What, in your opinion, is the ideal marine store?

[Anonymous]

After seeing signs of what's to come, I need to prepare myself for the onslaught. I'd like to be over-prepared, if possible.

Therefore, my question to everyone here is : What is the ideal marine store?

What should they have, and what should they not have? I'm trying to get opinions on everything. Overall setup, livestock (without being too specific), dry goods (again, try and be general), pricing, information displays, general stock vs. special orders, etc.

I've worked retail for 10 years, and have experience in high-end hobbiest/specialty retail (I ran a Warner Brothers Animation Art Gallery for close to 4 years), so general retail practice I'm good at.

Basically, if you were in marine store Eden, what would it look like?

Please be realistic when responding to the above question. $5 each for crosshatch triggerfish is not realistic.

Thanks much in advance, and even if you only have a single point to make, please reply. I'd like as wide a range of information as possible.

Peace,

Chip

 

[danmhippo]

IMHO, you can charge as high as you want for your livestock as long as you can justify it. The ways people used to justify the premium are service and the added value. If you can provide no-BS products and knowledgeable and eager to assist employees, you can pretty much charge people whateve you'd like to provided the local clientel can absorb the price.

My ideal store would be a store front with warehouse in the back for fish-holding. New LR shipments are held for 4 weeks and livestock are held for 6 weeks with active chemical treatments starting day one regardless if the fish shows sign of parasites or not. After the holding period, livestocks are taken back out to the storefront for display and sell.

The dry good section has tanks and tanks down the isle with products running, a live testing facility if you will; skimmers, powerheads, pumps, kalk reactor, test monitoring kits, lights, fans.....etc, all placed together by category with price tags on it. Showing people plain and simple, how much he wants to pay for what kind of performance.

Knowledgeable staff running up and down the isle assisting customers of what to choose, and refrain customers from buying what he shouldn't.

Training class are held each month and certificates are issued at the completion of the class, which will later be used to profile customers based on what they know.

Just naming a few off the top of my head.....

 

[Chucker]

One that listens.

 

[Anonymous]

One that listens.

I should send you a video of me in action, Chucker, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised.

In parallel to my former job of selling animation art, if someone is going to buy a framed animation cel of Bugs Bunny for $3,000, they need to trust your every word, and BS is not allowed. Truth, education, and patience are what gets customers, and gets them coming back. It's the same thing, only with live animals.

If their tanks don't do well based on information you've given them, why on Earth would they come back to your store?

Thanks to those that responded already!

Peace,

Chip

 

[Anonymous]

The most important thing is consistency. It takes a customer twice as long to come back if they didn't find what they wanted the last time than if they came away happy. Know what sells and keep it in stock religiously.

 

[tazdevil]

Stock quality reef tank devices, not one's that are cheap. Staff that are up to date on the latest methods, who won't say something doesn't work because they've never tried it. Don't sell questionable pumps, skimmers, etcetera. Don't be afraid to tell someone they shouldn't buy something.

 

[fishfarmer]

Keep drygoods in stock. I can easily buy stuff online, but if I need something right away, like a bucket of IO make sure you have what I need. If you don't, make sure you get it ordered so next time I swing by it is available.

 

[Bill2]

I look for a well maintained store with the proper equipment. Not a store with a bunch of UGFs. ON the other hand I cruise the less desirable stores looking for that fish i've been looking for in a long time.

 

[Contender]

Try to hire a competent staff. Your employees represent you when you are not there. The last thing you want is your employees giving people bad advice.

If there is a sick or dead fish, remove it from the tanks as quickly as possible. If I see a single sick fish in one of the main tanks in a store, it makes me question all of their livestock.[/list]

 

[viking]

Interesting thread.
I have found my perfect dealer. If it wasnt for being invited on a collecting trip out at sea i would not have thought a place like this was possible.

All fish net caught. All fish collected are kept separate from others on board ship. Fresh water circulated all the time while at sea. On arrival in the port transfer time from ship to holding tanks no more than 30 mins. All fish are seen to be feeding in the holding tanks at the collectors before being sold. No exceptions.
No fish sold if it has any visable injuries or whatever.
No fish sold to a dealer or wholesale if the collector has knowledge that the fish will not be kept in the way they should be.
Any private fish sales i.e. to the likes of me. are subject to the collector knowing the fish will be kept alive and in a suitable system.

The downside to this collector. He can only supply 10% of all possible order requests.

Cheers,
Viking.