I'm nervous about the Fishkeeping hobby.

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eatingleg4peanut

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 21, 2010
732
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Maryland
I'm hopping to get some feedback from people who have been at this alot longer than me.

I've only been seriously keeping fish and interested in the hobby for about 3 years now. What I mean by serious is learning about all kinds of freshwater fish, habitats, different methods, keeping exotics, expanding to larger tanks.

In these 3 years I've seen a lot of scary things that seem to point that the hobby is going away. I'm seeing LFS's that are going out of business left and right, CL littered with getting out of hobby sales, OFS's closing up show, the few decent LFS's I have around (now all about an hour away) seem to have severely reduced stocks on fish, and even have isles that have large bare sections.

Is this a new occurance in the hobby resulting from the poor economy, or has this hobby/business always been in struggle?
 
I'd say it's 50/50 the economy and online sales. Unfortunately LFS make almost nothing on livestock and the majority of their profits come from tank hardware and accessories which all have low markup. The internet is making it hard for them to sell you a heater for $45 that you can buy online for $30.
 
i honestly believe at this point its mostly economy, you have to remember that almost any hobby consumes a little extra $ and its a choice/luxury not a right.

once there is a solid work plan and the job % goes up you'll see a large difference in all kind of new shops popping up again.
 
This is what I have noticed. Any business that relates to a hobby swells and shrinks depending upon the economy and interest of the masses. Online sales and big corporate companies make it hard for a mom and pop store to operate as well. I've seen several mom and pop shops close to make way for a petsmart or petco. I'm in a band so I'll give another example. Here in kalamazoo michigan we used to have 4 privately owned music stores. In moves guitar center and poof they all go away. It sucks but it is the way of the business world!!!

----Chris
 
pi-eyed;5077527; said:
This is what I have noticed. Any business that relates to a hobby swells and shrinks depending upon the economy and interest of the masses. Online sales and big corporate companies make it hard for a mom and pop store to operate as well. I've seen several mom and pop shops close to make way for a petsmart or petco. I'm in a band so I'll give another example. Here in kalamazoo michigan we used to have 4 privately owned music stores. In moves guitar center and poof they all go away. It sucks but it is the way of the business world!!!

----Chris
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+1 i think you hit the nail on the head. there's too much of a passion for the hobby to go away but let's face it, how people shop has changed
 
As long as there is a demand for a product, there will be someone willing to supply it. If MFK ever dries up and disapears, that will be a sign of the hobby dying, then I'll be worried. Until then, one LFS closes, somewhere another should open up.
 
On the reverse side of the coin, ...the current economical situation means a glut of used tanks and equipment are flooding an apprehensive market. Hence, prices currently favor the buyer. Go shopping.
 
Oddball;5078005; said:
On the reverse side of the coin, ...the current economical situation means a glut of used tanks and equipment are flooding an apprehensive market. Hence, prices currently favor the buyer. Go shopping.
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:D
 
Oddball;5078005; said:
On the reverse side of the coin, ...the current economical situation means a glut of used tanks and equipment are flooding an apprehensive market. Hence, prices currently favor the buyer. Go shopping.
Click to expand...

i like your thinking. i guess they were right when they said oddball is a genius
 
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