, there are no photo tricks to make things look more appealing than they really are, you get to chat with other local reefers, and you keep the LFS in business which in turn helps you because they will go the extra step to help you out with your tank problems or to give you advice.

 

[sadsak]

ah yeah I forgot to mention chatting with fellow reefers. Somtimes thats the best part!

 

[jprince58]

I'm not disagreeing with you. Supporting the LFSs is a good thing and the major players in Tulsa have each pocketed a sizable wad of my cash. However, I gotta ask... How do the sales tables at CRASE fit into your comments? How about buying frags from local hobbyists?

I would never ask a retailer for a better deal than what an item is priced at. It has more to do with good taste then shyness. A retail establishment isn't a swap meet and dickering just seems to be bad form. Would you do the same thing at Wal-Mart? Personal opinion...YMMV. The same goes for asking for a "club" discount. I've never done it, yet for some unknown reason, the LFSs I frequent always seem to give it to me anyway...with a smile. Somehow, I get the feeling they appreciate my business. That feeling. alone, keeps me coming back and paying whatever price they're asking for something I really don't need, but just can't live without.

 

[sadsak]

How do the sales tables at CRASE fit into your comments? How about buying frags from local hobbyists?

I think it's a great idea. Venders and hobbyists will have tables there, But be warned that if you catch the crud from a hobbyists , they may say sorry dude and a LFS may help solve your problems not add to them.

Would you do the same thing at Wal-Mart? Sure as a matter of fact I do and If I see a dink or dent or open box I ask and normaly they are cool about it.

Matter a fact at drive threw the other day I simply asked would you mind hooking me up with a coke and the young man said sure why not @ no charge to me.
Not that I don't have money but I was showing someone I was with a point. Which is ask and ye shall get. lol

It has more to do with good taste then shyness.
That's your opinon and I'm fine with that.

 

[happysak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9888259#post9888259 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sadsak
ah yeah I forgot to mention chatting with fellow reefers. Somtimes thats the best part!

Chatting is a best part

 

[TulsaReefer]

I'm always more than happy to support local stores, and have made nearly all livestock purchases at the LFS, except during the few years here in Tulsa when there were few few quality stores to even shop at if you wanted. Luckily that problem has been solved, and we have a good supply of LFS again. There are other local merchants "family owned" style stores that I also buy from here, not just fish stores, and every one of them provides something that I find that is compelling to make me want to continue to do business with them over other vendors.

Where I often have the hardest time buying at the LFS is dry goods. When I go in and the markup is sometimes 150%, 200% or even more compard to an "online" store, I often can't stomach paying the higher price, especially if it's something that's not just a few bucks, but maybe hundreds. For me if the price difference is a reasonable amount, I still tend to buy locally. An example of when I just couldn't buy local is when I went to buy a replacement membrane for my RO a few years ago, and was quoted $135 for the same DOW membrane I ended up ordering online for $36 (okay, with 5 bucks shipping, but no tax). Another was when I asked for half a dozen URI VHO tubes, only to be told that they didn't have them, but they could order them for me for 34.95 each, and they would come in two weeks, next time they made an order to their supplier. I was able to buy them direct from an online store for $22.00 each, and got free shipping by ordering 6 (which I wanted anyway). They showed up in 3 days, in good shape, delivered to my door. Now ordering online you can get damaged or lost goods. The one time I did have a VHO tube order lost (6 tubes again), I called the supplier and they reshipped immediately for no cost, and later then the original order was found and showed up 3 weeks later they told me to just keep them. I also find a number of dry goods that the LFS just doesn't carry, or tends to be out of when I need it. I know it's hard to stock everything that people might want, and the overhead of keeping things in a store that may not sell isn't good for the bottom line, so I don't hold it against the LFS for not carrying my particular favorite brand of test kit, or food. But then I also don't expect them to get upset when I don't take their advice to change to the brand they carry instead of ordering the one I like.

I hope to strike a balance in my buying, supporting my LFS when it's reasonable. But I also find that in a free market system, any supplier needs to find ways to compete, be that through better service, selection, price, or any other means. Maybe that means being more friendly, or providing better advice, or something that makes me find it worth the potential extra expense, but it's never been for me "just because they are local".

