New Atlanta etailer

[dizzy]

Has anyone heard of these guys? They are in Atlanta. I think there's something fishy going on.


Aquariumstuffers.com is a new company, staffed by a dedicated group of people with literally hundreds of combined years of experience in importation, housing, care, feeding, handling, selecting, shipping, receiving and retailing marine and freshwater fish, invertebrates and herps from the farthest corners of the globe.

The resources and infrastructure that we draw on in the process of acclimating, hand selecting and shipping you your aquariumstuffers are second to none. Our selection is breathtaking, far superior to anything currently available within the continental United States. This allows you a comprehensive and true "one-stop shopping experience" for coral reef fish, live corals, live rock and other marine invertebrates, a vast selection of freshwater fish and aquatic plants, ornamental goldfish and pond fish from all over the world, live fish foods, sophisticated and hard to find aquarium supplies, and a broad selection of reptiles, amphibians and other creepy crawly critters, well acclimated and healthy in every way.

We draw on a close and longstanding relationship with one of the premier pet livestock importers in the United States when handpicking and shipping you your aquariumstuffers. Our seasoned staff of pet industry professionals handpick only the healthiest and very best specimens from the widest variety available anywhere. Our superior handling procedures, packaging and expedited shipping from the transportation hub of the east coast of the United States to your front door provides worry free and "on time" delivery.

Most retail outlets are greatly constrained in what they can offer you by the cost of retail space. If you are tired of this and you want to shop an inventory that includes literally everything you have ever seen before, as well as hundreds of rare or hard to get items, then please give us a try.

Nice little dig at the retailers in that last bit.
Mitch

 

[JT]

whois on the domain says "Chris Chapman", this name sounds familiar to me but I can't place it.

 

[JennM]

I saw an ad of theirs in one of the hobbyist magazines about a year or so ago. I did some looking around but didn't find much - I don't know of anyone who has ordered from them, never seen them mentioned on the boards either.

I've got some theories, but being theories with no basis in actual fact, I can only speculate privately about this one. Summink tells me that others may be speculating the same thing

Shame to bite the hands that feed, isn't it?

Jenn

 

[JennM]

I used yahoo's search engine for "aquariumstuffers" and also found a bunch of references to herps as well.

Apparently the wholesaler behind this etailer carries herps too...

Interestink...

Google brought up arachnid forums/reviews too, of same said etailer....

Hrmmm.....

Jenn

 

[JT]

It's all SunPet.

SunPet's webmaster email on sunpet.com is an address at reptilefauna.com

whois shows that the registrant for reptilefauna.com is Aquarium Stuffers with the Administrative contact listed as Bob Eaves with SunPet's mailing address.

Very interesting indeed.

 

[Anonymous]

I was in Sun Pet onm Tuesday. I saw everything Aquarium Stuffers had on special in Sunpet. Even the Hippo frogs.

 

[Anonymous]

Who is this Sun Pet? I've never heard of them, but they seem to be a PetsMart or somesuch. Are they national or regional?

Peace,

Chip

 

[JennM]

Sun Pet is the Atlanta livestock wholesaler: Fish, small animals, birds, herps.

http://www.sunpet.com/

Jenn

 

[Pipette]

Hi all, I found this thread on a google search.

I'm bumping it because Aquariumstuffers.com has vanished from the net!

They've been gone for several weeks now.

Anyone know what happened to them?

 

[Anonymous]

this thread was started a couple of weeks ago Mitch did em in

 

[Pipette]

I just received some emails from both Sunpet and Aquarium Stuffers that Aquarium Stuffers has permanently closed its doors. Very sad, they were a source for many hard to find fish. They said there were only three customers with open orders and they will all either be filled or credited.

 

[JennM]

I've never seen anything there that wasn't available elsewhere. I find their prices on saltwater livestock aren't always competitive with west coast wholesalers, even factoring in air freight.

Pipette, I'm sure your LFS can get whatever they had, and more.

Jenn

 

[Pipette]

What you have to understand is that not everyone in the USA lives in areas where there are LFS's with decent selections (or any at all) around. For those people (I'm one of them), online ordering is the solution.

For example, they were the only online merchant (that's I've found anyways) to ever offer zebra otocinculus (I have a freshwater tank).

 

[JennM]

Well, wherever you are, if you *could* order from the Atlanta area, so can your LFS. If you ask your LFS to procure a specimen for you, they have the exact same resources available to them, as a hobbyist does, and even more.

