Need some input from fellow Red Deer & Area reefer's

[Slick Fork]

Originally Posted by The Grizz

Another thought I had was if one of the shop in the big city's would be interested in a distributor in this area. For special order livestock and coral, equipment and anything else one might need.

I don't know what would work but if there was a way to get the things we need / want and save some $$ on traveling cost, that would be a few extra $ to spend on our hobby. And who know it might lead to a full store something that is really needed here. I know for a fact that there are way more salties here in Red Deer area that are not on CanReef.

Just a thought

That might be handy, but how would you make your money? You would have to charge over and above retail price to make it worth while for both you and the retailer which again puts you as the most expensive option.

For me personally, I like to go look at a fish a few times before I buy it. Corals are a little more spur of the moment but I still have to see it before I pay for it. So I would be down in Calgary or Edmonton for that anyways. With hardware, if I am special ordering something then price becomes king and Canada Post gets it (almost) to my door.

With livestock you REALLY need to get that drop in traffic, and I won't go to someones house to Window shop and impulse buy like I would in a store. Others might, I'm just speaking personally.

I don't doubt that there is a non-canreef SW population in the Red Deer area, but without the visibility that a store-front provides... how will they know who and where you are?

If you really want to do something out of your house, then make it something that we don't have in Alberta. Mail order hardware and livestock is so abundant right now I just can't see you having a competitive edge there. The invert thing was a suggestion, I am really happy with the stand you made for me and I would bet there's a market for custom built stands, especially if you looked at common door manufacturers like Ikea and figured out how to build your stand so that it's compatible with their doors so people could finish it off by themselves easily and to their taste.... I know if you whipped up light racks/light stands you would sell those (just look at how many posts you see in a month along the lines of "I got this light fixture and don't know how to hang it").

If you get something going that's unique then you not only get the Red Deer market but you will get people travelling from Calgary and Edmonton as well.