Downfall of the LFS?
- Thread starter lujor
- Start date
Bderick67;4322158; said:This^ plus the value of ordering online. Just too hard for the small LFS to compete
I know, went into 2 different LFS and they wanted $20 for a 2-3" geo and got one at Petsmart for $6. I'm all for supporting LFS but I'm not about to 3x the price for the same fish.
I went to this one LFS to get a Uaru for $20, the owner told me he had a short body he would give me for $10. Well I went with the short body but he was only gonna give it to me for $10 if I bought 3 at normal price. So I told him I only wanted one and he would give me a different one, only the short body. So I got the short body for normal price. Turned out what made it a short body was the fact that is spine was messed up, it was literally f***ing deformed. On top of that it died a day later.
What are the best online retailers for live fish? Never ordered fish from a person or company online.
i think alot of the profit in the hobby is made off of the equipment/tanks rather than the fish. As such online etailers such as drfostersandsmith have been undercutting any local merchants and the fatc that you can ship fish so ealsiy these days makes it harder for the local fish store to compete.
all that said, we haven't had any closures that I'm aware of. In fact we've had 3 stores open in the past year. So while it may be harder it all depends on the local market and in AZ we don't like to wait so shipping is out, and we like to see it before we buy it so etailing in general for fish is out.
edit: liveaquaria.com is one
all that said, we haven't had any closures that I'm aware of. In fact we've had 3 stores open in the past year. So while it may be harder it all depends on the local market and in AZ we don't like to wait so shipping is out, and we like to see it before we buy it so etailing in general for fish is out.
edit: liveaquaria.com is one
I think some of it IS that the owners are fundamentally 'fish guys', and not necessarily business savvy. However, the Internet and big box stores have got to be taking a toll - on top of a poor economy.
Several near me closed down BEFORE the economic down turn, all cited big box stores as the issue. I don't know if I necessarily buy that excuse tho...it's like all the mom & pop's that blame Walmart for them closing their doors. As several others have said, if they have poor service (i.e. extreme elitist attitudes!) or are 3x the price - it's hard to justify going back!
I'm no fan of buying fish from Petsmart/Petco, but if it's 1/3 of the cost I just might be willing to get the fish and quarantine it for a month before putting it in my main tank. On top of that, Craigslist and Ebay are making it increasingly easy to get second-hand fishes from people at rock bottom rates.
I think the bottom line is that if you're in it as an extension of your hobby, it's going to kill you. If you're in it to make a profit and maintain your business sense, it's still possible to make a buck and keep the doors open. Either way though, I've not ever heard of someone becoming a multi-millionaire from their fish store!
Several near me closed down BEFORE the economic down turn, all cited big box stores as the issue. I don't know if I necessarily buy that excuse tho...it's like all the mom & pop's that blame Walmart for them closing their doors. As several others have said, if they have poor service (i.e. extreme elitist attitudes!) or are 3x the price - it's hard to justify going back!
I'm no fan of buying fish from Petsmart/Petco, but if it's 1/3 of the cost I just might be willing to get the fish and quarantine it for a month before putting it in my main tank. On top of that, Craigslist and Ebay are making it increasingly easy to get second-hand fishes from people at rock bottom rates.
I think the bottom line is that if you're in it as an extension of your hobby, it's going to kill you. If you're in it to make a profit and maintain your business sense, it's still possible to make a buck and keep the doors open. Either way though, I've not ever heard of someone becoming a multi-millionaire from their fish store!
In my area an awesome (and the only one for 30+ miles) went out of business early this year. A new one opened up litterally right across the street from my house, I was so excited...worst LFS EVER! 4 rows of 10gallon tanks with only the most common fish available. It just open and looked like a store that was struggling to stay in business, which may be true...But it was day one and it already looked like piss. I miss the LFS's around when I was a kid and all the variety available. There is a LFS in my old area about 1hr away from where I live now, it does still get some rare fish (seen a 30+ inch alligator Gar last month) but its also cruddy. But thats what I get for moving to the country.
OmniTranz;4323604; said:
people are cheep. their kids what a fish tank and a gold fish. go to walmart and spend 10.81 all together, or go to a LFS and pay 30$ for the tank, and
4-5$ for the fish...
also i have noticed in the past few years almost all fish have went up like 3-4 bucks! don't know if other parts of the country have noticed the same.
if i was going to start a LFS, i would get a good size building, set up it up how i thought it should be, then go twice as large. keep the common species in stock, 24/7. that way if you or someone you know is setting up a tank, and say you want angel fish... well i know that so and so fish store WILL have them and at least 3 different color forms.
a lot of LFS around here seem very snappy... "you can't have that your tank is this, your water is that." "you need a 100,000 gallon pond for that oscar." discourages people from buying there again, people are going to get what they want, when they want it. if you tell them they cant have it because they need some exaggerated sized tank, then they are going to go to petco right down the street and get that fish telling the employee that they have that size tank. now your out of a sale.
but yet again, this is all in my own opinion based on what i have seen and how people present themselves. and I'm sure that there are very few people that walk into a fish store asking for every species of apistos, more like MOST people walk in asking "do you have a nemo fish?" and or "i need a gold fish for my kid"
This is nothing new.Mid 80s to early 90s the rise of the big corporate "big box" stores started wiping out the small businesses.Lumberyards,hardware stores small dept stores corner drug stores and even the lfs have been in a steady decline ever since.
