LFS survey

Irish563

Irish563

AC Members
Oct 15, 2006
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A friend of mine is considering starting his own LFS. I figured I would help him out by asking you guys what you like and dislike about LFS in your area. I'll start:

1) Open Monday through Friday 10-6, Saturday 12-6. Show up on Wednesday at 3pm and they are closed.
2) "Aqua Moss? Normally people try to get rid of that stuff."
3) No selection of anything except mollies and livebearers.
4) The 3 (yes only 3 besides Petsmart and Petco) LFS in my area specialize in Saltwater.

Irish
 
if you want to start a LFS
you need to consider the demographics.
the wants of the folks in the area.
you could create a niche market and provide stock that the others don't provide
but you need to be aware of pricing.

some of the stuff you sell is perishable. fish and food fit in these categories. those will need to be priced to sell asap(high rotation low price..you make the money on these by the "turn's")
learn the lingo turn's for instance to the turn around of the particualr stock item..stocking is the quantity you buy to stock..remember that the better pricing is thru higher numbers.but realistically you can't compete with the chains who purchase larger quantities and ship from central arehouses.
yor best bet in this case is a repuatable wholesaler who in essence is your warehouse.
don't be afraid to dicker with holesalers..remember they are competing for your business.
it actually get much more complicated than this..
I use to be a manager of a large sporting goods store.

big thing..Know your market
everyone can get the same products(in essence) so the thing that ill seoerate you from the other dog's is SERVICE!!!
 
1) is just bad business management

2) I don't understand the question.

3) This is the biggest problem with most shops, but it isn't limited to live stock. Most LFS can't compete with the chain stores, so they end up not stocking much in the way of dry goods or their prices are ridiculous.

4) Specializing in freshwater or saltwater is going to frustrate some of your customers and likely you are going to lose those. The saying goes that you can't please all of the people all of the time. Do a bit of market research for the area and see what is missing. There's generally going to be a lot more freshwater customers than saltwater.


3 & 4) If I was to open an LFS, I would devote 60% to freshwater 10% to brackish, and 30% to saltwater.

I'd shoot for these goals
Freshwater - 100 unique live stock choices
Brackish - 25 unique live stock choices
Saltwater - 75 unique live stock choices
 
A few suggestions beyond the obvious (keep tanks clean, no visible dead fish, bag fish with care, etc.)
Organize tanks as best as possible by compatibility.
Don't sell me a fish based on "you can bring it back when it gets too big".
e-mail newsletter letting me know when new fish/species are coming or are now in stock.
If you sell a certain brand of filter, stock every filter medium I may want for that filter and replacement parts.
Be prepared/set up to demonstrate various products in use (filters, air pumps, etc).
Offer seminars and/or brochures on cycling, maintenance, stocking, diseases, etc.
Offer "house calls" in emergencies (fee, ofcourse).
Don't fill your shelves with stuff that we know is worthless (strip tests, strip thermometers, sub-par brands, etc.).
Be upfront about fish behavior (likes to hide, pretty nocturnal..may not see it much, etc).
And, if you want to really go beyond the rest, offer to meet a customer at the store 24/7 in case of an emergency...
 
if you don't know something, don't lie about it - offer to take the customer's name and number and get back to them within a day with the answer, or direct them to a source of information like this or other websites.

don't sell fish that shouldn't be kept in the average aquarium (pacus, red tail cats, asian catfish, etc) or (this is what i would do) have a huge display tank on site that contains these fish and shows how big they can really get. of course it may not be feasible to keep those fish anyway - still find a way to provide the information to the customer if they want to know why you don't stock so-and-so fish. heck, print out a life-sized picture of each fish and glue it onto posterboard. reach behind the counter and pull out your 3-ft long pacu cutout and show them why it's not a good idea to buy one. a customer may be disappointed if you don't carry a certain fish, but if you can prove to the customer that you are actually PROTECTING them from the misinformation that other stores hand out about tankbusters, they will probably appreciate it and think that you're the good guy for not lying to them.

talk about tank size and compatibility with the customer, but don't act like a know it all, or be aggressive about the issues. if someone is doing something you think is wrong in terms of stocking or fishkeeping overall, you can either choose to refuse the sale, or deny the individual the ability to return the fish if it dies due to an issue you already told the customer would be a problem.

keep up with labels on the tanks. this was discussed in another thread earlier. it seems like a lot of places have mislabelled tanks - either the label identifies a fish that is already sold and gone, or there is no label for a fish that is in the tank.

keep items in stock that most places don't have - i agree on the java moss issue. if more LFS's just put it in its own tank instead of putting in with the fish (and the filtration systems) it wouldn't become such a problem. inform the customer about the habits of java moss (it likes to run wild and get everywhere, esp. into the filter where it can clog the impeller) but it can be useful and pretty in the aquarium if the maintenance is understood. same with duckweed. it might be a problem, but some people like the look of it, and some fish like to eat it. stock easy plants like the java fern, hornwort, etc. . . and be willing to special order/find sources for a customer who wants a planted tank. if you see a lot of sales in that area, you can upgrade your plant selection and hardware.

stay away from dyed or tattoed fish. while less experienced customers may think they are just so neat and wonderful, more experienced fishkeepers will be turned off from your store because they understand why dyed fish are bad. the (ignorant? uninformed?) customers who buy those fish from you will eventually be upset about the purchase when the fish dies so soon, or looses those pretty rainbow colors.
 
