• You liked BFD7 now you should join this forum and of course become a club member to see what CCA is all about.
  • Thank you to everyone who registered and showed up for the BIG Fish Deal #7.

Been To That Fish Place, Lancaster?

Pat Kelly

CCA Member
Staff member
The following is the opinion of the writer and not that of the club. :rolleyes:


If you are going up there to find something different, you will be disappointed......

Any local fish store is there to make money. If it does not make money then it will go out of business. You go to work to make money, not as a hobby. Not to have fun. Also a store is not going to keep odd-ball stuff if no one is going to buy it. 90% of a stores business is from small hobbiest. Not club members. They dont buy the odd-ball stuff. They buy the common items that everyone loves. Most of your online sellers are here today gone tomorrow. Hell, I can name 5 in this club alone.

A good retailer is a great thing to find. You need them. Thats where our club membership comes from. Yes we have gotten a few from this forum but most find us through talking to people at stores. A retailer has to be able to make a reasonable profit. You have to sell a hell of a lot of guppies to pay the rent, water, electric and heat. Then we wonder why they dont hire people that know fish. How can they afford them? Think about hiring 10 people to cover a store 7 days a week. How much would payroll be alone. Then where do the profits come from.

I just get upset when things go up 200% in a year or when I see things like a little store in Ohio last year. I walked in, looked around. Checked the prices on the dry goods. This was in November. The Aquaclear 110 at that shop was $135.99. That was outragous. I laughed out loud and left. Seeing that, and knowing what they are elsewhere, I would never have even bought food or an air stone at a place like that. Looking for a profit is the American way. Ripping people like that store is just not right.

I deal mainly with LFS because I support the little guy. The stores that I deal with support me. I breed fish, take them to the stores to trade in. Some pay cash, some pay credit. Thats where I get my supplies usually. I used to buy a lot in Lancaster. I only pick up a few things there now. They used to buy local fish. Don't anymore.
I sell my fish to 3 stores. Those 3 stores is where I buy 75% of my stuff. Just have not had to buy much stuff for the last year or so. I will not buy at a petsmart or a petco. They don't support us.
I can only remember buying from an online retailer 3 times. The first time was for a case of bags. LFS don't carry that. The other two times, the online retailers were our members and sponsors.

Everyone has an opinion. This was mine when I typed this. May not be in a minute though. :smashfreakB:
 
c) same shit every other store...[/b]

Get rid of them all...where would you go? The hobby would dissapear.

I'll bet that Exotic Aquatics (or whatever it's called) in North Plaza has more folks going through there on a Saturday than any web site fish seller on the net sees in a week. The window shoppers may not always be buying, but they are drawn into the hobby.

We need the LFS. You have the choice to shop wherever you wish. But, WE NEED THE LFS TO BE THERE FOR US.

[/b]

Don't get me wrong...Exotic Aquatic is a good place to go. I would say their price on fish is quite reasonable...not sure about dry goods though...
Scales another place good to go..but darn it..45mins drive there...the reason I am heading to TFP is I am always curious about amish country and since I am up there, may as well check out TFP.
Then if you look at ADepot...that place is awful...this is kind of place that give LFS a bad name
 

Andrew

Members
We're not 45 minutes away if you stop after a meeting...

I mean it when I say that the business is changing. You might be surprised at some things that are comparably priced between certain stores and online or other vendors.

For example: Altolamprologus fasciatus, discussed in another board on this forum. Sarah suggested that someone look at a certain web site for them (before she knew I had them). It would have cost, including shipping and box charges, around $11 per fish for 12 of them. You buy them from me, less than $8 apiece including your CCA discount, bulk discount and tax. Plus you get to see them before you buy.

Wierd, rare fish for cheaper than an online breeder. So, same shit every other store, right?
 

Pat Kelly

CCA Member
Staff member
Easy Andrew, don't go offering a CCA discount to people until they join a local club :smashfreakB: myselfdot.com is a user of the forum but not a club member. :wacko:
 

Charlutz

Members
Not to mention that you'd cover half the club membership fee with $100 worth of fish purchased... If you can eat 10 bucks worth of meatballs and buffalo wings over a year, then joining CCA is a profitable enterprise, with a side benefit of supporting your local club, your local stores and networking into a community with access to anything cichlid related you could possibly want. Oh yeah, and there are some halfway decent speakers to listen to while you munch on the wings...
 

maddog10

Members
Heck, 45 minutes is nothing. Scales is about 2 hours from me and I have been there plenty of times. Of course I have been known to drive long distance for the hobby anyways (drug Pat along on the last adventure, thats how we ended up at TFP in the first place, it was on the way back). I prefer to buy from a LFS when possible. Find a store you like and talk to the owner/manager you might find that they are willing to work with you. They can get fish from the same places that the online guys do (usually) and will probably bring in the odd-ball fish you are looking for. Kepp in mind that it is not wrong for them to ask for a deposit on a special order (up to 50%). If you buy enough from them, over time they might even waive the deposit. You work with them, they work with you, that is how it is supposed to work.

Fish stores are about the only store that I actually like going in and I don't think that I have left empty handed to many times.
 
