ordering plants online?

Lauren

Lauren

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Aug 9, 2003
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what are the pros and cons of this? I will need many plants soon, and they are expensive at the local store, and while the selection is great for a fish store, it is still not as wide as I would like. Would ording plants from an online source be a better option?
 
I am blessed with a great LFS nearby and a better one not too far away. I would suggest that you buy what you can locally and pick up the rest at a reputable on line site.
I've had mixed results with buying on line. Over all, I'd have to say I've gotten much better plants from Aquabid and other hobbiests than from many of the services on line.
I think there is a section on our site where you can post what plants you are looking for and if anyone has the plants available they will reply or PM you.
Also, you could post, in this forum what you are looking for. Even if these folks don't have available what you need, they may be able to tell you where you can pick up the plants you want.
As I previously said, check out Aquabid first and see what you think.

Len
 
I've been fortunate enough to get great plants online with the 3 orders I've placed. The biggest pro to it is selection. The negative that sticks out to me is that you pay for shipping and usually won't get a gaurantee unless you go with the more expensive shipping.
 
Two different stores with the same name.
The Aquarium Center, in Clementon.
The Aquarium Center, just outside of Baltimore.....worth the trip to both.

Len
 
I've never purchased anything from Aquabid, but I have bought plants from Aquabotanic and from LiveAquaria. Maybe I have been lucky, but I've never had a substitution, and the plants have all done really well. (Except for the cabomba which my fish gobbled up like like it was a tasty snack, but that's another story.) I've been able to get exactly what I want, including harder-to-find plants (like Marimo balls) and my local LFS don't seem to make plants much of a priority- they are all thrown together in a mishmash, haphazardly labeled, so someone who knows exactly what they want might be able to identify it, but a newbie might be saddled with something invasive or demanding or unexpected.

Plus, plants from my LFS always seem to come with snails (my clown loaches make quick work of them, but it might be a problem for others.) I've never had snails come with plants from either Aquabotanic or LiveAquaria. YMMV.
 
djlen said:
Two different stores with the same name.
The Aquarium Center, in Clementon.
The Aquarium Center, just outside of Baltimore.....worth the trip to both.

Len
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awesome! thanks for the tip!
for some reason when I read NJ I always assume people are above the mason dixon line! hahhah!
 
BTW, Aquabid has been down for a couple of days.

"January 12, 2005: The server had a raid problem today.
ETA of getting everything back up is up in the air currently. I will post more details later.

Regards
Mark Barnett"
 
sometimes out of stock - so they substitute
horrendous websites
poor customer service at the majority of online stores
over charge on shipping - they put them in elaborate - huge boxes that just raise the cost and are 100% useless
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Who the heck have you been buying from? All my plants are shipped in a 12X8x6 box, unless the plants are too big for the box. I am not a professional WEB designer, so if it doesn't meet the expectations of WEB geeks, I could care less! :) I get nothing but compliments on my WEB site, which has been up since 1999. I charge whatever UPS charges me, plus $2 for the cost of the box and handling, and if your order is over $100, I don't charge the $2. Is that over charging?

When you buy plants from me, they have a 90 day guarantee...that's ninety days from the day you recieve them. I only substitute as a last resort, and usually just hold the order another week if the missing plants will be in that week. I am not sure what else I can do, but I am always open to suggestions!
 
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