Store vs. Online

[wav3form]

I'll never shop at my lfs again. They are inept and can't answer the simplest of questions. Everything is at least twice the price as online and most of their fish and corals look sick. I will be doing all my shopping online from now on. If I run out of food for my cichlids, i'll go to walmart until I can get more from one of the online shops I buy from. I'd rather support places like Premium Aquatics and DrsFosterSmith since they're friendly, can answer questions to my satisfaction and price things appropriately.

Now, this only applies to my local fish stores. If you have some in your area that are a step above, i'm jealous.

 

[Black Mammoth]

I support both LFS and online. It depends on a variety of factors. You are in NoVA....there are some GREAT LFS in the NoVA area. You need to visit more stores and do some researching. I'll travel up to an hour or so to visit a good LFS. Lucky for me there is one just down the road.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7896152#post7896152 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wav3form
I'll never shop at my lfs again. They are inept and can't answer the simplest of questions. Everything is at least twice the price as online and most of their fish and corals look sick. I will be doing all my shopping online from now on. If I run out of food for my cichlids, i'll go to walmart until I can get more from one of the online shops I buy from. I'd rather support places like Premium Aquatics and DrsFosterSmith since they're friendly, can answer questions to my satisfaction and price things appropriately.

Now, this only applies to my local fish stores. If you have some in your area that are a step above, i'm jealous.

 

[Boostedvdub]

Re: Store vs. Online

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7882150#post7882150 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Racso

3) Shipping companies usually do not take care of boxes of fish as they should.

How do you think they get to your lfs.

I Bought the tank from dr. f&s for around 150 dollars less than one of the lfs in my area, who also would have had to order it. I have found one lfs, which is about 30 miles from my home, to be somewhere that I would buy anything. The others seem to have dead fish in the tanks, horrible attitudes or both. That being said everything else I have bought for the tank has been from the local fish store, except the water which I picked up at petco...

 

[ejaustin]

I have to say I'm fortunate to have several LFS to choose from. One I will never enter again. One I would only do business with if the item could not wait and I had no other option. One I haven't really made up my mind about. A couple I would buy from, but take their advice with a heaping teaspoon of salt. One is my favorite and I think they are very high quality.

If I had to choose between shopping at a bad LFS or on-line, I'd go on-line for everything I could. If I had to choose between a bad internet store or an LFS with higher prices, I'd go to the LFS for everything I could.

ej

 

[hanas]

I never ordered any fish from an online vendor, IMO I like to see the fish, watch it eat, see it's color, etc.

I buy all my drygoods online, it's so much cheaper, even with the shipping. The LFS near me typically don't carry a lot of drygoods for the same reason, but have tons of livestock.

 

[chuckh]

i havent bought a fish online, YET, but i bought a naso tang and 5 days later it died, i never saw the fish eat once and the lfs said my 84 degree tank is what killed it. but yet the 5 other fish and 6 or 7 coral are fine. next fish above 50 bucks i will buy online. no question about it. 14 days and my money back if it dies. thats better then lfs will do.

i would gladly pay 20 bucks more a fish localy if they would guarantee it.