Easy Andrew, don't go offering a CCA discount to people until they join a local club :smashfreakB: myselfdot.com is a user of the forum but not a club member. :wacko:[/b]
ha...you know i was planning to come over to meeting but ...things keep happenning everday damn weeks..seems like all relatives choose to come the day you guys have meeting..

sep is my target...EK is speaking eh
 
Heck, 45 minutes is nothing. Scales is about 2 hours from me and I have been there plenty of times. Of course I have been known to drive long distance for the hobby anyways (drug Pat along on the last adventure, thats how we ended up at TFP in the first place, it was on the way back). I prefer to buy from a LFS when possible. Find a store you like and talk to the owner/manager you might find that they are willing to work with you. They can get fish from the same places that the online guys do (usually) and will probably bring in the odd-ball fish you are looking for. Kepp in mind that it is not wrong for them to ask for a deposit on a special order (up to 50%). If you buy enough from them, over time they might even waive the deposit. You work with them, they work with you, that is how it is supposed to work.

Fish stores are about the only store that I actually like going in and I don't think that I have left empty handed to many times.[/b]


technically would be easy if I am single ! Heck a couple hours is nothing...but when you are traveling with a 18months old...you gotta find another place to keep him entertain..while i will going to a LFS for a quickies

especially weekend the only days of the week, my wife and I can do something....
 

mscichlid

Founder
You can join as a family! You guys can come to the meeting together. Your wife can meet all the fish fanatics and then drive about 5 miles to see Scales Tropical Fish on the way home. We'd all love to meet you!

Fran
 
<div class='quotemain'>
You can join as a family! You guys can come to the meeting together. Your wife can meet all the fish fanatics and then drive about 5 miles to see Scales Tropical Fish on the way home. We'd all love to meet you!

Fran
[/b]
Do you guys bring kids? I hate my son will spoil the meeting? If there kids (younger one) he can play together...

thing is ...my wife dont share my fanatic towards fish as much as me haha :blush:

I would lvoe to comeover.....

i will be checking out Dan's place tomorrow if he show me his fishroom :)
 

Charlutz

Members
Do you guys bring kids? I hate my son will spoil the meeting? If there kids (younger one) he can play together...

thing is ...my wife dont share my fanatic towards fish as much as me haha :blush:

I would lvoe to comeover.....

i will be checking out Dan's place tomorrow if he show me his fishroom :)[/b]

There are a few kids that come. I usually bring my 5 y.o. and sometimes my 8 y.o., but there are a couple smaller kids as well. It can get tough for them to sit through a presentation and snacks and soda will only go so far. I try to bring books, coloring materials and "quiet" toys. Nobody's ever said anything about my kids, but maybe they're just being polite. :wacko: There is a playground outside if he gets too unruly. I'd say give it a try and stop by Scales on the way out. It's only 9 times a year plus the holiday get together and if you come once, you might decide it's worth it to get a sitter or make arrangements with your wife. The schedule of speakers is posted on the website so you can figure out long in advance which speakers you want to hear. As a Tanganyikan keeper, there was no way I was going to miss Tim's presentation in June. No self-respecting cichlid keeper should miss Ad Konings in September. If it doesn't work out, it's a good excuse to stop by Scales and some of the other shops you may not see that often.

PS - if you can keep your kid awake during the car ride down, 2p is usually nap time and the lights are typically out for the presentation.
 

Pat Kelly

CCA Member
Staff member
We usually have a few children. As long as they do not disrupt the speaker program, no one will say anything.
So far all have been very well behaved.

by the way, what is a "haved" and why would you want some one to be one.
 
haha I think i made arrangement with me wife, since he is going thru the terrible 2 right now....He is driving us crazy!

I think I will stopby Scales July 12..since I will be Montgomery County for a meeting with customer.

and see ya in the meeting in Sep
 

longstocking

Members
I buy most of my stuff online.... but part of the reason, as I'm sure some of you can relate, is that I need it in bulk.

I do support my local lfs though... if you have a fish I want and at a decent price ( andrew so far, is the only one that can meet what I think is a fair price for fish) I will buy from you. Point blank... I want to support my fishroom. It costs quite a bit to run the amount of tanks I have. I'm not going to shell out money to some store where the sales people are jerks.

I need live food and frozen food. So, local stores do get my business. If Andrew has a fish I want.... I'll go down there... but Andrew can't keep all the weird things I want. It wouldn't be wise on his part !!
 

Andrew

Members
Wish lists aren't bad though... Especially for Tangs right now. I have a great breeder with fantastic prices! Worst I'll say is, "can't get it right now".

Whoever accused me of being wise anyway?
 
D

daniel4832

Guest
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
Thanks,
Daniel
 

SubMariner

Master Jedi & Past VP
Andrew at Scales is a fair person to deal with. I have no problem with them, but I do understand what Pat says about over priced stores who are greedy and don't give a damn about return customers.

The guys at Tropical and Totally Fish are always cool with me and treat me with respect. I like that a lot!

I hate it when some of these LFS treat you like crap and with no respect like you're a stepchild or something.
Customer Service and just being plain friendly is important because if you're in the hobby you want to build a relationship with the owner/manager, kinda like what Mike said.


The funny thing is, I heard a lot of good things about that fish place in PA, and now I am not even going there.
 
Top