Big chain pet store refund policies? Specifically Petco?

[lateinningmagic]

Hey guys, I live in Queens NY and have two family owned fish stores and 2 chain stores within walking distance, but neither have ADF, they are all clawed. Anyway, I prefer to support the two family owned stores, since they take better care of their fish and the prices are competitive, and in some cases better, but I'm going to be in the city this week and my friend said there was a nice Petco at Union Square.

I want to check out the Petco to see if they have any ADFs. I've also read that Petco has a pretty good refund policy, something like 10 days? I'd like to know if it would be worth my troubles to buy my fish at Petco, especially if I ever get expensive fish.

 

[petluvr]

You can't really judge a single store by reputation of a corporation alone. I would suggest looking at the stock and determining if the animals look healthy, are showing signs of serious stress, or any disease and talk to the staff see how knowledgable they are about fish keeping and aquatics in general and then make your decision. I have heard this store mentioned in other threads as being a pretty ok place though

 

[lateinningmagic]

You can't really judge a single store by reputation of a corporation alone. I would suggest looking at the stock and determining if the animals look healthy, are showing signs of serious stress, or any disease and talk to the staff see how knowledgable they are about fish keeping and aquatics in general and then make your decision. I have heard this store mentioned in other threads as being a pretty ok place though

I've never been to petco before, I'm just going on what my friend said. In regards to my lfs, I've been to both chain stores (same company) and they both have dead fish in many of the tanks and are quite overcrowded. The family owned places do a lot better job and either a) taking care of their fish, or b) removing dead fish.

 

[shawnhu]

I also live in NYC, but unfortunately, there's no Petco or Petsmart within walking distance from me, I drive there. In general, these larger chains are able to keep prices low, by cutting costs. Most of the time, those costs are cut where they're needed, caring for live-stock.

Petco and Petsmart does have very good return policies, but sometimes it's just not worth the travel costs, and risk of infection to your main stock when purchasing from chains. This will of course vary from store to store, but it's the general stereotype of large chains.

 

[kanvas]

my "neighborhood petco" has like a 14 days guarantee. Compare to my lfs, it has 48 hrs "dead-return" policy with exception of discus which they has NO guarantee what so ever. Sad fact for lfs, but first time i looked at the discus tank I saw one laying on its side on the bottom of the tank. Now I will not ever risk buying discus from them!

 

[Lupin]

my "neighborhood petco" has like a 14 days guarantee. Compare to my lfs, it has 48 hrs "dead-return" policy with exception of discus which they has NO guarantee what so ever. Sad fact for lfs, but first time i looked at the discus tank I saw one laying on its side on the bottom of the tank. Now I will not ever risk buying discus from them!

First of all, discus are ridiculously expensive in most cases (and they should be when you consider the efforts used to rear them) depending on the store's supplier. It is very easy to mishandle discus and then claim by the customers refunds or replacements despite the negligence on their part. If you are looking for quality discus, go to your local breeders, not the stores. You are guaranteed healthy and quality stocks unlike the stores.

Just my two cents.

 

[lateinningmagic]

I also live in NYC, but unfortunately, there's no Petco or Petsmart within walking distance from me, I drive there. In general, these larger chains are able to keep prices low, by cutting costs. Most of the time, those costs are cut where they're needed, caring for live-stock.

Petco and Petsmart does have very good return policies, but sometimes it's just not worth the travel costs, and risk of infection to your main stock when purchasing from chains. This will of course vary from store to store, but it's the general stereotype of large chains.

Good point, I think my lfs have a good selection, so I might now need to go to big chain stores. They definitely don't have ADF, so I'm looking outside my area for em.

 

[coach_z]

if you like your LFS so much then you should stick with them. Call them up, or stop in and say 'hey, can you get me some xxxxxxx?" they will probably say yes, take your name and number (and possibly payment depending ont he store) and they will call you in a week.

-chris