I'd like HELP from a knowing reefer please! - Page 2

Mike01z · 07-07-2007, 08:07 AM

Wow that sucks guys, just stay away from these people is the best advice. Nobody cares about yourself more than yourself.

JennM · 07-07-2007, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brocnizer

I brought 2 chiclids into my LFS because I didn't want to flush them when converting to salt. They said they only take donations, fine! Atleast it doesn't die. Long story short, I went in a week later and saw one of my fish for $65 and the other for $35. Sometimes I think these LFS are straight dirt bags!

Dirtbag here.

I have taken in plenty of fish... if I sold them I trade for store credit which is about 1/3 of what you probably paid. If I didn't sell them, I only give credit if it's something I know I can sell again. Lately I've had to turn away huge oscars and Pacu because people buy them wherever when they are small and cute and ditch them when they are big.

The last biggies I took in I had nearly 2 years - the cost of feeding and tanking them far outweighed any "profit" (cough) that I would have made in selling them - I had a hard time finding somebody with an appropriate tank to house them.

If you were going to flush the cichlids anyway, what's the big deal if they put good prices on them? They did you a favour taking them off your hands, and they have to feed and house them.

One good turn deserves another - they did you a good deed by taking them off your hands, you did them a good deed by giving something to sell.

Jenn

JennM · 07-07-2007, 04:28 PM

Gilraen, did you get any kind of receipt when you brought in your livestock? If not - you may be up the proverbial creek... but if they want your repeat business, they'll make good on that. About 1/3 of retail is fair trade for returned livestock, and about the average that I've seen and done.

The person that suggested you speak to both parties when they are both present is a good one - that way the one who took in your stuff will be hard-pressed to deny it.

Unfortunately it may be a hard lesson learned. That's just bad business.

JMHO

Jenn

hng · 07-07-2007, 10:51 PM

I would recommend for anyone taking stuff into a LFS for credit write down a list of items and have the LFS employee sign it. Even if you don't decide on the money at that time, you have proof of what was delivered. Otherwise, it's your word against theirs. Like Jenn said, donations are donations. The store probably would do well to just break even reselling the item - unless it's something awesome.

Gilraen Took · 07-07-2007, 11:53 PM

*nods* that's the problem. He was rushed to get out of there that day(middle of the afternoon meeting or something) so he didn't even get the chance to look over it all when I left it there. I was lucky to be able to get it through his doors. As mentioned, I know the owner likes me, and I could always threaten to tell every regular there that I see what happened if they refuse to give me any credit.

You guys are lucky to get 30%. He said whatever their supplier had it for THEN was what I was going to get. Which means a LOT less than what I paid for it. I'll see how things go on Monday and let you guys know. All I know is that if they don't make me appeased at least that they're going to at least have an editorial on them in the paper, and really bad word of mouth.

edit. it's amazing. all that I didn't get back when my tank crashed in that bad move a while back was what he showed me the dead skeletons of that had died in their tanks. EVERYthing else was still there and happy when I got it all back. Which is why I figured that the other guy would be at least partially as honest.

Tasher80 · 07-08-2007, 04:13 PM

I would take in all kinds of Corals. Soft, LPS, and SPS to my fish store. The guy that worked there would give me 50% credit for whatever they were going to sell it for. I had $1000 in credit at one point. I think my total was a couple thousand if you added it all together. It worked out well. Then he left and the owner took over and she doesn't know much of what she is doing. I haven't really been back there since. Its not that I don't like her, they just don't have a very good selection anymore.

Reef-Keeper · 07-08-2007, 06:40 PM

stores around here mark up about 125% (thats alot) !! i use to get 50% of what they would sell them for when i traded in frags for credit.

JennM · 07-08-2007, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reef-Keeper

stores around here mark up about 125% (thats alot) !! i use to get 50% of what they would sell them for when i traded in frags for credit.

125% of the invoice price of the creature?

Or are you also including air freight, box charges, gas and time to and from the airport to pick them up, water, salt, tanks, electricity, food, wages to pay somebody to clean tanks, mortality.... did I miss anything?

The real "cost" of a live creature far exceeds the number on the invoice.

If you looked at the *actual* cost, I think you'd find that livestock is not a profitable thing to sell.. in fact many retailers actually lose money on livestock, particularly if they aren't well-versed in good husbandry.

Any "profit" to be made in this industry, is in the dry goods. And not the big-ticket stuff either - there's little markup on that. It's in all the nickel and dime stuff.

