LFS VS MAIL ORDER

[ebosshard]

Can someone give me the pro's and cons of buying fish from a mail order supplier vs a LFS?

To date (not long) I have bot everything at a very big LFS that actually does a good piece of mail order themselves. They get fish in every week. PRetty broad supply of fish (but never broad enough).

I am wondering from someone experienced if they could give me the pro's and con's of where you buy your fish (mail or lfs).

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

That Fish Place?

 

[Anonymous]

I have not had to mail order anything yet. Let me know if you do order something. I like the LFS to take the risk.....I can put a deposit on an animal and see how it does in a week or two then purchase it.

 

[Anonymous]

LFS = You get to see what you are purchasing. You are supporing the existence of LFS's in general. They are much rarer than they used to be.

Mail order= cheaper, but you take a risk.

Use mail order for things that you can't get localy.

Jim

 

[abozoki]

LFS is willing to take things back and give some credit, even if the bad decision was mine too.
LFS gives good advice.
LFS doesn't charge shipping.
LFS stuff can be in tank same day.
LFS knows my tank - "You don't have a top and he's a jumper"

My wife and I have agreed that we're willing to pay a 20% premium to buy at equipment at LFS.
LFS will test water for free.

With livestock - LFS uses same water we do - less acllimation.
LFS does great job of quarantine and we can watch too.
LFS to our house is 15 minutes, making final journey less stressful to livestock.

All that being said, there have been things LFS just doesn't carry or is 100% more expensive for which we've used mail order. So far we've done little that's not at LFS, but there are many temptations out there.

 

[JennM]

I own a LFS.

It's nice to see some pro-LFS posts out there, the proverbial tide seems to be turning back, as it were.

I remember a time when LFS were slammed as greedy money-mongers simply out to ream the hobbyist.

For all the reasons stated above, the LFS is your best bet.

Cons to Mail Order:

Many mail order houses are just call centers. They forward their fish orders to a wholesaler who drop-ships on their behalf. The mail order person/entity you are buying from never sees the fish, and has no vested interest in the animal's well-being.

You might want to check out the Industry forum here at RDO regarding the use of Cyanide in the aquarium trade, and choose your supplier accordingly.

HTH

Jenn

 

[hillbilly]

If you deal with a LFS who knows how to care for
the animals they are selling, by all means buy from
them. It is safer the getting them mail order.

 

[DK]

Supporting a good LFS is critical to their existance. Yeah, a skimmer or pump or even rock is cheaper mail order but fish and some corals and especially frozen food I will buy at the LFS. Often, you can request a specific fish, pay a little more, but at least you can see it before you bring it home. You can also have them hold it for a period of time so the fish/coral can show any problems.

 

[Jolieve]

I really dislike the idea of mail order. You wouldn't take home a puppy or a kitten without picking out your favorite of the litter. Don't take home a fish without doing the same. That's my motto. Also, as far as prices at the lfs, it's worth it to pay a couple bucks more to keep the lfs going, than to order it online and lose the local, reliable source. If the prices at the lfs are close enough to price plus shipping online, I buy from the lfs.

J.

 

[JennM]

::::::Feeling the Love:::::::

Wow - so nice to hear this - in the last few years the circle has come full. From LFS to MO and back to LFS.

Nobody begrudges anybody from saving a dollar -- heck some mail order houses sell dry goods for less than our cost. Can't even hope to compete with that, and if you can wait a few days for it, it's just common sense to price - shop. Besides, if you have a set budget for your tank expenditures (heheh right!) you'll spend the difference on livestock or whatnot, at the LFS. If you need it NOW, or if you need help putting it together, or if you need service after the sale, the LFS is the place to go.

Nothing insults me more than somebody bringing in the item they bought online, and asking me to A) Put it together, or B) Exchange it because it's defective/does not work or C) Exchange it for store credit because they made a bad choice. The last one really bugs me if the person bought livestock via mail order. It's all happened.

If you have a good store, do all that you can to support it. If there is a bad store, do not support it.

I'm just glad to hear that support is returning for LFS - it was getting downright discouraging to hear all the slamming posts for a time...

Cheers,
Jenn

 

[nanocat]

I'm extremely new to the hobby, but after reading on this and reef central's forum for a couple of months, I took the plunge and bought a nano cube.

I visited two LFS. You'd think being so close to the "source" we'd have the best LFS (Los Angeles). Wrong.

The first store had tangs in little acrylic boxes that were about 6 inches square. I'm looking at that and thinking, "man, on the forums they say you can't keep a tang in a 12 gallon nano, how the heck do they live in 6"x6"?" So I find one of the workers and ask. First worker takes one look at me, and says "I don't do salt water" and walks away. Next worker says he does salt water, listens to my question and says "uh yeah lady, you're right...some of us aren't too happy about the conditions here". They had all sorts of agressive fish crammed into 10 gallon tanks...it was weird.

Well, at least he was honest. This store is going to run a 20% off hardgoods sale in early Jan.

The next LFS I visited was much better, and had a lot of very nice corals but almost no fish stock. Since the owner seemed knowledgeable and at least they weren't abusing the fish, I purchased my Nano Cube setup from them. As a result, I spent an extra $25 more than the sale price at the other store.

So, on the way home I pass a Petco. Just for curiousity I decide to drop in since I forgot to get a thermometer. The first thing I realize is that although Petco only carried about 6 different marine species, at least what they had were some of the best looking clowns and damsels, that I had seen. Who knew? :roll:

Honestly I like the idea of supporting my LFS, and I will probably try to do so with frags and livestock (you won't get much in 12 gallons) :wink: ,
I'm not going to spend $39.95 for a book that I can get on the internet for $25 (and not have to pay sales tax either). I'm not willing to spend $29.95 for a heater that I've located at $13 either.

I realize the LFS have overhead, but until they "clean up" and start offering some real value-added info for my money, my repeat business may be mostly H2O.

 

[Jolieve]

Keep looking around for some other lfs. It may just be that a good LFS is a bit of a drive for you. There are several reefkeepers on the boards from the LA area that might be able to point you in the right direction. You can also check the reefs.org lfs directory for some places to check out.

http://www.reefs.org/lfslist/

Also, sometimes, when your heater dies...