LFS Prices

[dobbin4]

Some are good and discount when they know you, order fish for you at a discount rate if you pick them up when they arrive at the shop. I do this but expect the fav in return.A good fair $ for my fry. I have had a lot of shops I've done deals with an just don't go back when they try the old trick of I cant sell them then you see them put 300%+ on the $ you got.

But really everything seems to be going up but our wages don't seem to match the increaser's.

Like said in first post $13 for Bnose,those that see suppliers price know what i mean.

We all see people buying fry at top dollar and think if only you knew what you could get them for.But add it petrol & running costs and the final price is $$$$'s

[DJ-don]

guys you also have to consider the little things

Price of food that they wont sell to feed to there fish being sold or on display- $50~200

Shipping of fish- $50- 400 easily ( i know this because i work at an lfs)

Equipment needed to clean tanks such as siphons hoses etc.- $50-200

Equipment needed for display tanks- easily $100-1000

Spare parts of Equipment for filters for the main system and display $100-500

Also new LFS that have opened are usually expensive and actually gradually get cheaper the more money they make

and bear in mind the value of fish changes a lot. like the common bns used to be like 50 dollars for a juvy

there are probably more i haven't thought of but at some point you have to give LFS a break.

Like others have said, the need us and we need them

[Ducksta]

guys you also have to consider the little things

Price of food that they wont sell to feed to there fish being sold or on display- $50~200

Shipping of fish- $50- 400 easily ( i know this because i work at an lfs)

Equipment needed to clean tanks such as siphons hoses etc.- $50-200

Equipment needed for display tanks- easily $100-1000

Spare parts of Equipment for filters for the main system and display $100-500

Also new LFS that have opened are usually expensive and actually gradually get cheaper the more money they make

and bear in mind the value of fish changes a lot. like the common bns used to be like 50 dollars for a juvy

there are probably more i haven't thought of but at some point you have to give LFS a break.

Like others have said, the need us and we need them

Nobody is disputing the costs involved in running a lfs. And we are all acutely aware of exactly how much it costs to keep numbers of fish fed, and in clean water. And I would waver, hobbiests in general spend more on food because (1) we're not feeding food bought at wholesale price and (2) hobbiests tend to be fussier than stores who are only feeding the fish long enough to turn them around.

Pulling unsubstantiated figures out of your behind is not doing the discussion any favors. $$$ per what?

LFS spend the same on gravel siphons as they do on food? What are they single use hoses? Pull the other one champ.

[pride]

The cost has jumped on fish but the quality of fish they are selling has taken a dive..not sure about African cichlids as I skip looking at those boring types but alot of the americans I've seen about in LFS's are terrible...too much inbreeding I guess. Alot of quite deformed fish or sunken bellys.

[shannon]

i dont keep fish anymore but do still frequent a couple of lfs just out of curiousity. i too have noticed a huge decline in quality esp in africans. some electric yellows arent even yellow anymore. one shop in particular had his breeding stock on display, personally i'd be embarassed to show these. it was a clony of venustus. the dom male had one eye and a crooked face, the next male in line was stunted it took a look at the 3rd and 4th males in the pecking order to see a HALF decent fish. knowing what good quality electric yellow fry go for between hobbiests i cant fathom how this shop sells electric "yellows" for $20 for a 5cm sunken bellied, poor coloured fish.

[Rod54]

I don't believe the general public....or the majority of suppliers In Australia have a "High appetite for Quality"

Why are Germans famous for the quality of their fish??? ie German Rams

It is because the public in Germany wouldn't buy colorless crap....and the suppliers there know it is suicide to think of selling rubbish

No so in Australia.....Fred Bloggs buys a half dozen electric yellows as cheap as he can.....he breeds them

and raises 100 fry....and sells everyone....if they are cheap some idiot will buy them....then this is repeated

Result is crap quality fish

Perhaps if he carefully selected the breeders and paid Good money then culled 50 of the 100 because they weren't sufficient quality....and everyone else did this then fish we buy would be spot on....but he doesn't care because the supplier doesn't care he just wants the cheapest because he sells to blokes like Fred Bloggs....who just want the cheapest

Don't blame the LFS... they only survive if some idiot buys what they sell.....if everyone just wants the cheapest...and they don't care about quality....just price....then you get what you pay for!!!

I once rejected fish that a LFS had specially bought into the shop from a wholesaler....they were inbreed rubbish

The owner of the shop said he agreed.....but don't worry....some idiot would buy them....and he was right!!!

[cpfc]

These situations are a result of two parties including a lot of fish shops as well as the customers. I believe it is an issue the industry has to tackle as a group. A code of practise would be a start. Not everyone wants the cheapest crappest but too many do.

How to implement a code is another matter.

Don't blame the LFS... they only survive if some idiot buys what they sell.....if everyone just wants the cheapest...and they don't care about quality....just price....then you get what you pay for!!!

[intern1]

I am pretty sure all of us here are happy to go to to a LFS that offers great service and quality for our $. I am sure most of us would buy a electric yellow for 15-20 4-5cm fish if it looked healthy had great color and that the staff were friendly and were knowledgeable, but i dont like it when you go to some shops wont mention any names and you ask or you get a fish bagged and when advertised they state its a different price than the one written on the glass. Poor service such as this puts me off some LFS also the amount of white crain that is being used and when you question the staff they explain "that everyone does it" - i dont do this and my fish look colorful and healthy.

John

[dobbin4]

True John, But you just walk out if thats the case.C V seems to have that reputation!!

