That scourge is not limited to 104th street. There is a wholesaler near me that does the same. Money talks so all the best stuff goes to XXX. Walk in there on any day and you'll see all the maintenance guys in there picking stuff for their customers. The wholesaler gets around that one by imposing a minimum purchase amount.... or do they? Apparently it depends who you are.
I don't buy saltwater fish there, but since it's near the airport I used to go in and peruse the leftovers for a gem or two, but they are priced at near my own retail prices, so it's no bargain but I have been known to find a bargain or two in there, mislabled and underpriced piece here or there once in a great while.
I've seen Kalk there too, scouring the tanks for all the good stuff
I mainly went there for Betta spelendens, ghost shrimp and feeder comets. Last time I walked through their door, I spent about $30 on those things- they didn't have anything else of quality or price that I was interested in buying - and when I went to settle my bill there was a letter stapled to the front of my invoice with yellow highlighter on the part that said, "Minimum cash and carry purchase is $100, otherwise a $25 packing fee will be assessed". $25 for a couple of dozen plastic bags, metal clips and a cardboard box (not a foam box, I'm local). That was the last time I darkened their door. When I saw my "sales rep" at a trade show recently she asked me why I never come around anymore, and when I told her, she was stunned. "Exceptions are made all the time!"... yeah for hose suckers who buy 2 or 4 fish at a time for that day's clients, I s'pose, or the hobbyist who sneaks in for the thrill of buying from "the inside". :roll: That told me that my brick and mortar business was far less important than the guy who still sets up saltwater tanks with crushed coral and undergravel filters (I am surprised he still has any clients, but I've gained a ton of business from his screw-ups!). That wholesaler could have potentially gained at least a part of my freshwater business when I expanded, but with that attitude, no thanks. They cut off their nose to spite their face.
Exceptions aren't limited to maintenance guys either. Anybody with any kind of business licence can shop there. I know a guy in the terrestrial plant growing business (orchids) who shopped there, and a guy with a fiberglass/boat building shop who bought there. Neither of those have a thing to do with the retail pet trade. They probably spent the obligatory $100 though :roll:
Why do these people even bother to create these "rules" if they don't bother to enforce them? I'm not whining, I just decided to take my dollars elsewhere... where my business is of value, and where the playing field is level. I'm just tired of the hypocricy. If a wholesaler allows cherry pickers, joe-off-the-street or whatnot into his facility to buy, the wholesaler should just say so. What are they afraid of? That their retail customers might leave them? Hmmmmm.....
Nanocat, your profile does not list your line of work, but I'm sure if you chose to apply our concerns here, to your line of work, you might be a bit more understanding of what we're talking about here. If you work hard at what you do, you got an education to do what you do, and you sought all the proper permissions and licences, and somebody comes along behind you without any credentials, and undermines you or subverts your livelihood, you might find cause for concern too, yes?
Jenn
