Pet Supply Liquidator

[fishgills]

Before i post i want to say i do not work for this company, being disable my money is tight, so i look for savings, i've been dealing with this company for years so i thought i pass this on to my fellow reefers, All i want to say the company is the best for power compact bulbs and MH, there prices are unbeatable, 17 bucks for 55 watt pc's and 18 bucks for 65 watts, and there service is the best, when they say the bulbs will be at your house, you can bet it will be there, jim is the man, www.petsupplyliquidator.com 916-381-3551, thanks, once again my tank is the brightest its ever been.
I'm new here i have a 75 gallon tank with a 29 gallon ecosystem, i have 330 watts of power compacts six 55 watt bulbs, i have nothing to do with this company i'm just a very satisfied customer, thought i pass the saving on to my fellow reefers, and this company stands behind there products, If you would like to see my tank go to www.extremereef.com and go into the gallery and look under phillyfish 75 lagoon and click on the big picture, this is with their bulbs.

I agree that their prices are very good, but for most of us here in B.C. Canada(and the rest of canada), after you factor in exchange, shipping, and duty charges, you are not saving anything, just alot of hassle. You might save if you ordered large quantities, but how many people want to order 20 extra bulbs to get some savings....
But for any Americian customers on this board, Im sure they could take advantage of their prices, while at the same time I think they would be better off paying a few bucks extra and supporting their local reefing store, so they can continue to operate and bring in quality livestock...
My 2 cents

[martym]

With the exchange of 1.29 those are good prices so long as you do place a larger order.

I would say that you would have to order a min of 4 55W PC bulbs to make it worth the effort, and really is it??? You can go to your local lower mainland aquariums stores, spend $180.00 with tax and have your 4 55W PC's in hand, no risk of shipping damage, easy ,easy ,easy. If you order 4 55W PC's from Pet Supply Liquidators, it will cost you around $150.00 with tax, shipping, and duty, it could be more though. Shipping in the USA is great, once it gets to the border its hell! If you want to save $20-$30 buying 4 lights you can, but I think it would be wiser to support your local stores so they can continue to bring in nice livestock for you to oggle over...
But hey if your a finatic and need to order 16+ bulbs to replace the bulbs in you 4+ reef tanks, I understand, its just too tempting with huge savings. In my opinion, it isnt worth it unless you are buying 8 or more bulbs at a time...

[Stretch]

Also for the shipping those _________ (put what you want ) at UPS/Fedex will charge insane brokeage fees. you can avoid the them by using standard shipping which will take upwards of 2 weeks and only have to pay taxes, Or you can do customs yourself more headaches however. If i see some worth while to buy from the US i will. Like my refractometer i saved probably 50 bucks.

[Willito]

Recently I purchased $250 USD from Pet Supply Liquidator which included
a dual 96w PC retrokit, a 250w HQI bulb, a 10" PC unit (Bulbs included). Really good deal, so I thought. Shipping was $35 to Calgary, that was still good. But when the UPS guy delivered the package, it was another $50. That's when I thought to myself, hhhmm, is this a good deal after all?

Aside from that, they messed up on the order. They sent me a mogul base instead of HQI. The 96W bulb were the wrong Calvin and one wasn't working. Needless to say, I was not impressed. I called up PSL and complaint, thinking that I am screwed and they're not going to do anything about it. To my surpprise, they appologized and offered to replace all my PC bulbs with a couple extra ones and the HQI bulb. Providing that I ship back the original package.
Agian I thought I was getting a good deal. A few extra PC bulbs right?
But nope, here we go again, shipping the package back to them and receiving a new one will end up costing me about another $100. Oh and did I mentioned it took over a month from the time I paid to the time I received the products. I even got a call from Customs down in Seatle. That's how great this transaction when.

As to date I am still waiting to see the new package from PSL. It should be here in the next week or so, or month. But whatever, just as anything in life, you live and you learn. I just think that the North America Free Trade Agreement is a joke. That's my bit and I hope what I've share here can be of use to someone in the future.

Willi

[Dabbler]

If your light hood was "made in the USA" it should be duty free but if the proper paper work doesn't come with the peice then you get dinged with the duty. Free trade is good but if the paperwork is not complete... they charge.

[fishgills]

I just received my 20000k bulbs and the 03 and red outstanding very happy.

[TRS]

I too have ordered from Pet Supply Liquidators. I couldn't find a better deal in Canada at the time. Bruce shipped the bulbs out to me very quickly, just as I requested and they arrived to me without incident. Although I prefer to shop Canadian, I will most likely purchase other items from Pet Supply Liquidators and their US competitors in order to obtain the best deal for my Canadian dollar.

Being that many Canadian residents are isolated from the more competitive US markets and our limited LFS stores sell at inflated prices, many turn to those Canadian and US vendors accessible via the Internet.

Here are a few simple rules to follow when shopping for drygoods:

1) Look for the best deal for the New item or a comparable alternative within Canada;
2) Look for the best that you can find for a Used item or a comparable alternative product in Canada;
3) Look for the best on-line deal for the same New item in the US;
4) Check the possiblities of Group Ordering;
5) Wait longer for a strong Canadian dollar;
6) Select a reputable vendor that is personable and willing to work with you;
7) For dry goods, NEVER ship via a courier such as FEDEX or UPS. They have extremely high brokerage fees that need to be paid on-the-spot. I have had an experience whereby the cost of shipping by UPS was more than the item. (Needless to say, I refused payment and the item was returned). Contact the vendor to see if they are willing to ship by USPS Air Mail (usually 4-10 days to Canada) or USPS Surface Mail (4-6 weeks to Canada). Shipping estimates can be checked on-line;
8) Add insurance for expensive items and those with high potential for breakage during transport;
9) Have the vendor indicate that the item is a GIFT;
10) Have the vendor indicate that the item is USED;
11) Have the vendor declare a REDUCED VALUE of the item; and
12) Have the vendor contact you with any shipping information (such as date of departure, tracking code, etc.).

On a final note....DO NOT confuse the importation of livestock (i.e. invertebates, fish, liverock, etc.) with the shipment of drygoods into Canada. Granted there are a few, but most of the horror stories heard about shipping into Canada are those regarding the shipment of livestock without the proper documentation such as a CITES and USFWS permit and/or without initally checking with CFIA. Shipments can be detained and livestock can die. For the most part, shipping drygoods across the border is hassle-free. Most of it is common sense, but you should check with authorities if there is any question regarding your potential shipment clearing international borders. This should be done well in advance of your order.


HTH

[Willito]

Update on my order. Still no replacement order yet and it's been nearly 3 months since I paid. I called last week to see what was taking so long, and their reply was, "who are you and what order?". This came from the guy I personally spoke to about the mess up and he had insisted in replacing my order immediatly. I was speechless. There's not much I can do now till they find the order that I had ship back to them, which they have miss placed.

A word of warning, Canadians do not order from Pet Suppy Liquidator unless you want to get royally screwed. The few dollars of saving is not worth the hassel 3 months wait, loss of money, and the worst customer service ever. I was once a confident about US vendors, but not no more, not after this experience.

The 3 months wait has set my reef plans back so far, that I am just gonna forget about PSL and just splurge big bucks on a Canadian vendor.