When should you buy from the LFS?

[RobertoVespucci]

I went to two lfs today. There are only three in the area.

Anyway, my system is nearly ready to fill with saltwater, so I figured I should go and see what's available. I'm fairly committed to the notion that when possible I should buy from the local stores that are doing something right. If I were in business for myself I hope they would do the same. But this presents a dilemna.

The first store I had never been to before. They have 1 tank with corals and 4 tanks with fish and mobile inverts. They had one BTA that was fairly white with purple tips, I think that's bad. Right? Other than that, most of the animals didn't look /too/ bad but everything was covered in 2" green hair. It looked like the default windows XP desktop. Then there was the countercurrent skimmer listing in the water column. The collection cup was under water. Fwiw, the fresh looked a lot better and the mammals in the store were superb. But, I'm thinking it would be best to stay away from them and hope they get out of the sw business. Does that make me a snob?

Store two was very different. Also my second visit. The guy runs it out of building he built in his backyard. Paved a parking lot no less. He had a lot of great stuff, but not very much of it was stuff I was looking for. He had a lot of mushrooms, but no ricordea, that kind of thing. And for reference there should be no signs of recession on stony corals, right? I really didn't understand his pricing scheme either. There was a hammer that was about the size of a nice grapefruit for $35. Then next to it was a frogspawn where 4 of the 5 heads were dead and the one left was half dollar sized for $40. I know I'm not very bright. I guess frogspawn is rare? Well, I'd been there twice and I kind of felt like I should buy something because overall the setup seems good and I feel like I should promote that. He had some Mag pumps so I thought I'd buy one because I need one anyway. Including shipping most places online have them for around $65 for the 7, so I expected to pay around $75-80. His were $97. I wasn't feeling that obligated, though. (Plus I found out he only accepts cash and I never carry any so my conscience was assuaged.)

So how do you all resolve that dilemna? I know there are some store owners here, I'd like to hear their perspective, too. Sure. I know once the tank cycles I'm going to go back to this guy and pay $5 for each bumblebee snail and I'm ok with that. Where do you draw the line in supporting your local merchant and saving yourself some bread? In the other arenas I shop in there is either an MSRP or price competition that drives these things, so this is new to me. I don't feel bad because I know I'm going to need to order wacky stuff on line that no person in their right mind would carry. He offered to specially request a fish for me from his wholesaler, but it would cost three times as much as from somewhat well respected eMerchant and there would be no guarantee when it would arrive or what condition it would be in. I would love to help this guy's cause and if I could I would buy every clam he has and they're cheap for some reason. So, WWRDOD?

 

[Bojangles]

Store one doesn't care much about their tank conditions or they would be working properly. Although IME these places get fish that others dont and sometimes you get lucky. Like Petco around here sucks but I still go look what they have because I've scored both of my favorite tangs there and they're cheaper than SW only places.

Store two is probably going to be your best bet to find a deal if he's willing to haggle. His prices are cheaper than what I get around here, but if some of the heads are dead..well would you still buy it? In my area a healthy fist sized frogspawn will run you $70 and leathers around $39-49.

I used to manage a LFS and so I have some perspective but not all are the same. The one I was in had an owner that marked 150% on dry goods and 200% on fish. As far as dry goods I always always buy on-line. However I always always buy fish in person. Unless you need something that no one will carry, like rare species, then the LFS will get it in eventually. Mentioning it when you go in helps 8)

For corals I've always bought in person and havent yet had them shipped so someone else will have to add their experiences. For fish...I'm just willing to pay more for a good healthy fish. Also I love to fish shop, so alot of times I dont buy until I find the right one I want.

 

[Bojangles]

If you only buy good healthy items, then it will force them to keep quality stock or face going under.

As a customer you have to demand quality or they'll always be selling crappy second-rate items.

Your money is your voice...

 

[Jolieve]

I'd check out the third store, and I would also ask a lot of questions at both places about their reefkeeping philosophy and see if their ideas mesh with yours, or at least even come close.

