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Howdy,
Only used 2 online vedors, Marine Depot and Pet Warehouse. I have only used them for dry goods, as of yet I have not ordered any live items online.
I will always give my business to Marine Depot. They have the absolute best customer service and usually the best prices.
Pet Warehouse was good when I used it, but that was over 6 months ago. I haven't used them since they changed ownership, and I don't think I will. I have received 30 catalogs since they were bought out, and most of them were for dog stuff. I have never asked for a dog catalog from them, so they have effectively alienated me.
Anyway, go for Marine Depot becuase you can't go wrong with them.
Good luck,
Scott.
Only used 2 online vedors, Marine Depot and Pet Warehouse. I have only used them for dry goods, as of yet I have not ordered any live items online.
I will always give my business to Marine Depot. They have the absolute best customer service and usually the best prices.
Pet Warehouse was good when I used it, but that was over 6 months ago. I haven't used them since they changed ownership, and I don't think I will. I have received 30 catalogs since they were bought out, and most of them were for dog stuff. I have never asked for a dog catalog from them, so they have effectively alienated me.
Anyway, go for Marine Depot becuase you can't go wrong with them.
Good luck,
Scott.
www.oceanencounter.com 10+ excellent service and the best prices I can find on the net!!
www.etropicals.com 10 excellent service and great prices on clean-up crews!!
www.etropicals.com 10 excellent service and great prices on clean-up crews!!
Marine Depot: 10
Good prices, and service on dry goods, haven't ordered livestock. Fed Ex returned my order of PC lights to Marine depot saying that it was "incorrectly addressed". It was correctly addressed, so I called up Marine Depot and they reshipped with no additional charge.
The Marine Center: 0
Impossible to contact, sent 7-8" size copperband instead of the 3.5-4" ordered. I contacted them by email and complained and was told that I had received what I had ordered. I had to take the CB to a LFS, because it was far to large for my tank. No credit from LFS and no credit or refund from TMC.
Good prices, and service on dry goods, haven't ordered livestock. Fed Ex returned my order of PC lights to Marine depot saying that it was "incorrectly addressed". It was correctly addressed, so I called up Marine Depot and they reshipped with no additional charge.
The Marine Center: 0
Impossible to contact, sent 7-8" size copperband instead of the 3.5-4" ordered. I contacted them by email and complained and was told that I had received what I had ordered. I had to take the CB to a LFS, because it was far to large for my tank. No credit from LFS and no credit or refund from TMC.
Oh forgot:
Jeff's exotic fish: 8.5
Ordered livestock. Everything arrived well except for a torch coral which had gotted banged up quite a bit. I contacted them and they were willing to replace if it didn't recover. The coral recovered, and the E.Quad that I ordered has divided into 4 in the past 9 months. My gold-stripe Maroon loves them!
Jeff's exotic fish: 8.5
Ordered livestock. Everything arrived well except for a torch coral which had gotted banged up quite a bit. I contacted them and they were willing to replace if it didn't recover. The coral recovered, and the E.Quad that I ordered has divided into 4 in the past 9 months. My gold-stripe Maroon loves them!
Championlighting - 8
They always seem to forget to send the tracking number, but I just call and ask for my invoice number, then use the tracking page on their web site. Don't call to get the tracking number, most of their people will just hang up on you, but they will find you the invoice number. No other real problems.
Dr. Mac - 10
Great service, healthy animals. They called me to give me the tracking number.
Sea Critters - 10
Great customer service, healthy animals. They have called me to clarify an questions about what I ordered or to tell me something was out of stock, and what substitutions were available, and to give me the tracking number.
Cquarium - 1
Despite what they say, I have my doubts I received what I ordered from their "Hit or Miss" pages. You have to compare what you order to the pictures to see how they light the animals for their photos. (My Turquoise Goniopora turned out to be a brownish pink) Also twice as expensive and less healthy than my local LFS. Packing and shipping was good, but I won't give them my repeat business.
Old Pet Warehouse/Dr. Foster & Smith:
Dry Goods - 9
Live animals - 3
Good customer service, will take care of problems.
The old Pet Warehouse sent me healthier animals than the new Dr. Foster & Smith business. I will not order animals again.
They always seem to forget to send the tracking number, but I just call and ask for my invoice number, then use the tracking page on their web site. Don't call to get the tracking number, most of their people will just hang up on you, but they will find you the invoice number. No other real problems.
