Ever ordered from themarinecenter.com?

Thresa · #1 05/27/2005, 10:06 AM

Has anyone here ever ordered from themarinecenter.com? If so was it a good or bad experience? I am thinking about ordering a Scott's Fairy Wrasse (Cook's Island) from them.

d4a2n0k · #2 05/27/2005, 12:54 PM

The pros are they get fish that nobody else can get and the fish are very healthy.

The bad side to them is they are very expensive, sometimes hard to get hold of in case of a problem and some employees/owner are rude.

Northside Reef · #3 05/27/2005, 03:40 PM

They will also tell you they have items in stock that they do not have so when you have a multiple fish order you can expect to pay multiple shipping charges. I was really not too pleased with these guys.

I also had them charge my CC for a fish that did not even ship.
I can not believe that there will ever be a fish I need so bad in my tank that I would ever begin to consider this vender as a source again.

d4a2n0k · #4 05/27/2005, 03:49 PM

Thats exactly what happened to me. I got one of their emails that are sent each Sunday and I ordered a Magnificent Foxface and a Sunburst Anthias on the Monday. I did this over the phone and there was no mention of anything.

Next day the box arrives with only the Foxface in it. The invoice showed they billed me for both fish. I called them and they said the Anthias wasnt looking so good and they wanted to wait for a new batch of them to arrive. This I am happy about but they never even called to ask if I wanted to hold the Foxface. So I payed about 50-60 dollars in shipping a $60.00 fish. It would have been the same price if they sent the Anthias so if they would have called I would have cancelled the order and waited so the expensive shipping can be for 2 fish instead of 1.

I spoke to the owner who was a little rude, forgetting who the customer is.

discusone · #5 05/27/2005, 04:24 PM

d4a2nOK.did they ship the anthias later.?Free shipping?Not standing up for them,just wondered.

Ive ordered from them a number of times,as they get in rare butterflys,( wroughtirons and Jap. masked ).

I agree.they are hell to get ahold of,but there quality seems to be without peer.I have never gotten anything from them that was ill,or not eating the next day.

Having said that,there are less painful ways of getting nice/rare fish.But the quality of their animals and the packing are VERY good.

Rothie · #6 05/27/2005, 08:49 PM

Their prices are outrageous,and their communication is poor.They don't return phone calls and the stock is shipped from elsewhere,so they don't really know the condition of the livestock.

d4a2n0k · #7 05/27/2005, 11:05 PM

I never did get the Anthias from them. They wanted me to pay for full shipping on it which I wouldnt do. That was the whole reason I was upset in the first place. The box the Foxface came in was huge and had enough room for another fish.

I wasnt expecting much but they wouldnt even pay for half the shipping on the Anthias. I ended up buying it locally.

Northside Reef · #8 05/28/2005, 12:09 AM

I was just flat out lied to by them. I called to order a Australian Scott's fairy wrasse, I was told they had one in stock. I was then told how BEAUTIFUL the Cirrhilabrus rubrisquamis (Strawberry wrasse) they had in was. I looked the fish up, and told the person (I really wish I could remember his name, I want to say it was Marty but this was back in August so I may be wrong) that I was not interested in the fish as it looked rather plain to me.

HE then offered a "great" deal on the fish and also added that the picture on their web site did not do this fish "justice".
"OK" I said "add it to the order".

Imagine my surprise when the only fish that showed up was the one he basically had to talk up and lower the price on to get me to order.

The Scott's fairy I wanted? Yeah out of stock. I would have to pay another box, and shipping charge to get one in.

Northside Reef · #9 05/30/2005, 07:13 PM

Kind of funny but I forgot how much these guys ticked me off until I posted on this thread.

(gratuitous bump)

tankfly · #10 05/30/2005, 07:25 PM

I ordered from them a few years ago but I wouldn't recommend them now. You can never be sure that they have the fish in stock. What I don't understand is why they don't have a web site with WYSIWYG pictures and a true shopping cart system. I don't see how they can continue to compete with the companies like liveaquaria.com and reefermadness unless they do.