Lucky goldfish the second

Reefer_Addickt · #1 11/27/2007, 07:05 PM

I contacted the shop via their website to inquire about a LT. Tang they posted having on craigslist. The tang had arrived on the 21st at their shop. I was really leery of going to the shop after reading the negative comments posted here. When Will responded to my email he said he would hold the best specimen for me to come inspect. He said "of course there was no obligation to purchase."
I drove down on Thursday to look at the fish and the shop in general. when I entered the store it was a clean shop with plenty of space. I can say the livestock I saw was just as healthy as Aquarium Concepts in Dublin. I'm not going to say I didn't see a sick fish or two. I cannot say that of most of the stores I go into. e.g. Atlantis, Aquarium Concepts. I purchased the Medium LT. Tang for 45+ tax, which from my internet shopping isn't a bad price. I took it home and acclimated it for 3 hours with a drip line. The tang went to the back of my rock work and hid out. He hid out there for the first two days, only coming out from time to time when no humans were around. I figured I would give him a few days to recover from the stress. Unfortunately the tang did not make it over the weekend, I found it on Sunday morning passed away.
I decided to send Will an email saying hey the fish passed away. I was not implying that i expected full credit or a new fish. Since many stores don't offer much of a guarntee of life. Aquarium concepts is 24 hours. Will stepped up to the plate and offered to give me credit, and was a real pleasure to deal with. His customer service is A+, he answers emails often within 2 hours, and is very polite. He makes an effort to post everything he will be getting in the store on the website, and makes lots of updates.
I'm a fish store junkie, just like you. On some saturdays I go and visit 5 stores just to see what they have. I decided to not just write this place off and give it a shot. I was unfortunate to purchase a fish that doesnt make it, but that is not a unique situation of any one fish store. The customer service was some of the best that I have received.

Drew

Mrseptember15 · #2 11/27/2007, 07:19 PM

I like them too. Very good prices but of course with the risk of getting pests in the coral you buy. I bought their cleaner shrimp for $10 each. Good pricing on everything. Just need to make sure you know how to tell healthy from unhealthy and you'll be good.

Reefer_Addickt · #3 11/27/2007, 07:29 PM

It is cool that they have a LED tank too. =)

Mrseptember15 · #4 11/27/2007, 07:40 PM

Yeah it made me so jealous. Solaris lighting :-( When I was there I was eavesdropping on the owner saying that he had to restart that tank because of the earthquake.

-=Zepplock=- · #5 11/27/2007, 07:41 PM

I buy cleaner shrimp from them.
That LED lights suck. Very uneven colors and not that bright.

Elite · #6 11/27/2007, 07:45 PM

Sound like they improved.. Good for them.. Maybe time for a re-visit

..

Mrseptember15 · #7 11/27/2007, 08:05 PM

lol. But it's so Es Pensive! eh but yeah I like their prices. Very odd when you ask them for a pricing on corals though. You ask one guy he says "$7" and he goes off to lunch and I want to buy it but another says "25". Boo =(

Featherdusters · #8 11/27/2007, 08:19 PM

Glad to hear you had a decent experience. I also avoided the store for a while. All the other LFS talked bad about them. But I stumbled upon one of their craigslist ads recently and it drew me in. Nothing can beat their pricing either, which explains why the other fish stores despise them. I had a good experience too. They were very pleasant to me and willing to offer suggestions.

Oh and I love their LED tank. The zoanthids in there popped. It put the metal halide tank next to it in shame.

Reefer_Addickt · #9 11/27/2007, 10:02 PM

From an email discussion I had with Will :

"Maby, as a helping hand to the BAR guys, to repair our rep, I can make my
supply list available, like a "Preorder" type deal.
I can assure you we will ALWAYS have a competitive price. Especially when
compared to the likes of AG and AC (I have complete respect for those two
stores, but they are on the price side). we Bring in stuff "Direct", this is
the only reason for our price difference.

Please let the guys you know to visit on Saturday, when I am there, to avoid
confusion. There really is not anyone there during the week who is a
"Saltwater guy" except for "Earl".

Id hate for them to go during the week, and get lackluster service from a
freshwater guy."

colotl · #10 11/28/2007, 01:29 AM

I have bought some stuff off these guys for great prices!. The guys that work there are friendly. Great customer service. IMO they need tp bump up there corals. They were dry for a while. The solaris does look nice. If it was brighter it would be awsome.

GreshamH · #11 11/28/2007, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Reefer_Addickt
From an email discussion I had with Will :

"Maby, as a helping hand to the BAR guys, to repair our rep, I can make my
supply list available, like a "Preorder" type deal.
I can assure you we will ALWAYS have a competitive price. Especially when
compared to the likes of AG and AC (I have complete respect for those two
stores, but they are on the price side). we Bring in stuff "Direct", this is
the only reason for our price difference.

Please let the guys you know to visit on Saturday, when I am there, to avoid
confusion. There really is not anyone there during the week who is a
"Saltwater guy" except for "Earl".

