Petco online purchases

[Fin Mike]

Could some of the members opine on their experiences with Petco Online. Their fish are comparatively inexpensive and have a thirty day guarantee. Please, this is not a bust on Petco thread, only a genuine attempt to find out others experiences. Please just tell me what you ordered, and the condition it was in when it arrived.

 

[uncleL]

I would NEVER buy anything from Peto!!!!!

 

[Hodge1995]

Petco now owns Foster smith which is the best online place there is. Question is If it will spill over to petco.

 

[Mark426]

If it isn't in Divers Den, they all ship from the same importer in California from what I understand. So....is their any difference.....don't think so.

 

[albano]

If it isn't in Divers Den, they all ship from the same importer in California from what I understand. So....is their any difference.....don't think so.

I'm not sure that is correct...I think they still use 2 different wholesalers

 

[FlyingPigNJ]

What I received from petco was well packed with a warmer. The livestock was in good shape. I drip acclimated some, float bag acclimated some....and fresh water dip tortured some.
I really wouldn't complain much.
If I want to list the negatives, the list is as follows:
1. they went a size or 2 up without my consent. This is annoying. My tank isn't big enough for the "ugprade" or "upsize".
2. just about everything I ordered that has a choice of colors, they came in green. I believe live aquaria would have picked them with some thoughts in color varieties.

That's it. I'm pretty sure i'll be a repeat customer.

Local petcos, it's hit and miss....mostly miss. My local petco is actually 10X better than any other LFS around here. Go figure. I just found out when I visited TODAY to buy a 2 for 1 dollar airstone pack. All tanks were beautifully maintained. All livestock look extremely happy. The attendant was extremely knowledgeable. This almost never happens in a petco store. It was almost like I was on a different planet.

 

[Dmorty217]

If it isn't in Divers Den, they all ship from the same importer in California from what I understand. So....is their any difference.....don't think so.

This isn't correct. LA get their stuff from Quality Marine. Petco.com get their fish from tropical fish international, also known as CIS Holdings

 

[Dmorty217]

Petco.com never touches the fish and has nothing to do with the wholesaler they use

 

[snorvich]

This isn't correct. LA get their stuff from Quality Marine. Petco.com get their fish from tropical fish international, also known as CIS Holdings

I agree. Also, ordering from Petco online is way different than buying from a Petco store.

 

[Dmorty217]

I agree. Also, ordering from Petco online is way different than buying from a Petco store.

Night and day different. The people who work for said wholesaler know what they are doing, the same can't be said for all employees at Petco stores

 

[Fin Mike]

I figure this. It's hard to beat their prices, and with a 30 day guarantee, you almost cant lose. As long as you QT them, which you would do for any other online retailer (except maybe divers den), what's the worst that can happen. If they come in bunk, they will die within the 30 day time period most likely and you can get your money back. It's like buying from your LFS with discounted fish, a 30 day guarantee and free shipping if you spend over $175. You almost can't lose!

 

[albano]

As long as you QT them, which you would do for any other online retailer (except maybe divers den)

DD fish should also be QT'd

 

[snorvich]

I figure this. It's hard to beat their prices, and with a 30 day guarantee, you almost cant lose. As long as you QT them, which you would do for any other online retailer (except maybe divers den), what's the worst that can happen.

You had better be quarantining fish from Divers Den!

 

[Dmorty217]

DD fish should also be QT'd

+1 Too many people have "conditioned" and "QTing"confused,they aren't the same thing. One involves acclimation and getting fish to eat, the other involves observation for 6 weeks and 2 treatments of Prazipro.

 

[Fin Mike]

Ok. I'm convinced. "Qting" is absolute. Even from DD!

I've always had luck not "QTing", but eventually, the odds are that my luck will run out. So with that being said, I'm even more convinced (in theory) that Petco online is a good option. Unless it is a very delicate or hard to obtain species, why pay the premium for DD. I always paid it because the "QTing" was done for me.

As long as you can handle the mental "anguish" and disappointment of possibly loosing a fish, I can't see a down side. At a minimum, you will learn through experience how to be a great fish doctor!

Flawed reasoning?