Sorry I would never pay $15-20 for an E yellow when there is plenty of breeders on here with good quality fish.

Same old thing rising costs = dearer fish.

[cpfc]

You may not but the public will not know about the breeders. They are the ones who are not educated/demanding enough to buy quality. IMO Maintaining quality and good keeping habits are more important. How do we hobbyists encourage the LFS to give new keepers good habits?

True John, But you just walk out if thats the case.C V seems to have that reputation!!

Sorry I would never pay $15-20 for an E yellow when there is plenty of breeders on here with good quality fish.

Same old thing rising costs = dearer fish.

[E4G13M4N]

You may not but the public will not know about the breeders. They are the ones who are not educated/demanding enough to buy quality. IMO Maintaining quality and good keeping habits are more important. How do we hobbyists encourage the LFS to give new keepers good habits?

By starting with the wholesalers/importers they are the ones that are supplying the rubbish in most cases and unfortunately a lot of shops are not up too speed with what they are doing.

So many shops are opened after they get a payout from last employment and think LFS, pet shops are easy

Wholesalers list fish as being peacefull that are not and quite often list the wrong sizes that they grow too in their promotions plus the fish look nothing like the promo pics . Shops need to do their own research and not take them for face value..

Fish from German lines do have quality control with what they supply, fish imported from other counties are bred for numbers and not quality,

I have seen 5cm EY in SA from $15 to $80 and only a few places with reasonable quality

1 shop was even selling pastle yellows as a new fish

[malrift]

What you have failed to look at to is the shops used to make a lot of their profit out of dry goods, electrical goods. With the opening of the internet store this side of their trade has dropped off. They know have to rely on livestock to make up for the loss of dry good sales. So the price of livestock will go up. Remember if a shop buys 100 neons he wont sell 100 neons due to losses but he has had to pay for 100 neons. Hence the price is going to rise. most shops would be lucky to sell 80 out of 100 neons once losses are taken out either by death or skydiving.

Shops are doing it real tuff there is no doubt. Wholesalers and or there suppliers havent helped neither they also place the prices up. I happened to look at a wholesale list the other day and was shocked to see them with 3-4cm ey's for just under $5 per fish. So the shops have to sell them for $15 a fish as 300% profit in this day and age is not much at all.

I am now at the stage I WILL buy off a shop if the quality is excellent. I pay a higher price yes but I get to see the fish first hand. I have turned up to some breeders homes to buy fish and walked away empty handed due to the lack of quality even though that fish has cost me $5 instead of $15.

Education comes from the older hobby members clubs especially a lot of the top quality breeders especially here in QLd wont visit a forum but will go to the club meetings it is through talking to these guys that you learn what to look for.

SO you cant lay the blame directly on the lfs look at what is happening as a whole especially with the introduction of the internet. In finalising I will only now supply shops or wholesalers with the fish I breed. Unless it is a young bloke or someone that has pride in the fish they get.

[Ant]

Shops need to do their own research and not take them for face value..

Yes definitely...

I thought I’d bring this up again because of what experienced the other day. I was in a 'large' pet shop due to my fiancé wanting to do some shopping for the wedding, the pet shop just happened to be next door. I knew this place had 'mixed peacocks' but thought I’d have a look anyway. In the mixed tank there were some very attractive fish that 'looked' like A.Kandense. The next thing I experienced was very irritating. A bloke walked in and said 'there nice looking fish i might have them'. The shop keeper came over and he asked what they were. The shop keeper said 'Sulfer crested lithobates' (Rediculous). He asked for a cheaper price than $30 (ridiculous price) so the shop keeper went off. I couldn't help myself and made small talk with the guy then proceeded to tell him that that fish was only worth feeding to barramundi because they are likely cross bred mutts that were not worth $30. I told him to look in the other tanks and 'consider' getting the cheaper 'pure' fish they were selling. Luckily he followed my advice and got some of the pure fish. I definitely ran the risk of being interfering but I couldn't help myself.

Would you have done the same thing? Was I out of line?

On a slightly more important note I should mention that I was in a mood anyway because this all happened 20 minutes before the grand final started. I was assured we'd be home on time for the bounce. I got home with 10 minutes to go in the first quarter. To top it off, we didn't get time to stop at a bottle shop. As a result of this my fiancé, bless her cotton socks said 'I'll go get the beer'. She came back with beer 30 minutes later near half time (Ridiculous). No that’s not all folks....not at alllll...............the beer was warm!!!!! It was the 4th quarter before we got to crack open a nice cold beer.

I took it on the cheek and just laughed at the situation but to make it even worse, apparently she realised on the way home that the beer was warm...and lied!! and told us that they 'looked' for cold beer (of a particular brand) but there was none left in the fridge. This was a bad lie anyway because we would have had any beer at that stage as long as it was cold.

To keep an even longer story short, i got over it quick and got to watch an awesome game of football. I also did my part and helped out someone who was being decieved.

Ant

[fosco]

the mixed breeding is the worse thing, i will pay top dollar for a good fish, every fish in my tank is f1 and has come from interstate, purely because the quality here is disgusting I don't know what its like in nsw but in sa you can not go into a shop anywhere and bye a decent colored fish, there is even a shop advertising fish are a cross bread as if its a good thing its a joke, one of my mates he is a new to the hobby has a 8foot tank and every fish in there besides my old vc10 is a mongrel that he has been told is this or that, i wish i could go to my lfs and buy good quality fish but they don't exist at the moment its a shame 10 years ago you could and they were a lot cheaper then.