I'm thinking of placing an order, but have read some negative things. I'd like to read personal experiences from MFK members to help me make a decision since he does require a pretty significant minimum order, at least for a hobbyst. He has some pretty cool fish. Thanks.
How was your experience with Don Conkel?
- Thread starter 1fatdovii
- Start date
count me in if you order some stuff from him
he's been helpful and stuff to deal with
fyi for all you socal ppl... he's trying to get in some istlanum in january, so if you are serious and want to do something around then i will definitely be in.
i've heard some stuff here and there about him, but honestly his fish are good quality, all arrived healthy, and all are still healthy and just as advertised. his prices are very competitive and i say 2 thumbs up from me.
he's been helpful and stuff to deal with
fyi for all you socal ppl... he's trying to get in some istlanum in january, so if you are serious and want to do something around then i will definitely be in.
i've heard some stuff here and there about him, but honestly his fish are good quality, all arrived healthy, and all are still healthy and just as advertised. his prices are very competitive and i say 2 thumbs up from me.
He's cool to deal with and he's been bringing some wild caught specimens so that's always a plus. Packaging is awesome and fishes are very healthy. We only lost one fish the last time we ordered and we ordered a lot of fishes from him.
Thanks guys, that's very helpful. Did you guys place your order on his site or did you speak wih him personally to place it?
Yeah, I read that on other sites, it appears to be one of the biggest problems. I'm also concerned because I read on a site that he only respects wholesellers and stores who place large orders and sometimes pulls fast ones on hobbysts and sells them hybrids as full breeds. Thanks Havey.
well i think he's got a big operation so doesn't necessarily have time to respond to all emails...
but having said that, yes communication in terms of direct emails is somewhat on the slow side.
if you make the effort to call him he's good to deal with. the last time our order was coordinated via polomax24, and it worked out great.
i disagree with him only respecting wholesalers and not individual hobbyists. i think he was probably catering to only wholesalers in the past as it was his main business base. now he's expanding into general consumers and hobbyists. it takes a while to make that transition.
imagine owning like 20-30 ponds and having to go to each pond just to scoop out 1 or 2 fish lol... it takes time to make that transition...
1fatdovii - count me in if you order from him next time. i've asked him to keep me in the loop about istlanums and i'll definitely place an order when they get here in january.
but having said that, yes communication in terms of direct emails is somewhat on the slow side.
if you make the effort to call him he's good to deal with. the last time our order was coordinated via polomax24, and it worked out great.
i disagree with him only respecting wholesalers and not individual hobbyists. i think he was probably catering to only wholesalers in the past as it was his main business base. now he's expanding into general consumers and hobbyists. it takes a while to make that transition.
imagine owning like 20-30 ponds and having to go to each pond just to scoop out 1 or 2 fish lol... it takes time to make that transition...
1fatdovii - count me in if you order from him next time. i've asked him to keep me in the loop about istlanums and i'll definitely place an order when they get here in january.
Thanks Aquablue, yeah, Jeff is always great to deal with. Sounds good Ewok, I'll let you know when I'm getting ready to place an order from Don. I tried calling him on Friday, but I did'nt get a hold of him.
Havey;1331409; said:
I concur. My LFS orders almost exclusively from Don and while most fish are fine, about 10% have visible signs of lympho. He has some rare CA/SA cichlids for rock bottom prices though.
The couple times I've e-mailed him he's gotten back to me right away.