I've had it with my LFS

R

RRaider

New member
I had a heater burst in my hospital tank and my Royal Gramma still hasn't recovered. When I got home today the heater in my DT was making a knocking sound so I went to my LFS to get a replacement. I have done a lot for these people and considered them friends. I have worked on their computer, printer, fax machine (I work in IT for a living), and spent a whole afternoon helping unbag and acclimate a large order of fish that were in bad shape after a couple of shipping delays. Plus I have spent a ton of money there. They recommended a Visi-Therm Stealth because it is plastic and they say they have had good luck with them. I bought my heater and came home and got it installed. Well now I start looking for reviews etc on these heaters only to find out they charged me more that 2X what I could have ordered the same heater for myself! I'm all about people making a living and I prefer to buy local so I don't mind paying a little more but this is uncalled for.
I'm going to keep the heater but it will be a cold day in hell before I buy anything else there.
 
LFS can be a usefull addition, but there downfall is profit.Be sure to go in prepared.Measure twice and cut once.
 
Profit is fine, but more than 100% more than several online stores is robbery. Even if it cost them the same as I could buy it online that markup is outrageous. To top it off they are very quick to badmouth the other LFS we have in town saying they rip people off.
 
Looking around at prices on the LFS around me and they all charge 2x or more than what I can get it for on the net. Sad really. There are a few exceptions, but not many. Heaters are the worst for this. One LFS wanted $390 for a CSS 220, which I bought online at bigals for 189 shipped!
 
I agree. It's not a matter of supporting the local economy or LFS's, it's a matter of saving myself money and getting whatever I can, Whereever i can get it the cheapest. I will never, I repeat, never buy any thing other than livestock or food from my local fish store again.. Part of my reason for this has to do with the many stores in my area with completely unknowledgable staff who tell be ridiculous stuff and are completely uneducated not to mentin their 75 dollar bucket of Instant Ocean, that I can get online with delivery, 2 for 67 bucks! straight to my door. If you ask me, it's a no brainer, regardless how you feel about your LFS.

with great prices online for almost all your needs, along with a place like reefcentral, I almost have no need for LFS's whatsoever. Nor do I wanna give them my hard earned money (okay, so not so hard, but just the same : )...)
 
Online stores can simply sell things for less, because they sell a lot of it, thus they pay less for it. LFSs are not around to rip people off, there retail price may be higher because they pay more than online stores, and they dont sell as much of it. Its much like walmart stores- high volume=low prices. If I can afford it at an lfs, I buy it. If I cant, I buy it online.
 
LFS drygoods are a rip, big time!

I only buy corals from LFS, or from GOOD rated online private sellers. or you get that "Oh the colors will come back in a few months" 4 months down the road its still just brown and not red.

live stock I only buy from LFS, and people are selling their fish local

Frozen food from LFS.

I alway make good friends with the owners, they end up giving me wholesale prices on everything in about a month of *** kissing :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12332384#post12332384 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ehaze
LFS drygoods are a rip, big time!

I only buy corals from LFS, or from GOOD rated online private sellers. or you get that "Oh the colors will come back in a few months" 4 months down the road its still just brown and not red.

live stock I only buy from LFS, and people are selling their fish local

Frozen food from LFS.

I alway make good friends with the owners, they end up giving me wholesale prices on everything in about a month of *** kissing :)
Click to expand...
So you make good friends with them, suck up as much as possible, only to get the lowest possible prices on livestock and snub them when it comes to everything else?

And you wonder why they:
A - Go out of business
B - Have an attitude towardss some customers
C - Charge a little more than on-line to make up for this type of customer.
I could go on and on but I think you get the picture.

Brick and mortar businesses will never truly compete with on-line vendors in all areas of the business. It's up to each consumer to decide how much value each type of business brings to the table.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12332319#post12332319 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pacificwildfire
Online stores can simply sell things for less, because they sell a lot of it, thus they pay less for it. LFSs are not around to rip people off, there retail price may be higher because they pay more than online stores, and they dont sell as much of it. Its much like walmart stores- high volume=low prices. If I can afford it at an lfs, I buy it. If I cant, I buy it online.
Click to expand...

This in no way explains the kind of markup on these heaters. Only one thing does, greed. Just like Walmart, if they don't try to fund their whole weeks profit off the sale of one item and drop their prices they too could have more sales. Funny how that works!

I've learned my lesson though, no more free computer work. Next time it will cost them a lot more than it would if they went to one of the large chain stores. After all I don't do as many jobs so I too will have to try to make a weeks worth of profit off one transaction. Turnabout is fair play.
 
