SWSW sales?

sillygoose

sillygoose

New member
Has anyone heard of any sales at SWSW? I used to get emails but I'm not sure if mine might have gotten lost is the transfer of powers.
 
There have been a couple since the store changed hands that I received emails about. But I haven't received any emails in at least a month.
 
they really dont seem to know how to run the store and they expected a way higher profit margin. i suspect that we wont see sales for awhile from them.
 
scubabum1983 said:
they really dont seem to know how to run the store and they expected a way higher profit margin. i suspect that we wont see sales for awhile from them.
Click to expand...

Well I can imagine that it is kind of hard to jump into running a business when you have never even been involved in the hobby before. Anyone that has had a reef tank (and shopped at LFSs) would have been more familiar with how things work. I, personally, would not have bought a saltwater aquarium store not having any experience in saltwater aquaria. Hopefully they are fast learners -- it's really our only store here and because of that, they have a great opportunity!
 
Damn, I haven't been in a couple months, even before they were bordering on the expensive side (I'd always wait for the sales to buy stuff).

It's got to be hard to run an LFS as it is, with the competition from online vendors. Most of which offer free shipping if you buy a certain amount of stuff anyways, so their prices just can't be beat by a brick and mortar store. So the main reason why people are willing to pay higher prices (and get less variety to choose from) from an LFS is the customer service. That there are employees of the store that know you and your tank/s, that give good advice and suggestions, that know about all the livestock in the store, and that won't try to sell you stuff you don't need just to make a buck. And if you lose that (Mike), you really don't have much left with which to appeal to potential customers. Especially if you can't take care of the livestock you have on hand in the store in the first place.
 
pretty much summed it up, im not going to buy expensive stuff from somebody who knows less about the husbandry than i do and pay a premium. im paying for the service and knoledge base from a lfs, if i have a problem and i am a good customer, i hope my lfs will help me out. not a chance there anymore. hopefully the void in lfs in tuscon will be filled soon.
 
Im paying for the convenience of going to the store and coming home with my fish. No shipping, no receiving, I see what im buying before I buy it. But I only pay so much extra. Sometimes I feel like we are heading back to Majestic days. I hated the drive but I think I liked it better when SW was on Speedway.
 
Mike's gone? Bummer. He was always a real asset - personable, helpful, and knowledgeable. Mike's a great guy. Did I mention bummer?

Yeah - I definitely shopped the sales for the majority of my buys. It may have been a bit of a financial placebo at times, but I did save some dollars and felt good about it. When I was getting a break, I absolutely spent money I wouldn't have spent otherwise - or at least not at that time.

I must say, the folks who were working there today were very nice. Being asked if I needed help beat the heck out of the days when there was less than stellar customer service. That being said, I do get the feeling that I know more about at least parts of the hobby. The sad part there is that I don't know nearly enough. I need advice from those who do. It makes me sad to see some of the show tank corals bleaching, etc. Dan and Jodi are certainly on a steep learning curve and I don't envy them. It must be a little terrifying.

I wish them luck. We need a knowledgeable, reasonable ($), local place to get our stuff. I feel a little adrift right now.
 
Bifferwine said:
Well I can imagine that it is kind of hard to jump into running a business when you have never even been involved in the hobby before. Anyone that has had a reef tank (and shopped at LFSs) would have been more familiar with how things work. I, personally, would not have bought a saltwater aquarium store not having any experience in saltwater aquaria. Hopefully they are fast learners -- it's really our only store here and because of that, they have a great opportunity!
Click to expand...

Our only store? Oasis is right down the street.
 
BAllen said:
Our only store? Oasis is right down the street.
Click to expand...

I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way but…SW and Oasis IMO are now in the same league. Don’t get me wrong, Oasis really knows how to display things, but again, does the display/eye candy constitute towards a beyond reasonable price? No. My guess why people raise prices is to make up for lost sales, but the high price markup will only fill-in so much. I don’t care how nice the stuff is, or what “deep water, quad colored, tyree’s first born, is better looking that Dr. F&S” acro you have. If its ridiculously priced, and the customer service sucks, I’m not buying. Hector is a nice guy from my experience, but his prices are insane. I rarely go in or buy anything.

Southwest WAS great, the atmosphere, the costumer service, the prices. Mike is a cool guy, and great with customers. People liked him, so they bought from him. I spent over $1,500 for my new system and I bought from Mike, why? Because I liked the way he presented himself and the way he ran the shop. I would be @ SW all the time, not even to buy, sometimes just to bull_ish around. Again, it goes back to the atmosphere, it WAS very personable and the customer load showed that. Saturdays, it would be packed, all day almost. So packed to the point I had to lend a hand on occasion. This Sat I went there, a whole one person was there, while the owner was rushing this or that rather than talking to the person. It’s a shame, it really is. Topping off or shop duties can be postponed IMO, I feel he soulda talked to the person. And maybe, just maybe, he coulda had a sale.

If any owners happen to read this…I think you should invest in customer service and atmosphere, and not try to “make-it” or get rich off higher prices. We’re in this hobby because we love it, so it really offends me to see it handled this way.

With that, we DID have only ONE store here…now we have none.
 
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