Rating A Coral & Fish Shop

[BuckeyeFrags26]

Recently I had conversation with a fellow hobbiest and good friend of mine who was out of town on business for his job in South Carolina. He had Stopped by a local Saltwater Fish & Coral shop to check out what the store had to offer ... disturbingly enough EVERY FISH IN THE STORE was SICK! and as bad as it Sounds that is not it. The fish were still for Sale and had no garuantee on them,and Did I mention prices were threw the roof. the store was over charging for dry goods as well, such as food additives, sps suspension Foods,etc.The prices on coral were just as bad.These stores are the ones that give bad names to the hobby and are making it harder for real honest stores that are just starting even harder because people have lost the trust.. I understand the fustrations that running a business has, im am a business administration graduate, it was my major in college. but by far no reason to intentionally rip off the customers at all by selling sick Fish ! so my warning to all hobbiest, know what your buying, the average price it sells for, and most of all with fish that they are healthy, eating good, swimming and acting normal, not lethargic or slow moving, and that the sales person helping is factual in what he/she is talking about.

It never hurts to shop around. and check pricing out several places before making that purchase! There are far to many people willing to make sure "you the buyer is getting the most of your money!" Dont be takin advantage of!


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[usmc121581]

This is by far no excuse for pricing, but do you know how they recieve there stock? I.E. plane delivery drivers, carriers, etc. Shipping has alot to do with the pricing of corals and fish. Also for dry goods it maybe there dont order as much stock which inturn cause's them to raise the price on it to recoup there funds. Theres alot that goes into the pricing part of the item.

I was stationed in S.C and there was only 2 LFS stores that were 45 min drive from each other. outside of that the nearest was 1.5-2 hour drive. So pricing was a little there was a little steep. Now when I started helping out at one of them you start to see the pricing side of the trade. A $500 order of fish might cost $2,000 in shipping and then if you have a delivery service that picks them up from the airport and brings them to you you have to add that into the cost.

Pricing is different throughout the country for the same fish or coral. What I would pay down there was more then I am paying now. Location is key.

No for the sick/dying fish there is no reason for that.

 

[BuckeyeFrags26]

I agree. its funny you bring up the two shops in S.C. because that's exactly the state he's in, but in the business aspect of regaining lost profits or just return on investment, I completey understand about that. but im talking a huge price difference between what we pay in our area. but as for the fish, Yes there is absolutely no reason to be selling sick fish. as for a 2k$ shipping costs on a 500$ order they shouldn't be paying any rate, I know I get free shipping on my orders over 100$ wether I spend 100- to -100,000$.. but needless to say I understand some people dont order from places that offer that. I live in Ohio and we get awesome prices at our local shops. so I see no reason a store that is 2times the size of our local shop should be selling a product for close to 30$ on the same product I could order or buy at my local shop for 14.99 that's a little to much profit being pocketed on the bottle.


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[Reefdogs]

I've had bad luck with local shops. Just getting quotes for a new custom tank and stand is like having a root canal done. It's been over 5 weeks and still no answer. Called again about a week ago and got the run around. Thought this was a bad economy and they would welcome the business. Called up the custom tank manufacturer and told me I had to go through a local shop. Called another shop and wasn't very helpful made me feel that I was wasting his time. I don't understand.
Is there no profit margin for a lfs to help a reefer get setup with a new tank.