Let me preface this to say that I am a novice at this. I don't have a tank setup yet. I am still purchasing equipment, building my own tank stand (you can read the thread here: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119039), and reading lots and lots. But I figure that I am in a specific demographic that has certain needs.

Irish563 said:
4) The 3 (yes only 3 besides Petsmart and Petco) LFS in my area specialize in Saltwater.
Click to expand...

I have been to 7 different stores (both chains and LFS) and have also found that most LFS specialize in saltwater. I believe that this is probably for a few reasons. First, the chains specialize in freshwater and competing against a chain is difficult. Second, there is probably more of a markup on saltwater fish, since they are more expensive in the first place.

If you are going to stock freshwater fish, then I would price the most popular fish (neons, corys, otos, etc) as low as possible (maybe even at cost) to compete with the chains and bring in customers. I would also try and carry species that the local chains don't carry (this way you aren't directly competing), such as espei rasboras or pentazona barbs.

Phil22 said:
keep tanks clean, no visible dead fish
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:iagree: As a beginner, that is a real turnoff to me and would prevent me from buying anything else in that tank. In other words, a dead or very sick fish equates to lost sales.

wataugachicken said:
keep up with labels on the tanks. this was discussed in another thread earlier. it seems like a lot of places have mislabelled tanks - either the label identifies a fish that is already sold and gone, or there is no label for a fish that is in the tank.
Click to expand...

Also, from a beginner's perspective, it is nice to have labels that provide lots of information (such as whether a fish is community/semi-aggressive/aggressive, the size it will grow to, the pH and temp range, etc).

And if you don't carry something, offer to special order it (as long as it is coming from one of your suppliers). Many of the chains don't do special orders, so once again this is a good way to compete against them. For example, I want to purchase a 40 gallon breeder tank. Only PetsMart has one, but it comes as a Topfin package (with the filter, light, hood, etc.). I don't want everything else, just the tank. All of the LFS were able to order it for me (and I am glad to say that I should be getting it today).

wataugachicken said:
stay away from dyed or tattoed fish.
Click to expand...

:iagree: Even genetically altered fish (glofish) are a huge turnoff for me.
 
A small nuance that bothers me, when it's mainstream to mislabel a fish. Like Corydoras trillenasadsadtus is always sold as the rarer and different patterned C. julii. The least you can do is actually write what you are selling below the fish..

On a serious note tho, starting a business is not something to do on a whim so make sure you/he really does his homework.
 
actually, there is less of a markup percentage-wise on saltwater fish. the difference is that while you can buy 60 neon tetras for 10 cents each and sell them for 2 dollars, you only make 1.90 on each one. you might spend 25 or 30 bucks on a single saltwater fish, but you sell it for 50 or 60 dollars. you have to sell a lot of tetras to compare to even one saltwater specimen.

as for suggestions - try to buy from local people where possible. maybe somebody nearby (within driving distance for them) breeds bristlenose plecos, or different kinds of cichlids, or snails. offer store credit for food and other supplies. of course, make sure you check out your sources thoroughly, and don't be scared to tell someone that a batch of fish doesn't look good this week. the benefit is that you are contributing to the local people, word of mouth advertising will be spread about your store by the breeders to friends, family, and neighbors, you can get quality fish that have not been shipped all over the country or all over the world, and they are already acclimated to the water in your area. you can treat it like any other business relationship - demand quality, ask about their breeding and culling practices, and see how they do things. if you don't like the way their set-up looks, you don't have to use them, but if everything looks good, it would be an advantage. just figure out the "rules" you will go by and lay them out up front.
 
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wataugachicken said:
actually, there is less of a markup percentage-wise on saltwater fish. the difference is that while you can buy 60 neon tetras for 10 cents each and sell them for 2 dollars, you only make 1.90 on each one. you might spend 25 or 30 bucks on a single saltwater fish, but you sell it for 50 or 60 dollars. you have to sell a lot of tetras to compare to even one saltwater specimen.
Click to expand...

That is what I meant. Sorry, if I didn't explain myself properly.
 
i wasn't disagreeing with you. i was just getting all precise about it.
 
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