I think you will notice that at some stores the heater might be marked up 20% and at other stores the heaer will be marked up 100% but then the first store might have a pump that is marked up 100% and the second has that pump marked up 20%
 
Quid pro quo. If you are doing free computer work for them, they should sell you equipment at their cost. It would not be fair for livestock, however to expect cost pricing.
 
i've worked in quite a few retail establishments, currently an LFS, and 100% markup isn't all that uncommon. the only correlation I have seen was with the size of the store, big stores had lower markups. if you knew the markup on everything you bought you'd never go to a store again.
I'm not saying its right, but I also don't keep the books, so it may be necessary to keep the LFS running.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12333523#post12333523 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RRaider
This in no way explains the kind of markup on these heaters. Only one thing does, greed. Just like Walmart, if they don't try to fund their whole weeks profit off the sale of one item and drop their prices they too could have more sales. Funny how that works!

I've learned my lesson though, no more free computer work. Next time it will cost them a lot more than it would if they went to one of the large chain stores. After all I don't do as many jobs so I too will have to try to make a weeks worth of profit off one transaction. Turnabout is fair play.
Click to expand...


you're showing a lot of ignorance in your posts, man.

Let's start with a few things:
1) Vendors typically don't all use the same wholesaler. Wholesalers also charge different prices to dealers.
2) On-line vendors RELY on quantity to make profit. I know many online vendors have as little as 1-2% markup on items just to be the "cheapest" price on the net and obtain business.
3) LFS's have higher overhead. Location, employees, insurance, utilities, and have to make enough of a profit to live off of too. They don't do near the volume on dry goods. Most of the LFS' around me carry mostly livestock because they just can't compete on drygoods. I still buy what I can from the LFS because they're good people and the knowledge is there. I like giving business to good people.
4) Online retailers come and go. And you don't always know whether the vendor is going to be reliable every time.
5) A lot of vendors don't stock all items they sell, so you could wait a long time to get something, whereas the LFS has in stock what you see on the shelves.
6) LFS' offer convenience. Need that heater ASAP? Spend $30 on fast shipping or just go down to the LFS?


Sorry you feel ripped off, but like someone said, business is business. I'm not rich, but I support vendors who help me out, and good people. If that means a few extra bucks here and there, so be it.
 
Re: I've had it with my LFS

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12331761#post12331761 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RRaider
I had a heater burst in my hospital tank and my Royal Gramma still hasn't recovered. When I got home today the heater in my DT was making a knocking sound so I went to my LFS to get a replacement. I have done a lot for these people and considered them friends. I have worked on their computer, printer, fax machine (I work in IT for a living), and spent a whole afternoon helping unbag and acclimate a large order of fish that were in bad shape after a couple of shipping delays. Plus I have spent a ton of money there. They recommended a Visi-Therm Stealth because it is plastic and they say they have had good luck with them. I bought my heater and came home and got it installed. Well now I start looking for reviews etc on these heaters only to find out they charged me more that 2X what I could have ordered the same heater for myself! I'm all about people making a living and I prefer to buy local so I don't mind paying a little more but this is uncalled for.
I'm going to keep the heater but it will be a cold day in hell before I buy anything else there.
Click to expand...

I agree with how you feel here. There is one LFS in our Sacramento, CA area (I won't mention any names) that I avoid buying anything from anymore (especially coral or fish); I just go there to look. They tend to ask for A LOT more than what their product is worth and don't offer you much incentives for trade-ins either. They push the more expensive products but don't really educate reasons which obviously doesn't sit well with me anymore.

So, if I HAVE to buy anything there, I'll have done my research on this message board way in advance before setting foot in that place. I know I'm going to get heat for this post.
 
There is no reason to expect heat for that well phrased, well thought out post.
Some retail establishments, no matter the category, conduct business in a manner that is offending to some customers. That is why it is incumbent upon the customer to do their research and determine for themselves, what value a store offers. It may be in the form of service, quality, knowledge, price, whatever. They all factor into the purchasing decisions.
 
Will your online vendor stay open late because you called and need something in an emergency?

Will your online vendor give you a part to try because your kid decided it looked fun to play with and you can't find it now?

I recently setup two QT and didn't think, you just used all your extra heaters order some more online. Friday night I started a batch of saltwater for my Sunday water changes. No heaters.

So I paid 34 bucks for a heater DRs F&S has for 17, So what.

When I buy big ticket items, we talk and workout a price that's fair.

If everybody only buys dry goods from online vendors then you'll eventually get to the point were Petland and Petco will be your only choices for "great" local live stock. :eek1:

I like my LFS. I don't buy everything from them but I have no regrets in paying more for the things I do buy from them.
 
went in my lfs the other day to buy a mj 1200. Was willing to pay a little extra since I kind of needed it...then I saw the $50 price tag.
 
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