Dr. Mac - 10
Great service, healthy animals. They called me to give me the tracking number.
Sea Critters - 10
Great customer service, healthy animals. They have called me to clarify an questions about what I ordered or to tell me something was out of stock, and what substitutions were available, and to give me the tracking number.
Cquarium - 1
Despite what they say, I have my doubts I received what I ordered from their "Hit or Miss" pages. You have to compare what you order to the pictures to see how they light the animals for their photos. (My Turquoise Goniopora turned out to be a brownish pink) Also twice as expensive and less healthy than my local LFS. Packing and shipping was good, but I won't give them my repeat business.
Old Pet Warehouse/Dr. Foster & Smith:
Dry Goods - 9
Live animals - 3
Good customer service, will take care of problems.
The old Pet Warehouse sent me healthier animals than the new Dr. Foster & Smith business. I will not order animals again.
Drygoods:
Marine Depot = 10
Good Service and prices. Informed people. Great Prices
Atlantis Aquatics = 10
Great customer service. informed people. Great Prices
Champion Lighting = 7
cust service needs work. informed people
Aquatic Tech = 1
Bad cust service. uninformed people
Reef Fanatic = 8
OK cust service. informed people
Livestock:
GARF = 4
Poor cust service. didn't get what I ordered
Atlantis Aquatics = 10
Great customer service. informed people
FFE = 7
So So Cust service. uninformed people
Reeftopia = 10
Great Cust Service. informed people. gret prices
Marine Depot = 10
Good Service and prices. Informed people. Great Prices
Atlantis Aquatics = 10
Great customer service. informed people. Great Prices
Champion Lighting = 7
cust service needs work. informed people
Aquatic Tech = 1
Bad cust service. uninformed people
Reef Fanatic = 8
OK cust service. informed people
Livestock:
GARF = 4
Poor cust service. didn't get what I ordered
Atlantis Aquatics = 10
Great customer service. informed people
FFE = 7
So So Cust service. uninformed people
Reeftopia = 10
Great Cust Service. informed people. gret prices
Can I give negative points. I want to give
-10 to Aquacon. Please do not order
anything from them. I sent wrong live stock and
asking me to return that in my expense and they
should arrive alive to their store. poorest customer service and poorest quality stuff.
-10 to Aquacon. Please do not order
anything from them. I sent wrong live stock and
asking me to return that in my expense and they
should arrive alive to their store. poorest customer service and poorest quality stuff.
Thanks to everyone who has posted so far. I was rather surprised after starting this thread how many different online suppliers there are. I believe that this information will be helpful to people either looking for a new online supplier or dissatisfied with their own. (If the latter, this thread will emphasize that there are other good suppliers out there.)
It looks to me like most of the suppliers are pretty good. (Anything above 7 implies to me that people are generally happy with their service)
I never intended this to be a totally scientific study, but I believe that the more people who respond, the more accurate the increased sampling will be. I don't think that the suppliers having only 1 or 2 votes are necessarily rated fairly in comparison to the few that have 10 or 15, since there are not enough opinions. That being said, I will still update the ratings if anyone else wants to add their input to the scoring system.
It looks to me like most of the suppliers are pretty good. (Anything above 7 implies to me that people are generally happy with their service)
I never intended this to be a totally scientific study, but I believe that the more people who respond, the more accurate the increased sampling will be. I don't think that the suppliers having only 1 or 2 votes are necessarily rated fairly in comparison to the few that have 10 or 15, since there are not enough opinions. That being said, I will still update the ratings if anyone else wants to add their input to the scoring system.
I'll give both Tampabay Saltwater and Aquatic Ecosystems 10's. In my experience, both have outstanding customer service and products. I will give Marine Depot an 8 and Dave's Reefpure a 4.
TBSaltwater got 70lbs of live rock absolutely COVERED with life (including 5 different coral species) as well as clean-up crew to Vermont in the dead of winter with almost no die-off, threw in several freebies, and ended up charging me LESS than they quoted.
Aquatic ecosystems has lightning fast delivery, and they recycle their packaging materials!
I've had only good experiences with Marine Depot, but their restocking fee on returns is pretty steep.
