Looking for input regarding an LFS....

this is great info everyone. i really appreciate all of this input. I am in the hobby (lifestyle) as well and there are so many things that when planning this out you tend to forget.

what does everyone prefer for coral tanks: do you like lagoon/look down style or prefer a standard tank viewed from the front?

thanks!
keep em coming, i have several more notebooks i can fill up, yes i am keeping a tally of repeats so go ahead and tell me "cleanliness" , " awesome display tanks" if that is what you like. it helps me prioritize the layout that way!
 
Have things in stock mainly meds and stuff anything that you could need right away (I went to my LFS to get popeye meds one no one knew what i was talking about and also most of the meds were gone.) Oh and during the summer have more summer stuff advalible like chillers and stuff. Oh and have like buckets for water changes, eggcreate for covers, and plastic buckets with covers to store stuff in like meds so you can put them under the tank and not have to worry if they will get wert from a flood oranything. That would really make people come to your store if ythey know you have everything they need. also make sure you staff knows stuff and there not just trying to sell you stuff that i not right. Have it clean, and have lots of tanks set up and explain the equtment in each have like a little panfit for each tank. Also what would be great is if you had like a start up list for people to take.
 
puffer21- great info....eggcrates, buckets are the product info i am looking for. these are in my inventory list already but i want to hear that people do want this stuff.

i also have in inventory the "hard to get items" like gate valves, swing checks and other things that typically have to be ordered.

thanks!
 
Pluming stuff is great to have anything. really anything that you have to go somewhere else like homedepot to get is great to have.
 
yeah im just trying not to end up with another hardware store attached to a reef store.
there is a very fine line in there. yes i want all the sales i can get, at the same time for me to have the same plumbing as HD or Lowes I would need another 1000 sq Ft in the building which equals alot of overhead vs. selling a bunch of $0.30 fittings. does that make sense? i do want float valves, needle valves and what not that has to be orderedd through us plastic and other sites. i love those companies but hate it when on a project I need somehting right away that i thought i already had or broke or whatever.

thank all! keep em coming!
 
If possible, and I know this is difficult to do for the quickest profit, but make sure your fish, as well as other stock, is healthy.

I have been in a lot of LFS that will sell the livestock right out of the shipping box if you want it without even inspecting the fish for disease, parasites, etc.....

There are only a few shops near me that will quarantine their fish before they sell them...or they dump them in copper tanks and call them healthy....

I am much happier paying a few bucks more even for a fish I know will be healthy then geting a fish that can wipe out my whole tank for less....

What I'm saying is keep the best, disease free, clean livestock and you will get a following pretty quickly.

Good Luck!!!
 
Someone mentioned about having a killer display tank and I wanted to make a note about that. I think a killer display tank or two is a must have, but make sure it is a reasonable size. My LFS had a huge display tank (3500 gallons I think) but he told me that it cost over $600 a month just to keep it going. To me that is not a bright idea when you start adding up expenses. I think that a couple of 150 gallon display tanks would be more beneficial because it gives a potential customer an idea of what type of tank he could have in his home. Frozen foods and maybe some bottles of phyto that would be virtually 100% profit once you got the setup, would be on my list of things to stock. The video idea that someone suggested is a great idea I think. Have a couple of monitors in the store showing the video. Also you could place a sofa or a small sitting area in front of the display tanks for mom or dad to sit on while the other person is browsing or paying. Keeps the area around the cash register from getting a bunch of people clustered around it. Have a rubbermaid sump setup for liverock also that you can walk around and pick out the pieces you want. Did I mention keep the store clean also?
 
One thing I didnt see mentioned:

Captive breed fish. They cost more, but maybe you could give a longer guaranty as an incentive. I know I would rather buy captive breed just because I know their chances of survival will be much higher.
 
where were you thinking of opening this ?

is it florida? cause we need better stores besides bigals down here!


id get a few high end products ( tunze streams)
and maybe keep one set in stock. but if some one wants to order somthing. you could get it for them ( i know alot of stores order stuff but it would be nice to have a display of what you can order)

also maybe instead of just writing the coral name have a lil info on the coral also ( like what live aquaria puts on there site)

it would definitly help your employees


anyways if your in fl >< i need a job lol
 
One other thing I forgot and it was just mentioned. Even if you have to charge a little more for the fish, be sure and give a guarantee on your fish for a couple of weeks. I no longer buy fish from my LFS for this very reason. He wouldn't guarantee them and I lost $100 of fish in a week.
 
