Daniel91 Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 My surrounding stores are overpriced - I am merely looking for a regular ocellaris and a Darwin. Which they would easy charge $50-$60 for. I have heard great things about Jays Clownfish but I am having a hard time justifying shipping being more than the actual fish. While I do not mind dropping extra for quality health conditions, I would like to avoid it. Does that make sense? Quote Link to comment
paneubert Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 With shipping, you are pretty much always going to pay that much in the end. I have never seen shipping (even on clowns on Ebay) for less than about 30 dollars. UNLESS you spent enough somewhere like Live Aquaria, triggering the "free shipping". I think it is currently set at $99 purchase = free shipping. If you find you are going to pay $50-$60 each when including shipping, then getting them locally for that price might be wise since you don't risk them being dead on arrival. Quote Link to comment
Daniel91 Posted September 10, 2018 Author Share Posted September 10, 2018 7 minutes ago, paneubert said: With shipping, you are pretty much always going to pay that much in the end. I have never seen shipping (even on clowns on Ebay) for less than about 30 dollars. UNLESS you spent enough somewhere like Live Aquaria, triggering the "free shipping". I think it is currently set at $99 purchase = free shipping. If you find you are going to pay $50-$60 each when including shipping, then getting them locally for that price might be wise since you don't risk them being dead on arrival. Yeah, absolutely. I might have to bite the bullet and pay more for the actual fish at a LFS. It has its benefits as well. Just wanted to check in to hear other people’s experiences. Quote Link to comment
Euphylin me Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 1 hour ago, Daniel91 said: Yeah, absolutely. I might have to bite the bullet and pay more for the actual fish at a LFS. It has its benefits as well. Just wanted to check in to hear other people’s experiences. holy crap.....50 for a an O.C clown?? wanna know the crazy part. the wholesaler sells them for 5 bucks lol. i could see 40 for a darwin maybe 50 but not for a regular clown. Quote Link to comment
paneubert Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 6 minutes ago, Euphylin me said: holy crap.....50 for a an O.C clown?? wanna know the crazy part. the wholesaler sells them for 5 bucks lol. i could see 40 for a darwin maybe 50 but not for a regular clown. Yeah, it is all about how much the LFS wants to make on the sale. I have gone two rounds with Maroon clowns from Petco (at $19 each), and the most recent time was told their supplier is ORA. So not a crappy breeder. If they are selling it to me at $19, they aren't paying very much for them wholesale..... Quote Link to comment
Euphylin me Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 Just now, paneubert said: Yeah, it is all about how much the LFS wants to make on the sale. I have gone two rounds with Maroon clowns from Petco (at $19 each), and the most recent time was told their supplier is ORA. So not a crappy breeder. If they are selling it to me at $19, they aren't paying very much for them wholesale..... people always crap on petco when it really depends on who they hire to do their saltwater care. some of them know what they are doing and some definitely do not lol. now that petco is paired with live aquaria.....i wonder how this will go Quote Link to comment
paneubert Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 1 minute ago, Euphylin me said: people always crap on petco when it really depends on who they hire to do their saltwater care. some of them know what they are doing and some definitely do not lol. now that petco is paired with live aquaria.....i wonder how this will go The way I found out the supplier for mine was ORA was when I tried to sound smart by saying "I assume this guy came from Live Aquaria since you guys bought them a while back". The employee was like "No, these are from ORA". It seems my Petco has a main fish person who knows what they are talking about, and then a second person who doesn't technically work in the fish area, but who has had saltwater personally, so also knows some stuff. I think no matter who works there, they are still severely limited by corporate as to what they can do and how they can do it. Quote Link to comment
Euphylin me Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 Just now, paneubert said: The way I found out the supplier for mine was ORA was when I tried to sound smart by saying "I assume this guy came from Live Aquaria since you guys bought them a while back". The employee was like "No, these are from ORA". It seems my Petco has a main fish person who knows what they are talking about, and then a second person who doesn't technically work in the fish area, but who has had saltwater personally, so also knows some stuff. I think no matter who works there, they are still severely limited by corporate as to what they can do and how they can do it. agreed. before we started setting up the store i used to get a couple things from petco and the girl literally told me she is only allowed to order fish from ORA. so any fish that is not listed on ORA's website she could not get in Quote Link to comment
paneubert Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 So @Daniel91, to bring this full circle, the answer is to convince a Petco to order you some ORA clowns (for $20-30 bucks). Then just be willing to pay for the gas to drive however far that might be from you. Haha. Quote Link to comment
Daniel91 Posted September 10, 2018 Author Share Posted September 10, 2018 Hmm. That seems like a good option. I might go on an expedition this weekend at other LFS. Perhaps give them a call prior to check inventory/prices. Quote Link to comment
paneubert Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 6 minutes ago, Daniel91 said: Hmm. That seems like a good option. I might go on an expedition this weekend at other LFS. Perhaps give them a call prior to check inventory/prices. Some places are happy to special order for you. It is no big deal for them to add something extra to an order they are already placing to their supplier anyway. Then it just comes down to how much they want to charge for you...... Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 That's really expensive for a clown and here in Cda most reef stuff costs us more. A reg ocellaris is $19-$25 A darwin usually $25-35 Quote Link to comment
Daniel91 Posted September 10, 2018 Author Share Posted September 10, 2018 That’s reasonable. I went to two, and I may have heard wrong but pricing seemed a little extreme. Working in procurement, I do a lot of negotiations - I would prefer to stay away from starting a bidding war at the LFS... Quote Link to comment
deetu Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Two years ago I stopped at a Petco an hour away and was amazed at how nice their tanks and selection looked. Went there a couple months ago and it wasn't as nice. Going in other direction about 45 minutes, found a Petco that I wouldn't buy my live rock from. Like someone said, depends on the person's knowledge running the department. Quote Link to comment
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