i have 15 new aquariums in my basement that i want to stock for about $500 but no wholesalers will deal with me because i m not a busness. what is it a monopoly? i know these wholesalers sell fish dirt cheap. they sell $50 plecos for $10. i want to get 10-15 king tigers plecos but i m not paying $40 apeice at the lfs. anybody know how of any wholesalers that deal with the public particualy farms in florida
tropical fish wholesale monopoly
- Thread starter jd_7655
- Start date
I know how you feel, mark-up is like 300-400% on fish. I know of farms, 'cause I work at an aquarium store...but none sell to the public. That would pretty much be a waste of their time.
yeah but i m talking some serious cash here surely you d think for $500 they d be willing. i could stock a pet shop for that. i have 15 lfs within a 30 mile radius and none of them have squat i want quality fish they all have takn raised garbage i m even thinking about a trip to southern mexico to collect my own cichlids. ive been in this hoby for 10 years and its gone to crap all i see is the same old stuff. i used to get the white black zebra plecos for $30 now there going for $100 give me a break
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There are 40 dollar plecos?
But its by no means a monopoly. By definition, it is not even a public retailer.
But its by no means a monopoly. By definition, it is not even a public retailer.
$500 may seem like a lot to most folks, but maybe not to wholesalers, especially if it's a one-time deal. If you want to buy that many plecos, why don't you try making a deal with your LFS, offer to pay cash. I'm sure they will give you a discount. I don't know the exact definition of a monopoly, but it's when a single company owns or controls the entire market for a certain product. For example, Microsoft is as close as possible, if not already a monopoly in terms of software. So in your case, a monopoly would be one wholesaler that supplied every LFS. Or a single fish store or company, like if every LFS was replaced with a Petco and nothing else. In this case, Petco could charge whatever they wanted because they have no competators. Why don't you look into getting a resale lisence. Then maybe the wholesalers would have to sell to you. But, even if they did, I'm sure there is a minimum to fill with each purchase. Hope this helps.
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I was thinking about ordering straight from a wholesaler myself. I asked my boss back when I worked for a lfs and he said that if any wholesaler he knew of sold to the public then he would stop ordering from them. If anyone sold to you and the stores found out the WS wouldn't get any more buisness.
How many times in your life are you going to buy $500 worth of fish? Once? Twice? Most people never will. They get a few cheap fish, or 1-2 expensive fish. Few and far between are the extreme hobbiests with 2000 G breeding racks setups in their homes who would need a lot of different fish. AND once they have bought the fish they will work at breeding them making them less valuable. They wouldn't be a reliable customer base.
How many times in your life are you going to buy $500 worth of fish? Once? Twice? Most people never will. They get a few cheap fish, or 1-2 expensive fish. Few and far between are the extreme hobbiests with 2000 G breeding racks setups in their homes who would need a lot of different fish. AND once they have bought the fish they will work at breeding them making them less valuable. They wouldn't be a reliable customer base.
$500 probably isn't enough to cover the paperwork of setting up a new account. Wholesalers are volume sellers- they depend on large repeatable orders at regular intervals.
$500 sounds like a lot to a new hobbyist, but it isn't
Then they'd have to spend another day talking you through the inevitable losses that LFS accept every time they order- and there will be losses.
I agree with the previous suggestion- build a relationship with a LFS and ask for volume discounts.
$500 sounds like a lot to a new hobbyist, but it isn't
Then they'd have to spend another day talking you through the inevitable losses that LFS accept every time they order- and there will be losses.
I agree with the previous suggestion- build a relationship with a LFS and ask for volume discounts.
Wholesalers won't sell to the public because they are protecting the stores in the area that they sell to.
I know of a few places that would swich wholesalers if they caught the wholesaler undermining them. That's a loss directly to the WSer.
I know of a few places that would swich wholesalers if they caught the wholesaler undermining them. That's a loss directly to the WSer.