Which LFS is selling AF now?

Well, I did my part with a large online order to J&L. Prices weren't that great, but I needed to stock up on supplies. I usually order something from Reef Supplies out east, but not this year, as I just didn't see anything I need, for a good price there.

I think in general Boxing Day sales were not that great this year. Lower loonie hurts, and probably Black Friday is gaining. I am sure retailers are struggling to make a decent profit.

And with the high cost of our equipment, supplies, corals and fish, I think our hobby may be losing some appeal, too. Plus the economy may be affecting many as well, and spending priorities need to shift. And that will probably not get better here in Canada the next couple years.

Aquarium Illusions.

J&L did 25% off all livestock. Pretty damn good id say and way better then 0% off livestock.
I waited a few months for more fish knowing this was around the corner.
Plus if they die i dont feel as bad ;)

Most other stuff was 15% or so and i was going to buy cerrain things regardless of them being on sale or not. So even if i only saved a few cents on the $3 fish net Im happy about it. :)

I agree, anything is better then paying the everyday regular price :mrgreen:

Boxing Day Purchase
 

I made a major purchase this Boxing Day. Certainly the higher amount I've ever spent in this hobby in one day.

I was hoping for a little better deals on some stuff but didn't seem to be the case this Boxing Day. With that said, I think this is the case all around.

Even if you take electronics for example, I didn't find any jaw dropping deals in any of the flyers. Part of it also has to do with the need. I wasn't looking to buy any electronics so I wasn't convinced that anything out there was a good deal... however, I think if I was in the market for a tv this Boxing Day, i would've convinced myself for something to be a good deal.

While I was a little disappointed with LFS Boxing Day sales, I also feel for the LFS owners as the economy is having an impact on their business as well and they're out there to make money so we shouldn't be expecting the stars and the moon from them. Hopefully the economy will turn around and it'll be a thriving hobby all over again.

I didn't find the online sales that grand, bought a few things on J & L's website though.

I have no local fish store, and no longer drive, so I wasn't able to venture into the city to check the local stores out.

I hear about the low dollar and margins being an issue affecting sales, however as I was an owner in the retail sector for a decade, I believe one should still reward their customers on a few occasions a year. That being said, the first year we had a store open we ran boxing day sales similar to how the US does black Friday sales. However we noticed all of our competitors running very low discounts and typically only on multiple item buys. What we learned is customers were going to spend their christmas money and budgeted boxing day monies regardless of whether the items were on sale during boxing week. So like most typical retail outlets in Canada, we curbed our discounts and made more profit that way (as well as near 80% of gift cards get used during Boxing week). We did however make sure to bring in a few loss leaders that we would have negotiated a great price on with the manufacturer months prior. A store can run pretty good sales a couple of times a year, however why would they if they believe their customers will be buying the items regardless of the sell price.
I went boxing day shopping at the lfs's as well, and like other customers, I bought all the items I was holding off on until boxing day, even though 90% of the items were not on sale.

I think that is pretty much it... this hobby keeps getting more and more expensive, while the amount of gratification coming out of it stays constant. Equipment manufacturers keep replacing less expensive older models with more expensive newer ones, and then complain about consumers flocking to inexpensive Chinese brands of similar quality.

Retailers are probably just doing what they need to do to stay in business, but I've also noticed livestock prices have risen quite a bit in the last year, despite a fairly constant dollar. A 25% off livestock boxing week sale right now just means I'm able to buy the same fish I did last year at the same price.

I'd say my LFS (Bayside) had a pretty spectacular sale. Better than any of the online guys. 20% off all fish and inverts, some of the frages were 50% off the rest were up to 30% off depending on how many you bought. I bought a $150 rock flower nem for $100 and got a $70 rock flower nem for free. I got a wack of Aquaforest for 10% off. Wish I had more to spend....

Oh, and some crazy giveaways too!