KICKING OUT CHERRYPICKERS

[clarionreef]

Hey,
I like cherrypickers. Just had one for lunch in fact.
But seriously;
Customers who buy pie, get cherries with it. All cherries are for sale of course. They just are awarded to better and more bonafide customers.
Being pro-customer and supporting real retailers means you sell all the really cool stuff anyway!
Everyone wants em. So why sell em to the guys that never support you in the thousands of dollars you must risk that enable the cherries to ride along and exist in the first place?
Saving the good stuff for better customers is simply common sense. Any dealer who bases his trade on denying the cream of the crop to deserving customers deserves to lose them.
Then all he'll have is cherrypickers and will die in short order.
For me, the fewer ticks that come in the house, the better for the dog.
Steve
PS The fact that the internet has become a cherrypickers paradise is sad...and ruins it as a fair vehicle of trade.

 

[JT]

I prefer to pop cherries.

- Uncle Pervert

 

[Anonymous]

steve wrote:

Then all he'll have is cherrypickers and will die in short order.

so which major wholesalers who allow/allowed 'cherry picking' folded due to that practice ?

 

[clarionreef]

I said;
If all he had was cherrypickers....
he'd die in short order.
All wholesalers need the regular retailers [schmucks] to dump the ordinary fish on after the cherry pickers have scooped their fingers thru the pie.
These dumping grounds keep the trade alive. The cherry pickers simply crash the party and sneak to the head of the line if wholesalers let them.
If the wholesalers let them...
If I were an out of town retailer who bought regularly...I'd be upset to find out how slim the pickins were for me while the local cherrypicker gets a disproportionate % of the best stuff all the time and way out of proportion to his support for said wholesaler..
Wholesalers should adopt a cherry-picker protection plan and hold these guys to a higher minimum and a limit on the stuff that others deserve a share of as well.
Steve
PS. Cherrypickin hard to get stuff is not a talent...its just a show of nerve.

 

[sdcfish]

I agree with Steve and it's been a company policy of ours for many years that we don't allow cherry picking by either customers nor sales reps. Everyone has to get a fair shake at the cherry's and nobody get's more than there share.

It's very difficult to police and it doesn't always work out perfectly, but you can say no to customers or jobbers that can't buy product in a fair manner.

You can train your sales team to spread "the love" to the majority of their customers and never give one customer more than "their share".

It's a goal that needs to be enforced daily and is well known by all staff.

It's true what Steve says...those who try to get away with the cherry picking are really just showing that they have alot of nerve trying to get away with it. I have put many a fish back into the system after already collected by customers. It's hard to confront certain people.....but it happens and we have to.

JT....good one! lol

 

[clarionreef]

A nicer way to put it:
We're not anti-cherrypicker so much as pro-genuine customer.
Steve

 

[dizzy]

This is for Eric C. Do you have a minimum the jobbers have to buy each time they walk in the door or is it cumlative over the week?
Thanks,
Mitch

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with Steve and it's been a company policy of ours for many years that we don't allow cherry picking by either customers nor sales reps. Everyone has to get a fair shake at the cherry's and nobody get's more than there share.

It's very difficult to police and it doesn't always work out perfectly, but you can say no to customers or jobbers that can't buy product in a fair manner.

You can train your sales team to spread "the love" to the majority of their customers and never give one customer more than "their share".

It's a goal that needs to be enforced daily and is well known by all staff.

It's true what Steve says...those who try to get away with the cherry picking are really just showing that they have alot of nerve trying to get away with it. I have put many a fish back into the system after already collected by customers. It's hard to confront certain people.....but it happens and we have to.

JT....good one! lol

SDC please don't go there.

Your one of my lfs suppliers and if what your saying were true, my guy would have gotten his "cherries" at least once.

 

[Anonymous]

i normally don't post in this section for the obvious reason that i am no longer employed in the industry. my curiosity has gotten the best of me so I have to ask, why would a wholesaler allow cherrypicking from an internet seller whose purchasing volume doesn't compare to some of the larger b&m stores? It sounds counterintuitive to me for a wholesaler to withhold the rarest and most expensive pieces from the buyers who spend the most money with them. If anything they should be setting aside the best items for the best customers.

 

[clarionreef]

CD,
You're looking at it logically aren't you?
Actually, the importers who most fail to connect with the retailer trade may look for another way to attract money.
Transhipping and allowing the pickers in is perhaps seen by them as better then nothing.. even if the return is small.
You know like the hookers of East Berlin outsourcing the conventional ones from West Germany when he wall fell.

