What to buy on SWF.com (30gal) l@@K inside.

[reefmate75]

Originally Posted by socal57che
Our local reef club does group buys from SWF. Maybe some people in your area will go in on a larger group buy.
thats the way me and my friend dose it.........and if theres a coral ive been eyeing...some times we buy one and split it

 

[sh2000]

This is a problem for a lot of people because alot of chain LFS don't stock SWF, only Feshwater. The LFS that do saltwater are usually not common in some areas and if you find one they usually are a majorly overpriced. They also most of the time take advantage of the new aquarist we've all been there at some point.Your best bet is to do the research online and then at least be knowledgeable when you walk into the store.

 

[vampofvegas]

the reason i want to buy from SWF.com is because they carry stuff that my LFS cannot order right now (checked with 3 stores.. all said the same). So its kinda lame, guess i'll just have to wait.

 

[1journeyman]

Knightcreek, I think you are still overlooking the importance of buying from a reputable store. If SWF was shipping duds they wouldn't have a forum here to discuss the hobby and their store...
Stores do buy from more "middle men". At least here in Texas they do. I worked at a dealer for 3 days in the late 90's. I quit because of the massive mortality rates.
You cannot always see parasites or other damage to a fish. Most pet stores I've seen have no acclimation process (which can kill fish/inverts far after you purchase them). Furthermore, few of the stores here in the Metroplex offer any kind of credit system for a fish that's purchased.
I'm a huge fan of buying online from stores like SWF. I know the fish/invert purchased gets into my far more capable hands far quicker than it would if I purchased from a local store. Add that to the fact that my local stores do not provide forums, do not have guarantees, do not acclimate properly and charge far more... Not a difficult choice for me.

 

[sh2000]

but you need to order $79.

 

[drewchyi]

i have placed 4 orders from this site. each order arrived quickly and more than lived up to my standards. their prices are way better than than my lfs here. i paid $24 for a hawkfish that my lfs wanted $69 for. he's been thriving for the past 2 yrs now. these people who run this site professional and hobbiests. it is not in their interest to send u less than standard products. you can tell this by the attention to detail in their packaging.

 

[sh2000]

I woul definately second that!

 

[aquaspirit04]

I understand where you're coming from...it's a big pain in the neck, but 80 bucks sounds a lot nicer than marinecenter.com's 150 mininum. I'm not sure, but I think marinedepotlive.com doesn't have a mininum...but they still charge shipping... If that helps at all... =/

 

[aquaspirit04]

Originally Posted by SH2000
This is a problem for a lot of people because alot of chain LFS don't stock SWF, only Feshwater. The LFS that do saltwater are usually not common in some areas and if you find one they usually are a majorly overpriced. They also most of the time take advantage of the new aquarist we've all been there at some point.Your best bet is to do the research online and then at least be knowledgeable when you walk into the store.
Jeeze, I know. There's only about 2 saltwater carriers in South jersey and they're both crooks! The one I go to for most stuff won't treat you like a human being until you've dropped over a 1,000 dollars in his store. He also told me a chocolate chip star would do fine in my reef tank, and it ended up eating a 60 dollar peice of coral!

 

[sh2000]

We all have been there ! Don't listen to a LFS, know the item and do the research. Ofcourse there are exceptions, but sadly I find them to be uncommon. Find a reputale LFS which I find to be rare. Find someone you trust, test them.
Try and team up with your friends to make an order.But your better off online if you think about it the shipping is almost like paying tax and with the free items some of us get It almost washes the reasonable overnight shipping charge. Plus buying online from reputable sites means youll get quality items, the only dis advantages are you can't see the item and you have to deal with the risk always in fish being shipped to you. Acclimation is very imp.