If I did not sell livestock, my rent would be cut in half (less floor space needed), I'd save about $700/month in electricity... 400 miles of wear and tear on my truck, and gas for same (about $75 for 400 miles)... you get the picture

And trying to steer back on topic... if a store can buy a creature for "wholesale" price from a supplier, why would they want to pay more from a consumer? If I trade in your widget for $3, but I can buy it from a wholesaler for $1, why would I want to buy yours? Yours is more expensive.

LFS are under NO obligation to trade anything in. In fact, plenty of stores do not accept trade-ins or donations at all. I had a guy try to guilt me into taking his ginormous oscar the other week because he wanted to get rid of it, and nobody would take it. I didn't have the space - because I have *sucker* tattooed on my forehead and I usually end up stuck with cast-offs. It's one thing if a store can predict selling what they take in, or take back... but it's another to get saddled with a white elephant that nobody will buy, that takes up valuable space and food...

I don't sell Oscars or Pacu (I know these are freshwater examples) - and I've had people dump emaciated Mandarin Dragonets (which I don't stock), they've brought in dying Goniopora (which I don't stock)... hoping I can "save" them, or hoping for some store credit for something that's half dead that I might be able to resurrect.

Or they buy a panther grouper somewhere, only to find it eats everything in their tank, then the store that sold it won't take it back - so they want me to take it.

I've got a tank with a bunch of fish-eating serpent stars sold by others, brought in and "donated" to me... what do I do with them? Give them a home... I won't sell them to unsuspecting people only to have them lose fish too... oy!

I hope I'm not sounding defensive or bitter - I'm not - honest

I just find it kind of amusing when people make observations about livestock "markups"... they are so much more than the dollar figure on the fish invoice.

Think about what you've spent on upkeep and equipment for your tank... multiply that by the cost of a huge commercial system (or even a small one)... *that* is a much more accurate assessment of "markup".

Respectfully,

Jenn

Glockafella · 07-08-2007, 07:00 PM

i usually get snails or frags for any trade in i bring in...ive only seen discounts on livestock when someone brings in a tang or a nice angel.

If u find a LFS with integrity...which is not an easy thing to find...get to know peoples names who work there and build up repore with them...thats how u can get deals. My one and only reefer buddy has a 120 gal that he has paid for nothing in it...He just knew a guy who worked there really well and when shipments of livestock came in...my buddy would help clean, acclimate and stock the display tanks...and he would have his pick of one piece of livestock for every time he helped out...

(BTW...this buddy is also the genius that broke a rod that holds a magnetic powerhead thingy...and this genius took a coat hanger and clipped it down and replaced the rod with it...WOW...needless to say the tank was wiped out in 2 weeks...and the coat hanger rod was rusted to heck.)

He cried.

Glockafella · 07-08-2007, 07:05 PM

good point Jenn...i dont feel so angery anymore about paying 35 bucks for a healthy clownfish...

JennM · 07-08-2007, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glockafella

good point Jenn...i dont feel so angery anymore about paying 35 bucks for a healthy clownfish...

$35????????

Zoiks... I'm in the wrong town. I could never get away with charging that much for a clown!

Market has a lot to do with it too... lots of competition can drive prices down. Also the cost of doing business in your area might be a lot more than in mine... still - that seems like a lot to me *g*!

Jenn

Glockafella · 07-08-2007, 07:11 PM

thanks for knocking the anger back into me.

JennM · 07-08-2007, 07:15 PM

LOL sorry!

JennM · 07-08-2007, 07:19 PM

Well just to temper that anger (pardon the pun)....

I'm in suburbia... a growing area but 5 years ago it was the middle of nowhere (some would argue it still is the middle of nowhere, but people are coming!). My rent is steep but it's a LOT steeper just 20 miles closer to the city.

The store in downtown has astronomical rent, a staff of 20, a huge water bill... and they have an inventory that is enviable (or at least they used to - dunno about now). If you needed it *now*, they had it (and at a premium price).

Comparing them to me, is like comparing apples and bowling balls. And they're only 25 or so miles from me.

There are so many variables that determine what a retailer charges for things - try not to think about it too much.

If you're going to stress over the local prices of clownfish, then you should also stress about the local prices of milk (sheesh I paid $4 a gallon today), tennis shoes, golf clubs, and anything else you buy in a store - because *everything* is marked up... *everything*.

Not just the LFS...

Jenn

Reef-Keeper · 07-08-2007, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JennM

125% of the invoice price of the creature?

Or are you also including air freight, box charges, gas and time to and from the airport to pick them up, water, salt, tanks, electricity, food, wages to pay somebody to clean tanks, mortality.... did I miss anything?
Respectfully,

Jenn

No, they mark up 125% of the actual cost. so a $100 coral to them would be $225 for us (unless you were me and got them at cost), but they stopped selling SW so i dont get those deals anymore.