Price that LFS buy fish at

[RiVerfishgirl]

The going wholesale price for bristlenose plecos is about $.65 for a regular size (about 2") fish. But that doesn't include shipping so the offer for $.75 is pretty much right. Remember that stores don't sell tiny fry (few people want to buy a tiny fry when they can buy a 2" fish for the same price) and they don't have the ability to devote time to growing them up (it costs them money to do this which they will not likely make back).

Andy

Where is the going price for BN plecos wholesale $.65? My friend owns a fish store and he'd LOVE to find a supplier that would supply them at that rate. They're around $2.00 a piece wholesale from his supplier last time I checked depending on how many you buy, and he sells them for $5-7 depending on size. I'd have to log in to see what the rate is bulk, but $.65 is unbelievably low. That's about the price for NORMAL plecos as far as I know.

In response to the OP, many fish stores will not offer to pay a competitive price for people bringing in fry. The mom and pop stores are more likely to do so, but they're going to want to make as much profit as possible so they will offer you way less money than what your fish are technically worth wholesale. A lot of this is because most people don't actually know what they're paying wholesale from their supplier for that particular fish, so they feel they can get away with it.

 

[RiVerfishgirl]

Hmmm, now I feel silly. I just logged in and I'm mixing up prices with the albinos. And even on those the prices have gone down since last time I checked ($1.19 for 25).

The normal BN plecos are $.65 if you order 25, and as low as $.56 if you order 150.

So what the original poster's fish store is offering seems like a good rate.

I would suggest maybe trying to sell the ones you have now at closer to retail price to hobbyists, and if you ever have a bunch extra that you can not house then sell those ones to your fish store. If you don't have very many fry then selling them at wholesale cut rate prices to the fish store doesn't really make sense.

 

[steffish]

In response to the OP, many fish stores will not offer to pay a competitive price for people bringing in fry. The mom and pop stores are more likely to do so, but they're going to want to make as much profit as possible so they will offer you way less money than what your fish are technically worth wholesale.A lot of this is because most people don't actually know what they're paying wholesale from their supplier for that particular fish, so they feel they can get away with it.

Of course they want to make as much profit as possible - That's the goal of being in business.

Uncalled for remark Imo.
Consider what goes into owning/running a fish store. Rent, utilities, water, food & meds for fish, shipping, advertising, salaries, etc.,etc.

Good "Mom & Pop" stores deserve all the credit and support we can give them! :thumbsup:

 

[abcdefghi]

Well, as of yesterday I have what looks to be about 50 wrigglers. So will have to start raising them over the next few weeks and then try to sell them.

 

[RiVerfishgirl]

Of course they want to make as much profit as possible - That's the goal of being in business.

Uncalled for remark Imo.
Consider what goes into owning/running a fish store. Rent, utilities, water, food & meds for fish, shipping, advertising, salaries, etc.,etc.

Good "Mom & Pop" stores deserve all the credit and support we can give them! :thumbsup:

I'm well aware of what goes into running a fish store. I've loaned (well, more like given) my friend money, given him free fish and supplies, etc. etc., all to keep his store going.

But owning a customer oriented business also entails being good to your customers, and severely undercutting their wholesalers prices when offering to buy fry, especially sought after species that they know will sell well, is not the best way to go IMO. I know some stores that do do that, and I know some that don't, and I don't agree with the ones that do, especially with customers that are constantly buying from them and give them a lot of support. If it's a species that will not sell quickly or for much, I do understand offering less because they are going to have to feed and house those fish for much longer which will cut into their profit significantly.
Some stores WILL offer an unfair price because they know the customer doesn't realize what they would pay wholesale, which I do not think is right, but I'm by no means saying all stores do this. There are a lot of good stores out there.
Just like the store deserves to make a profit, we also deserve to receive a fair price for the work we've put into spawning and caring for the fish. So I in no way feel obligated to sell fish at extremely lower than wholesale rates to a store, though I may do this anyway if the store has been good to me and I don't mind helping them out.

That said, if you read my second comment, the fish store the OP went to was actually offering a fair price (slightly over retail actually), which is the right thing to do to keep your customers happy.

 

[DrgRcr]

I have sold some juvenile african cichlids to one of the LFS here. I went in having a general knowledge of what he sells similarly sized cichlids for, and also knowing that they will pay a fraction of that cost for mine. He offered me $2 each, I asked for 3, we agreed on 2.50 which is about what I expected. He offered it as a store credit(again expected), and I had no problem with that because it is a good store. I immediately applied it to my first Malawi peacock purchase after a nice conversation with the owner. So I see it as a win-win situation by doing business with and giving business to them, and building a good relationship. I do agree with one of the previous posters though, in that I generally try to sell juvies myself first to get a better price. Being able to ship helps that as well.

 

[fishorama]

It's been quite a while since I "sold" fish to a lfs but if you're willing to accept store credit it used to be almost twice the cash price...since the "credit" includes the store's mark up. Something to consider.

Also if you're the only local breeder vs several others you may get a better price. We couldn't give away some easy breeding cichlids after a while--kribs, blue acaras, firemouths, we saturated the market quite soon, they just couldn't sell enough often enough to make it worth their while to house & feed them. These were pre-internet days...