Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board - Customer protection from unethical coral vendors??

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- - Customer protection from unethical coral vendors?? (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=55214)

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreef (Post 442371)

Yes well we all don't live in a city that has a wonderful LFS to buy from.And we all don't have a big sack of cash...just try and bare with the people that might have had to save up,even if it was 10 dollar frags.I learned,never ever going that route again,there's other great online stores,to buy from.

If money is that hard to come by then shouldn't one be more careful with it? In my mind ordering livestock online contains obvious risk. In addition this hobby in general is a huge luxury and far from any life requirement. If money is tight all the more reason to smarten up, coral is not a good investment no matter how you look at it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canadian (Post 442376)

Wow. Blame the victim much? While I can see where you're coming from it simply doesn't excuse the apparently appalling business practices of this vendor.

Fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me.

About a year back I ordered from this vendor, it didn't work out the greatest so I simply didn't order from him again. In the end I got something shipped to me, it wasn't exactly what I ordered and most was DOA but that's the risk you take ordering livestock online from a guy with a fish tank and a website.

I should also note my first post was not targeted at the original poster, just a general observation and response as lots of people seem to be complaining about the vendor in question.

I think the vendor in question has pretty much lost all of Western Canada for sales and I can't think of any other type of penalty that hurts the cashflow into a business. Be aware that there are other vendors that have been just as bad. My cash just go to them anymore.

Like sphelps says:

" Fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me."....Scotty Star Trek

First off, I would agree that you have to be careful when ordering anything online. However, having said that, I would still expect a certain level of professionalism from any "business". Not everyone can afford $30, $50 or $80 frags, just like not everyone can afford a $200 DVD player. That's why Walmart sells $50 DVD players. Sure, you get what you pay for, but even though a $50 DVD player will not compare to a $200 DVD player it still gets the job done. It should not be dead as soon as I get it home. More importantly though, if I have any problems with my $50 DVD player (within the warranty period), Walmart (or the manufacturer) will stand behind its policies and help me out (at least this has been my experience). They will not ignore my calls or try to give me a replacement that is similar but not the same as what I originally asked for (unless I specifically asked for something different).

In principle this is what I would expect as a minimum level of service from any "business" that takes consumer money. I realize that we don't live in this perfect world but I can dream :-)