I am quite happy with my RO/DI unit from Dave's reefpure, but it took over 2 weeks for them to send it (even though they charged me an extra $10 for "same-day shipping") during which time there was NO communication. They did not return my phone calls or emails. I won't give them a zero only because I haven't had any problems with the filter, yet.
TBSaltwater got 70lbs of live rock absolutely COVERED with life (including 5 different coral species) as well as clean-up crew to Vermont in the dead of winter with almost no die-off, threw in several freebies, and ended up charging me LESS than they quoted.
Aquatic ecosystems has lightning fast delivery, and they recycle their packaging materials!
I've had only good experiences with Marine Depot, but their restocking fee on returns is pretty steep.
I am quite happy with my RO/DI unit from Dave's reefpure, but it took over 2 weeks for them to send it (even though they charged me an extra $10 for "same-day shipping") during which time there was NO communication. They did not return my phone calls or emails. I won't give them a zero only because I haven't had any problems with the filter, yet.
Marinedepot- 8 for drygoods, 7 for livestock- got some not so healthy corals/fish.
P.A.- 5- never have good selection of livestock and the 3 or 4 times I tried to order I got some nastiness from the employee. 7 for drygoods- out of stock on many items but great service and always quick to respond to emails.
F.F. Express- 8.- Had good luck with most of my orders, mostly live rock.
That fishplace-9- always had good luck there.
Petwarehouse- Same as above.
Championlighting-4.- Out of stock and had trouble getting straightened out.
AH Supply- 10- great source for bulbs etc. for me anyway.
Etropicals- 10- 2 orders with great success.
P.A.- 5- never have good selection of livestock and the 3 or 4 times I tried to order I got some nastiness from the employee. 7 for drygoods- out of stock on many items but great service and always quick to respond to emails.
F.F. Express- 8.- Had good luck with most of my orders, mostly live rock.
That fishplace-9- always had good luck there.
Petwarehouse- Same as above.
Championlighting-4.- Out of stock and had trouble getting straightened out.
AH Supply- 10- great source for bulbs etc. for me anyway.
Etropicals- 10- 2 orders with great success.
I will give Pet Solutions a 0.I ordered from them twice and the second time they screwed up my order repeatingly,never sent me some items, and I got really nasty service by the manager.
I will give FFexpress a 9.Great service and packing.Mostly knowledgable people.I take a point off due to them not always having what is on their collecters corner and not always having pictures of the livestock.
Premium Aquatics-10.Ordered once great service,packing and alright prices.
ThatPetPlace-10.Great service,good and cheap stuff.Ordered from them several times never any problems.
Gulf-View-10 Dale is great and his rock was gorgeous,cheap and full of life.I must of had starfish,feather dusters,etc with the rock.
Etropicals-9 Great service and animals.I take a pint off for not always updating their site and ahving a shopping cart feature for all their livestock.
GARF-5.Prices are high on tiny corals which do not represent the corals on tehri website.Was given wronf info on how to take care of the corals.I was put on holf for 10 minutes several times while they were helping cutomers.I was hung up on before also.When they want to be nice they are,also they pick the corals not you,you not knowing what you are going to get.
Aquaricare(Eztank)-10 great service,graet stuff.Knowledgable people who really acre how your tank is doing.They don't mind talking for an hour or more at a time just to see how the tank is going.
Nick
I will give FFexpress a 9.Great service and packing.Mostly knowledgable people.I take a point off due to them not always having what is on their collecters corner and not always having pictures of the livestock.
Premium Aquatics-10.Ordered once great service,packing and alright prices.
ThatPetPlace-10.Great service,good and cheap stuff.Ordered from them several times never any problems.
Gulf-View-10 Dale is great and his rock was gorgeous,cheap and full of life.I must of had starfish,feather dusters,etc with the rock.
Etropicals-9 Great service and animals.I take a pint off for not always updating their site and ahving a shopping cart feature for all their livestock.
GARF-5.Prices are high on tiny corals which do not represent the corals on tehri website.Was given wronf info on how to take care of the corals.I was put on holf for 10 minutes several times while they were helping cutomers.I was hung up on before also.When they want to be nice they are,also they pick the corals not you,you not knowing what you are going to get.
Aquaricare(Eztank)-10 great service,graet stuff.Knowledgable people who really acre how your tank is doing.They don't mind talking for an hour or more at a time just to see how the tank is going.
Nick
I have used these supllier..
