LFS Experience

[fishnut]

At the lfs where I buy livestock, the policy is that the fish will only be held if you pay for it first. About 4 days after paying in full for a saltwater angelfish, I noticed that it had white spots on its fins. The owner told me that it had lymphocystis, and that a porkfish in the same tank would take care of the problem, and that the fish would be cured by the time I would be ready to take it home, in about a month's time. This person also said that the fish was "healthy" and eating. I observed that the fish had a chunk out of the dorsal fin, and informed the owner that I did not wish to take it. I was unable to get a credit or a refund - instead I was offered a 2 inch scroll coral - worth $ 100 according to the owner - in place of the fish (which was priced at $ 150). I know for sure that I could buy the same coral for $ 35 at J & L, or one 4x the size at another local lfs for the same price. I'd like to know what you guys think of this, and any suggestions as to how you would have handled this situation. Thanks.

P.S. I had purchased 4 tanks, 3 skimmers, 1-MH/
VHO lighting unit, 1 aquarium cabinet, live rock, powerheads, salt, and 10 fish from this person previous to this incident. Their claim was that they would have difficulty in selling this fish to anyone else since it was one they didn't usually get in (I had requested it).

[canadawest]

Hmmm.... Dillema....

On one side you did request the fish, so it would be reasonable for the LFS to hold back a deposit of some sort, but I dissagree that you should be responsible for 100% of the price. As a purchaser (of ANYTHING) you are entitled to change your mind and get a refund/credit of some amount (less any deposit or holdback) from any retail store, it's Canadian law.

I do understand that many LFS have a no refund policy, but in this case they should be more reasonable with their credit offer as I feel they are really taking you on this one.

In my opinion I would no longer do any business with this particular LFS if that is how they choose to treat their paying (and in your case seemingly good) customers.

Just my $0.02 worth.

[StirCrazy]

Originally posted by canadawest:
Hmmm.... Dillema....

I dissagree that you should be responsible for 100% of the price. As a purchaser (of ANYTHING) you are entitled to change your mind and get a refund/credit of some amount (less any deposit or holdback) from any retail store, it's Canadian law.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">does this apply to special orders? I don't think so, I think that only applies to normaly stocked items. IMHO if you special ordered a fish, they were right in making you pay up front with a no return/exchange. personaly I don't understand why you didn't take it home as sooner but there might have been stuff going on I am not aware of.. but I think other companies would have said take it or to bad.. as much as I hate to say it there are two strikes against you.. 1, you know the policy befor you ordered it.. and 2, it was a special order not a stocked item. that would be like me ordering a super chip for my truck and after they get it custom burned for my computer in my truck I say I don't want it..my parts guy is one of my good friends and he would even tell me to bad you bought it..

Steve

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

Hmm...interesting. So what is the lfs' policy if the fish dies in their care ? That is...if you paid for the fish and something goes bad after a day...who gets the shorter end of the stick ?

- Victor.

[ 29 August 2002, 22:59: Message edited by: reefburnaby ]

[EmilyB]

I've never heard of anything like that. If you buy it, it is your fish. I don't think I'd ever leave a fish in the care of a LFS once I paid for it.

[titus]

Hello Victor,

Haha good one! :D
Titus

[fishnut]

Thanks to all who replied. It helped to have some feedback and get others' opinions.

I personally think that the settlement could have been more equitable, in light of the fact that I was paying top dollar, and the fact that I had given this store a lot of business.

In another case, where I had purchased a fish from a different store, and the fish died, the owner gave me a full refund, no problem.

To Emily B: Would you take home a fish that had just arrived in the store, or would you wait a certain amount of time before purchasing it and putting it in your tank ?

[Mak]

Originally posted by fishnut:
Would you take home a fish that had just arrived in the store, or would you wait a certain amount of time before purchasing it and putting it in your tank ?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Fishnut, get a quarantine tank up and runnin. Maybe a 20g or someting ( 40g breeder would be nice ), also I believe you can get a 33g for like $40 at King Eds.

BTW J&L is maybe the only place I would trust with my Fish ;) for a month.

[EmilyB]

To Emily B: Would you take home a fish that had just arrived in the store, or would you wait a certain amount of time before purchasing it and putting it in your tank

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Most of the fish I buy now have been at the LFS for some time, are strong and eating. QT is the way to go, as said, if you are not sure. But making the QT tank a pleasurable experience for your new purchase is important too.

[Aquattro]

I know in Victoria that if a nice fish comes in the store, you buy it right away. If YOU don't, someone else will. And I certainly would not trust any LFS to keep a fish I had already paid for. If it's nice, buy it. Of course you want to carefully evaluate the health of the fish, but if it is healthy and nice, it won't be there tomorrow.
There are exceptions though. I just bought the nicest Powder Brown/Grey Tang I've ever seen. It had been at the store for 2 months and got fatter every time I saw it. The price was $89, which is also the reason it was there so long. It just went on sale and came home with me.

To add to this story, a local LFS used to "hold" fish after you paid for it, sell it again to someone else, and tell the customer it died...sorry, no refund.