LFS vs Online pricing

[inkblue]

Honestly, I think anyone who goes into the pet business is nuts, especially now with the internet and shopping at warehouses.

heY, am kinda gLad tHat peeps liKe deep g0 into tHis business coz we get betteR pricing than moSt LFS in towN... itS a tough worLd now, in any business... :usa1: :happysad: :scratch:

 

[DEEPWATER]

heY, am kinda gLad tHat peeps liKe deep g0 into tHis business coz we get betteR pricing than moSt LFS in towN... itS a tough worLd now, in any business... :usa1: :happysad: :scratch:

THx Ink
The truth is ,Its all abou the life style the seller wants ,some want to make lots of money quick .where others a bit at a time ..also most seller get from the same place ,I know best .
Just some have more overhead then others.
Its like going to CVS and Rite aid ,,,then go to Casco or BJs and buy hte same things .......
Even with the overhead that i have i cant compete with some bigger online vendors..Its business.(some take it a step further )But in the long run ,Online business is most ppl way of shopping nowadays and i am not talk ing just fish products

 

[DEEPWATER]

Ebay ,amazon ,and the list gos on
Im thinking 10 years from now ,Local store will have less business. onlne shopping and the way of the world ,COMPUTERS

 

[glipper69]

I hope not, I would hate to have to rely on computer related business only. the way I look at it is I don't care if they make money, but if one store is thriving and doing well at one price the other store can be in the same ballpark. We are not talking about brain surgery here. I am in a business where I am, at all times 50 to 100% higher than all my competitors, but there is a reason I provide far better quality product and far superior service. business has three variables Price, quality and service, the rule is you can only provide 2 of them at any given time. choose the 2 and live with it.
the only problem is with many local fish stores the price is out, and most of the time the service sucks. So they are left with quality, and many times that is even suspect. but we as the consumer like to pick what we want and get that immediate satisfaction. so that satifies the quality quotient. If many LF stores can just improve upon one of those areas it would justify many of the higher prices we pay, but until them they will most likely and sadly keep going out of business.

Just my 2 cents

Frank

 

[cali_reef]

I would pay 10~15% + TAX more than what you can get dry goods online for if the LFS actually knows about the product they are selling.

50% to 100% premium on dry goods is crazy, especially most of the time the workers at the LFS don't have a clue about the product's use. There must be a lot of people walking off the street to buy their stuff because most of LFS I visit seems to do okay.

 

[DEEPWATER]

:smokin:

I would pay 10~15% + TAX more than what you can get dry goods online for if the LFS actually knows about the product they are selling.

50% to 100% premium on dry goods is crazy, especially most of the time the workers at the LFS don't have a clue about the product's use. There must be a lot of people walking off the street to buy their stuff because most of LFS I visit seems to do okay.

there will be room for business for everyone ,just some ppl think they own the world (LFS),this go back to my LFS thread ....why they charge this price
Simple ,Ppl are still paying for it ,so they will sell it
When the public smartens up (not talking abou t us MR ) other custy
then they will understand what LFS are doing ,,,dry good ,no reason at all to by from LFS (go Online ) A ,its cheaper B, Its has a better return policy..and they are nice to you

 

[griMReefer]

:smokin:
there will be room for business for everyone ,just some ppl think they own the world (LFS),this go back to my LFS thread ....why they charge this price
Simple ,Ppl are still paying for it ,so they will sell it
When the public smartens up (not talking abou t us MR ) other custy
then they will understand what LFS are doing ,,,dry good ,no reason at all to by from LFS (go Online ) A ,its cheaper B, Its has a better return policy..and they are nice to you

heeheehee yeah jobbers are da best! hobbyist and retailer in one package!

from all the fish i brought home from LFS that died the same day/next day, i learned my lesson to buy livestock with guarantees considering some of them are like well over a hundred bucks and if its imported and it looks healthy, it doesn't mean it is healthy. so if no LFS offer live guarantees, all of my livestock will have to come from online retailers...
i used to have a online wholesaler who i got like like live rock, corals, royal gramma, pygmy angel, tangs at damsel prices, but then you have to waive loss claims? i lost the website anyway when i changed laptops, i think it was like www totally tropical fish or something like that name? a weird website name i can't remember anymore. my pet shop friend gets his fish from a distributor out in LI and his fw from a distributor somewhere on atlantic avenue in/near bkyln.

 

[NYPDFrogman]

any way you want to look at it's bad business, this LFS allowed a customer to walk out of his store, I'm not a stranger to the store and he was well aware that I was totaly displeased.

had the magnet mount been 75.00 plus tax I would have taken it.
I dont be grudge anyone to make a a buck
I've dropped hundreds of dollars there for coral rock and fish in that store and as I said before I will never step foot in the store again.
I'll support my LFS's when my business is appreciated

 

[Sean]

Wow more bashing.

 

[Pseudo]

Wow more bashing.

You don't think someone who charges $106 for a $52 Tunze magnet deserves to be bashed?

