Is this okay to ask?

[as40]

Hello All!

I don't know what the proper etiquette (sp?) is regarding discussion of online vendors (names given, recommendations, etc.), but I ran across one company that looks intriguing and that I was thinking of ordering from in the near future. I was looking for some reviews from y'all to see if any of you have used them, what you thought about them, and if you'd recommend shopping them or not. The company is called Arizona Aquatic Gardens (http://www.azgardens.com/index.php). Anywho, thanks in advance for any info.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays all! :D

[125gJoe]

Not recommended.

And your 'new' Avatar most likely is the guy I had to deal with on the phone from that "company"!

Uuuuh...

:sick:


Your deal with them may vary.
I learned the hard way about that "company"! Someone here warned me, but I gambled and lost... Lost a lot of $$... The website looked good, and I stupidly trusted what a website looks like.

If you do decide to order from them, get out the 'body bags' ...

When you hear the phrase, "I'll take care of Ya!" .... a few stutters, and rambles, etc. ......
You have that "place"..

Good Luck.

[125gJoe]

as40,

From the title of your Thread... It seems like you may have read past Links of what happened when I trusted and ordered from them... Is that so?

The past thread is still there and searchable here.. I'd rather just forget my loss of $$ , and hope others are cautious - keep orders to a minimum at that place...

........never again for me........

I've found great places to get my aquarium needs thanks to AC! :)

[as40]

Geez Joe,

What a mess! Sorry you've had to go through that! Thanks for the heads up! I found the post I think you were referring to. I hate b******s like that. And yes, I will call them b******s, because they are. The only reason I starred 'em out is to keep the forum clean.

I know, I know... I have read some other bits about online vendors, and I have ranted quite a bit myself about my bad experience with one called A*** Bot****, but had thought perhaps there might be some hope out there of decent vendors. I wan't actually considering the plants so much from Arizona A.G., but the shrimp, since they don't require you to order in bulk like most places (100+ is kinda overkill for my needs). Also, my LFS has trouble getting what I would like at a decent cost. :rolleyes: But, after the picture of your quality merchandise that I saw, I think I'll hold off.

Also, was interested in where in the world I could get some true SAE's, as my LFS refuses to admit there is a difference between them and my recently purchased, non-returnable "flying foxes". They claim it's just a conspiracy by bored people with too much reading time on their hands. No kidding. And that was from the manager. :rolleyes:

I did order an aquascaping toolkit from an online vendor (albiet a different one than the one in question above), as no place in my area seems to know what they are, and I don't think the vendor can mess that order up. If that arrived DOA, I'd be worried. :D

[Tempest]

as40, your report really surprised me when I first saw it and still does. You're the first person I've ever heard with a bad report on the supplier you mention and it really seems odd to me to be quite honest.

I've never gotten plants from there but the nicest plants I've gotten for my aquariums came from Florida Driftwood.

[DIYMatt]

I had somewhat the same expereince with that supplier almost three years ago, except it was just plants and only about $80 worth. In fact, the fact that a well respected member of this board recommended them to me caused me to stay away from this board for over a year.

I ordered in the winter and it gets cold here, so I called three times to verify that they would pack them well to protect against damage and temperature, it was first plant order I had made that needed to be shipped. The only response I got was the cold is good for shipping plants:eek: . I said it can get down to well below zero here. They said don't worry they would be fine. Well, I came home three days later to find to find a soggy box pretty much crushed sitting inside my screen door and it was about 5 degress out:mad:. The box was about 3 times to big for what they had in there and there were sopping wet newspaper(still wet luckily) and a loosely tied bag. The water had made the box start to fall apart from all the water. Needless to say most of the plants were just mush. I called the "supplier" and they told me to read their ordering guidelines page and that since I had only ordered one or two of each plant it was too hard to pack each plant well, and usaully people order more because the prices are so low. :confused:He sounded mad I had ordered such a "small" quantity, and kept referring me back to their ordering guidelines page on their website, which basically says "you're screwed". Basically, I lost everything but a Rubin sword and a couple of Barclaya bulbs.

Personally, I would never buy from these people again. Which is sad because the shrimp pricing and selection seems good.