People keep asking what has changed. Well, I thought I'd start a thread with some of my own experiences.
1. Species that retailers want.
Every once in a while I'll bring in one of something I wouldn't normally bring in. It pisses my husband off, but I like to judge the market. The latest example is ribbon eels. Now when I used to work at the big wholesalers, these were a staple. A few dozen a week. I have never had one until about two months ago. I brought in one blue and one black, just to see what the market was. Those things sat on the list for weeks. One eventually crawled out of the tank on to the floor. The other disappeared- I assume he managed to get out of the tank above into one of the tanks below and escape into the sump via the pipes. I will tell you that I was shocked that no one wanted to buy them. Shocked and pleased. Because several years ago they would have been snapped up immediately and retailers would have been asking for more. That proves to me that retailers are getting more savvy.
2. Damsel packing
This is probably the easiest one to see the difference on packing techniques. It was commonplace several years ago to see 300 damsels packed per Philippine box. I have yet to see that in my business. The norm is probably about 120-150 per box in a triple stacker. Maybe I'm just not using the suppliers who still do that though. Is anyone else out there still seeing tight damsel packs. I'll also add that we lose very few damsels. And when we ship them out we ship one per 6" bag. Yeah, that's a lot of water for a little damsel and most places will ship more per bag for retailers, but our damsels LIVE. We can charge a fair price for them and sell out every week because people like live damsels.
Anyone have any others?
1. Species that retailers want.
Every once in a while I'll bring in one of something I wouldn't normally bring in. It pisses my husband off, but I like to judge the market. The latest example is ribbon eels. Now when I used to work at the big wholesalers, these were a staple. A few dozen a week. I have never had one until about two months ago. I brought in one blue and one black, just to see what the market was. Those things sat on the list for weeks. One eventually crawled out of the tank on to the floor. The other disappeared- I assume he managed to get out of the tank above into one of the tanks below and escape into the sump via the pipes. I will tell you that I was shocked that no one wanted to buy them. Shocked and pleased. Because several years ago they would have been snapped up immediately and retailers would have been asking for more. That proves to me that retailers are getting more savvy.
2. Damsel packing
This is probably the easiest one to see the difference on packing techniques. It was commonplace several years ago to see 300 damsels packed per Philippine box. I have yet to see that in my business. The norm is probably about 120-150 per box in a triple stacker. Maybe I'm just not using the suppliers who still do that though. Is anyone else out there still seeing tight damsel packs. I'll also add that we lose very few damsels. And when we ship them out we ship one per 6" bag. Yeah, that's a lot of water for a little damsel and most places will ship more per bag for retailers, but our damsels LIVE. We can charge a fair price for them and sell out every week because people like live damsels.
Anyone have any others?