 

[NYPDFrogman]

Wow more bashing.

no bashing If I were bashing I would have posted the name, address and telephone number.:smash:

maybe you can convince me or justify a 100% mark up on that item?
does it have a shelf life? do you need to feed it? will it die? does it need 400W of metal halide lights to survive? is rare? :argue:

it's not bashing it's venting fustration

 

[Sean]

I can't answer your question cause I'm not the one your complaining about so I can't defend it. So what. You went to a store didn't get the price you wanted to pay then left but then you decided to publicly vent your frustration. Why? You wont even let people know what store you had this terrible experience at. I just don't see the point in the constant general LFS bashing that goes on.

 

[ezee]

Sean,

I am definitely not being argumentative here but I just wanted to give a another viewpoint. Sean, you run a store that I personally feel that I can trust. Your people are good, they care about their customers and they listen. I have to say that I don't feel the same way about all LFSs. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the vast majority of my experiences at LFSs ranged from barely positive to very, very negative (not including AC).

I think NYPDFrogman does not want to say the name of the store in observation of a higher level of decorum but at the same time he is obviously very frustrated. I think it is absolutely fair for him to express this in a public forum. If there is so much negative sentiment about LFSs, the reasoning should follow that it came from somewhere. Not everyone cares as much as you do. How many of them cared enough to read and respond to this thread?

All the best, as always,

Eugene

 

[Sean]

Eugene

thanks
I can see clearly now the strain is gone

My last post on this

 

[NYPDFrogman]

I can't answer your question cause I'm not the one your complaining about so I can't defend it. So what. You went to a store didn't get the price you wanted to pay then left but then you decided to publicly vent your frustration. Why? You wont even let people know what store you had this terrible experience at. I just don't see the point in the constant general LFS bashing that goes on.

Sean dont take it personal it's not aimed at you. you were my first call, I asked for you and you werent there.

I chose not to personally attack this "LFS" if you prefer I will PM the identity
I'm sure some know who the store is, thier reputation preceeds them.
again my response questioning why the 100% mark up and attidude was not aimed at you.

it wasnt a question of getting the price I wanted to pay, the question was getting a fair price.

 

[loismustdie]

Sorry if I was bashing when I said guys are nuts for going into the business. We're all nuts in our own way, most people wouldn't do what I do and call me nuts. Unintentional dig at those of you who are in the business.
If NYPDFrogman was to name the establishment he went to, he would probably be criticized for that too, since they probably can't defend themselves and arguing here isn't exactly productive. As for his frustration with the mark up and not selling it to him, the store doesn't care because someone, sooner or later will walk in and buy it. Or he'll just attach it to a reef ready tank package and hide the costs in the overall price tag.
Sean, sorry if we are negative about LFS. You too Deep. I've never been to your stores, so I can't and wouldn't comment on them. Feed-back here from MR that I've seen has only been positive.
I went to a LFS today that I see brought up in MR alot (considered exceptional by some). My first time there. They had evansi anthias at a good price so I asked what he thought of them. He said they are a really good and hardy fish. Read up on evansi anthias, you'll see that most people say they are better left in nature because they are so difficult to care for. A lot of people who work in pet stores don't know what they are talking about and are just trying to make a sale. Now, look online. Most places, when you pick out a fish or coral, have a chart and included in that chart is difficulty level. According to the kids who work in every LFS I have been to, everything is hardy and reef safe.
Okay, I'm getting way off topic here, overall discussion here is the mark up. Has there been a thread on pros and cons of specific LFS? We critique all of our equipment by name, can we do the same with LFS?

 

[Deanos]

Yikes!! "Their reputation proceeds them." :scratch: I'm not sure if you're referring to their customer service attitude or their prices. Either way, I as said earlier in this post, a price request when you had them on the phone, would have prevented alot of frustation. Even moreso, with an LFS with a "rep".

 

[Deanos]

I went to a LFS today that I see brought up in MR alot (considered exceptional by some). My first time there. They had evansi anthias at a good price so I asked what he thought of them. He said they are a really good and hardy fish. Read up on evansi anthias, you'll see that most people say they are better left in nature because they are so difficult to care for. A lot of people who work in pet stores don't know what they are talking about and are just trying to make a sale. Now, look online. Most places, when you pick out a fish or coral, have a chart and included in that chart is difficulty level. According to the kids who work in every LFS I have been to, everything is hardy and reef safe.

Look at liveaquaria.com and see how many fish are mis- or underrepresented in minimum tank size and general hardiness. If a store has an item for sale, be it LFS or online...it's in that store's best interest to sell that product.

 

[NYPDFrogman]

Yikes!! "Their reputation proceeds them." :scratch: I'm not sure if you're referring to their customer service attitude or their prices. Either way, I as said earlier in this post, a price request when you had them on the phone, would have prevented alot of frustation. Even moreso, with an LFS with a "rep".

well as far as rep mostly price and some feel attitude too

my lack of requesting a price was my fault, like I said previous I expected to pay a premium price but not quite that much :bunnies:

it's a mood point at this time:dead: and heading into the crapper

 

[jackson6745]

Anyone selling a tunze magnet for $106 should be hung by the ballz