How come nobody is interested in non shipping?

[Eupterus]

There's two LFS here so there must be plenty of customers/ people keeping fish right?.
Yet nobody is ever interested in non shipping. Just hsipping, shipping and more shipping. Doesn't anyone want to get off their "duff" once in a while and get fish from breeders in their area?. I mean it's cheaper and the risks are lower for fish getting lost and other complications.

Here's what I've offered free:
BN plecos.
Bettas.
Kuhli loaches.

I've had some fish up for adoption for months and still nobody interested...Just want more shipping.

 

[snoopy65]

I wish I had breeders and or LFS in my area. Heck I would even settle for a Petco or Petsmart. Everything is at least an hours drive for me and in a Diesel F250 the fuel is just about the same cost as shipping.

 

[coach_z]

first you need to find someone who is in your area (lets say about 30 minutes driving) and then that person just happens to want a BN, beta or kuhli. then they need to figure out if it costs more to drive to your place to simply buy it from the place right next door to their house. Even with a price tag of $0.00 if it costs more gas than to buy/ship/drive there then they arent going to pick it up for 'free'

 

[Eupterus]

Shipping costs about $20-30...That's about 3 hours in driving distance right?.

 

[snoopy65]

Shipping costs about $20-30...That's about 3 hours in driving distance right?.

That depends on what you drive. It costs us about $105 to fill our truck up. We use between 1/4 - 3/8 tank going to Erie and back (which is the closest "pet stores" for us). And while we are out we have to have lunch, stop at the sporting goods store, check out what is in the mall, etc. It ends up costing alot more to go than to just order online and pay shipping. I realize not everyone lives in the "boonies" but for me, shipping is much cheaper.

 

[Eupterus]

Yes, I agree with that...For people way out the boonies or in sparsely populated areas, shipping in the way to go...However for people like me living in crowded areas, I think small road trips are better.

 

[rainbowcharmer]

If I still lived in RI (was in West Warwick for 6 years), I'd be all over the BN plecos. and most likely the Kuhli loaches as well. Unfortunately I am in Georgia now, and it's 21 hours to get to RI. So... for me pickup would be more stressful on the fish than shipping them since they'd get here faster by shipment most likely. But I do normally buy my fish locally. In fact, I don't think I've ever actually bought fish that had to be shipped, except for the ones shipped to the LFS when I ordered through them. Inverts and plants I have had shipped from people here, which has always turned out fine.

 

[excuzzzeme]

I do shipping even from sellers that are close to me. Reason: A) medically not allowed to drive; B)it is cheaper to ship than to drive 45min to an hour+ to get to their place. For me, it's my only option. You don't ship/I don't buy.

 

[toddnbecka]

Priority Mail shipping is about $15 max for a large flat-rate box, and most fish can be shipped that way w/out any problems if they're bagged properly. I'm not quite out in the boonies, but the local stores have a limited selection of species and ordering through them isn't any cheaper than paying shipping myself. Most of the fish I keep simply aren't available otherwise. Not to mention that I never would have been able to move along several hundred BN and/or several dozen cichlids locally.

 

[Wycco]

I think 90% of the people on this forum live in Pennsylvania (at least it seems that way at times) - which makes it impossible for me to pick things up and makes me rely on shipping.

Of course, I do buy from local stores when available- most of my fish came from local stores- all my inverts (except the ghost shrimp) came from online because no-one sells inverts locally.

I did buy my Corydora through the mail even though there were some locally because- RedKahuna's prices even after shipping were less expensive than the pet-stores... AND were better quality stock.

If you were local to me I'd definately swing by and pick up the Kuhlis!