Was I ripped off?

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I think you got exactly what you deserved.
 
Not a stores fault if a consumer doesn't do their due diligence BEFORE making a purchase. Who says he got ripped off? By the sounds of things the OP doesn't even know for certain what he purchased.

Oh to be honest I have no clue.

$70 is a pretty cheap life lesson......
 
Not a stores fault if a consumer doesn't do their due diligence BEFORE making a purchase. Who says he got ripped off? By the sounds of things the OP doesn't even know for certain what he purchased.



$70 is a pretty cheap life lesson......

Still not cool for a store to sell something at a ridiculous price. If you a convenience store was selling a pack of gum for 50 dollars, you'd say something.
 
I wouldn't say anything, I would simply stop shopping there.

I always get a chuckle when people talk about retail prices, as though you are somehow privy to their wholesale cost of each item, and the cost to run that facility where the fish is sold. The store purchaser paid far too much for this fish - hence the higher than normal retail price. I have seen this exact scenario at one of the LFS here, and I have seen the wholesale prices so I know that they paid too much. Way too much, so while their retail prices may seem ridiculous, considering their wholesale cost, AND the cost to run such a large store, with numerous employees (that all draw a wage), the cost for that fish may not be that ridiculous at all.

And, not knowing where the OP lives, and how common or uncommon this fish may be (they stated they had never seen one before) the price for a "deep sea rainbow cichlid" (whatever the hell that is?) may not be that high, or even unusual for the area.

Unless someone was holding a gun to their head, buyer got exactly what he deserved.
 
plot twist: new cichlid species found in the deep sea, only one to be caught.

EDIT: Aquascape had a tank labeled "Newly discovered cichlid species" priced at 500 bucks lol
 
There's the first life lesson with cichlids - do not use made up trade names, or common names, when buying fish. Use proper scientific names, and only purchase from those who do same.
 
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Years back when I was dealing in antiques and oddities I often quoted a gent from Roman times; Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it. Publilius Syrus ~100 BC

Did I rip people off? No, but sometimes it felt like it. I rationalized it in my head by realizing that some people had far more money than personally required. lol

In the same sense, is an adult midas cichlid worth $250 US?
Most here would scoff, and say no, but one very experienced cichlid keeper on MFK recently traded off 11 adult fish in his tank for a single adult midas.

It is a stunning specimen, who would I be to argue if someone was to pay $250 for it? But what if that 16" stunning $250 specimen dies of old age a few months from now, is that the stores fault, too?

The lesson here is to take responsibility for your own actions, a life lesson that seems lost on many in todays society.
 
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