The wholesaler in question, sells mainly (and perhaps now exclusively?) to retailers and service companies.

There are plenty of wholesalers who do not (and will not) sell directly to hobbyists as they believe in protecting their own interests, and not biting the hands that feed them, the retailers who pay most of the wholesalers' way.

If Sun Pet has it, other entities can get it too. As I said, I've never seen anything there that couldn't be had elsewhere also.

If you build up a relationship with your local retailer, they can order whatever you are seeking. Then you can see it before you buy it, and you aren't taking chances by blindly spending your money with "companies" that don't even post the names of their owners.

I'm not suggesting supporting bad retailers - if their husbandry or ethics are questionable, find another place to spend your money, but surely there are alternatives.

I always shake my head when people are so vehimently opposed to shopping locally for this reason or that, but they have absolutely no problem buying from places they've never seen, and from people who hide behind a shroud of mystery online. No names, no addresses, just an email address and/or a paypal account. At least on a local level you know who you are dealing with, what kind of conditions they provide, and who to speak with if there's a problem. "Mystery" and "Fly-by-Night" etail is a case of, "You pay your money and you take your chances"

Talk about a double standard!

Jenn

 

[dizzy]

I think it was a good business decision on Sunpet's part to close down aquariumstuffers.com if it was them. :wink: Not only did they potentially lose wholesale business, they also put their employees in the awkward position of potentially having to lie to cover up when bold retailers (like me) ask them point blank about it. Sunpet has a great facility. I like Bob, Barry, and Rick and I certainly feel a lot better about buying from them on a weekly basis. We may never know who was behind Aquarium stuffers, but now it doesn't matter.

Pipette you can always call the good doctors if your lfs lets you down. They got connections.
Mitch

 

[Pipette]

Look, there are about TWO local retailers where I live.

When I go in and ask, "can you get any ancistrus," or "can you get any hillstream loaches," they just shake their heads or say "try back next month."

I appreciate all you are saying, but it doesn't mean squat in my situation.

I fail to believe that e-merchants take lots of business away from retailers. If there is a LFS around that has a big selection, most people will always go there first before paying an additional $25 for shipping.

When I go online, click "add to cart," and get my fish delivered the very next morning, I don't have a problem, the e-merchant has done their job.

For me, this is a sad day.

 

[Rikko]

Except that you neglect the ever present phenemenon where people will go to embarrassingly stupid lengths to get something cheaper.

"Hey... If I order this from Kentucky, it's five bucks cheaper than here! (Plus shipping)"

I've got customers who will sooner drive 25 minutes out of their way to save two bucks off a fish they want... Never mind that gas at $1.06/liter means you're spending more on gas than you're saving... But that never seems to be the point.

No, I think the e-tailers are taking a respectable slice of the pie.

 

[Pipette]

Then your basic attitude is "screw the hobbyist." Because if online retailers all close down, I as a hobbyist am screwed.

Do you honestly believe someone is stupid enough to order a fish online for $10 cheaper than their LFS then turn around and pay $40 to have it shipped?

(Aquariumstuffers charged $40 per shipment.)

 

[JT]

The hobby, and hobbyists, existed long before the Internet.

- Uncle

 

[Rikko]

Then your basic attitude is "screw the hobbyist." Because if online retailers all close down, I as a hobbyist am screwed.

Where did you draw that assumption from? Paying attention to how things are going doesn't require partisanship.
Besides, if all LFSs you so fervenly hate so much, you as a hobbyist are even more screwed, because there will be few, if any new hobbyists providing fresh blood for the hobby. When it's no longer worth bringing in live fish and supplies, those stores turn into dog food stores. Now nobody sees tanks and decides they want one. Where else can they get into the hobby? Public aquariums? They endlessly preach how evil taking things from the ocean are. Acquaintances? All my friends think my tanks are an eccentricity, not something they'dlike me to teach them.

Do you honestly believe someone is stupid enough to order a fish online for $10 cheaper than their LFS then turn around and pay $40 to have it shipped?

(Aquariumstuffers charged $40 per shipment.)

Yes, because then it becomes "worth it" to order a whole load of other crap because it's a "good deal" and now instead of paying $25 for a fish you're spending $100 on a big load of stuff you didn't really want.
Don't tell me you haven't done that in another sector before. I saw a great deal on a book off Amazon and thought I'd save the ten bucks... Then I saw something else I'd probably like... Then i only needed another 5 bucks on my purchase to get free shipping..... Ad infinitum.