Longterm negative impact on lowering perceived value of dwindling rare livestock? Puh-lease. None of these guys can even pronounce sustainablity much less spell it.
Look for the conservation messages in the marketing department.
A price war to reduce futher the wild populations of the rarest corals doesn't even make much sense in the short run....let alone the long run.
Rose anemones, scolymias, acans, red or blue yumas..etc. etc.have all suffered from this self destructive national pastime.
Steve
DHL. The internet, F$S dropshipping etc. has of course changed the world and not for the better as marketing drives will always outstrip management needs.
These consumer driven, market trends make a mockery of most eco-speak coming from the reef trade. Grow a frag...lose a reef.
Grow a finger....crowbar a mother colony...etc. etc....and above all, beat the next guy to the next coolest, and rarest thing under the sea.

 

[JennM]

SDC please don't go there.

Your one of my lfs suppliers and if what your saying were true, my guy would have gotten his "cherries" at least once.

Sally I can't speak about SDC or your LFS because I don't deal with either. However, having been in the trade long enough, I can tell you that there are a certain amount of "politics" involved.

Again I'm not making a reference to SDC because I don't buy from them -- just making a generalization here...

Just like in any industry, the big players get the best deals. Best discounts, best "first pick"... it's only common capitalistic sense that the store that spends $5000 with you a week gets better pickings than the one that spends $500. It's a case of "He who gots, gets." If you can pardon my slang This law of the jungle would apply in any link in the chain of custody... the customer who has spent $20,000 is more likely to get a phone call from me when I get in something that's extra special, than the cheapskate who balks at the $9.99 "scratch and dent" section... that's just life -- even if both wanted the same specimen. Even I am guilty of that

The key, in my experience, to getting a good share of the good stuff, is to forge good relationships with reputable suppliers, in particular, ones that don't allow "cherry picking". So far it's working for me

Jenn

 

[Anonymous]

not all b&m's place huge orders, and not all etailers place small ones :idea: :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

SDC please don't go there.

Your one of my lfs suppliers and if what your saying were true, my guy would have gotten his "cherries" at least once.

Sally I can't speak about SDC or your LFS because I don't deal with either. However, having been in the trade long enough, I can tell you that there are a certain amount of "politics" involved.

Again I'm not making a reference to SDC because I don't buy from them -- just making a generalization here...

Just like in any industry, the big players get the best deals. Best discounts, best "first pick"... it's only common capitalistic sense that the store that spends $5000 with you a week gets better pickings than the one that spends $500. It's a case of "He who gots, gets." If you can pardon my slang This law of the jungle would apply in any link in the chain of custody... the customer who has spent $20,000 is more likely to get a phone call from me when I get in something that's extra special, than the cheapskate who balks at the $9.99 "scratch and dent" section... that's just life -- even if both wanted the same specimen. Even I am guilty of that

The key, in my experience, to getting a good share of the good stuff, is to forge good relationships with reputable suppliers, in particular, ones that don't allow "cherry picking". So far it's working for me

Jenn

Jenn, I do agree with you to some extent but.....If the choice piece came in and I the "occasional" buyer was there, you wouldn't refuse to sell me the said "choice" piece, now would you? As I see it, wholesalers that allow cherrypicking to go on are REFUSING to make the sell to the occassional or small buyer. Why is my guy here less of a *customer* than a big company like MDL or F&S?

 

[dizzy]

If anybody deserves 1st pick it's the 20-years or longer retailer club. :wink:

 

[clarionreef]

True that Mitch!
THE SENIOR CITIZENS HERE NEED A BREAK!
Steve

 

[just dave]

As I see it, wholesalers that allow cherrypicking to go on are REFUSING to make the sell to the occassional or small buyer. Why is my guy here less of a *customer* than a big company like MDL or F&S?

I can't fault any company for giving more to the places that spend more.
It would be nice to think that loyalty ,regardless of order size, had some value and with some places it may but good intentions will not pay their bills. If I feel that I'm not getting my fair share of the 'cherries',I voice my displeasure by taking my business elsewhere. Maybe that's what your LFS should do. Some of the smaller wholesalers can supply some really nice stuff but they may not have selection that some of the larger ones do which means one may need to source a few different suppliers instead of one or two of the larger ones. It has worked well for me though it would be more convenient to get it all from one source.
So if you spend less you should be prepared to get less. That's just the way it is for the most part.

 

[Anonymous]

As I see it, wholesalers that allow cherrypicking to go on are REFUSING to make the sell to the occassional or small buyer. Why is my guy here less of a *customer* than a big company like MDL or F&S?

I can't fault any company for giving more to the places that spend more.
It would be nice to think that loyalty ,regardless of order size, had some value and with some places it may but good intentions will not pay their bills. If I feel that I'm not getting my fair share of the 'cherries',I voice my displeasure by taking my business elsewhere. Maybe that's what your LFS should do. Some of the smaller wholesalers can supply some really nice stuff but they may not have selection that some of the larger ones do which means one may need to source a few different suppliers instead of one or two of the larger ones. It has worked well for me though it would be more convenient to get it all from one source.
So if you spend less you should be prepared to get less. That's just the way it is for the most part.

