IF I WAS TO OPEN A NEW LFS?

[LOVEMYREEF]

ok ok ok im thinking about it...so shoot some of your ideas at me and tell me if ya think its a good or bad thing?

im all ears and will be willing to listen to any reasonable idea offered.
Thanks
Rick
ps store would be in Staten Island

 

[sci33]

I would offer my help and try to give you some of my business, but at the same time, the chances of you making money are slim. I'm not saying you can't be good at it , its just one of those businesses where if you care about livestock health and all, its going to be hard to make money IMO..

 

[LOVEMYREEF]

well sci333 thanks for the kind words. its looking might be a go for the store i just wanted to start to see what people thought and felt..as well
we do plan on offering some kind of discount to memebers of societies such as LIRA. BAS even manhatten reefs and reefcentral..
we are also looking into frag tanks and credit...used equipment on consignment and so on.

soo all the input helps
Thanks
Rick

 

[sci33]

I did the webdesign/graphics for www.coralcity.com , If you plan on opening a website just for advertising purposes (dont have to sell online), let me know because I'd like to help - reefer to reefer (the legal kind).

As far as I know all the stores in brooklyn while I used to live there, sucked. With reef central to help spread the word you'd get staten island and brooklyn's serious reefers for your customers, but to get the other non interner customers will take some advertising i guess, in addition to word of mouth.

 

[stealyourhouse]

Is this just a thought, or are you seriously planning the store? Do you have a business plan and available funds?

There are absolutely no shops in Brooklyn with healthy corals, so if you had those, you'd be a step above the rest. Also, I think most knowledgable aquarists prefer buying aquacultured corals and fish, so a good selection of those would be important.

Also, a good selection of dry goods would be key. It seems like every LFS in Brooklyn has the same selection of dry goods. No quality manufacturers at all.

If you were serious about this, I would be willing to help out.

 

[LOVEMYREEF]

yes this has been a dream


but now looks like its a full go...we have funds..and are still building on them...the store would be in Staten ISland. but we are in contact with alot of coral farms to get aquacultured corals and fish. plus we plan on carying the good drygood stuff.
not cyclone skimmers and such
we know there more money but people will pay for good stuff espically when we show them how they work on our own systems.

We will try and have lectures and classes once a week.

maybe even DIY projects in the store.

plus we plan on carrying lots of critters.

its amazing you cant find emeralds, snails, hermits and shrimps around..
not to mention the prices when u do find them

 

[stealyourhouse]

Good luck!

Classes would be good, but I doubt anyone but serious reefers would attend, so the topics should probably be more on the advanced side. Nothing like "Protein Skimmers vs Bio Wheels"

But I think getting inexperienced people educated is very important. Some people have lots of $$ and no problems with buying a new tang every 4 months after their last one died in their 30 gallon. The best way of doing that would be having a knowledgable staff. People who aren't afraid to refuse to sell an Acro to someone with NO lighting.

What's your time frame on this?

 

[House of Laughter]

I totally disagree about the classes component -

I am originally frm Staten Island, and given the population there it may be worth your while to open the stoire early for families and talk about one aspect of reef keeping or another. Rupert - I know you do this stuff so jump in here.

There are soooo many organizations out there in SI that you can capitoloze on, not to mention a market that is not tapped into - tank maintenance - can anyone say Todt Hill - I mean come on.

I now live in Westchester County, otherwise I would definatley help out, would even consider partnering.

There is a store up here in MT. Kisco that has the store open every Saturday before opening for classes for school kids - that would be the best market to get people into the store. Would be even more helpful if you could have a touch tank.

ANyway, feeling creative and entusiastic today - good luck with your dream - if only . . . .

House

 

[stealyourhouse]

Classes for kids is a good idea. I just doubt that many adults would show up for a Reefkeeping 101 class. I might be totally wrong on this though.

 

[House of Laughter]

Or free classes on reef keeping 101 for $1500 system or larger

That is attractive and saves hours and hours of research

Just a thought

 

[wedfr]

have a section of yrou store for the display of working products like, protein skimmers, lights, wave makers etc, Put a few skimmers in the same tank and let peopel see how they work and which ones are better and such, differnt color MH and VHO and PC lights, Offer DIY kits, i think the used equipment is a great idea. Also ive been thinking of making euroreef clone and beckett skimmers on a small scale. If youd be interested in another brand of skimmers and possible in teh futre calcium reactors let me know

 

[sci33]

set up a tank running with plain saltwater in it, and hook up a bunch of shitty skimmers on it, as well as one of the nice quality ones that you are selling. Then you just add some additive to change the surface tension and get the skimmers going, when everyone sees the expensive skimmer pull it all out before the other ones get a chance, they'll be more willing to pay the money I bet.

 

[LOVEMYREEF]

what can i say except thanks to everyone for all the great ideas and i keep checking the post soo as they hit ya post em...please...
Sci i definatly see the benefits from the skimmer show and tell that you discussed..

and wedfr ... again tons of great comments. thanks to everyone and we are working and planning as hard as we can hopefull it will happen within a few months ...were trying to see the exact $ figure we need to open up..
thanks again everyone

 

[sci33]

Having high quality equipment (as well as a nice variety of metal halide lighting) will instantly take the interest of hobbyists like ourselves, but for all the other regular uneducated hobbyists, aside from educating them, a little marketing in front of their eyes will do the trick..

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

Staten Island may be rough. Somewhere near Manhattan would probably be best. I'll be honest, I am more likely to go to a store in Westchester than SI.

It is a tough business. Before I started my telecom business, I used to import corals, fish and inverts from Solomon Islands, Jakarta, Philippines and Fiji. I did it as a "quasi-business/hobby" for a while until I got burned by a "client" for about $1,500. Before starting a store you need to line up your suppliers. Little things like blue legged hermits and Astrea snails. From Florida you can get them for .25 cents a piece, and in some cases less if you buy 500 at a time. Also, finding a reputible transhipper or wholesaler is a must.

I had considered opening a store, but the start up cost is very high to do it right and there is a reason why every store that has tried to do it has failed. (With the exception of the store which I would not shed any tears if it went out of business- New World Aquarium)

-Alfred

 

[sci33]

rent would probably be cheaper in staten island than manhatten. so even if there were more customers in manhatten, would it be worth it.

 

[LOVEMYREEF]

lets be reasonable here also
a drive from manhatten to staten island is a heck of a lot easier than manhatten to westchester

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

I dont have a car So I depend on others for rides. I have been to SI maybe 2 times in my life, and I have lived in NYC for 26 of my 29 1/2 years of life.

Both times were to visit an employee that was in a bad accident.

Wherever a store is opened, it should be accessible via train as well as car. Otherwise, you will have people going to the store once or twice a year to "browse" and pickup livestock as opposed to once every month or two to pick up dry goods.

-Alfred

 

[sci33]

you're right that it should be accessible by bus, train, or subway, but I'm going to have to disagree that people will just visit on occasion. I know plenty of people who drive up to the stores in CT on a regular basis because they just have a lot better stuff than the places over here and know what theyre doing.

 

[Stix]

Alfredo De La Fe, I don't think you represent the majority of customers. I could be wrong though. But I think SI is a great spot because Brooklyn and NJ have a HUGE reefing community and SI is smack in the middle.