do we just shop cheaP

[Acro]

well I went out today to look at some stores to see what was out there. Well I stopped at j&l to see what they had which was not much that I was intrested in they did make sure to insult the price I paid for something from a different store. As much as I love a good price I do not like to be insulted. My question to everyone is do we all just run around to find the best price and forget service? I will now go out of my way to buy from local shops if they are intrested in at least coming close to others prices. If not I will not think twice about mo from others across canada

[smokinreefer]

hey jamie,
i will not defend JL for their service to you, as i have heard a few complaints from others too.
but i can say i have had good service from them myself, so far.
when were you there?, i went there today too...and yes the sps was lacking, tho i have also been there when the sps tanks were full. anyhow i saw marc and rob there too. what a coincidence eh?

[reefburnaby]

Hello,

Yeah...I'm pretty guilty for searching for the lowest prices. I do understand your frustration -- getting a good deal and get good customer service are hard to find.

Say...do you recall who you were talking to at J&Ls ? Maybe you can send them an email and complain.

- Victor.

[ 23 September 2001: Message edited by: reefburnaby ]

[Acro]

well I geuss yesterday was just once to many what hapened was about a month ago I went there after buy a magfloat from aquarium services for a wopping 50 bucks with trades from frags that I had brought anyway I brought in the magnet to show them and give them the info off the back so they could perhaps bring them cheaper so they wrote down the info and bosted saying they could bring them in for 10 bucks and laughed at me for paying 50 well yesterday they started out my visit the same way"how much did you pay for that magnet again" And see the odd thing is about 3 month or more ago I bought 2 250 hqi set ups from them for around 1400 bucks after taxs and they never make comment about that.I have spent thousands of dollars at there store and when I spend 50 bucks somewere else they make sure to comment on it.perhaps petty but bugs me none the less

[christyf5]

I'm glad I'm not the only one noticing J&L I went there awhile ago and bought a yellow finger leather which split and rotted in my tank over the 5 days after purchasing it. When I went back to J&L and mentioned it he said that I shouldn't have bought it and that I didn't have enough light for yellows. The first thing I do before buying any coral is tell them how much light I have and if that is enough for the coral I am interested and then make my decision. I was really disappointed in those guys for selling it to me. Its frustrating because I live on the island and there is totally nothing here and Van is my last (and cheapest) option other than mail order. I really don't want to go MO if I don't have to, I would rather see exactly what I am getting than a "may not be exactly as shown" picture. Guess I should do more research next time. images/smiles/icon_sad.gif

Christy

[ 24 September 2001: Message edited by: christyf5 ]

[ 24 September 2001: Message edited by: christyf5 ]

[canadawest]

I think we all tend to shop for price, especially considering how expensive our hobby really is.

I also find John and Allen quick to nip at other retailers when mentioned, but thier only foundation to boast are thier prices and selection of livestock. As with every LFS, they are going to have opinions and recommendations, and we should always take them with a grain of salt.

And while I do often shop there because of thier prices, I don't often talk anymore about my setup or other purchases because it just seems to hit a soft spot with them. Ask me if I mention anymore that I use a Prizm skimmer on my tank. You should hear the list of disasters that are waiting to happen on my tank because of it!

And Christy I agree they don't have much remorse for lost livestock. I wrote Allen an email about a Yellow Tang that died 5 days after I got it, and the response I got was "sorry to hear about your tang".

So for price, yup I'm guilty I'll look there first, or go MO. But for that "feel good about my shopping experience" I'll be elsewhere, like Animal House.

It's too bad Animal House doesn't have a website to compare prices and see what's available, or I'd travel out that way more. (Hint, hint Dale)

[Troy F]

Jamie, I'm guessing you were talking to Allen/Alan? He gives me the gears all the time about things I either buy or think about buying. I take it as good natured ribbing. I don't think John will even talk to me anymore though. Customer relations aside I think they run a top notch store. Their prices are good and they deal strictly in reefs. They have high end equipment available which most of the other shops don't have readily available. I get more insulted when I look at the prices at Big Al's images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif .

