Difference In Fish Prices

gregg21

gregg21

Member
Why do the prices vary so much on fish? And should I go some where that they are more expensive. I am looking at an Emperor angel, and I have seen adults range from $125 to $500. Also have seen this on various fish. As long as they are healthy and eating, what is the difference?
Thanks,
Greg
 
blutang

blutang

Member
Most of the time it is just how much the vendor (LFS) wants to mark it up........sometimes, whether or not it was caught with cyanide makes a difference, although that is mainly with the fish caught in and around the Phillipines.
 
blutang

blutang

Member
The guy I know who owns a LFS does about 75% mark up, simply because he has a really good distrubutor.
 
blutang

blutang

Member
Yeah it's crazy, well you know how expensive those Blue Spotted Jawfish are? Well he pays like 45-50 bucks for them.
 
derrickt

derrickt

Member

Originally posted by anthem
Most places will do a 50% markup, which means that if it costs them $25, the price is $50. Most lfs stores(and retail) use a 50% to 66% markup for their goods. IMO, a 50% markup I would consider to be fair. Most of the costs tied to operating a store is in the livestock, and there really is very little margin/profit in livestock for them. They pretty much carry livestock in the interest of selling drygoods. So I wouldn't complain too much about 50% markups. There are also many items in a store that have 66-75% markups, possibly even 80% markups on certain items.
Leopardshark: That's not a bad markup at all. Thats only a 30% markup on livestock, which is a very good price.
Ed

So doubling the price is 50% mark up? I'm confuse. But anyways there are more expensive fishes. I remember calling in marine center to check out the price of a beautiful fish. To my suprise it was $1,500. Shoot, that's like a year's worth of salary for me.
 
fmarini

fmarini

Member
Hi:
I've seen markups gostart at 3X the cost of the fish which the LFS pays. Its all about supply and demand. If your willing to pay for a $300 fish then the LFS will sell it for $300.
Rare or hard to collect fish often bring in bigger dollars, and adult fish w/ amazing coloration like an orange tailed easter island emperor angel will cost every penny of $500. Crosshatch triggers likewise $200/fish. Rhinopia aphanes $1500-2500. Captive bred leafy seadragons $5000. Supply and demand
Ed is on the money (as usual)....a 100%-300% if fair game and typical
(no offense $25bux to $50bux is 100% markup right??)...not nit picking but you get the idea.
frank
 
derrickt

derrickt

Member

Originally posted by FMarini
Hi:
I've seen markups gostart at 3X the cost of the fish which the LFS pays. Its all about supply and demand. If your willing to pay for a $300 fish then the LFS will sell it for $300.
Rare or hard to collect fish often bring in bigger dollars, and adult fish w/ amazing coloration like an orange tailed easter island emperor angel will cost every penny of $500. Crosshatch triggers likewise $200/fish. Rhinopia aphanes $1500-2500. Captive bred leafy seadragons $5000. Supply and demand
Ed is on the money (as usual)....a 100%-300% if fair game and typical
(no offense $25bux to $50bux is 100% markup right??)...not nit picking but you get the idea.
frank
Frank, that's what I had in mind initially since it wasn't a clear example, but I think it's the difference between the prices divided by the new price. It's just so happen that 50 is a 50% markup from 25. I may be wrong though..
 
R

randy 12

Guest
Growing up, my father owned a pet store for over 25 years. He closed 10 years ago. Where I live, markup is usually double to triple the cost of the fish. $3.00 cost of fish will sell for $6.00 to $9.00. We still know quite a few retailers in the area. Some of this reason (besides the obvious cost of doing business) is the fact that when you purchase the fish and half or all come in dead, the distributor will not reimburse the retailer and they're sure not going to get it out of the shipper. Therefore, they're out that $1,000, $2,000 or whatever order they paid for. Another reason for the markup is that some retailers guarantee the fish for a certain length of time. So part of the profit is your profit on the fish and another part of the profit is to replace the fish if it dies. Alot of the retailers no longer guarantee fish due to the fact they don't know the condition of the aquarium or what the other inhabitants are. Just my two cents.
 
twoods71

twoods71

Active Member
My family has been in retail.
For those that are interested here is a simple formula for figuring retail mark up %.
($Retail - $Cost) / $Retail.
Using 1 of the examples from Anthem.
($400 - $100) / $400 = %75
 
jim672

jim672

Member
Just in case the mark-ups being discussed cause anyone to feel the LFS is over charging.......don't. That sweater you just bought at your local department store for $100, cost that retail store somewhere in the $25 to $35 range. Charging 2 or 3 times the cost of the product is a way for the retailer to cover "overhead". "Overhead" would include guarantees, electric, rent, salary and benefits for employees, supplies, theft, etc, etc. And that's just to cover costs. They still need to make a profit to stay in business.
So......the $100 sweater you bought "on sale" for 25% off/$75, still provided a healthy profit for the retailer.
 
R

randy 12

Guest
No, I don't think the LFS that charge more have a higher death rate. I think they're not getting as good a deal on fish as some of the other stores. You can't order from most of these distributors unless you have a minimum order of about $1,000. A lot of your smaller LFS can't afford an order like that. THerefore they have to purchase from other distributors that only have a $100. minimum order but the fish prices aren't as low. I know you can buy damsels for $1.00 and yellow tangs for $7.50 if you purchase your minimum $1,000 order. Otherwise you're paying $3.00 for damsels and $15.00 for yellow tangs from the guy with a smaller minimum order.
But I do think the markup is higher on fish due to the fact there's a higher loss ratio than on toasters.
 
dubba-r

dubba-r

Member
You would be really surprised about the prices we pay compared to the places where some of these fishes come from. Example, in the Philippines sw fish can be had in the $.50-$5 range (im talking about harl. tusks, regals, emperors, and other exotics)!! Like WHOA!!
 
kpogue

kpogue

Member
I saw something on the discovery channel a while back about Indonesia. They had a brief part about the locals catching sw fish and selling the for 15 cents appiece! I saw percs, angels, chromis and a few others. They basically threw everybody in one bag and shipped them.
 
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