peoples thoughts and opinions on calgary lfs???

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by albert_dao

The store I use to work at in Calgary didn't mark their prices on the tanks due to the sheer variety of animals in each tank (you wouldn't be able to see the livestock through the wall of grease pen), but everyone had a VERY firm grasp on livestock value. Prices didn't change from hour to hour, day to day like one would imagine.

which brings me to the next point of dedicated systems , i personally want to see sps with sps zoos with zoos and corals of the same species etc housed together, not scattered in 15 different locations in the store, to me thats clutter.....if creating a reef is the goal then do a display only .

sometimes i feel like im shopping in the $5 bin of movies at walmart....i never find a movie i like and settle for a cheap laugh i had years ago lol :P

[albert_dao]

Originally Posted by reefwars

which brings me to the next point of dedicated systems , i personally want to see sps with sps zoos with zoos and corals of the same species etc housed together, not scattered in 15 different locations in the store, to me thats clutter.....if creating a reef is the goal then do a display only .

sometimes i feel like im shopping in the $5 bin of movies at walmart....i never find a movie i like and settle for a cheap laugh i had years ago lol :P

Tougher than you think. You gotta remember that when LFS gets shipments, they're generally NOT at a convenient hour like 2-5 PM. They're usually around 11-3 AM and at that point, you REALLY don't want to be sitting around all night rearranging stuffs.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by albert_dao

They're usually around 11-3 AM and at that point, you REALLY don't want to be sitting around all night rearranging stuffs.

hey a jobs a job lol

no one wants to be doing anything that late but sometimes you got to bite the bullet and put in the late nights early mornings , its def not an easy thing to do but if informing your customers of its products is imortant to your business then the extra hours are worth it.

i mean alot of business get late night deliveries ,alot also do inventory and stock at night.

and its not like the next day everything in the store was sold and there was no time to put names and prices down.

there are about a dozen stores i can think of that do mark their livestock reguarily, just takes some organizing

im pro prices lol

[reefwars]

i mean i doubt walmart would get very far if they loaded their shelves with mystery price products lol

[albert_dao]

Originally Posted by reefwars

hey a jobs a job lol

no one wants to be doing anything that late but sometimes you got to bite the bullet and put in the late nights early mornings , its def not an easy thing to do but if informing your customers of its products is imortant to your business then the extra hours are worth it.

i mean alot of business get late night deliveries ,alot also do inventory and stock at night.

and its not like the next day everything in the store was sold and there was no time to put names and prices down.

there are about a dozen stores i can think of that do mark their livestock reguarily, just takes some organizing

im pro prices lol

I disagree! But I like sleeping, lol. Besides, who needs prices when helpful employees are around to quote them to you? Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeez man!

[Coleus]

i wish there is no lfs at all so I can count my money and have more time to do stuff :-D

but then i have to find another hobby.

[cuz]

Originally Posted by reefwars

which brings me to the next point of dedicated systems , i personally want to see sps with sps zoos with zoos and corals of the same species etc housed together, not scattered in 15 different locations in the store, to me thats clutter.....if creating a reef is the goal then do a display only .

sometimes i feel like im shopping in the $5 bin of movies at walmart....i never find a movie i like and settle for a cheap laugh i had years ago lol :P

they could call it the "bonzia sale tank" !!

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by reefwars

why not im on a roll...



price!!!!


i hate not knowing the darn prices of stuff..

i hate even more when a price is just thrown off the top of someones head...and more than likely is different the next day lol

seriously...mark the prices!!

100% agree. I know of one store in Calgary that in particular is really bad for that. It really ****es me off! Especially when he tells one person he doesn't know that it's an $80 coral and 10min's later tells someone he knows it's $40 for the same coral. I know people who are frequent buyers and are close to the owners get discounts and ok fine, but usually the owner will give 10-20% off, not come up with a totally different price all together! To consistently quote totally different prices to different people (that sometimes are almost half the price or less of what he quoted one person to the next) is frustrating and annoying and IMO no way to run a business. Prices should be shown (and yes sometimes depending on how much shipment prices cost the prices will change) but regardless they should be written on the tanks for everyone to see and not be some sort of secret.

[Coralgurl]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

100% agree. I know of one store in Calgary that in particular is really bad for that. It really ****es me off! Especially when he tells one person he doesn't know that it's an $80 coral and 10min's later tells someone he knows it's $40 for the same coral. I know people who are frequent buyers and are close to the owners get discounts and ok fine, but usually the owner will give 10-20% off, not come up with a totally different price all together! To consistently quote totally different prices to different people (that sometimes are almost half the price or less of what he quoted one person to the next) is frustrating and annoying and IMO no way to run a business. Prices should be shown (and yes sometimes depending on how much shipment prices cost the prices will change) but regardless they should be written on the tanks for everyone to see and not be some sort of secret.

This is what irritates me the most. If you work at a buddy relationship with the stores, they will offer you better pricing. This is not fair as I don't always have time. I'd like to walk in and see pricing. Store owners and staff can be busy with others and I would like to be able to price out my interests on my own.

I do think we have a great selection of stores here run by great people and appreciate their time when I do stop in. I wish more offered more frags, it's hard to buy an $80 coral only to have it not work out in your tank, a smaller piece at lower cost is easier to cope with.

[Reef_Geek]

I'm not sure that it's the 'buddies' that get the better prices, I have tested several different stores for consistencies on their price quotes. What I like to do often, just like everyone else, is ask, 'how much is that?' and I often don't buy because either the price point isn't a great deal, or I don't really want it that bad, or I'm not on my way home. Anyway, I ask several different staff, sometimes a week or two go by in between I re-test the price of something... if it's still around maybe the shopkeeper wants it out his door. The finding has been pretty consistent.

Having said that, there is room to negotiate. What you can negotiate and get for how much depends. There are 3 variables to negotiating according to Herb Cohen: time, information, power.

Time--who ever has more time wins. For example, you know a fish has been in the store for quite some time, you like it, but only want it if it's a good deal. Week after week, it's still there and each time you ask about it but are prepared to walk away from the deal if the price isn't right. In time, shopkeeper will think about his price vs ongoing maintenance & risk of fish getting sick. Conversely, a fish at a good price that you don't buy but someone else will buy in a heartbeat... you don't have time, buy it if it's a fair price.

Info--know the fair market value of goods... otherwise you'll be taken advantage of. Know what you're buying and its frequency of availability or likelihood of coming up again for sale, know where to get stuff used/fragged online...

Power--shopkeeper is in position to offer things, get you things, give you advice, provide you with a friendly ongoing place of getting cool stuff, keep him happy and don't blow this relationship. Conversely, you are in position to choose another offer, to bring your money, to drop $X today if the deal is right vs $Y if not, to tell your friends, to choose to come back, to walk away and wait for a better deal etc.