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#41
10-21-2012, 05:40 PM
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#42
10-21-2012, 08:57 PM
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Then the rest of us, feel insulted at the pricing. He once tried to sell me a 3" diameter hollywood stunner chalice for $300, with the logic that 1/2" frags of it sell for $25 on eBay... that logic works if it weren't so readily available locally and you fetch $25 a frag on a good day. He's got to let go of his margin. Many LFS get stuck with 'the formula' in their head. To account for losses, labor, shipping etc... I'll simply take my cost and multiply it by X factor. Well, you can't do that on an item that cost you $100... you have to be happier with a slimmer margin to move it consistently out the door and cultivate return customers on the high end stuff.
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#43
10-21-2012, 09:45 PM
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keep the feedback coming guys , tell me what you like and dont like , what a lfs should do or not do and what makes you shop at a store and ultimately buy something in the end??
do you guys feel lfs caters to anyone in particular?? what kinds of products do you think every lfs should carry? what are some of the things that make you not want to come back or visit regeuarily??? on the opposite side what makes you keep coming back?? any and all information is welcome!! cheers!!
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#44
10-21-2012, 09:47 PM
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is anyone else like me and hate seeing "sold " or "on hold " or " nfs " written on the tanks , imo if somethings sold or on hold it should go in a holding tank thats not viewable by customers.
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#45
10-21-2012, 09:58 PM
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Not all stores are big enough to have the sort of space to do that. Also, when you move fish around, you never know when they're just going to kill each other (e.g. Angels and tangs).. Besides, it's that or sell fish that haven't been long-term acclimated. Personally, I appreciate it when a store is willing assume the risk and hold onto a fish for me, treat it for disease and make sure it's eating before I take it home.
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This and that.
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#46
10-21-2012, 10:12 PM
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i do too in fact i think it should be something every fish store is willing to do although not in the for sale or display tanks they should be moved to a private tank, sure not all strores are gonna have that room but fact is if you plan to buy a building/fishstore with no where to work or do business besides that one room then you really set it up on yourself , its not the customers fault a store doesnt have enough room. i guess it goes back to when the lease was signed and how much thought was put into expanding and operations. i dont feel any sympathy for those running stores with everything in the same aisle, fact is its a business  every business has operations and things to do that are not in the best interest of customers to be viewing. since im on the walmart band wagon what if walmart started holding things for peopke in the isles , you mean to tell me you wouldnt get frustrated picking between whats for sale and whats not for sale?? i would expect walmart to have a place to hold lay away items and overstock goods just the same as i would a fishstore or any business that sells multile products. but i do know what your saying yes an established business may not have enough room or ability to do so. the fishstore next to my house is a prime example i sometimes have to wait 15 mins for someone to get out of the isle so i can walk down it and view...and more times then not theres either someone mopping , some mom and her kids viewing , 2 people just having a reef chat or a employee serving a customer......either way its cramped and i feel like i need to wait for someone to announce " now serving customer 213" i hate going there for that reason and i know others that do as well. great very friendly people and nice stuff but too small a business location.
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#47
10-21-2012, 10:25 PM
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I wish my LFS would have various sources for livestock.Also they could do a group buy on popular or rare corals,so if ten people want a "one eyed,three legged,rainbow with a limp coral" Buy it ,frag it, and it's out the door,everybody's happy.have a menu at the front counter and a suggestion box
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#48
10-22-2012, 04:02 PM
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If I were to have a LFS (which I'm not), my preference would be to offer freshwater and general dry goods as well. True, without the purchasing power of the big box and online specialists, an independent LFS would not get supplier discounts to offer those deep sales. However, offering some hardware at MSRP does 1) keep people coming back when they are seeking something, and 2) grows/develops customers. For example, carrying 10 gal to 30 gal tanks makes you a viable place for hobbyists entering the hobby... into freshwater. There's good margins on freshwater fish & plants... at some point, a portion of hobbyists will gravitate towards more challenging set ups and rare imports like Apistogrammas, Discus, Aponogetons, etc... and a portion of hobbyists will become interested in how easy it is to convert to a marine tank. Marine hobbyists on the learning curve starting with softies and smaller tanks also buy livestock at good margins... It is the lifetime value of customers that matters more so than the individual transactional value of a purchase. The value proposition would then be friendly service, solid advice, fair pricing, and quality goods/livestock. Where big box stores falls short is consistency in advice and quality livestock. In Calgary, IMO it seems that different stores fit different phases of the hobbyist learning/development journey.
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#49
10-22-2012, 05:19 PM
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My opinions are: (In no particular order)
1) Prices - In the name of all that is .... Please but prices on everything. The store I frequent has great staff and if I ask about a price, they provide it pretty quick and the price is usually pretty good; however, someone is not always available and I end up looking at a few items and leaving without even asking for a price as I don't want the items enough to wait until the staff are available to talk. Missed opportunity for the store. 2) I also find "aisle" stores a pretty big pain. You end up feeling like you're in an zoo aquarium where you have to quickly look and move on as someone else needs to get by, or look at the tank and there is only room for one person and you don't want to hold up the line. That is why I try to go during the week in the afternoon so less people are in the store. 3)Equipment? I really only buy my equipment from one local store who has the same prices or better than the major online stores and if he doesn't have it in stock I just go mail order. I have never once found a price anywhere near online stores at any of the other stores in Calgary. However, to be fair, I have not even asked for equipment pricing from them in years, so I have no idea if they have gotten any better. 4) Location - I also live in the extreme South and I miss having a store close by that I can pop into. However, this probably saves me a lot of money on those impulse buys.
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#50
10-22-2012, 05:31 PM
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On the issue with pricing, I wonder if it is partially a cultural thing? Of the 5 traditional stores that sell marine stuffs, 3 of them are owned and operated by asians and those are the ones that NEVER have prices on their tanks. It is in their nature to expect haggling. From their point of view, is there a point in putting a price up if someone is just going to come along and knock it down ? Also, I think that the cost on livestock fluctuates wildly from shipment to shipment. It is possible that a Blue Tang from one shipment will cost them $40 while on the next shipment will cost them $50. In the meantime, the Blue Tang from both shipments are still hanging out in the same tank. I'm guessing that the store owners kind of want to hide this from the customers. Anyway, I'm not a store owner so I'm just speculating :-)
And on the issue of Preferred Customer pricing. I don't see an issue with this. It is no different than any other business with a Preferred Customer system. I am a "Preferred Customer" with Avis Rent a Car so I get to the front of the line. "Preferred Frequent Flyer's" with Air Canada get special treatment (seat upgrades, meals, perferred boarding, etc). This is normal business practice. Last edited by kien; 10-22-2012 at 05:34 PM.
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