i feel cheated

[az]

paying these fish stores more than twice the amount....i am going online.


i just ordered 100 red/blue leg/green emarald/horseshoe crabs....100 turbo snails.....3 blue star....3 red.....brains/shrooms...many more. lets see whats the worst can happen.

[DARKPHREAK]

Where did you order from?

[dannypd]

paying these fish stores more than twice the amount....i am going online..

These fish stores pay people, store and (usually) take care of these fish.

Online retailers, you have no idea on the care or origination of these fish.  For all you know, they can be using cyanide in their waters....

[maitre007]

dannyd brings up a very valid point.  i think that the best program we had in the past few years was the person that came in to talk about the negligent use of cyanide to catch marine fishes.

with that said ... i have seen the cost for snails, crabs and whatnot and compared it with the suggested number of the cleaner crew that you ought to have in a marine tank and i do believe that stores like big al's ougth to be more accomodating in their price for bulk orders ...

and maybe they do have and it is not properly marketed

the same goes for live rock.  i do believe that local stores ougth to provide better price for orders of more than 10 pds.   however i never asked so what do i know.

[Nelson]

dannyd brings up a very valid point.  i think that the best program we had in the past few years was the person that came in to talk about the negligent use of cyanide to catch marine fishes.

with that said ... i have seen the cost for snails, crabs and whatnot and compared it with the suggested number of the cleaner crew that you ought to have in a marine tank and i do believe that stores like big al's ougth to be more accomodating in their price for bulk orders ...

and maybe they do have and it is not properly marketed

the same goes for live rock.  i do believe that local stores ougth to provide better price for orders of more than 10 pds.   however i never asked so what do i know.

I'm not one to publicly comment on excessive retail prices, everyone has to make a living but in my opinion BA should spend time price checking as the larger retailers do routinely.  Bought two 96 watt CF bulbs at Marinescape on Saturday for $55 each - same bulb at BA is $100 :shock:

[dannypd]

dannyd brings up a very valid point.  i think that the best program we had in the past few years was the person that came in to talk about the negligent use of cyanide to catch marine fishes.

with that said ... i have seen the cost for snails, crabs and whatnot and compared it with the suggested number of the cleaner crew that you ought to have in a marine tank and i do believe that stores like big al's ougth to be more accomodating in their price for bulk orders ...

and maybe they do have and it is not properly marketed

the same goes for live rock.  i do believe that local stores ougth to provide better price for orders of more than 10 pds.   however i never asked so what do i know.

I'm not one to publicly comment on excessive retail prices, everyone has to make a living but in my opinion BA should spend time price checking as the larger retailers do routinely.  Bought two 96 watt CF bulbs at Marinescape on Saturday for $55 each - same bulb at BA is $100 :shock:

Gotta work to find good deals.

My first 10 gallon tank cost me over $150...

My automated 60 gallon cost under $300...

[aidensmomma2000]

I know its different with salt water, but for fresh water fish private breeders are they way to go! Discus especially- I cant believe what they charge!

[Nelson]

I know its different with salt water, but for fresh water fish private breeders are they way to go! Discus especially- I cant believe what they charge!

That is absolutely correct...a least 50% less dealing with private discus breeders.

[redbelly]

az, how many horseshoe crabs did you order?

[az]

2....but i can get more, let me know if u guys want something, he has corals/mushrooms/brains for unreal prices....anybdy wants to sell me some tanks....25 gal and up, thanks.

i knew all along that i was getting raped everytime......marinescape isnt that cheap either...1-1.5" 17.50us blue/regal tanks going for 70$.........40-60%markup is fine, anything over is bad ethics imo...maybe i am wrong, let this be an experience.  blue/red stars for 20$....scarlet legs are 2.50......11.50 at big als.

btw....when it comes to ordering fish....big als dont just get it from the big florida frm....they order from all sorts of places.....how does that make them better/safer?

[dannypd]

btw....when it comes to ordering fish....big als dont just get it from the big florida frm....they order from all sorts of places.....how does that make them better/safer?

They do order from everywhere, but if they order from bad places (eg:  ottos directly from cyanide using farms in china, EXAMPLE), we simply dont buy them, and they stop carrying them....that's the idea anyway....

[mseguin]

I dont think ordering from one place or many places is inherently safer or better than the other. If you're only ordering from one place, then ur losing out on some variety. If you're ordering from many, u cant always be sure of their collecting methods, etc. Either one has its risks and benefits.

[az]

btw....when it comes to ordering fish....big als dont just get it from the big florida frm....they order from all sorts of places.....how does that make them better/safer?

They do order from everywhere, but if they order from bad places (eg:  ottos directly from cyanide using farms in china, EXAMPLE), we simply dont buy them, and they stop carrying them....that's the idea anyway....

how can u tell the difference??

[TBarb]

A few comments...

- When you buy from stores, you not only buy the product but the service and there work in getting the product (whether you get a good product, good service is another posting)

- If you go to any store( and not just pet stores) they usually buy there product for perhaps as low as %10 of what they are going to sell it for; its just the way retail is

- Yes you can buy from breeders but you need to understand why they can sell for less. Most of the time, the "breeder" is actually someone with a few tanks in the basement, breeding fish (s)he knows best. They really don't have any overhead expenses. If they perform real accounting, thought of it as a business, and take into account the cost of electricity, heat, floorspace etc.  they would probably find out that they aren't making as much money as they think they are. Their argument is that the electricity, heat and floor space is paid for because they live their already...

My two cents. Nothing against home breeders because they do have great fish!

PS. I agree BA should do price comparisons. But if you are an OVAS member you do get %15 discount

[aidensmomma2000]

The discount isn't on live fish though...I think- just products?

[mseguin]

I'm pretty sure at BA its on live fish as well, its at superpet that its dry good only

[Marc]

The discount isn't on live fish though...I think- just products?

15% discount at Big Al's is on everything (including fish) except for aquarium kits.

[maitre007]

The more I think about this post the more I think about how I can buy Sahara sand at bigger bulk than 20 pds.

[jparnell]

Every time I've gone to Big Al's to buy fish... there's been something wrong in the tank of what I want to buy, and I've ended up going back to my lfs. There's nothing quite like actually seeing the fish to know that they're well taken care of. Just my two cents.