[terryp01]

Okay y'all (that's Texas for all of you). I think we all have a tendency to look and negotiate for the lowest price on anything we are trying to buy.

Hopefully, what we are able to determine is that the lowest price must mean something is being given up to meet that price. I have seen some items priced lower than wholesale. Of course, we all understand leader products and once they get you in the store you just have to have that 100.00 fish which they make about 75.00 on it.

I am sure you all have heard the news about DOT COMS going out of business right and left. This is because of poor management and no mark/profit. Remember PETS.COM that bought Flying Fish.com? Pets filed bankruptcy but Flying fish continued to operate as a successful business.

I only ask that if you go to your LFS and ask them questions that you at least buy something from them every once in a while. I purchase all of my food (frozen) from the LFS and recommend her on my website. There is no way an LFS can compete with the mass marketers on the web such as Jeff's Exotic Fish, Flying Fish, etc since they have store rental, employee costs, shipping, etc. Some of the onlines (oh yes they do) have a relationship with the wholesalers and pull the items from the stock and ship it.

The typical mark-up is about 200% for fish/corals online and about 300-400% in the store. You want that five day guarantee you are going to pay for it.

Remember, if all of us always shopped and bought the lowest price we could find, quality would suffer and most of us would be unemployed.

I saw an posting on one of the bulletin boards where someone purchased a Metal Halide bulb from a website at $125.00 and it was dropped shipped from the distributer and they forgot to black out the charge to the internet site. The cost of the bulb was about 89.00 and the person had a cow (Texas, means upset) that the internet company made so much. However, the person was happy with the price until they saw the cost. Ever heard of supply and demand? Go to your LFS and buy a metal halide bulb and see what you will pay, think they are in this business to give it away. I THINK NOT.

Being cost aware is not being cheap. Being cheap is being not so smart.

Okay, soapbox retired.

[SuperFudge]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jamie Cross:
I will now go out of my way to buy from local shops <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Amen !!

Even if it is not so local,though thankfully mine is,I would still spend the extra buck or drive the extra mile to stick with one store if they have shown me respect and a fair price regularly...give em a buck extra for a certain product for the $5 or $10 they gave you off your last purchase!
(all emergencies and uncarried product excluded of course images/smiles/icon_wink.gif)

I had a visit to some stores this weekend(good to see ya Shao images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif) it was the first time for me at J&L`s and King ed`s,and all i came home with was the same damn opinion images/smiles/icon_wink.gif.

JMVHO of course,Marc.

[ 24 September 2001: Message edited by: Fudge ]

[SuperFudge]

whoops

[ 24 September 2001: Message edited by: Fudge ]

[FlameAngel]

Rude and untrustworthy LFSs, should further point to an increase in reefer to reefer trading.

A network that I hope develops greatly images/smiles/icon_smile.gif YIPPEE!

Flameangel

[smokinreefer]

well i envy you guys out in the boonies!! images/smiles/icon_wink.gif
i know you have a nice LFS, cuz ive seen some of your tanks and they are sweet.

i have been to animal house and yes, i agree it is a great LFS, dale is a nice guy too.
but it is so far...

JL is close to me and when they have sps in, i can spend a long time there just drooling, i mean looking images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif
john has been nice to me, allen is nice to me too, keep in mind tho i have never had an in depth and long conversation with any of them. tho i have noticed that allen likes to bash big als alot.

as for king eds, those guys are salesmen period. they would sell fish shit to someone if they could! images/smiles/icon_eek.gif but i do go there to look for fish, when i buy my dogfood. sometimes they get cool fish in, and you can bargain too.

big als is starting to shape up coral wise, and there prices are beginning to be reasonable. they too get some interesting bargains in, fish wise. besides i used to work there once upon a time. Grant is a very knowledgeable guy, pick his brain if you get the chance.

later guys.

[reefburnaby]

Wow....people actually give you a hard time for having "unprofessional" equipment ? Ouch...that must hurt. If it makes you feel better...my skimmer is DIY using Home Depot ABS. Need I explain more ?

My experience with the local LFS is fairly limited. Most of my equipment is DIY. Without being very specific, I agree that most stores aren't very good for newcomers or people looking for advice. This is where reef groups, like this one, can help.

