What is this "local support" that everyone is talking about. Or "they're there when you have an emergency" ?
I don't get it.
Does that mean the LFS will come over to my house at 2 am if my tank springs a leak? Does that mean that if my house catches fire they'll rush over and take in my fish? Does that mean if I'm traveling, and I live out in the sticks, they'll come babysit my tank? Maybe, if you have your credit card handy?
Or are people saying that if you have a problem with equipment you can quickly run over and buy an overpriced pump for twice what you can buy it for online? Or if your sump cracks you can rush over and again, buy one for twice the price? For the price charged for some equipment I can buy it online 2 for one and keep a backup in case something fails.
What about fellow hobbyists? Are they not decent local support? I have received more help on forums than I have in all LFS I've been to combined - and I've been to many stores in several states. We're all in this together, and we can also all help each other when and where we can. I am willing to assist others as my schedule allows, and if someone has an emergency, I'm willing to help and loan equipment if I have it to loan. There's plenty of us around. I've met some great people through the club.
I certainly do see the point of the local fish store. It's very nice to see fish and coral before you buy them. I understand they need to make profit. I'm willing to support when and where I see fit. The business model for some around here flat out sucks though. Maybe it's bad suppliers. Maybe not enough product is sold so they can't buy at discount. I've been to a couple LFS where prices were low and fair. They do business in volume - it's better to sell 10 frags of zoanthids at $10 a frag, than 1 frag at $60-70. I've seen zoa rocks (commons ones) here for $50,60, 70 per rock. That's outrageous. Would I have paid $10-15 for a frag of the same colony? Yep. I'm sure others would do the same. I am not wiling however to pay $50, 60 for that rock, so a sale is lost. I've seen stores in FL with frag racks starting at $5, $10, $15 - all the way up to beautiful $200 colonies. They'd frag out new colonies they purchased to make them more affordable for people and they sold more. That's a good way to get new hobbyists interested. The same newcomer may not want to pay high dollar starting out - get them started, when they see it does well, they'll come back. If the same person finds out that they grossly overpaid for a common or weed coral, they won't be so happy. Take the big colonies of higher dollar coral - frag it down a bit. Do more volume instead of selling one colony for $150.
Also, a few suggestions to LFS reading the thread still, is get the nasty stuff out of the tanks. Take a weed wacker to the bubble agae, aiptaisa, and GHA. That's discouraging and looks bad. If you see fish floating around dead in your tanks, pull them out. If you see fish that have ick, skin peeling, or otherwise look like hell, QT them. It looks bad. I'm not saying all stores are like that around here, some are very nice. I've purchased some nice coral at E-bay (emerald bay) and have been treated very fairly there.
I think that's the last I'll post on this topic. All of the above is simply my humble opinion.
sorry but i like to find the best i can for a cheaper price......btw,wonder why places like ebay are in bussiness 
