Is Aquabid DEAD?

[mjordan29]

Hey all, I was away from FW fish keeping for quite a while. When I returned after a decade, Aquabid is identical as when I left but there are about 1/3 the number of listings.

1. Is it dead?
2. If so, why?
3. Are there larger trends in the fish keeper hobby that I'm unaware of?
4. Where are most people buying their fish these days?

Thanks,
Jordan

 

[FreshyFresh]

Jordan, I think it's gone the way of social media, where people list things on FB fish groups, marketplace, etc.

It's the same situation with forum traffic IMO.

 

[fishorama]

I think it's slowed way down because shipping during covid was unreliable too.

You might look at the wet spot in Portland, OR. Shipping is expensive.

 

[dougall]

I'm with Fishorama..

It was doing well with social media until USPS shipping became more unreliable and expensive.

If you are looking for something specific maybe someone can offer suggestions.

Lots of sales went from Facebook marketplace to Band when the selling of live animals directly was outlawed.

The Wet Spot is one of the better online places and still ship.. I find their shipping to be in line with most places selling fish. Shrimp are more forgiving of longer shipping times and I would normally use The Garden if Eder or BuyPetShrimo for that.


Or do my usual and suggest finding a local club especially if you do not want something specific.. buying juvenile frish from their BAP program is normally pretty cheap

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The shipping was not all the unreliable, I shipped fish in 2020 and 2021. But the cots went higher and higher. I just sent a box with 44 placos to CA fro NY. It weighed 20 lbs and was not a huge box- $167.

During 202 the problem was the airlines. To get imported fish into the states means a plane, and the airlines ran really slowly and cut a large number of flights.

I think in 2020 fish sales shipped in were pretty good. The stimulus checks kept coming and there was nothing to spend on. bars and restaurants closed, no vacations etc etc. So fish keepers spent.

There was a time when Aquabid was almost the only option for hobbyists to sell their fish, but time and the digital age created a lot of alternatives. I basically stopped using Aquabid in late 2005.

 

[FreshyFresh]

I mail-ordered fish 4x in 2021. None of the 4 even offered UPS. It was either USPS or FedEx. The only disaster I had was with FedEx. USPS believe it or not was super fast. The stars aligned.

 

[mjordan29]

Good thoughts. Hadn't considered the unreliability of USPS as a contributing factor. Also didn't consider Facebook groups as an option (I know you can't sell live fish on the marketplace).

I used to buy and sell on aquabid. Now I'm struggling to even buy yet alone maybe someday sell again. Was hoping to teach my kiddos about what I did as a teenager (buying, breeding, selling).

Believe it or not I placed an order with the wet spot this morning (before reading all the replied to the thread) and later got an email saying the website was out of date and the fish I ordered were no longer in stock. My luck

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Hoping to learn the new environment again but on a much smaller scale this time around. Who knows, maybe that's all wishful thinking and I'll have 20 tanks again in a year or two lol.