Id hate for them to go during the week, and get lackluster service from a
freshwater guy."

What store doesn't bring in direct? That isn't the reason every store charges more for stuff then LG in SJ, it's how they choose to do business that gives them the low prices

Reefer_Addickt · #12 11/28/2007, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by GreshamH
What store doesn't bring in direct? That isn't the reason every store charges more for stuff then LG in SJ, it's how they choose to do business that gives them the low prices

I suppose there might be a difference. Some shops buy through a wholesaler who buys from an importer. I would imagine some shops by directly through the importer.

When you say "it is how they choose to do business", are you meaning that some shops will tag on a larger amount to the base price than others? Or are you implying there is some shadiness going on?

Either way, it is still a nice gesture for them to offer to open their list for Bar members choosing.

Sharkie06 · #13 11/29/2007, 04:29 AM

they have good deal and a nice selection of rare fish and corals. also you can't beat $65 for the same anemone as Atlantis Aq. is selling for $500 buck (Lemon Tip Tricolor Rose Bubble Anemone).

GreshamH · #14 11/29/2007, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Reefer_Addickt
I suppose there might be a difference. Some shops buy through a wholesaler who buys from an importer. I would imagine some shops by directly through the importer.

When you say "it is how they choose to do business", are you meaning that some shops will tag on a larger amount to the base price than others? Or are you implying there is some shadiness going on?

Either way, it is still a nice gesture for them to offer to open their list for Bar members choosing.

Knowing the business like I do I can safely say LG SJ is by far not the only store that tranships. Most of them do. This does not mean they also don't buy from the local wholesalers, or from 104th st.

I'm not implying anything. I am saying the prices they charge are due to their method of business. Others choose to maintain different margins

northbay-reefer · #15 11/29/2007, 02:33 PM

This LG is not in any way related to the LG in Oakland right ? The Oakland LG owner is crazy with his crazy pricing, I would never go back there. I'll give the one in SJ a try when am in town, thanks for the review

GreshamH · #16 11/29/2007, 02:53 PM

Different owners, yes

KMP · #17 11/29/2007, 10:13 PM

i had a very postive experience at lucky gold fish also. will helped me out - concur with the great customer service.

bookfish · #18 11/30/2007, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Reefer_Addickt
From an email discussion I had with Will :

"Maby, as a helping hand to the BAR guys, to repair our rep, I can make my
supply list available, like a "Preorder" type deal.
I can assure you we will ALWAYS have a competitive price. Especially when
compared to the likes of AG and AC (I have complete respect for those two
stores, but they are on the price side). we Bring in stuff "Direct", this is
the only reason for our price difference.

Please let the guys you know to visit on Saturday, when I am there, to avoid
confusion. There really is not anyone there during the week who is a
"Saltwater guy" except for "Earl".

Id hate for them to go during the week, and get lackluster service from a
freshwater guy."

Call me old and cynical if you like, but I fail to see how this is a help to BAR members. Looks like a way to drum up business to me. Unless there is a radical discount for pre-orders, I'd rather see my livestock before purchasing it. And if that list is just the stock availability from an exporter, there is no guarantee that what is ordered will actually arrive. And what condition/size it comes in at will also be unknown until the shipment arrives.

tbone28 · #19 11/30/2007, 02:59 PM

Since I was in San Jose last night, I stopped by before heading home. They had quite a few tanks with unhealthy fish. I don't think I'd make a drive from Dublin just to go there based on what I saw.

Reefer_Addickt · #20 11/30/2007, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bookfish
Call me old and cynical if you like, but I fail to see how this is a help to BAR members. Looks like a way to drum up business to me. Unless there is a radical discount for pre-orders, I'd rather see my livestock before purchasing it. And if that list is just the stock availability from an exporter, there is no guarantee that what is ordered will actually arrive. And what condition/size it comes in at will also be unknown until the shipment arrives.

I'm a little confused how someone offering to show you all the fish they can possible order, and then catering to your order not helping.

Anytime you request a store to order a fish can they guarntee what condition it will be when it arrives?

If you don't like what the fish looks like don't buy it.

rleechb · #21 11/30/2007, 03:25 PM

Personally, I have a hard time overlooking the past. Tons of dead fish, craigslist flagging/childish posts, and multiple attempts to generate business on RC by making new accounts and creating "LG is awesome" threads in broken English still keep me out of their store.

Just my opinion

Elite · #22 11/30/2007, 03:47 PM

Wait until you get a full page PM of lecture from them Ray

rleechb · #23 11/30/2007, 04:18 PM

lol, wow! Didn't hear about that one. Thanks for illustrating my point though

kurplunk · #24 11/30/2007, 05:00 PM

Your such a hater Ray. Those fish are sleeping, and you never heard of typing with an accent. I do it all the time esse vato.

delsol650 · #25 11/30/2007, 05:02 PM

You guys are hilarious....