Bit of a Vent

[howdy20012002]

Skimmin, are u kidding me?

All you had to do was ask for the fish back...I would have gladly given them back.

just because you bought them for 110.00 don't blame me.
I sell them for 25.00 a piece.
therefore 30.00 for the pair is reasonable in my mind (and also about my cost wholesale)..I do try to make some money.... and you were the one that brought up the idea of me giving you the suggested store credit for the clownfish.
I brought in 3 fish in the attempt to give you what you wanted.
One of which died.
the other two were fighting for dominance as all clownfish do(especially the maroons). One was losing and had a few nicks in the fins...awww, guess those fins will never grow back eh?

I would not have brought those fish in because they are known to be aggressive and most people don't want them...but I did it to help you out...some thanks I guess.

This is also the beauty of owning my own store - Aaron, don't call me back as I won't waste my time with you in the future.

thanks for shopping at marine experience

Neal

[Ephraim]

Neal this has been ****ing me off recently too. Thankyou for saying what i wanted to say, alot nicer and more P.C. than I would have said it.

I say to anyone that has a problem with Candian aquarium retail pricing, go shop in the usa, have it shipped to you, deal with that headache. I am sure I will run into you at a store around town here very soon when you give up that endevor.

[Tom R]

This hobby is not for the faint of heart.

It is a very expensive endeavor. You are constantly having to spend real dollars (canadian or us) just to replace lights, supplies and equipment. Then you still have to come up with money for that new and exciting fish or coral. Without our LFS it would be almost impossible for us to continue in the hobby. They not only bring in inventory (paid for on yesterdays exchange rates) that sits there waiting for the day we need it, but they also are our main sounding board for the best first hand information available. You know they have nothing better to do than stand there and explain the many options available to help solve your little algae or fish conflict problem. Oh ya sometimes they have to explain it to you more than once and then you go buy what you need from the states to save what 5 - 10%.
No I know that after 9 years in this hobby I for one would not likely be in this hobby if not for the J&L's and the OA's of the world.

Thanks guys as I really enjoy this hobby.

Tom R

[digital-audiophile]

Just my two cents.

The price differential does not sit at the level of the retail shop. The change needs to come at the manufacturing level.

If two of the exact same skimmer are manufactured in Germany and one is shipped to a LFS in Canada and one is shipped to a LFS in the United States with the dollar at parity and assuming that both stores have the same overhead and expected profit margin there should be no real difference in the price.

This of course should only apply to material that has been manufactured and shipped since the dollar has reached parity and it may take some time to ensure that the dollar does not vary from parity or near but in a years time I would expect to see prices on an equal footing. I know that we have to expect some differences on price based on different shipping lanes, duties and so forth.

Personally I have bought 99% of all my fish goods dry and live from local fish stores in my near three years in this hobby. I would persoanlly rather support my local retailer than even an online source like J&L. I have made a few purchases online but only becuase there were products I wanted that I could not find locally.

[fishmaster]

[quote=digital-audiophile;278851]Just my two cents.

The price differential does not sit at the level of the retail shop. The change needs to come at the manufacturing level.

If two of the exact same skimmer are manufactured in Germany and one is shipped to a LFS in Canada and one is shipped to a LFS in the United States with the dollar at parity and assuming that both stores have the same overhead and expected profit margin there should be no real difference in the price.

**********One difference I could see is Volume. Don't forget how small our population base is compared to the US. California has more people than Canada!!! I'm sure the "Big Player" vendors in the US could move volumes of product that would make our "Big player" vendors look like a joke in comparison. I run into this all the time in my industry, there are retailers down there who buy way more volume of certain product lines than we as a Distributor can buy. The cost is almost always lower with volume. So now you have US Retailers buying better than Canadian Distributors!!!! This isn't always the case, but it's not uncommon.************

[digital-audiophile]

I do not disagree with you, its all about supply and demand. I can understand differential based on the volume but not the 50%+ percent I see on many products (not just talking fish related)

[fishmaster]