 

[VCoo71]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9891079#post9891079 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by happysak
Chatting is a best part

ditto!

and also the plus of seeing in person what you will be getting

charlie

 

[jkhudson]

Where to buy dry goods is the hardest part for me. Iknow that LFS' have bills to pay and most of them don't mark things up that much more than online stores and our discount doesn't hurt. When I was setting up my tank LeighAnn sold me bulkheads cheaper than anywhere else even online. What makes it tough for me is gas. Whether i like it or not driving somewhere from Yukon, unless the Fish Shop or Tanks Alot has it, gas adds anywhere from 5 to 10 bucks to my purchase. I prefer to buy my stuff locally so I know who I'm dealing with in case there is a problem. Somethimes though when an online vendor has a sale it's tough to pass up.

 

[happysak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9891355#post9891355 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by VCoo71
ditto!

and also the plus of seeing in person what you will be getting

charlie

 

[SeanF]

It is good that people like to support your local stores but it is business and the stores have to make an effort to please there customers. The price of gas is going up and that makes it more and more expensive to drive to the local store and buy something making online shopping more and more appealling. In this day and age of the internet stores have to be more and more savy about adapting to the changing marketplace because they are not just competing against the other stores in town they are competing against huge internet stores that are buying cheaper than the wholesalers that the stores buy from. Now they offer cheap shipping on heavy items that make that even more attractive to buy online. I mean why do I want to go lug 4 or 5 buckets of salt around when I can get the UPS guy to do it for me. Don't feel sorry for the stores this is business and the ones that can't figure out where they can make money will go by the wayside but the ones that can figure out how to compete and even thrive in the online marketplace will be that much better off because they have a much larger customer base to draw from.

 

[jkhudson]

Sales tax doesn't help the LFS' either. I know some of them will read this thread and I'm sure they would agree. When you factor in expensive gas, sales tax, and not having the volume discount that online vendors have makes it hard to keep up. An online shop can be set up in a garage and UPS will handle shipping straight from the supplier so they have no inventory to worry about. LFS' have to pay for a storefront, employees, inventory, everything that goes into a business. I really admire someone who will take on this challenge and make it.

 

[SeanF]

Ohh yeah forgot about that sales tax thing that some people have.

 

[SoonerReefer]

I buy from the LFS as much as possible and I always like seeing corals before I buy them.We are very lucky to have some of the nicest stores in the 4 state area,I think the Oklahoma stores are some of the best around.
Its always nice to be able to shop local and have so many LFS to chose from!

Donny:beer:

OMAS beverage director

 

[theishkid]

It's all been said before... I buy live goods locally... dry goods online. When I was looking a mag pump the online stores had it for around 50 - 60 and the LFS's had them for 90 - 120. Now that's pretty ridiculous to expect someone to pay that much more. I even asked the owner on two occasions if they could get a little closer to the price... he came down to 95 bucks. He claimed that the online price was cheaper than his wholesaler. Now maybe this is true but I kind of think it is BS. I politely informed him that maybe he should stop buying from his wholesaler and start buying from (in this case marinedepot) to get that price down a bit.

 

[VCoo71]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9904581#post9904581 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by theishkid
It's all been said before... I buy live goods locally... dry goods online. When I was looking a mag pump the online stores had it for around 50 - 60 and the LFS's had them for 90 - 120. Now that's pretty ridiculous to expect someone to pay that much more. I even asked the owner on two occasions if they could get a little closer to the price... he came down to 95 bucks. He claimed that the online price was cheaper than his wholesaler. Now maybe this is true but I kind of think it is BS. I politely informed him that maybe he should stop buying from his wholesaler and start buying from (in this case marinedepot) to get that price down a bit.

the LFS still had to make there profit......
and anyone who is complaining about local sales tax....well

come on now you cant be that cheap now can you?

charlie

 

[jkhudson]

An old friend of mine used to run a hobby store. If he got into a hole he raised his prices to try and hit a homerun. Ironically his biggest competion was his own wholesaler. They ran a online/mail order retail business that was cheaper than his break even point. It's tough out there in retail.