LFS charging 52 dollars for bubble coral??

O

oxkisses12ox

New member
i was at the lfs store today and they were selling a bubble coral that i intended to buy until i saw the price... online bubble corals usually run around 30 dollars and this one was only the size of my computer mouse... is that a good price or too high???

also they have a purple clam selling for $75
green frogfish for $62
light purple finger leather for $32 (same size as bubble coral)


are these normal or outrageous prices? i tried talking to the owner to go down on the bubble but she said she paid 36 for it... which i find VERY hard to believe...
OHHHHHHHHH and they are charging $5 for red leg hermits!!!
 
You have to keep in mind that owning and running a fish store is a hard business. In order to stay in business they have to have mark up. The online-bulk dealers and big box stores are making it nearly impossible for the reliable mom and pop stores to stay in business.

So the question comes down to you. Do you want to spend a little more to keep a quality business (I don't know anything about your particular store, but for argument sake, lets say they practice good husbandry and bring you quality products) going, or do you want to deal with the big box stores that care more about profit earnings and bulk sales than where and how fish and corals are collected and treated while enroute to the consumer?

It's one of those things that if you think it was too high, move online or to another store.

At least you have a local store... The closest one to me is over 100 miles away. So I can play the pray and pay game with online sales or pay an extreme amount for sight seen corals and fish on sites like the divers den on Liveaquaria.com.

Good luck with what ever you chose:)
 
Those are fair prices (except for the hermits) IMO. You will be hard pressed to find a bubble at a LFS for less than $40. Keep in mind the on-line price you quoted does not include shipping and the risk/stress involved.

Is it a green or white bubble? Another thing to consider is a bubble in the right conditions will grow to a large size rather quickly.
 
As Aquabucket stated, keep the shipping cost in mind. That 30 bubble coral will be a 60 bubble coral once you pay for shipping. I also like to see what I am purchasing. You really never know what you are getting online even WYSIWYG can be deciving sometimes.
 
it was white, she tried telling me that it was priced that high because there was coral attatched to it on the bottom ( and it was the skeleton of the bubble coral) which everyone should know they arent just floating bubbles!!!!!!!! i was just like whatever because i didnt feel like arguing
!
 
Another thing to consider is the shipping you would pay from buying on line. You generally have to spend $200 or more to get free shipping, then if you want priority overnight you pay extra. Believe me, I have boughts lots and lots of stuff online, mostly dry goods. But I prefer to purchase my corals from a place where I can actually look at them.

I guess a lot, too, depends on the size of the coral and clam. $5 for red legs does seem stiff, though.

Laurie
 
yeah well even miami LFS's dont charge so much , they charge around 35 which is reasonable... for some reason i really think $52 is rediculous....... besides... the clam is medium sized. What you are all saying about shipping is very true as well though.
 
yeah well even miami LFS's dont charge so much , they charge around 35 which is reasonable... for some reason i really think $52 is rediculous....... besides... the clam is medium sized. What you are all saying about shipping is very true as well though.
 
Heee! Sorry, while I was typing others beat me to the shipping charge thing.

Not to defend the lfs or the employee, but it's not easy to find people with saltwater knowledge to work in a lfs. Yes, she should have some knowledge of what she's selling, she doesn't, but fortunately you do.

Since you're a student, why not apply for a summer or after school job there. As you work and people see that you know what you're talking about they might listen and pick up some things. Make a little money, get a discount, and get first crack at the good stuff that comes in the shop.

Can you tell I work at a lfs? Of course, I'm retired but hey, it's still my dream job. I am having soooo much fun and I'm getting paid!

Laurie
 
Youre spoiled down there! lol. those prices sound very on par with retail prices here in the midwest (in many places anyhow). It wouldnt be a steal here, but its nothing that would make me wonder what they were doing either.
As others stated- if its worth $52 to you, then buy it. If it isnt, leave it there for someone else who likes it enough to pay that.
 
hehehe over here in Ottawa Canada, my lfs would charge $69 for mouse size tan bulble coral and $79 for a green one. The pros are they're quite knowledgeable and won't try to mislead customer to make the sell.
 
That LFS must have a good reason to expect that they can actually sell at those higher prices. Whether that price is what they need to make a modest profit or that it's due to demographics, shortage of any other LFS's close by, etc. that leads them to want to take advantange of of their customers is something we can't easily know.
 
No LFS can survive if they try to compete with online shops. Half of the on line business I know are run out of a garage with almost no over head. Here is a list of just a few that comes to mind.




reer tank supply
aquatic island
fraggle reef
frag farmer
frag city corals
 
Wait; is this fish store in the keys?

Come on, EVERYTHING is expensive in the keys. I saw 20g gallon tank setups being sold for $500 at the fish stores in Marathon.
 
To continue beating a dead horse...

here are the cost differences between a LFS and online

LFS:
Coral is collected/grown = $
*shipped to wholeseller = $
*LFS buys from wholeseller = $
LFS has to pay for store = $$
" " " employees = $$
" " " displays = $$
asst. overhead = $$

*some good stores can buy direct from collectors, but this generally won't cut too much price, if any, but may result in higher quality, but that does not matter as the store I used to work for found out when people in the area were too narrow minded to even care

so LFS = $$$$$$$$$$$

Online:
Coral is collected/grown = $
store buys from collector = $
store has to pay employees = $
asst. overhead = $

so Online = $$$$

Not to mention, online isn't limited to who they sell to, the whole world can buy from them. Where as LFS are limited to their areas.
 
If it makes you feel any better, I've seen a local chain here in WI (Pet World) that specializes in bulk pet-related items try and sell a bubble coral probably a little smaller than a softball for $99. They also tried selling a frogspawn of baseball size for the same. I'll take your $52, thank you very much! That seems cheap compared to some items I've seen here. I've also seen most retailers up here sell smaller maxima clams (3"-4") for $70. You'd think a bulk retailer would be less expensive.

Now, we do have a couple other LFS's up here that are better-quality than Pet World. But their prices aren't any better. If you think a price is outrageous, go somewhere else. No one is keeping you from shopping around. Considering it's been mentioned you're in FL, I'm sure there are plenty of other stores within a relatively close distance to you. We don't have that luxury here in Milwaukee...
 
Besides the hermits thats not tooooo bad. I have 2 great LFS near me: Aquatic Reef and Oceans Floor. They both are salt only and I always deal with the owner of each. Great guys and they both have a decent selection. If u want something they dont have both are willing to get whatever i want. Just picked up my Daytripper Zoo's from Aquatic Reef(~32 polyps for $30).
His bubble corals are around $45. A bit larger than what u described.
 
Well all I want to say is that in Michigan that is a fair price. I wish prices were as cheap as you've got down there.
 
Well we can tell you here in Central Fla... we paid 55.00 for a bubble of the same size.... It was very healthy and kept in a beautiful LFS. It was worth it to us.

Other local LFS's had that same coral for around 40-45.00 but we did not like the looks of the places.

10.00 more for an excellent, excellent LFS with an owner with many years of experience was well worth it to us.

hth
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

o2manyfish
o2manyfish - FREE CORALS - Nothing Exciting, But Free (Encino)
Replies
2
Views
489
iceman12
I
Anemone
Power Outages
Replies
3
Views
640
alton
alton
T
Corals for Sale
Replies
0
Views
484
thegrun
T
T
120 Gallon Mixed Reef Tank for Sale
Replies
6
Views
1K
vanbro1
vanbro1
M
Best Equipment for Coral Propagation Facility
Replies
1
Views
527
Vinny Kreyling
Vinny Kreyling
Back
Top