'Rural' Alberta Problems

[Cody]

I live in a small town that is a few hour drive to the nearest fish stores and airport. Anyone else with similar problems able to order livestock online, or regardless am I stuck having to drive either to the stores or to the airport? I apologize if this is a ridiculous question, but being able to order exactly what I want online would make life so much easier. Since I am only able to get away to the stores once or twice a month, and it's never a sure thing they will have anything appealing to me in stock, it presents some challenges that ordering online would solve pretty quickly. Any advice?

[Kellyscoral]

I live in a rural area and am unable to get Fed ex or UPS to deliver here. I have ordered online from canada corals a few times and just get my package held at main depot and I pick it up. You'll still need to drive into the city but like you said you will be able to order exactly what you want. Gotta love country life hey!

[theokie]

I'm not quite as rural only an hour to the city, but I have the added problem of working in the oil patch up north, so usually by the time I finally get into town amy new shipments are already picked over.

I tend to place a few coral orders a year thru various online venders and have only had good experiences. In fact I have a Canada Corals order arriving tomorrow. As for fish I haven't had them flown in, I have a relationship with a store in Edmonton where they order in what I want and then calle when it arrives, I pay over the phone and theny spouse picks it up. Saves me the headache of having to explain to my spouse how much the fish costs, as well as being the day of the shipments arrival the fish are usually still in the shipping bag, so no double acclimation

If you have specific vendor questions PM as I'm still working on writing up reviews on my last 4 orders from the previous month

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by theokie

I'm not quite as rural only an hour to the city, but I have the added problem of working in the oil patch up north, so usually by the time I finally get into town amy new shipments are already picked over.

Hope you can continue to have that problem (working in the oil patch) given the crash in oil prices.

[ponokareefer]

I'm in the same boat as you and not found a solution to the problem. Some companies I dealt with years back would courier it to your door, but they have since stopped that practice. A few stores said they would custom order me things, but then said I had to pick it up that day(week day) and had to pay full price in advance. I do have one company that told me a few months back that they would bring in a more difficult to care for fish and hold it for a month for me, but I am waiting until after Christmas to order it and see if they will hold true to their word regarding that. Hopefully a company out there will be more friendly to the out-of-towners, but thus far, I haven't had much luck.

[Cody]

Yeah it's unfortunate that there isn't a method to help us out. There are fish I really like I've found in stock on one of the sponsored vendors website for less than what the store I shop at offers them. I'm sure all the best stock is picked through before I get a chance to get in and have a look and as I said before, I could drive 2 hours only to see nothing that appeals to me for months. Maybe when I make some pals on here we can coordinate some group buys and figure out a pick up system that works.

[btuck887]

Next time your in the city you should stop in and talk with the guys at golds. Have heard from a few different individuals that they are willing to bring certain items in on request. As this is only hearsay, I can't confirm this as being 100% correct but it's worth a try!

[Scythanith]

Most stores will order in items you want and hold them for you. At most they will require payment upfront, no different from an online source. Then you pick up when you can make it in to town. If it's the actual drive you're unhappy about.... well not much you can do about that aside from moving closer. The living things we bring in don't react well to bus shipping, multiple day shipping to rural locations, etc.

[Cody]

It's not just the drive. Here's the issue. I work sometimes 3 months straight, 12-16 hours a day. When I get a chance to just suddenly head into Calgary I normally don't know until that morning or the night before. So I will drive nearly 2 hours one way, look around and there is nothing certain I will like anything there. So I guess in a perfect world I could find the exact livestock I want from a reputable vendor online and have it shipped the next day directly to my front door. But maybe I'll consider moving instead.

[mark]

Originally Posted by Cody

I work sometimes 3 months straight, 12-16 hours a day.

with the money you`re making I`d just be heading south to see fish on a real reef.