Live Rock Buyers Beware

[UnknownWaters]

This online company really stinks these are the pictures they post of live rock @$3.50 a pound and free shipping that takes about hmmmm 11 days but was told it would only be 2/3 days YOU LIARS! the rock not even close to what was shown or described as you can see from the pictures below.


this picture is what they show you but..



This junk is what they send you. nice huh?

with this heading lol


SOUTH SEAS LIVE ROCK IS $3.50 PER POUND-NO HIDDEN COSTS



Well this is what they send you after you call and complain the company's rock smelt worse than low tide on humid day off sandy hook nj and it was so far from live after seeing the rock for the first time all I cant think of was a bugle and start playing TAPS on my horn.

here is the link to this company be careful.

http://www.intmarinefish.com/liverock.html

 

[gcfishreef]

......u Know What They Say<>>if Its Sound Too Good , U Got Taken

Good Luck And Sorry That U Got Taken
Internet U Just Gotta Love It!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Deanos]

Thread moved

 

[rafal07013]

I think you got what you bought. the picture of the nice rock is VANUATU LIVE ROCK which is advertised at $5.59 per pound where South seas Lace Rock "marco rocks" type rock is advertised at $3.50 - not sure whats your beef with them. I just want to be fair.

 

[Pinkheine]

There is a positive that I think you missed, though the rock was not what you expected (1st or 2nd time around).. they did try and make good on the confusion. That is more than some if not most will do.

When buying live rock if you don't want to go through a curing process your best option is to buy directly from another reefer or a LFS. It also offers the added option of picking and choosing pieces that way.

Sorry you got the feeling you got hosed. It's never pleasant when things don't turn out as we expect them to.

 

[greggnyce]

+1 on the fellow reefer, that where your best deals really are. There is almost always someone selling some live rock. Also there are a couple great online vendors who are located locally and you can pick up from them, so no shipping.

 

[jejton]

Live rock should smell even if it was in the mail for 2/3 days. You have to cure it unless you buy it cured directly from another tank. Even cured rock will have dieoff after being out of water for a couple of days and that will smell bad.

 

[seldin]

I took a look at the link you told me about.

I am sorry for your unhappiness.

However, it does look like you got what you paid for. I understand your confusion and frustration, and you do mention the company tried to make it right.

The base rock you got, if you kept it, can be seeded with live rock and coraline will grow quickly.


The normal prices I see for mail order live rock with shipping usually is around $6/ lb once you include the shipping which is quite expensive. So $3.50 lb for your base rock really is the normal price for an online vendor.

As was already mentioned, you can get good live rock from local reefers for around $3/lb.

 

[NYPDFrogman]

the web site is misleading....
they have 2 different descriptions for the south seas rock
and right under the picture of the Vanuatu rock is"South seas Lace Rock"
which at first glance leads one to believe that that is the south seas rock.

I don't see anywhere on the site or page the word base rock.

when promised a shipping date thats what it should be not 11 days later


I will agree to an extent that it is better to buy rock locally from other reefers and such but that doesn't always work out....


IE I drove fom my house up north to pick up rock from someone only to find rubble left when I confronted the seller he said I was too late someone came and got it first even though I offered to pre pay through paypal and pick up the fees.

so local deals arent always the best

 

[Galantra]

I bought rock from the company when i first started my saltwater madness they did take 2 weeks when i first got them the rocks where ok but that was when you could buy figi i complained to them and they sent me out 20 pounds of more live rock

 

[Malibu361]

I ordered from Foster and Smith and got some real nice pieces when I 1st my first tank up a few years ago..

 

[ecvernon]

it really sucks what they did to you. internet is often convenient but can be misleading as well.
if i were to order rock from any online site i would cure it first.

if i were to to it all over again i will always order dry marco rock being that i would have to cure it anyway. end result could be even better than some of the "live rock " i have purchased in the past

 

[House of Laughter]

South Seas Rock (in caps) is actually a Carib Sea product - be careful with i-sites - easy to hide behind what's stated verses what you thought you were supposed to get.

Unfortunately, this is the case. best to buy in person, cherry pick and get what you want. For me, when it comes to rock, it's a pay now/ pay later situation.

Good luck and hope it works out for you.

House

 

[reefman]

South seas Lace Rock
South Seas Lace Rock is a calcium carbonate rock very similar to actual reef rock and comes from ancient underground coral reefs. This rock has excellent structures and is very porous.

SOUTH SEAS LIVE ROCK IS $3.50 PER POUND-NO HIDDEN COSTS

u got what u paid for.​

 

[NYPDFrogman]

South seas Lace Rock
South Seas Lace Rock is a calcium carbonate rock very similar to actual reef rock and comes from ancient underground coral reefs. This rock has excellent structures and is very porous.

SOUTH SEAS LIVE ROCK IS $3.50 PER POUND-NO HIDDEN COSTS

u got what u paid for.​

did you enjoy pointing that out to him?:smash:
the website is misleading, directly above the the description u graciously posted for him is the picture of the Vanuatu rock. that wasnt a mistake.
the first time I viewed the site I assumed it was the rock they were describing also.

Unknown is not a newb just out of the hobby for a long time, maybe as long as some of our members are alive.:shhh: yes the hobby has come a long way.

I give him a lot of credit for getting back into the hobby during such tough economic times, being a business owner with long hours and a father of 5 it cant be easy

I'm sure there isnt one member here that has made an impulse decision that they later regretted.

yeah he got what he paid for but he was also promised a delivery date and that wasn't met, it was poorly packed and was far from cured or live. I was there when he unpacked it.
Now I didn't witness his phone conversations or read his emails with the company but do ya think maybe that interaction might have been less than desirable leading him to post his dissatisfaction? :bablefish

 

[debbiedebbie]

same thing happend to me three weeks ago with same company

 

[reefman]

i do realized that the pic above it is misleading. it is too close to the "South seas Lace Rock" underneath it. they shouldn've group the pics n the wording closer together. there r online sites that can get so misleading, its borderline scam. i agree n just the 11 day shipping is enough to expect your $ back.
and yes, i did enjoy pointing that out. :tongue1:

 

[UnknownWaters]

Ok I will say im am the first person to admit when im wrong but not this time. when I called him and asked him exactly which rock it was he said it was the rock pictured on top of the page NOT reptile rock or base rock. and yes he did make good by giving me 20lbs of vanuatu rock for free. So I dont think I got taken.
But it states south seas LIVE rock $3.50 NOT south seas LACE rock see the problem here ??? And being a self employed businessman its a little hard to get the time to shop for live rock especially when we dont have a half decent LFS for about 42 miles (thats the distance between us and HOF) so the internet is sometimes or only means. Now Frank helped me get another batch of live rock into the tank that came from a company out in california who I ordered from the same day and had it in 3 days and it was great rock.

http://www.riverwonders.com/product_info.php?cPath=38&products_id=158

I will post some pics after I get back from vacation so you can seee how nice the rock has cured but most of the nice rock came from riverwonders and to al the vendors @MR this company will ship free overnight to your local airport (stewart)
for about $1.00/2.50 depending on how much rock you buy 100 lbs minimum but only to people in the business. And if ending up with 120 lbs of liverock for about $215.00
is getting taken then yes im beat lol but I think I ended up ok. Im not here trying to ruin a company name just to protect fellow reefers.