OK - follow me here (and I prefer Rocky Road to Vanilla *g*
)
Let us suppose that retailer X is buying MAC certified fish from wholesaler Q. Retailer X is not MAC certified, but there is nothing PREVENTING him from buying MAC fish. For whatever reason I thought that Q could only sell MAC fish to certified MAC retailers, hence that motto "from Reef to Retail" (sm) Guess that ole chain of custody isn't perfect.... what's the point of certifiying them at the collector/exporter/importer-wholesaler level just to abandon the process between wholesaler and retailer, or better yet from exporter to importer? Does the paper trail on those specimens just go dead there? What about once they get to the hobbyist? How will they ever back up their fees with data if a good proportion of the fish leave the MAC chain of custody for the "standard" chain of custody when they leave the exporters' tanks?
I see two issues here... well more actually but two that jump out and bite me... let's hear from MAC on those, and then I'll dig a bit deeper.
1) If retailer V (for Vanilla :p ) IS MAC certified, and paid a good chunk of change for that certification, is there no preference or stipulation to that retailer to buy the MAC fish before X who is not certified? What if all the non-certified retailers snap up all the MAC fish before our buddy Vanilla places his order? Kinda sucks for him that he paid all that money for a certification but can't get the fish to show for it... also sucks that he's out all that dosh for a fancy sticker set and a pretty certificate but he's still buying all the same fish that X is, who saved his money and chooses his suppliers carefully, and IMO gets the same result (or dare I say...BETTER?) Vanilla should be peeved off. I would be, if I anted up for a certification - went through the toil and trouble of writing down every little detail about how I run my business, and jumped through all the administrative hoops, only to have the guy down the street bypass all that red tape, and still have the exact same product to offer. The other guy can afford to sell for less - because he didn't spend all that money on paperwork - but he's selling the same fish, from the same collectors/exporters.... I'd be crying foul in a heartbeat if I was a certified retailer - wait, I'm not certified (perhaps certifiable *g*) but I'm still crying foul.
2) Back to Retailer X - who is NOT certified - so he doesn't have a fancy certificate or sticker - but what is PREVENTING him from taking a good ole wax pencil and writing "MAC CERTIFIED" on the tank? If a customer asks, he can show the invoice (concealing the price, of course) but if the invoice notes MAC certified, from wholesaler Q - how is the hobbyist to know the difference? I submit that showing it on the invoice from Q would be enough for the average hobbyist to accept that this is a MAC certified fish (it was when it left Q, right?), and pay the premium if it is priced higher - even the "conscientious" hobbyist might not know all the "rules" where MAC is concerned.
And what about Retailer X - if he gets "caught" doing this,(and that would probably only be done by a pro-MAC "mole" customer...(are there any of those out there???) are the MAC police going to come and give him a ticket? Wait - MAC will sue him for misrepresentation -- how about that being the POT calling the KETTLE names..... wow what a legal can o'worms that might open...
Perhaps FARCE is a more appropriate word. (In French it means "stuffing").
Did anybody at the MAC actually think ALL the logistics through on this before they began? Methinks NOT.
At this point in time I can understand a MAC retailer or wholesaler being able to buy non-MAC fish and stay in good standing - because the number of species is apparently limited. However, it does not make sense that a non-MAC retailer can purchase MAC fish - renders the playing field very unfair to those who spent the time and money to earn the certification - as vanilla as that certification is, in my personal opinion, they at least deserve to get their money's worth.
I keep coming back to the feeling that all of these discussions should have transpired long before ANY certifications took place. Sure would have slowed the MAC agenda down, and perhaps slowed the gravy train for some, but it might have resulted in a certification that would have been respected across the industry.
Hey John -- do you still think I'm "shy"? :twisted:
Jenn
