J
jerzytwinz
Guest
What do you think is better to buy online or at the lfs.
jerthunter
Active Member
That really depends on the fish stores in your area but for me there is only one store near by and they rarely have anything I want and the other stores are quite a drive and often don't have anything either so if there is something I want or need I usually go online...
cain420
Active Member
well, the store u can observe the fish yourself.. online, they "observe" them... personally i like to see what i am getting right then and there... and know what to expect.. at the store u can look at all the tanks and actually see the conditions, etc.. also its less stressful if u get them locally.. they have less travel time! online is cheaper.. i think thats more of a personal preference....
J
jerzytwinz
Guest
Whats a good store in nj to go 2, also whats a good online store to buy from
J
jerzytwinz
Guest
damn im up north
uberlink
Active Member
Online is cheaper, but only if you're placing a pretty large order--which is often a bad idea all at once, particularly for a newer tank and particularly for a fish only tank. It's just not a good idea to add three or four fish at once to most tanks, which is what it can take (depending on the fish) to get up to the minimum order necessary to make online cost effective.
That said, if you're into reefs, often the online price is still enough cheaper to make up for it, particularly if you buy a couple of corals and a fish, say, all at once.
That said, if you're into reefs, often the online price is still enough cheaper to make up for it, particularly if you buy a couple of corals and a fish, say, all at once.
sharkbait9
Active Member
very few in jersey you can check out oceanariums in marlboro/manalapan area right on rt9 north by the kohls plaza they are new but pretty good on stuff and price.
chipmaker
Active Member
I have never ever purchased live anything online until MOnday of this week. After numerous butt kissing at the local saltwater shop to get me a couple of more sexy shrimp, and some clown gobys, and bumble bee snails etc, and never getting them, I placed an order for some online... I was a bit paranoid, with shipping etc, but I set down and figured it out that if I order sufficiienit critters, the price of the shipping will be less than what I would have to pay here in this area on sales tax, gas to go to town and back, and the hassles of traffic, wear and tear on vehicle, my time etc, so I ordered some critters. Critters like snails, fish, crabs etc are all species dientified, and arenot gonna change or be left to someones concept of what it looks like or condition its in. It is either a X or nont an X, plain and simple......Corals on the other hand can be described very different in regards to colors, polyp sizes etc etc.....My shipment arrived within 12 hours of it being released to Fedex, and all arrived perfectly fine and looking great. Every speices of fish, crab and snail was what I ordered..I saved money overall, even though I spent more as I bought more, I still came out ahead of buying local with what I did buy. I still however prefer to make any coral purchase inperson so I can visually see what that coral looks like in the tank.
Since this was my first ever livestock shipment, when I got my package, I inserted a long metal probed thermometer into the package before opening it up. I was amazed to find it had a internal temp of 77 1/2 degreees......The package was well packaged in cardboard box, styrofoam inner container, heat packs, and damp newspapers, triple bagged critters, clearly labeled with quanity and species. Would I place another order, yep, without any reservations as to integrity of company, and their promise to warranty for the time frame, which is somehting none of the local shops will do as they do not warrant any fish they sell nor corals, so that is yet another bonus.
Since this was my first ever livestock shipment, when I got my package, I inserted a long metal probed thermometer into the package before opening it up. I was amazed to find it had a internal temp of 77 1/2 degreees......The package was well packaged in cardboard box, styrofoam inner container, heat packs, and damp newspapers, triple bagged critters, clearly labeled with quanity and species. Would I place another order, yep, without any reservations as to integrity of company, and their promise to warranty for the time frame, which is somehting none of the local shops will do as they do not warrant any fish they sell nor corals, so that is yet another bonus.
seannmelly
Active Member
i found personally online is cheaper. but now i work at the local saltwater fish store and i get a HUGE discount and i will never shop online again. i can order what i want and get it at the owners cost.........really cheap. but if you cant get huge discounts like me i would say buy fish at this site.........once in a while they have some good things
jonny bolt
Member
I get alot of stuff online, especially LR. But also bought filters, heaters, live sand, powerheads, skimmer, etc online. Why pay 50 or 60 bux for a filter at a LFS when you can get it online for 23 doillars, about $30 shipped lol. Retail mark-up can be pretty ridiculous at some of the LFS in my area. For instance, I bought my first Maxi-Jet 1200 at a Pet Quarters up at the malls...40 dollars. Wow. I then bought another online from the Drs., and it was like 17 bux....and it ended up getting shipped overnight to me for free because they forgot to send it out with my 48" Orbit light system, which was 2-day. Big difference between 17 and 40 dollars for a powerhead lol. Enough of a difference to get me to get most of my equipment online.
But I have never ordered any fish online, only a box of assorted mushrooms and polyp colonies.
But I have never ordered any fish online, only a box of assorted mushrooms and polyp colonies.
dogstar
Active Member
I have got nearly all of my Dry Goods on line but never Live Goods.
Only LR 5 years ago from a trusted site thats out of buisness due to death of owner.
I want to see what Im buying and know its in the perfect health and size and IS what I want. The differance in price is minimal esp. if something dies or is sick or not what you wanted and then haveing to deal with credits or returns are often a PITA if you can even do them.
Only LR 5 years ago from a trusted site thats out of buisness due to death of owner.
I want to see what Im buying and know its in the perfect health and size and IS what I want. The differance in price is minimal esp. if something dies or is sick or not what you wanted and then haveing to deal with credits or returns are often a PITA if you can even do them.
zman1
Active Member
Same here as Dogstar - online all equipment and LFS live stock. Had a few items back order on me and had to on one occasion purchase local. My poor planning. For Live stock I like to see the specimen with my own eyes before purchase. That's not to say online live stock purchases are bad as that's what most LFS do for some of their purchases with distributors. Just not what I prefer.
oxbeard
Member
I received my first online purchase last weekend. Pleased well enough that I'm already planning another purchase in 3 or 4 weeks. Saved significantly over buying at LFS even factoring in any shipping charges. All the critters were in excellent condition and well packaged. Plus I like the 14 day quarantee too, really beats my LFS 2 day guarantee.
I agree with some others though about corals, etc. I'm planning on purchasing any corals, anemones, etc at LFS because I want to see what I'm getting. The price difference on these isn't as much either.
I agree with some others though about corals, etc. I'm planning on purchasing any corals, anemones, etc at LFS because I want to see what I'm getting. The price difference on these isn't as much either.
chipmaker
Active Member
Its pretty hard not to buy online especially when sometimes certain places offer no shipping charges on orders of say $50 or more.
For example, the one LFS that carries Aqua Clear HOB filters, wants $99 and change for a AC110.
Petsmart wants $89 and ***** wants $79......but online I got it for $33, so I picked up 2 of them, plus some other stuff, like smaller AC hob's etc, had a total bill of $92 shipped...no tax either. As a minimum the cheapest place local was 79 plus 11% tax had to be added yet........it was a no brainer decision on deciding where to spend my money at.
For example, the one LFS that carries Aqua Clear HOB filters, wants $99 and change for a AC110.
Petsmart wants $89 and ***** wants $79......but online I got it for $33, so I picked up 2 of them, plus some other stuff, like smaller AC hob's etc, had a total bill of $92 shipped...no tax either. As a minimum the cheapest place local was 79 plus 11% tax had to be added yet........it was a no brainer decision on deciding where to spend my money at.