westminsterfrag
Member
I agree. I also found someone selling a whole set up in Fontana recently. 500$ with livestock. If I wasn't so far i would've taken the livestock and equipment and ditched the tank and stand.
Wholesale license
- Thread starter Miggs
- Start date
I agree. I also found someone selling a whole set up in Fontana recently. 500$ with livestock. If I wasn't so far i would've taken the livestock and equipment and ditched the tank and stand.
rhkingsfan
New member
There are a few places in Southern California that do not have outlandish prices on livestock. I would check (1) Rainbow Fish in Pacoima (they have sales on occasion like 20% off of Memorial Day), like someone else said (2) Ellis Aquatics is pretty affordable and you can text him and put in special requests for when he's going to the wholesaler and (3) Pasadena Tropical Fish (really on Sundays after he comes back from the wholesaler; everything is still bagged and 40% off of his regular prices).
Jamie1210
Active member
If you think about it, fish really is the area where the LFS likely makes most of their $$ from. Ppl prefer to make their dry goods purchases online. And Im starting to notice that online stores sell a ton more coral than LFSs.
Therefore, it makes sense to me that they need to mark up their fish prices to support themselves.
think of it like this.... you go to LFS.. you see a regular perc clown... say $15 posted price.. they probably bought 5 percs at $2 each from their source... one clown store purchased survived more than 2 days for them then you bought in store. so they made $5.... min wage $20/hr per person... then storefront/overhead/consumables of store, they offer some kinda say 48hr warranty.... lucky if store made anything...and if warranty claim...zero. then store closes and everyone crys or complains plus or minus... we go to next store.. repeat.
All Delight
New member
That is funny, people complain about when a store makes a profit, and they complain when it goes out of business. I guess it's rarely the same people complaining both outcomes.
pga7602
Well-known member
Robert? Sorry if I got the wrong person with a similar screen name.
ThRoewer
New member
I've bought at wholesalers (with the blessings of my local store) in Europe and the difference to what you pay at the local fish store is usually at best half. And that is also the primary reason why most truly successful stores cut out the middle man (the wholesaler) themselves and buy directly from the collectors/exporters and tranship. From the wholesalers they usually only buy the things they can't get from their primary sources.
I went to the wholesalers primarily for the selection of fish, many of which hardly make it to your local store and the ability to pick pairs out of a much larger pool of candidates.
Here in the US I was able to order expensive fish for half of the regular cost straight from the store because they normally don't buy those and I took them in the wholesaler's bags the same day the store picked them up. The store made a little on this for sure, but didn't have any risk involved.
So I personally think that there are some valid reasons to buy straight from the wholesaler, but price is not really one of those.
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