Drs. Foster & Smith for 80% of my fish Equipment and daily supplys with no problems ever (they were faster shipping when they were petware house)
Harbor Aquatics - for Snals, hermits, clams and LR & LS - I have always picked up my order since I live a 1 1/2 away and had great success with there animals and LR. I still have all 4 clams and LR
Jeff's - Recent 100Lbs for LR and some clams-
Very nice LR, I would buy more when I need it. Good selection in animals also
Marine Depot - Only ordered a ballast kit - had no issues with them order was right and shipped on time
Hello Lights - Recent bulb purchase - Very fast shipping and good prices - I would order again
Howie
Drs. Foster & Smith for 80% of my fish Equipment and daily supplys with no problems ever (they were faster shipping when they were petware house)
Harbor Aquatics - for Snals, hermits, clams and LR & LS - I have always picked up my order since I live a 1 1/2 away and had great success with there animals and LR. I still have all 4 clams and LR
Jeff's - Recent 100Lbs for LR and some clams-
Very nice LR, I would buy more when I need it. Good selection in animals also
Marine Depot - Only ordered a ballast kit - had no issues with them order was right and shipped on time
Hello Lights - Recent bulb purchase - Very fast shipping and good prices - I would order again
Howie
Reef Fanatic - Drygoods only - Excellent customer service. Rapid turnaround. I have placed several orders with them. Rating = 10.
Marine Depot - Drygoods only - Excellent customer service. Rapid turnaround (with two exceptions). I have placed several orders with them. Rating = 9
Premium Aquatics - Drygoods only - Excellent customer service, slow turnaround time. I have only placed one order with premium Aquatics simply because they are far away from me. Rating = 8.
Inland Aquatics - Detrivore Kit - Morgan was very helpful. Packaging was good, not great. Shipping was problematic, but this was Fed Ex's problem. Rating = 9.
Marine Depot - Drygoods only - Excellent customer service. Rapid turnaround (with two exceptions). I have placed several orders with them. Rating = 9
Premium Aquatics - Drygoods only - Excellent customer service, slow turnaround time. I have only placed one order with premium Aquatics simply because they are far away from me. Rating = 8.
Inland Aquatics - Detrivore Kit - Morgan was very helpful. Packaging was good, not great. Shipping was problematic, but this was Fed Ex's problem. Rating = 9.
aquatictech - 8 - Have purchased 2 Mag pumps from him fast service,but rather hurried on the phone,gave me excellent price on equipment tho.Also got 2 emerald crabs from him but they died within a month.
Marine Depot - 4 -have ordered from them about 3 times variuous dry goods,however if they dont have an item they dont contact you they wait for you to call them back a week later asking why you havent gotten your shipment (this happend every time i ordered from them.
Monolith Marine - 9 -Ordered PO4 and NO3 and some other dry goods on 3 occasions.If they didnt have the item on hand they contacted me the next day to inform me it would be sent as soon as it was back in stock.
Precision Marine - 4 - I purchased their Bullet 2 skimmer direct from them due to lack of dealer in my area.Handle on the lid broke off when i mailed them asking for a replacement they said they would replace it however i havent heard a word or seen a new lid since writing them back.
JBJ Lighting - Purchased one of their retrofit kits 8 months ago,within a week one cooling fan for one of the ballasts had burned out,within 1 month one of the daylight bulbs was burned out,within 1 month the second fan waws burned out,so far i have replaced 3 bulbs due to burning out or poor quality.
Marine Depot - 4 -have ordered from them about 3 times variuous dry goods,however if they dont have an item they dont contact you they wait for you to call them back a week later asking why you havent gotten your shipment (this happend every time i ordered from them.
Monolith Marine - 9 -Ordered PO4 and NO3 and some other dry goods on 3 occasions.If they didnt have the item on hand they contacted me the next day to inform me it would be sent as soon as it was back in stock.
Precision Marine - 4 - I purchased their Bullet 2 skimmer direct from them due to lack of dealer in my area.Handle on the lid broke off when i mailed them asking for a replacement they said they would replace it however i havent heard a word or seen a new lid since writing them back.
JBJ Lighting - Purchased one of their retrofit kits 8 months ago,within a week one cooling fan for one of the ballasts had burned out,within 1 month one of the daylight bulbs was burned out,within 1 month the second fan waws burned out,so far i have replaced 3 bulbs due to burning out or poor quality.
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