www.aquabid.com

[medge00]

unsure of where to put this, I opted for the lounge! Mods feel free to change if need be.

Has anyone used aquabid? I know your experience is based on who you have bought from or sold to, but I'm just looking for a little feedback. I'm thinking of bidding on some apistogrammas (ok, so I already bid... just send the feedback here anyway)

That's all. As you were!

[Bearfan]

Moved to General Retailers Forum.

[TankGirl]

I have used Aquabid - it is almost exactly like Ebay (maybe owned by Ebay?) and you function the same way - use Paypal and check the seller feedback before you bid. I have been happy with the sellers I have dealt with, but as always, caveat emptor!

[madasafish]

I've used it a few times. I find that it's worth your time buying from serious breeders on there (esp. if you're willing to pay for a HQ fish even if it's a bit more $$$). I'm buying some Boeseman's Rainbows on there right now, and am paying $32 for 6 ($5.33 each). With $42 shipping, they'll be $12.33 each, but the main guy on the site has such high quality specimens (with provenance--where they come from and when) that I'd much rather get some from him than from a local store, where I'd have to worry about disease, hardiness, coloration.

Also, aquabid has some quite rare and interesting fish up for bids... (e.g. http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/aucti...?fw&1088988895 http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/aucti...ers&1089042223), so if you can't find something you like at the [acronym:ea389b34ed="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:ea389b34ed], it's def. worth checking there.

You can occasionally get really good deals with the auctions that sell of 4+ fish, as the shipping cost is outweighed by the fact that each fish is inexpensive. So, if you ended up paying $25 for 8 small bushnose catfish plus $30 shipping ($55 total), rather than $8*8, ($64 total) in a store, you win.

It's def. a case of caveat emptor... But the only bad experience I had there turned out fine in the end.

[TankGirl]

The fish I got most recently were Endler's and it was like you say, madasafish, because I was getting a bunch of them it was probably no more expensive in the end. It was not until I shipped some Endler's myself that I realized what a deal I got - the shipping costs were huge and based on my winning bid this lady probably lost $$ on the transaction.

Lots of the sellers have gotten reputations around the Internet as reliable sources for fish, so if you keep your eyes open you will see the same names pop up pertaining to particular species.

[marcus russo]

Mark barnett Owns aquabid a fish forum and a few other sites. Great site.