Ok, I get it. My guy should just shut down because he's small fry compared to the others and just not as IMPORTANT!

How the hell is he supposed to grow his business if his supplier/s won't supply him? I see what's been ordered and since I help unpack the shipments I know what's coming in the door and he get's shorted every stinking week. Maybe I should tell him that his wholesaler/s allows cherrypickers and that's why he can't get any of the nicer peices he orders and maybe I should suggest some more wholesalers to him.

Dave your closer to a major hub so getting orders in from several different suppliers isn't that big a deal. But here it is a MAJOR problem. Getting those transfers onto the puddle jumpers from Memphis/St. Louis are all that come in. It's just not the same and you can't compare the two.

 

[just dave]

Ok, I get it. My guy should just shut down because he's small fry compared to the others and just not as IMPORTANT!

No ,he should find alternate sources and establish good relationships with them by ordering consistently. However, if he can not adapt, your above statement may become a fact.

How the hell is he supposed to grow his business if his supplier/s won't supply him? I see what's been ordered and since I help unpack the shipments I know what's coming in the door and he gets shorted every stinking week. Maybe I should tell him that his wholesaler/s allows cherrypickers and that's why he can't get any of the nicer peices he orders and maybe I should suggest some more wholesalers to him.

Never getting all the stuff you order (quantity or item) is not unusual and may have nothing to do with getting passed over in favor of someone else.
It sometimes has to do with the fact that many wholesalers put out stock lists based on what they hope to have on hand as opposed to what they actually do have. If he can not get certain key items consistently ,he should look elsewhere. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results starts to look crazy.

Dave your closer to a major hub so getting orders in from several different suppliers isn't that big a deal. But here it is a MAJOR problem. Getting those transfers onto the puddle jumpers from Memphis/St. Louis are all that come in. It's just not the same and you can't compare the two.

I don't see location a factor in what a wholesaler will send you. It is a BIG factor in the condition said stuff arrives. There are always alternatives though they may not be desirable ones and one certainly has to weigh all the considerations.
I know there is a wholesaler in Louisville. He ever use that one? I think it's called Jseas.

 

[JT]

Inaccurate stocklists, combined with poor communication with your sales rep., is the number ONE reason for poor fill rates. As Dave said, stocklists are generated based on what a wholesaler expects to receive during that week. Some of the wholesalers who do daily inventories can still have inaccurate stocklists depending on how busy they are that day.

Having worked at a couple wholesalers, I can assure you that orders are not pulled based on how big of a customer you are. Due to flight scheduling, orders are typically pulled based on a cut-off time of when the shipment has to be at the airport. This, unfortunately, is beyond the control of the wholesaler. If your shipment doesn't have to be at the airport until 11pm at night, you are not going to be pulled first thing in the morning when there might be five orders that have to be at LAX by 2pm. Every airline is different as well. Some airlines require shipments to be dropped off 6 hours before the flight while others are less restrictive.

This business is VERY dynamic and dependent on so many links throughout the whole process. Any one who holds the wholesaler 100% responsible for every link in the chain and bitches and moans week after week is a very difficult customer to deal with and will not earn much respect from the wholesaler. A retailer needs to do his buying EXPECTING not to receive a 100% fill rate and to understand that **** happens, and probably will, somewhere along the line.

Case in point, I placed an order earlier this week with a wholesaler who frequents this forum. It was my first order with him but I have known this person for quite a few years and he knows me. I ordered from him mainly because I know where the majority of his livestock comes from and he had a few things that my regular supplier hasn't been able to provide me on my last couple of orders. Our customer base buys 95% small reef fish and bread and butter corals combined with a bunch of inverts. Because of this, I typically order more than I need in expectation that I will not get 100% fill rate. My "cherry picking" is usually limited to the best bread and butter specimens, a good variety of inexpensive fairy wrasses and exotic gobies, and good quantities of cleaner shrimp. Did I receive 100% fill rate on this first order? No, I probably received an 80% fill, maybe a bit more. I did not get a couple of fish that I really wanted. Am I pissed off because of this? No. Did I call up and rant at this wholesaler? No. Will I order from this wholesaler again? Yes. The product I did receive was very healthy and packed well and I have plenty to sell because of how I ordered.

- JT

 

[dizzy]

Sally if he really wants the cherries tell him to contact AquaMarines. They are cherry pickers supreme for the retailers. I'm not a huge fan of allowing this or the etailers to do it, but it might work for your guy.
Mitch