 

[alton]

ORDER NUMBER ORDER DATE AMOUNT STATUS
XXXXXX 4/9/2015 $171.01 Order Cancelled

XXXXXX 3/31/2015 $115.82 Order Cancelled

XXXXXX 3/10/2015 $114.73 Shipped and Billed

XXXXXX 3/6/2015 $117.74 Order Cancelled

XXXXXX 11/5/2014 $151.97 Shipped and Billed

XXXXXX 7/19/2013 $94.94 Order Cancelled

The fish two fish I received where great, and did well. The biggest complaint as you can see is just because you push the button, doesn't mean you will get a fish. And customer service doesn't know either? With LA and DD along with many others when you place your order your fish shows on the day it was promised. Both of my orders that I received the fish, the tracking number was sent to me after I received the fish. I was hoping LA joining forces would of fixed there shipping/communication problems, but not hardly. Good thing that Petco has not messed up LA and DD, they continue to work fine.

 

[snorvich]

ORDER NUMBER ORDER DATE AMOUNT STATUS
XXXXXX 4/9/2015 $171.01 Order Cancelled

XXXXXX 3/31/2015 $115.82 Order Cancelled

XXXXXX 3/10/2015 $114.73 Shipped and Billed

XXXXXX 3/6/2015 $117.74 Order Cancelled

XXXXXX 11/5/2014 $151.97 Shipped and Billed

XXXXXX 7/19/2013 $94.94 Order Cancelled

The fish two fish I received where great, and did well. The biggest complaint as you can see is just because you push the button, doesn't mean you will get a fish. And customer service doesn't know either? With LA and DD along with many others when you place your order your fish shows on the day it was promised. Both of my orders that I received the fish, the tracking number was sent to me after I received the fish. I was hoping LA joining forces would of fixed there shipping/communication problems, but not hardly. Good thing that Petco has not messed up LA and DD, they continue to work fine.

Divers Den is such that you will know if you got a fish as it is unique and removed from the website instantaneously. Live Aquaria and any other wholesale shipper won't know as inventory is greater than one and is not available online.

 

[hart24601]

Divers Den is such that you will know if you got a fish as it is unique and removed from the website instantaneously. Live Aquaria and any other wholesale shipper won't know as inventory is greater than one and is not available online.

Blue Zoo has a count number, one reason I like them. I have had too many LA (not DD) orders not filled due to availability, but they don't tell me until I midnight the night before when I took off work - and of course they fish are still listed as available on their site.

BlueZoo isn't perfect, but you can't order more fish than they have listed in a stock counter. You can't see the number unless you try and order more than they have. I can't say it is that way with everything, but when I was ordering pyramid butterflyfish it wouldn't let me add more than they had.

 

[mdt178]

I placed an order for 3 anthias and 1 RS Regal Angel.

The 3 anthias came in and water was cold. 1 already dead in the bag. The other two died within 18 hours. I contacted Petco, sent pictures of the dead fish and got a replacement. Eventhough the shipping label showed that there were supposed to be 3, only 2 fish arrived. These two are healthy and in QT.

Note how small the bags and how little water there were. The box was 4 pounds total IIRC.



The Red Sea Regal Angel also arrived. Unfortunately it was sick, probably infected in the caudal region. You could see the blotch in this picture when I was acclimating the fish.



Then it died overnight. Note the area of infection.



I'm done with Petco online.

One more thing: Their shipment notification sucks. All three times, I received the shipment notification AFTER it was delivered.


This is a sample of great packing from another company: two fish, each packed with 5 layers and lots of water and oxygen. The box itswelf was 28" long and weighed 30 lbs. Company stayed on top from beginning until after I received the fish to make sure everything was in order.

 

[albano]

BlueZoo isn't perfect, but you can't order more fish than they have listed in a stock counter...

While the 'stock count' # is nice, it's only a guide...before your order is packed, there is the possibility of fish jumping, sick/dying, or being sold to someone else (with some vendors, not all orders go thru the computer and inventory must be manually updated)...in reality, the stock count is no guarantee that the fish is available.

One more thing: Their shipment notification sucks. All three times, I received the shipment notification AFTER it was delivered.

+1... Same experience