New Vancouver area store!

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by trilinearmipmap

Yes I would be interested in buying from this store.

Realistically though a store like this doesn't have a chance in hell.

Among serious hobbyists there are two stores in the Vancouver area that have a lock on the business, one more for equipment supplies and fish and the other more for corals. For casual hobbyists who don't know any better there are the mega-stores selling stuff too.

When you look at the investment of time money and effort I don't think it is worthwhile opening a new reef store in the Vancouver area. It can only lead to grief. Sorry I don't want to sound discouraging but think up another business plan.

This is a good point...Why is there not one store that you can go to for both supplies and livestock. Im not sure which two stores you mean for sure but I would agree that NO store in vancouver is GREAT. Just a few good ones. I lived in Florida for a while and I think I got spoiled! If someone opened a store in Vancouver based on how a few of the great shops down there are, it would be amazing! And Im not talking about the "big" chain stores in Florida, I shopped at a smaller one that would blow any shop in Vancouver out of the water.

To say that opening a reef shop in Vancouver would be a failure is a joke. You can ALWAYS do things better than the competition. I think thats one problem with shops in Vancouver, not enough competition...

[Der_Iron_Chef]

But owning and running a store in Florida, with its coral reefs, Gulf of Mexico, etc., would have its obvious advantages. That's like comparing the skiing in North Carolina with Whistler and Fernie.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Der_Iron_Chef

But owning and running a store in Florida, with its coral reefs, Gulf of Mexico, etc., would have its obvious advantages. That's like comparing the skiing in North Carolina with Whistler and Fernie.

Fair enough, thats a good point. Im not just talking about livestock though, where there was a clear advantage to being in the southern us, Im also talking dry goods. More competitive brings lower prices. Plus WAY more products to choose from.

If you are only comparing stores in vancouver to the rest of Canada, then yes, its amazing. But compare it parts of the US (Florida) and it really is not.

I guess to be fair too though, the other big difference being in Florida and here is being able to go to huge outdoor places to buy Aquacultured LR for $2-3 a lb. As well as corals from 10,000G vats Thats just not really an option here because of weather. A lot of these are outdoors.

[Jason McK]

I think the GVRD is spoiled rotten when it comes to good LFS we don't know how good we have it.
Now I'm only comparing stores in Canada and not in the southern US. But Really Give me a break even stores I would consider crappy are good when compared to stores outside the GVRD. Plus look at the prices some are paying for salt in TO

J

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Yes, we are seriously spoiled with decent to good LFS that stock sw livestock in the GVRD. There are at least 4 fairly major coral/marine fish stores & five small ones that do most if not all their biz in sw. Compared to Calgary or Edmonton or anywhere else, we have a lot of choice & decent prices. If I didn't live around here, I doubt I would have gotten into this addiction due to the high cost.

Anthony

[ReefBizz]

Great feedback everyone.... Keep'em coming! Your opinions are valued.

[hawk]

Originally Posted by ReefBizz

Great feedback everyone.... Keep'em coming! Your opinions are valued.

The environmental angle is noble but if you 're looking to break into the Canadian reef market I would concentrate on online sales. Yeah I know every store has a web page but the only one that seems to put much effort into it is J&L. They'll update their new/noteworthy page once or twice a week. The others I deal with update less than once a month. It's not a criticism of the existing stores. They unload their livegoods without exploiting web possibilities, good for them. But IMO it is a ripe market that will be filled sooner or later.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by hawk

The environmental angle is noble but if you 're looking to break into the Canadian reef market I would concentrate on online sales. Yeah I know every store has a web page but the only one that seems to put much effort into it is J&L. They'll update their new/noteworthy page once or twice a week. The others I deal with update less than once a month. It's not a criticism of the existing stores. They unload their livegoods without exploiting web possibilities, good for them. But IMO it is a ripe market that will be filled sooner or later.

Your right on with this one! I think in Canada, web sales are very important, even just based on the geography of our large country and how it is populated. There are many small town reefers who have no choice but to buy online and that can be a big market...especially if you cater some of your website and shipping to them.

[Carrera75]

I personally believe that a new store that offers the best dry goods and livestock is much needed in Vancouver. Some of the existing stores have decent corals but their dry goods selection is not that great. While
there are other stores that have decent selection of dry goods but the livestock is not great. Most the LFS's websites are not very useful as these are not updateded on a regular basis, perhaps the only one is the J$L website.

I would definitely support a new LFS that offers both, great livestock and dry goods. Am not married to any of the existing LFS so why not supporting a new one that cares about the environment.

Cheers

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

The more I sit here and think about it, I can't believe anyone thinks it would be a bad idea. Anything can always be done better. Plus its great for us! More stores the better, more competitive and better selection hopefully. As YVR says, if there was one store that could "get it all together", I bet it would do VERY well. Sounds like a few people here a very "married" to a few stores though.

I have noticed that one store is like "the good ol' boys club" when certain customers are in. I always find that to be the worst trait a store can have. EVERY customer is as important as each other. I have been in a certain store on more than one occasion where its hard to get help because of this.