Quote:
Originally posted by coralights
At any given point a single LFS may charge more than what seems proper ..... LFS generally get a 20% discount off of list .... mail order companies get a lot more ......
LFS should be supported if they supply you with good advice and healthy livestock .... mail order companies should not because they do not add any value to the transaction ... and often when you factor in the cost of shipping they are not much different in price?
The problem with the aquarium hobby is cheapskate do-it-yourselfers ... who also give out lots of bad advice on how to save money. They deal with mail order companies because their so-called expertise cannot not be disputed.
There are many bad LFS also ..... but if you can find a good one ... give that LFS all your business and don't complain about the price.
|
I discussed this very issue with one of my LFS. He told me that often you can order most things on the Internet as cheap or cheaper than he can get them from his supplier. Therefore, he carrys a few large ticket dry good hardware items but for the most part he carries a lot of consumable items because that is where the money is. Most people do not order fish food, medicine, livestock, filter media, substrate, fittings, thermometers, charcoal, and tanks/stands. So he carries a multitude of those items. And he is fione with that. He carries just enough items like protein skimmers, calcium reactors, refugiums, live rock, etc. to satisfy those customers who don't order off of the Internet. He keeps his livestock in prime condition, keeps the store clean, gives free advice even if it kills a sale, and will go out of his way to help most people. In fact, there are two LFS in this area that do business that way (I only had the discussion at one but both are equally good to deal with). They price their goods accordingly. They are very economical on their livestock, consumables, and tanks/stands. They are not as competitive on their dry goods, especially those that people usually only buy once. And for that reason, I make purchases at both places on a weekly basis and order my skimmers, heaters, lighting, etc. online. And I am DIY'ing my first calcium reactor. Maybe I am just a cheapskate DIY'er getting bad advice from other cheapskate DIY'ers here on reef central but I am having a good time and spending money at my LFS. I don't claim to be an expert, in fact I'm a newbie. But I have read a lot of posts by DIY'ers in here that have provided me some valuable information that has made the hobby much easier and saved me a lot of money. And if you read through these forums you will see that this is the most civil and courteous bunch of folks you will ever see online. They bend over backwards to help and make everyone feel welcome. You would have a much bigger impact and sway many more opinions and dollars if you took a more civil approach. In essence you just called almost everyone here a cheapskate and questioned their "so-called expertise". Remember, you catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar. I'm sure you have a lot more to offer than insults and chastising.