I also agree wth Bo, that you should only buy quality animals from your lfs, it forces them to stay honest. I'm lucky in that my lfs is run by a man who has been in the hobby for a number of years and he understands what people require from their fish store. The only downside with him is that you cannot walk into his store expecting to find different fish than he had the week before, he buys only animals that sell on a weekly basis, he also avoids buying animals that customers will return later on. IMO, it's a good business philosophy and a solid means to keeping animals that live. But.. I found all of this out, just by talking to him about it.

Don't be afraid to ask them questions about their animals or their ideals. Dive right in there and ask.

J.

 

[Anonymous]

This is almost the same kind of question I asked recently. I just purchased a light online yesterday. I went to my lfs first to see if they had it.

They didn't have it in stock, but if they ordered it for me I could have it for only 40 dollars more than I just paid online including shipping.

I really don't understand that at all, a 40 dollar bumpup on a hundred dollar item is quite a bit.

I do always buy my salt and fish from them because until recently they had great looking tanks. The last couple of times the tanks have been dissapointing so I am looking for a new lfs

If I were in your shoes I would check out the third store

 

[Anonymous]

Check out all of the stores in the arae and compare. One may have a better deal on some item and another on somthing different. Also, look around for a reef club. Often times you can pickup lots of good stuff for reasonable from fellow reefers. FYI frogspawn are not rare.

 

[flanders]

since i am pretty new to the hobby i spend a good deal of time asking lots of questions. As they are acrossthe street from my office and they have 4 exceptional reef tankd (incliding a nano tank that makes me drool) i can be in there 2-3 times a day just to stair and pester them with questions.

They mark things up 20-80% from what i find on the internet. So as a rule of thumb if it is somethign i want to see work and need help setting up ill buy from them and take the markup. If i can figure it out on my own ill pay the internet prices.

As for stock .. their fish are all in good shape and they have almost all the species i want regularly so im willing to pay the markup as i can watch a fish for a week or so in the store before bringin it home.

 

[RobertoVespucci]

Well, I've joined the local club. When I figure out where to send the dues I'll be a card carrying member. I'm going to the 3rd store tomorrow. Seems that there is another store about an hour and a half away that the club is fond of. ( They had a meeting at one store that near as I can tell is 6 hours from here.) I've been to a store that's about 2.5-3 hours from here before, but I'm on a pretty short leash so I can't get there but once or twice a year. Otherwise it's the only place I'd shop. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Bojangles]

Fish wise the mark up is worth it. Alot of fish dont ship well and I dont blame them ...I'd be pretty beat up after a flight in a bag as well.

I'm note sure on corals though I only buy them when I see really good ones and I've never ordered on the net.

 

[RobertoVespucci]

I went to the third store today. To me it was obvious that this guy is in business selling fish and corals. It made sense what Bojangles had said about buying all his hardware online. What he had looked like basic and emergency supplies. I was quite impressed.

Two other notables. He's raising seahorse fry in the back; he showed them to my son who went ape. The other, He had loads of goniopora. I asked him about that considering they were hard to keep. His response was "They are?" and showed me the one in his display tank. This baby was pineapple sized and very clearly putting out new tissue. Had been there over a year and grown considerably it turns out.

I can already see my paychecks evaporating.

 

[Bojangles]

I have a shop like that here. They have a great selection but so many people buy from them that they cant keep the really cool stuff in stock. You should see it on coral shipment day, about 70% of their stock goes out the door before it hits the tank 8O

 

[HClH2OFish]

I pretty much stick with one LFS here in Phoenix that absolutely rocks as far as their husbandry. Tanks are always gorgeous, they have a huge quarantine area in that back and they have tons of cool critters too.
I'll pay the prices for their stock even though I could get cheaper online or Pestco. I like knowing I'm getting healthy specimens. My 1/2 black pygmy angel is happy and fat and the best $38 I've spent (his name is Sparky)
They have decent corals and lots of odd critters occasionally (ie tank raised octopus..they have a deal with the college here in town that does research on em)
I don't buy lights from them though. I can get them waay cheaper on the Net. Other things (salt, kits, etc.) I'll buy if I don't want to wait for shipping on the net.

Pretty much, if I see a LFS having good husbandry and caring about their fish, I'll stick with them.

Oh, FWIW the store name is Aquatouch here in Phoenix. They're on 32nd street and Cactus (free plug for them...I'm not affiliated w/em in any way)