SUPPORT your LFS

[kablamo]

Hey guys, any of us in oklahoma who have been in the hobby for a while will know aquarium concepts in OKC, they have been in business for 35+ years and are shutting down their doors dec 31st, 2005.
There are four types of LFS:
There are the money grubbers, who have really nice displays and tanks and expensive looking systems, but who won't think twice about selling you the anemone even though they know you don't have enough light, or sell you 14 fish for a 10 gallon on the first day, just because they want money.
There are the super players, like ***** and petsmart, who don't know what they are doing and have a history of poor treatment,
There is the poor mom and pop setup, very dingy, dark, smelly places with poorly maintained tanks and prices way too high, who also sell you anything you want regardless of whether or not you can sustain it.
And there is the hardworking, ever honest, family owned LFS which always bends over backward to help people, and give all the customers all the info they need and want to turn around and buy from the auction site instead of supporting the ones who basically sold you that product and who test your water for free and who do all of these wonderful things for you.
This is the one I'm talking about.
It just breaks my heart that a place like that would go under, seeing how much they love what they do... anyone who has been there knows jesse, the "fish guy", he's in his 30s, and he used to clean tanks for his allowance, you really know that he truely LOVES what he's doing, but now he has to find something else!
Please take heart and support your local fish stores who work so hard to help you with your hobby.
Spend the extra 10 bucks to buy it locally, (with shipping the prices usually even out anyway, and you get your product now and get to see it and have a return policy even!!)
All in all it's better for all of us to have as many LFS as the cities hobbieists can sustain.
PS, this is not a post dogging online merchants. SWF.com is a great LFS, as far as I'm concerned and need our support as well!
PPS, by the way, they are having huge sales till the end of the month, great time to save money on rock, livestock, and the other things we need!

 

[pontius]

why are they going out of business?
I buy from swf.com only when it has something that is rare enough that the lfs never has it or when the price is so ridiculously different that I can't resist. examples: swf.com has peppermint shrimp 5 for $16, lfs sells them for $7 each. plus the more exotic things like porcelain crabs and gorgonians that I never see in the lfs. otherwise, I buy from the lfs.

 

[harndog]

That sucks I need to make it to OKC. My LFS is well supported by me and they fall under the family owned much like aquarium concepts. I just wish I could talk her into getting halides so she could have some nice corals. she does keep fish really healthy and so far so good on purchsing from her. Also bought my 175 from her so she made some money there for sure. We do have a fairly new mom and pop in tulsa that sails SPS frags for like 25 bucks but it is exactly what you said dirty dingey with not near enough tanks for the supply he has. We also have a nice shop called Ultimate reefs he has some nice stuff and really tries to steer you in the right direction. Nice guys.

 

[1journeyman]

"Mom and Pop" LFSs are a dying breed.
I go to a great LFs that is owned by a very knowledgable guy, and his 2 employees are great. For him it's a hobby, though.. he owns another business and is retired.
Small pet stores don't have a lot to offer anymore: Info is easy to find online, selection is better online, prices are cheaper, etc...
Small pet stores are going to have to find a new "niche" market. For instance, one LFS in Fort Worth I know is dedicating a large area of their store for coral fragging. If they don't, they are going to find themselves out of touch with the market.

 

[ophiura]

I agree that it is important to support your good local LFS...but market forces still win out. A lot of people will still shop at the shady smelly nasty tank stores because their prices may be a bit cheaper. The store I worked at had things like free water testing and tracking (they kept cards on your tank and wouldn't sell some things without water testing), a 7 day warranty, etc...but the prices were high. Everyone complained about that. They wanted the cheap price and no warranty - until something died and then they complained about not having the warranty.
I do agree though that they have to come up with something...the frag idea is great. There is a store here with loads of $5 frags. Its fantastic.