Oscar's exotic fish

[jhebi]

You know formerly known Jeff exotic store in Gardena.

Do you guys know if they close their doors?

I went there 2 times and both times the gates were closed. And also there is a lease sign outside.

Did they move? I need to get some water

Thanks

[jjb81speed]

someone told me they moved.....i went htere last week and the gates were closed.

[SPSFiend]

Yeah, they are closing down. i think they may relocate somewhere but not sure where.

My friend went on Monday to get water and it was the last time they would sell to him there.

[ezcompany]

they could not afford the overhead and they are shutting down their physical facility. they're going to be 100% online now. its always depressing to see a store close

[jhebi]

Oic....Does anyone knows if Reefermadness sell water or some other LFS near Torrance.

Thanks

[frogiii]

I was told they're doing online store for now and going to open a store in La Mirada in few month.

[lowbudget]

Originally posted by jhebi
Oic....Does anyone knows if Reefermadness sell water or some other LFS near Torrance.

Thanks

dont buy water there make your own. its not too bad want more info pm me.

[Texsun]

Pacific Reef on Sepulveda is probably your best bet for water and a decent LFS. Other than that, it's the usual Neptune's Reef, Aquatic Fantasy...

Sad that they closed down since I've bought from Jeff way back in the day when he was selling out of his house in Torrance.

[raskal311]

Was he even up for more then a year? I heard he paid a fortune for that place. I always wanted to swing by after he took over but never had the time.

[Macimage]

If they are still selling on-line, don't they still need a facility and employees? I don't quite see why they would close, as any walk-in business would seem like a bonus as long as you have stock and merchandise.

Joyce

[chaffey]

Rent's keep going up, cost too much. At home, you can work on your own time and by yourself.

[Texsun]

I guess, but that's not really a high rent district, especially with Nissan bailing and leaving thousands of square feet vacant just down the block.

[dtm]

I think its just a matter of time before they go totally out of business. I dont think an online store will work very well, theres just too much competition, ie marine depot, how can you compete with that?

It is sad to see it go, I thought they were gonna do alright but I guess not.

I also heard oscar paid a fortune for that place ($600k)

[reef_doug]

IMO.. they won't succeed with an online biz... too much competetion from Live Aquaria with their guarrantee and excellent customer service, plus the drop ship from Quality Marine (LAX). I've heard good things will be happening to MarineDepotLive.com along the same lines.

Oscars Exotic (and Jeff's) purchased alot of fish from ASM (being so close by and all). I just can't see Oscar's Exotic providing the same level of service against other more established online retailers.

It's too bad, I've met Oscar and he seems like a really nice person. Probably just a bad business decision on the purchase of the biz.

[Primetime33]

Originally posted by Texsun
I guess, but that's not really a high rent district, especially with Nissan bailing and leaving thousands of square feet vacant just down the block.

My company just bought one of those "Nissan" buildings and we are in the midst of doing interior demo now. Too bad they closed. Would have been nice to spend my paycheck at lunch time lol

[reef_doug]

Originally posted by Primetime33
My company just bought one of those "Nissan" buildings and we are in the midst of doing interior demo now. Too bad they closed. Would have been nice to spend my paycheck at lunch time lol

Pacific Reef & ReeferMadness could be done within a lunch hour from there

[Primetime33]

Yea.. I have been to Reefer Madness a few times.. Dangerous place to go with money in your pocket.

If the Pacific Reef on Sepulveda is the same quality as in Fountain Valley, I am in trouble

[phatphisher]

the owners are very nice people but had very little chance of success since they did not even have the basic knowledge of the hobby. madeleine even told me that she never had a tank so they can't tell one fish from another when they took over. they bought the business from jeff depending completely on what he claimed the business was doing and its potential. i guess there were a lot of misrepresentation so there is now a lawsuit going on.

oscar told me that the only thing of value is the online customer list. they decided that the online business will continue but still figuring out how to make it work.

liveaquaria and marinedepotlive are definitely formidable competition but they just have to find their little spot in the customer base and they should be ok. there are so many other online stores that are making money and they're not even located in los angeles. if those guys can make it, anyone here in LA can do better. just have to find the right connections.

good luck to oscar and madeleine.

[dtm]

Not very bright to enter into a business you know absolutely nothing about.

How can there be a lawsuit? wouldnt oscar have had to look at financial statements and such before ploping down $600k? Theres no way he just took Jeffs word, did he? If so he has nobody to blame but himself

[reef_doug]

Originally posted by dtm
Not very bright to enter into a business you know absolutely nothing about.

How can there be a lawsuit? wouldnt oscar have had to look at financial statements and such before ploping down $600k? Theres no way he just took Jeffs word, did he? If so he has nobody to blame but himself

Agree, Oscar should have (or maybe he did) base the decision on Federal, State and Sales Tax filings. Any talk of a "cash based business" would only help the selling owner, not a potential buyer as it's all hearsay. Anycase $600K is alot of money for a LFS (goodwill & assets), especially considering you have "no exclusive" market, franchise and no protection for source of goods.

[chaffey]

lawsuit ? on what ?...sorry two words stupid and dump for whoever paid 600K for a fish store.

My mom was trying to buy a nails salon for 250K and I think that was insane.

[reef_doug]

Tom, are you still looking for a location?

[phatphisher]

i have no idea what they paid for the business so the 600k being thrown around may or may not be accurate. the lawsuit is based on misrepresentation of previous sales, average monthly income and overstated company assests and inventory. oscar only told me of the overview of the lawsuit so i have no other details.

true that buyer beware when purchasing a business but you also have to rely on what the seller is presenting to you. i think it is called "good faith" in legal terms. so it is up to the new owners to prove that jeff doctored the income statements and overstated the assets to make the business look a lot better than it actuall was.

i'm not siding on either side but just passing along why the business is closing. jeff's used to be the coolest place to go so it's sad to see it deteriorate over the years.

[raskal311]

Originally posted by chaffey
Rent's keep going up, cost too much. At home, you can work on your own time and by yourself.

His lease should dictate exactly what his rent is for the next 5-10 years.

[Puffalicious]

I was talking to Jim at Jim's Exotic Fish and I heard Jim file a lawsuit and won against Jeff.

The story is that Jim opened a store named "Jim's Exotic Fish" in El Segundo, which I go to frequently. A few years later Jeff opened a store somewhere near El Segundo too with the name "Jeff's Exotic Fish". Jim saw this and thought Jeff copied the name and filed a suit and won.

My guess is that Jeff just doesn't have enough money to pay it all off.