As for coral trading...I am all for it.

- Victor.

[ 24 September 2001: Message edited by: reefburnaby ]

[Shadetree]

Lots of good thoughts thrown out here. Being self employed I can state that you get what you pay for, maybe not today but you will. Whether it is returning an item, dead livestock or advice. With that said, those of us who do not live within a reasonable distance to Animal House should respect the standard being set by J&L. Big Als is now trying to tow the line and keep up in the reef department. The display reef was even taken down at Big Als a long time ago. While I have heard some of the less than personable comments about J&L I have yet to receive any, and that is with purchasing ALL my equipment from elsewhere. But they are bringing better selection, quality and prices to some of the other LFS which would still be robbing us blind if not for the internet, trading and J&L. Hey Troy, did you order another skimmer for your tank, there is a Bullet 2 sitting in the display again images/smiles/icon_wink.gif You will be headed straight to hell now or at least be subjected to the aptaisa and flat worm gods. images/smiles/icon_razz.gif

Scott

[Acro]

well it's been intresting reading others thought on this thread. I geuss the thruth is I shop around to get the best price to and that is why I found j&l and have shopped there many times and is also why I have told others about them.but the thing is you can only get rubbed the wrong way so many times be for the next person asking you the best place to shop and you leave them out of your list.

[smokinreefer]

true true.

i hold customer service very highly, if i dont get the service, i will flat out, put my purchase down and walk out a store.

ive done it before and ill do it again.

later

[BCReefer]

I was in Chilliwack on Saturday and i visited Animal House. I was really impressed with their service. Even though I did not buy anything they answered my questions about lighting.

I agree customer service is everything. I purchased $200.00 worth of material from a store on 120th st. I went back a week later and the service was lousy. I'll never go again. Big Al's so far is the best for me.

[Troy F]

Scott, I can't possibly be blamed for everything. Hell, if I'm not careful there won't be any stores that will want my business. I completely agree with what you've said about J&L's. They are the first legitimate reef store around and they actually tend to the animals they have on display, what a concept (sarcasm) .

Big Al's used to be a good store, maybe their prices were high but the quality was there. It seems to me that since Grant became an owner there livestock has gone for a dump. I liked it much better when he had his hands wet.

[titus]

Hey guys,

I agree absolutely customer service is "supposed" to be number one. However, you can only be so good until someone comes along to fraud you, or you basically burn out. This is especially true for online stores because of the ease for customers to claim broken items, missing parts, late shipments, etc.
This is just my pet peeve. Running an online bulletin board, however, is much more fun. lol.

Titus

[SuperFudge]

Hi Guys,

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Shadetree:

With that said, those of us who do not live within a reasonable distance to Animal House should respect the standard being set by J&L.
Scott<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Scott and Shao,
After re-reading the thread...I have missworded my post,i did not intend to send anyone in a certain direction to shop.LOL

I dont disagree at all,as a matter of fact it is awesome to see a store more focused in the reef department than most out there.

What i meant is if J&L or whomever has been more than fair to you in the past,then do them a favour and continue buisness with them,even if the price of thier light bulbs is two bucks more than the next guy.

I dunno,I guess im a loner when it comes to this view,(and no offence to any images/smiles/icon_wink.gif)but i just think its funny why some will drop a store because another down the street has it on for a buck or two less.

I also didnt mean to say dont shop anywhere else,Its always nice to look at different stuff,and one may not carry what you need(thus the excuse for my weekend excursion images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif)
or may have a different line of equipment.
Hell,i even have Two favorites to make sure all my bases are covered!
But i can say i will always shop there as long as im not disrespected(sorry to hear`bout that Jamie..)and am given a fair price for my regular service.

JMHO,Marc.

[Aquattro]

Just to note my experience at J&L. I actually managed to get off the Island and visit J&L in person. They had just got in a rather large fish order and were extremely busy. However, this didn't stop John from being extremely pleasant and helpful and he even had time to joke with my kids a bit. Overall, a great shopping experience. I wish we could get that kind of service in Victoria!!