It's official! Tempe has the highest density of fish stores on the planet...

coral hoarder

coral hoarder

New member
Actually, I just made that up. But seriously, how great is it to have so many LFS so close to each other. There is Aquarius, Reef Cultural, SouthWest Aquaculture, and Club Reef. There is also Limited Edition Corals and Aquarium Arts a stones throw away. While it's nice from a consumers standpoint, is there that much demand to support so many stores so close to each other. At some point do they start to cannibalize each other, or is there enough coral addicts in the valley to support them. Any thoughts???
 
coral hoarder said:
Actually, I just made that up. But seriously, how great is it to have so many LFS so close to each other. There is Aquarius, Reef Cultural, SouthWest Aquaculture, and Club Reef. There is also Limited Edition Corals and Aquarium Arts a stones throw away. While it's nice from a consumers standpoint, is there that much demand to support so many stores so close to each other. At some point do they start to cannibalize each other, or is there enough coral addicts in the valley to support them. Any thoughts???
Click to expand...

It's becoming kind of like car dealers. You always see them in groups. :) Seems to work for them. I hope they all step it up little and stay around for a while.

I am excited to know that with such close competition, a few things will happen, the customer service and or the value add goes up, costs tend to level out, better consumer choices, and more times or not you end up with a favorite place to shop.
" My local fish store".
 
Club Reef????? Location please.


LA has us beat from what was said in another thread. Some street, 104th iirc, has multiple wholesalers within a few buildings of one another.
 
I'm a bit jealous of your selection. All of my local choices are 30+ minutes away in different directions. Sadly, the closest one is pretty disgusting and getting worse, but the one an hour South of me is probably one of the better LFS in the country, Something Fishy. The place has a good selection of livestock, well maintained show tanks, doesn't smell at all, and the staff begins with questions about the size of your tank, lighting, and tank mates. I'm not saying that they're the gold standard or anything, but they are doing quite a bit correctly.

Loving living in rural areas comes with some drawbacks.
 
When I heard about the two new stores soon to open I started thinking this same thing...what does this mean to the hobby in the valley?

As mentioned above it does mean competition for business and that usually ups quality and brings down prices. I already shop in such a way as I go to a particular store for a particular need but I'm sure there's going to be some overlap now.

I think this is also where FRAG and the businesses themselves can use this as an opportunity to grow the hobby in the valley. If we can teach more people about it and get people started up then that increases the customer-base for everyone of the stores.
 
SKAREEF said:
It's becoming kind of like car dealers. You always see them in groups. :) Seems to work for them. I hope they all step it up little and stay around for a while.

I am excited to know that with such close competition, a few things will happen, the customer service and or the value add goes up, costs tend to level out, better consumer choices, and more times or not you end up with a favorite place to shop.
" My local fish store".
Click to expand...

+1
Competition will give us competitive prices and drive quality up.
Kudos to all the hobbyist turned owner(s) of these stores for providing us with a storefront and knowledge base. These individuals do "talk the talk AND walk the walk"!
Consumers can only benefit!!! Please support these stores!

BTW, I don't work or any stores, but just acknowledging a great group of guys!
Its nice to see how this hobby have grown/evolved over the years!
 
tcamos said:
When I heard about the two new stores soon to open I started thinking this same thing...what does this mean to the hobby in the valley?

As mentioned above it does mean competition for business and that usually ups quality and brings down prices. I already shop in such a way as I go to a particular store for a particular need but I'm sure there's going to be some overlap now.

I think this is also where FRAG and the businesses themselves can use this as an opportunity to grow the hobby in the valley. If we can teach more people about it and get people started up then that increases the customer-base for everyone of the stores.
Click to expand...

oh Chad, you beat me to the punch!
 
;) Great minds think alike...and so do we!

I am often in wonder at how we have this much of the hobby in the middle of the desert. But I figure since we are so far removed from the ocean and stuck in the dry land there is a natural human yearning for the beauty of the sea. It draws people in. I think the #1 thing stopping people is that they think they can't do it. If we can teach people simple, affordable, soft coral tanks with a minimal number of hardy fish, the hobby could grow huge in the valley by tapping into that love of all things water in the desert.
 
incapearl said:
Not to mention the awesome craigslist home fraggers in the same area
Click to expand...

No offense to the craigslist guys, myself included :), but there are a lot of things you cannot get from these craigslist guys that these fish stores provides! They have a storefront business for a reason!

When I shop, I look at informative knowledge, competitive pricing and variety coral availability.
Not much of a customer service guy. You can be a jerk, but if you can provide me with a coral I want/need at a competitive, you have my business :)
 
tcamos said:
;) Great minds think alike...and so do we!

I am often in wonder at how we have this much of the hobby in the middle of the desert. But I figure since we are so far removed from the ocean and stuck in the dry land there is a natural human yearning for the beauty of the sea. It draws people in. I think the #1 thing stopping people is that they think they can't do it. If we can teach people simple, affordable, soft coral tanks with a minimal number of hardy fish, the hobby could grow huge in the valley by tapping into that love of all things water in the desert.
Click to expand...

Agree, that's why educating people is so important. Misinformation scares away people.
I grew up near the ocean and always need a piece of the sea near me at all time :)
 
Me too, I'm a native. Love the sea...oh well...got the sand...but not the beach... :(

I've never purchased anything from craigs list. I would rather go into a store and build a long term relationship with the people there. I like good service and the little things matter. Price will always matter to (my wife) me.
 
evsalty said:
Club Reef????? Location please.


LA has us beat from what was said in another thread. Some street, 104th iirc, has multiple wholesalers within a few buildings of one another.
Click to expand...

I don't know the address, but its at the SW corner mall of McClintock and Southern. By Bosa donuts.
 
dream54ing said:
No offense to the craigslist guys, myself included :), but there are a lot of things you cannot get from these craigslist guys that these fish stores provides! They have a storefront business for a reason!

When I shop, I look at informative knowledge, competitive pricing and variety coral availability.
Not much of a customer service guy. You can be a jerk, but if you can provide me with a coral I want/need at a competitive, you have my business :)
Click to expand...
Totally agree with the first part. There are so many roles to fill in the hobby. Secondhand equipment is a niche where the Craigslist guys rule supreme in my opinion but there are other areas where a brick and mortar store takes the cake and yet others where an online entity is the best choice.
Since I don't do corals (yet, lol) and I'm so specific in the livestock that I do want, a good amount of my buying is done online (Diver's Den, to be specific). BUT, anything else that comes up (including the occasional fish like a yellow tang that I don't feel justifies paying any kind of a premium for) I do try to buy at a store. When I do, it's all about the customer service. Small little things like not charging me for that small piece of LR I grabbed to rubber band some nori to. That probably cost the store $0.75 but it earned them a customer for life.
I will say that I sincerely hope there is enough business to keep all of these shops in the black. I've dealt with Reef Culture a lot and met Carlos; all seem like great people. It just seems like it's so supersaturated though......
 
As a business owner in the same strip mall as Club Reef, I am glad to see them come in. As a hobbyist it gives me another choice, and since I'm there every day for work, it can't be any more convenient. I am glad to see them come in, they have busted their rears to get in so quickly and the store looks great!
 
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