Originally Posted by digital-audiophile

I do not disagree with you, its all about supply and demand. I can understand differential based on the volume but not the 50%+ percent I see on many products (not just talking fish related)

Don't get me wrong, there are allot of industries growing fat off the dollar. I'm talking about this industry. I honestly think it's pretty clean....There will always be some vendors who charge more because they feel they can. Some will charge more because they have to (can't buy enough volume to get the best prices) But, if you shop around, the prices are truely good here in Canada....and will get better in time. It doesn't hurt to ask your LFS if they can match a price + shipping to your door. Sometimes they can, sometimes they can't. But at least give them the opportunity to keep you in their store. Sometimes you'll find their great service is worth a little extra too.
PS-I'm not ranting to you Digital-audiophile about supporting your LFS(sounds like you already do!)

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by digital-audiophile

If two of the exact same skimmer are manufactured in Germany and one is shipped to a LFS in Canada and one is shipped to a LFS in the United States with the dollar at parity and assuming that both stores have the same overhead and expected profit margin there should be no real difference in the price.

Most of the time this isn't how it happens though. You usually can't call up a factory in Germany and say "I'd like 3 please". They're going to sell them by the pallet or not at all. This means you have to call up a wholesaler, almost always in the US, and get them from there.

Now there is another thing that comes into that with currency. USD and CAD are at par but keep in mind this has more to do with the relative weakness of USD compared to the strength of CAD. If that wholesale operation is buying from Germany they are now paying more and will pass that cost on. This is already starting to happen.

The option for local guys is to find ways to buy direct or find Canadian wholesale guys that do it. This isn't always easy or even possible though.

[Zylumn]

Originally Posted by digital-audiophile View Post
If two of the exact same skimmer are manufactured in Germany and one is shipped to a LFS in Canada and one is shipped to a LFS in the United States with the dollar at parity and assuming that both stores have the same overhead and expected profit margin there should be no real difference in the price.


I am sure that a trade agreement between the two countries and Government taxes would create a parity and produce a " real difference in the price". I lived in the US for 8 years Near Everything is cheaper except Medical Services and Prescriptions.
Kevin

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Zylumn

I am sure that a trade agreement between the two countries and Government taxes would create a parity and produce a " real difference in the price". I lived in the US for 8 years Near Everything is cheaper except Medical Services and Prescriptions.
Kevin

Yeah this is very true! I lived in the US for a long time too (my parents are american) and everything from food to aquarium supplies to toilet paper is cheaper. Medical services are more expensive as you said but not much more really than paying MSP here in vancouver. My US insurance was really about the same and covered much the same stuff. But thats besides the point...

I know I have brought this up before but in Florida I could get a lot of the equipment I try to get here for 2/3 or half the price! As for livestock, well its not fair to compare because of geography but down in Florida I would say everything is easily half! Imagine how your tank would look if for all the money you have put into your corals, you had double the amount!

Needless to say, it was really hard to buy stuff from LFS here when I first came back. Im used to the higher prices now again but it hurts to think of how cheap it was...

Actually the funny thing about all this, is that I work here from my home in Vancouver for a Los Angeles Film Studio and get paid in US dollars...So I was going to be loosing money over this. A year ago I was making a ton because our dollar was so much weaker. Luckily they have adjusted my wage with the times but that could have been terrible!

Edit: I will always buy online from the US first though if the prices are cheaper. Shipping is often free or very cheap if you spend enough anyways. I have no idea what all the headaches people are bringing up about shipping dry goods from the US but I have never had any. These days its so simple and easy to do. You get a tracking number and can check up on your package every step of the way. You can also request a delivery time from UPS. They will always tell you that they cannot do that but if you push hard enough, they will do it. I actually had a package that was suppose to come before 10 once but never showed up until 1. I had called UPS and told them I was suppose to be at work and loosing money because of them (which is not entirely true because I work from a laptop anywhere I want really). They ended up waiving the duty fee of $30 after I told them I would have to talk to the Better Business Bureau. They respond very well to that "threat" Thats the worst problem I have ever had and it worked out well.