Local Fish Stores and Profits?

[betowess]

I have often heard complaints in this forum regarding the LFS making a big profit. :x Hey, if they don't make a profit, they can't pay their hardworking employees a decent "almost living" wage. And those employees won't be around to answer all our dumb, relentless questions.

And the store won't be in business to sell us all the cool plants, fish, and supplies we require! So I say support the really local fish store when their product is healthy and if their prices are reasonable. Unfortunately, some fish stores will get carried away with prices on hardgoods like filters and lights etc. But many of the big chains are not any better, especially regarding ferts and small stuff. Nonetheless, I suggest support the little guy if you can.

 

[loganj]

I agree with this to an extent. IF you have found a competent LFS and IF thier prices aren't astronomical, then you should support them. But, you have to look out for yourself as well. If you can purchase something online at a considerable savings, then I don't have a problem with that. I have worked in the pet store industry and I know what the markup is on a lot of the products. It sometimes goes as high as 200%.

 

[Dino]

Which is why I support my local.
He makes a decent living and still underprices the chains on almost everything.

www.fishstoretn.com

Best,
dino

 

[flamron]

One store that I went to the other day had an Emperor 400 for a mere $117.95. That is just ridiculous. They had clowns for 29.99 a piece. Hard to support stores that set prices that high. 8O

 

[alarmguy66]

Im with FLAMRON on this one. I just bought a mag 7 new on ebay for $52 (after shipping) and the same one is in my lfs for $89 (before tax). That kind of saving just cant be passed up. On the other hand, the same store is very reasonable on livestock (damsels 4-$7, pers 12-18, yellow tang 22) so I wouldnt consider going online for livestock. He keeps a clean and healthy store too. Occasionally you will find a dead fish, but when he has 50 tanks and hundreds of fish, thats gonna happen. If you point them out they are removed immediatly. THere is a fine line between being loyal to the local stores to support them and being taken advantage of.

 

[justDIY]

I buy my livestock and plants 'locally'

but for equipment, I'm 100% online unless it's an emergency

the local lfs wants $290 for a fluval 404 .... $290 for a filter that is 80-90 online

and whew, their tanks - the sky is not high enough to match their prices - try $189 for a 55 gallon aquarium (tank only), that looks like it's been there since before the store was built

 

[shawmutt]

I'll support my lfs, but from now on I'll shop around before buying. I bought an Filstar XP1 from my lfs, the guy marked it down from $120 to $99 and I thought it was a really good deal. Imagine my surprise when I came home and checked online for prices, only to find I could have got an XP3 for the same price! I could tell you how angry I was, but this forum would censor me .

 

[BrianNY]

Ahhhh, supporting the lfs can be a dilemma now. We do need them for several reasons. Live food, to see living specimens of all those species we can't keep (no MTS hereLOL).

My lfs brought in 3 adult Tefe Green discus that he was sure I would buy. He wanted $80 each for them . He got angry with me when I told him I didn't have room for them. Didn't have the heart to tell him I just bought bigger, healthier discus from a local breeder.

The lfs needs to reinvent themselves. If not, places like bigalsonline and Drs Foster & Smith will kill them.

 

[djlen3]

I go out of my way to support my LFS. The guy has been great to me and tries to meet all my requests. There are some areas that LFSs just can't compete with online services because of volume of sales and some other factors. I always price everything there before checking the internet.
By the same token, I can't image buying livestock through the mail. I want to see what I'm getting, and traumatize it as little as possible.
I've bought plants online, only because the LFS has not been able to get them for me.
Over all he's my first consideration and if all factors are within reason that's where I'll make my purchase.

Len

 

[Bearfan]

If the prices are comperable, then I will go my lfs, but come on now, My $500 in LR and LS would have cost me an additional $316 at my LFS for lower quality. Not to mention the equipment savings at bigalsonline.com (although it took forever). A fool and his money are soon parted.

If an $80 item was $120 in my LFS...fine...but when it's $320, thank you, I'll buy 4 online.

 

[MACATUA]

Never have I seen my LFS exhibit these gross prices. Sure he is a little higher on tanks and stands, because he doesn't sell in bulk. However his hardgoods are quite competitive. And it seems every time I buy a fish or coral, I come home and check marinedepotlive.com or liveaquaria.com, and his prices are +/- $2, and that is not counting of course the ludicrous shipping charges for shipping live animals from these sites. So, maybe I am just lucky, but, long live the LFS!!!

 

[Guest]

Support the LFS? well lets see, out of a possible 5 here that I could shop at, there is only 1 that does not price gouge. And when I mean price gouge, they don't even give you a kiss afterwards....I will support the one... The rest is online all the way...

 

[betowess]

Well, lets face it. The LFS makes most of its profit by selling to folks who have neither the inclination or experience to know what they are looking for and probably not by selling to more serious hobbiest such as you'll find at this forum.

Yes, I buy online for hardware and save quite a few bucks. But if you've ever been in business for yourself, you understand the huge impact that overhead and financing has on any business, and the little guy has to try to get it back somehow. Maybe they aren't rippin us off, but just trying to stay alive! I still maintain we should try to help them if their price is decent.