Where do you buy your aquarium goods?

[guest123]

I've been thinking of starting a small online aquarium goods store.  I had a couple of questions and thought this might be a good place to start my research.

In order to sell some products I need competitive prices.  I know I can be competitive with Pet Stores but I was wondering where most of the people on this forum bought there equipement etc.  Where do you buy your fertilizer?  Where do you buy your food?

This might be useful information for everyone else as well.  I am pretty sure that we all like to save a couple of bucks here and there.

[guest123]

Let me reply with my info.

www.aquariacanada.com (fertilizers)
www.ottawaaquatics.com (plants, great prices)  I also bought an automatic fishfeeder for 40$ new.  This fish feeder has a great option where you can plug in an air pump to it so you food doesn't become moist.  This happened to me a couple years back when I went to Europe for 5 weeks.

I am also currently trying to find the best place for a CO2 presurized system.  www.bocgases.com has a regulator for approx 65$ I think.  Anyone else has a good store for a regulator, solenoid, bubble counter etc.

[artw]

I buy most of my junk at either http://www.mops.on.ca  the big als on Innes, or at auctions

[Marc]

I buy most of my dry goods and equipment at either http://www.mops.ca or Big Al's on Innes Rd.

guest123,  I think one of the keys to getting orders would be low shipping & handling costs (check out http://www.mops.ca).  Prices are so competitive that if s&h is more than $5.00 I won't save much compared to my lfs.

Quick service is another important factor.  I don't wanna wait 1 to 2 weeks for my order.

[guest123]

Marc,

You are right about both those points.  I think the time to deliver is the most tricky part.  I could probably have competitive prices and for people in the Ottawa area, they can pick it up or I can deliver but getting it in a couple days is always harder.

As an example, you might have seen my previous post for Seachem Flourish products, 10$ instead of 19$ at the pet store.  If you buy all their 6 or 7 flourish product that is a significant saving but I would require approx 1 week to receive the products.

[artw]

I got my food in like 2 days from Mops....

[yellowtang]

Hello there. I was just reading your idea of an online sales.
let me tell you. Not only pet stores sell goodies for fish fanatics. likes of walmart, sellers and groceries have pick up the the trend of selling aquatic products at very low cheaper prices than the regular pet stores..they buy in quantities so they sell for far less than your tipical petstore. the best idea for you to get into the business is to: go around all these places and write down the prices of item you would like to sell online. best of luck.... :wink:

[ambushman2j]

It's not a price war anymore, it's a customer service war

[Marc]

It's not a price war anymore, it's a customer service war

Certainly customer service is a big factor when selling to newbies and people who aren't sure what they want.

But when it comes to food and chemicals and even equipment I know what I want, I generally want large quantities and I generally buy it where it's cheap and hassle-free.  Sometimes I buy it at Big Al's even though it's more expensive because I want it right away.

[ambushman2j]

well yeah, most people on here are looking for the best price, personally I would pay a little more to not have to worry if something is or isn't safe however..I have enough stress I don't need anything else to worry about..

[JTF]

Do any canadian retailers sell bio-spira.

[artw]

Not that I have seen.
the only place that sells Biospira and ships to Canada is the Lighthouse.  (I dont have the address but a google search for Lighthouse Biospira should produce results).

[luvfishies]

http://www.fishstoretn.com/

Bernie's store is in Tenessee, but he does ship to Canada.