baja and hopper: good points. any gaurantee would be more than what we have here, i havent seen a gaurantee on SW fish in years. that would definately be an edge over others here

goda: i like that idea, maybe i could make it a computer catalog right in the store so you dont have to go home to place the order online or wait to have staff look things up for you. boost sales and customer service in 1 shot!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7455393#post7455393 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Paintbug
you definatly want to keep the "pro" brands. but you need some of the cheaper stuff as well. some people just wont spend $300 for a skimmer, when they can get a seaclone for $100. but be honest and tell them its not the best. then when they realize they need that $300 Aqua C skimmer they will come back. for some expample of brands take a look at www.marinedepot.com they carry all the "pro" stuff.

i like to see package deals on things as well. like have an entire SW set-up with a list of each item and a total savings. it may only be $30-$50 but you will still save some.
Click to expand...

DO NOT CARRY CRAP. No seaclones, no crap like that.

One of the LFS around me has their own line of skimmers. Theyre similar to the ASMs, and much cheaper. Its all korean made stuff rebadged, but they work really well.

You dont want to be selling people stuff that doesnt work.
 
One thing I would make sure I would have is tons of drygoods in stock all the time. I hate when you go to a lfs and they only have half of what you are looking for. For example, I would want a seio 2600 and a controller. Well one lfs would sell one but not the other. One other thing I think lfs should have is a few displays to show their products they sell in action. If I had a lfs I would have a tank with Tunze products and ect to try to sell some more tunze products. Or two differen't displays with two differen't types of liverock and one with 10k, 15k, and 20k bulbs. Just so you can see the difference in person and decide on what would be best for your tank. :)
 
good point, i agree, is there an "entry level" skimmer that actually works?
i am pretty sure i wont be carrying any seaclones. im not sure if i will even carry a prizm even though there are some out there that do like them.

i was tinkering with the idea of possibly having a trading format for certain pieces of equipment.
EX: you have upgraded systems, need new equipment, bring it in and i will give you a mark down on new equipment.
I obviously wont be taking any seaclones etc...but PM, HSA, MRC, etc..would be worthwhile. and nothing electric due to liability and longevity of product.

good ideas everyone! im still open to more.

how many tanks do you want to see? what arrangement do you like best?

thanks!
 
Clean not only on the floors but in the tanks. Clean not only of nuisance algae and detrius but also of pest anemones.

Train your staff to keep a sharp eye on the livestock and to remove any to QT that have problems. When I see dead/dying/distressed fish in tanks, I refuse to buy anything in the tanks. If it is feasible/reasonable to plumb your tanks so that the QT water is totally separated from the main tanks, that would be a great drawing point for me -- that you care enough about your lifestock to keep from contaminating healthy fish with water from the QT.

Medicines and food, definitely. Also stuff like Joe's Juice and Chemi Clean. Decent quality water testing kits. Supplies for a refugium like miracle mud, substrate, and macroalgae. How about sump/refugiums?

Filter bags for carbon. A selection of pumps, heaters, and thermometers.

A good selection of decent quality magetic tank algae scrapers.

As long as you asked, I would prefer the standard through-the-glass view for coral tanks -- that's how I would see them in my tank.

I hope this helps. And I also hope that your store will be close to my area!
 
duchess: great ideas on the "standard" products that all reef stores should have on hand.

Is there a big demand for magnavore scrapers? there so dang pricey!

the QT system is already planned to be seperate from the main system and will have many tanks to hold fish for a couple days before going to the floor for sales.

dead fish will be removed as soon as noticed. i feel the same there and as well regarding sick fish.

I do have a few connections for acrylic fabrication and they have already asked to have their hands involved with the store so yes i do see fuges/sumps/local made skimmers at some point.

thanks everyone, keep up the good ideas!
 
It would be nice if you could refer customers to reliable people for building custom canopies and stands. As you know from the threads on RC, a lot people enjoy doing this themselves. However, there are the other people, like me, that couldn't build something to save their life. I know I wouldn't mind paying someone whatever it costs for custom made stuff. Problem is finding that person.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
Looking for older Coral Magazine issues
Replies
18
Views
484
liquidfluidity
L
R
LFS can order "red" or "blue" peacock mantis?
Replies
2
Views
139
game misconduct
G
T
Alternative Lighting for Biocube 29
Replies
0
Views
108
thommyboy12183
T
A
Choosing a Canister Filter for 55-gal Saltwater — OASE Biomaster Thermo 600 vs EHEIM Classic
Replies
2
Views
2K
griss
griss
M
AQma AQuarium Log – New Android app for reef keepers
Replies
0
Views
114
magu
M
Back
Top