OLFS's - are they worth it?

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votek

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Feb 20, 2003
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Unless there is a place I haven't seen online yet, every site I find seems to be much mroe expensive then just going to your LFS and getting your fish.

The nice thing about OLFS Would be...

-Cheaper
-You can have them delivered to your door
-You wouldnt have to wait for the LFS to stock them or special order something for you.

The realisty seems to be that LFS's...

-Are way cheaper.
-let you SEE what your're getting.
-Are able to give advice right there as to if you may be getting the wrong fish or to reccomend something along with it.

Take forinstance my the purchase of my eel.

The local Petco has a rather impressive selection of SW and FW fish. All of the fish I bought from there did well. The tanks are kept emaculate and the treatment as I have observed seems to be of very high care. Now I purchased my snowflake moray eel for about $30.00. He's about 9" long, so hes not that big, but getting there.

I have checked many OLFS's and it seems that for the same fish, it would run me about $50.00 and up to get it to my door. The prices they list are always great and appealing to the eye. But they love to forget to mention the 30, 40, and 50$ shipping charges.

Lets see. 50$ vs 30$. Hmmmmm. It the margin were a lot smaller, then it would be understandable. But we're talking about a 20$ minimum markup.

If the LFS's have to ship in their supplies, and are able to crush the prices on the internet, then what I must fail to know is that there is/are site(s) out there that are able to compete at the LFS price range.

:confused:
 
Originally posted by votek
The local Petco has a rather impressive selection of SW and FW fish. All of the fish I bought from there did well. The tanks are kept emaculate and the treatment as I have observed seems to be of very high care.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this isn't the norm. Many areas lack a quality source for SW fish in good health and at reasonable prices. This is particularly true for reef organisms like corals, which are oftentimes very overpriced in the average LFS. For lots of people, online shopping is the only option.

Even if you do have good selection locally, if you want something rare, online is the way to go. Check www.themarinecenter.com ...my guess is that Petco couldn't get half of their livestock if it tried.

EDIT: Meant The Marine Center, screwed up the link on the first try...thanks for pointing it out, gcvt! :)
 
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While I agree with boogie & gov't, today while picking up a bag of dog food at petco I decided to stop by their paltry SW section. To my surprise they had rocks with riccordia mushrooms for $25.00. I picked one up with about 10 mushrooms attached. My lfs would charge between 50 to 75 for this rock. Every once in a while I find a deal at petco but normally their stock is not healthy.

Brian
 
There are about 4 LFS's in my area that carry SW fish. I've been to 3 of them, and Petco seems to be the cleanest and healthiest. However, I know most of the employees there and they all run their own SW tanks at home...so most of their supply there is well kept - even though they only sell fish.

Live rocks run about 10 - 50$ depending on size from where I get them.
 
I've found this to be somewhat true. I picked up a flame angel yesterday that had been eating for over two weeks since he's been there. My store doesn't carry but SW but a nearby Petco does and they needed help for their grand re-opening. He's doing good so far and is already eating and after my employee discount I paid just over $40 for him. I think though that most of the fish I've seen online have been cheaper, and you can't beat the selection. If you want something, sooner or later you'll find a place that'll ship it to you. However, with FW, I've found the online prices to be ridiculous. There's no way I'd ever pay $5.29 (without shipping) for a rummy-nose when I can get them here for $2. It's a give and take I guess.
 
Maybe I am just lucky to have a LFS that has decent prices. Their FW selection is much better than their SW, but that is where most of the business is. Macroeconomics at work, I suppose. Anyway, compared to OLFS, the prices are about the same, and there is no S&H charge. My only complaint is that they carry a very limited range of peripherals like filters and such. They also do not have any pre-cured liverock, despite their repeated promises to get some in. :rolleyes:

About Petco, I have only seen a few SW fish there, and those they did have didn't look too great. They had a false Percula Clown that looked severely bloated, and a tank full of different species of damselfish that was clearly Ich infested.
 
snow flake eel on liveaquaria

runs 18$ for a small, 24 med and 39 large.

and saltwaterfish.com there going 20$ and FREE fex shiping!

so i dont know about all of you but i find price on line beter the the lfs


HmMMmMMMM.....

pS.
tHE flAme AnGLEfIsh RUns ABouT 40$ OnLINe.
 
Perhaps but angels are terrible shippers and when I pay that much I want to know that it's eating.
 
For me, it depends on the fish. There are somethings I can't get locally, so will purchase online. For many fish, I can get them locally for a reasonable price, so why bother? I do like looking at the fish before purchase, but with a reliable store, that's not a big deal. When I get the time to setup the tank for the angler, I will probably purchase one online since I haven't seen any locally that I liked.
 
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