my experience with gulf coast discus aka haw

[jimg]

I wanted a few more altums so I emailed and asked the price of 6 med altums plus shipping to my address.
the reply was $210.00, $60.00 for shipping and $150.00 for altums.
I then asked if they still honor the 20% discount. After a few days of no reply I called and spoke to Vincent
he told me I can have the 20%.
I was then charged $61.40 for shipping then $10.00 for shipping supplies.
So imo he tried to make the 20% back.
I told him we have bad weather and snow could he make sure they will be ok if there is a delay in shipping usps. he said he will put a heat pack in, he said all their shipping is designed to last 48 hrs anyway.
I received one med bag of 6 barely quarter size altums in a box that was 12' by 18" inside dimensions with 3 tiny grabber hand warmers lying on the bottom amongst wet news paper. the bag was almost empty (which I know does happen) but it was 73 deg. 3 of them were lying on their sides and don't look promising at all.
I emailed him and let him know I was not satisfied and that was tues. to this day I have had no response from him.
I did not ask for any $ to be returned, they may make it, but as many know fish can be fine after low temps for a few days/weeks but then problems can easily arise.
I don't like to write complaints against vendors but when I spend a lot of money on expensive sensitive fish,discus, altums whatever, I expect the vendor to take special care in shipping them like most sponsors and some others do.
As for the altums, they seem to be looking pretty good,one keeps on it's side, just none eating yet.

[Discus PB]

Mine had wet newspaper in the box also when I got mine from Inland Empire Discus. I think the reason for that is to help keep the inside of the box warm. Not sure but that's what I figured. Mine were pack perfect.
Sorry about your deal!!!!!

[jimg]

the newspaper were wet because the bag was leaking.
these fish are now swimming aimlessly around the tank bumping into things. something wrong with them.

[jimg]

Thanks Chris & Steph.
I emailed a request for a 100% refund. Not only were they poorly shipped but they are sick. the first couple days I thought it may be light making them seem blind because I have been keeping the tank covered with a towel. now it obvious. they swim into each other, the sides etc. I have seen this discus that were in the latter stages of flagellate infections just before they die.
We'll see how reputable this gulf coast discus is
I think this is what another poster (JeffreyRichard http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?91802-Altum-problems-...-spinning-fish) is having the same problem

[Skip]

Let me quote from "SimplyDiscus FAQ"

Question #1 "What is a bulletin board?"

Answer: "A bulletin board is an online 'discussion' site. It's sometimes also called a 'board' or 'forums'."

But OK, I will respect that. Now, lets wait to see if any other member who has had experience with the VENDOR in question, whether good or bad will posts', and rebut or endorse Jim's claim.


chris.. you are new here.. but in this particular section there are the rules.. http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?83559-Feedback-...ALL-READ-THIS!!!!!

as for my First Hand Experience with Gulf Coast Discus/HAW..

i bought discus from there, drove to Houston, picked them up and brought them back.. they were good fish... BUT since this is about ALTUMS AND SHIPPING.. my experience was different. i have called them on several occasions.. they always answer..

[brewmaster15]

Guys,
This section is for first hand experiences with vendors and for vendors experiences with customers. Theres I-trader feedback also availible to use by customers.

I understand the frustration here when we read problems like this...but this section is meant to serve a certain function on the forum. Its meant to be a place where people can read about others experiences with a particular vendor..its not a place for members with no direct experience with the seller to start discussing an issue that they have no business getting involved in and by doing so members are not helping a buyer and seller resolve an issue.

Chris or anyone else with issues on this rule for this section.. You are always welcome to discuss your questions or concerns about this forums rules with me, The forum's owner ,directly but understand that any rule we have in place for a particular section is there for a reason and has been carefully considered.

Thank you everyone...from this point forward any posts that are not made by someone with direct experience with this vendor will be removed per the stated policies for use of this section.

-al

[ExReefer]

I purchased 8 Altums from HAW with the 20% discount and they arrived about four weeks ago. Packaging was very poor. HAW broke out the group in two small bags. The fish were tripled bagged and bound with rubber bands, but they leaked as the inside of the box was wet. The box had a few crumpled up pieces of newspaper used as packing material. It wasn’t enough to keep the bags from rolling around within the box. The two bags were laying flat on their sides when I opened the box. The shipping water smelled nasty and I got them out of the bags ASAP.

To HAW’s credit, they included an extra (very tiny) Altum. I’m assuming they did this as they know how fragile these fish are. Unfortunately that one extra fish died in transit. Body size - 2 dime size, 3 nickel size, 3 quarter size.

The two dime sized Altums arrived with visible signs of Columnaris (white patches, fungus looking growths, etc.) I treated the entire group with medicine for treatment of gram negative bacteria. The two dime sized Altums died after three weeks as the medicine could not eliminate the Columnaris and these fish were too weak to fight the disease. HAW should not have packed these two tiny, sick Altums.

Shipping costs on my USPS label showed $42, but I was charged $60, so I guess they charged me $18 for shipping materials.

[jimg]

I appreciate every ones input.
I have had many many fish shipped to me and have seen bags leak, that happens. But the seller put a small bag in a big box with 3 tiny hand warmers I know that bag was all over the place. Haw being a fish supplier should have known how to ship sensitive fish.
I also know about receiving wild fish, wilds have been my main fish.
These fish have not touched food since day one and they are head standing,tail standing, swimming as if their blind.

I have not heard a word from haw to this day. he knows what he's doing/did
I'll keep an up date

[hedut]

Wow, I did order 7 altum last Aug overall was good for me. All fish were fine until couple month when I do quarantine, they all eat good but after that I lost one by one and now I just have 3 :( in my opinion wild Altum angle a bit harder than domestic discus. Well base my own experience I never buy fish from other vendor that I never buy before on the cold weather or winter :) , I still remember my first winter discus box the fish not even have heat pack and fish not even life more than 12 hrs, I only get store credit but I never use until now these happen before I know SD :).

Hope something come up and work for you Jim :)

[jimg]

I get all my fish in the fall and winter. I have had discus come in at 78 deg but they can handle that.
Any way I just called and spoke with John the owner he seems to be a reasonable guy. He said he has another shipment coming in and will send me replacements after they settle in.

[JeffreyRichard]

I get all my fish in the fall and winter. I have had discus come in at 78 deg but they can handle that.
Any way I just called and spoke with John the owner he seems to be a reasonable guy. He said he has another shipment coming in and will send me replacements after they settle in.

It seems you have or will be made whole ... I had a very good experience with HAW. All my WC altums (10) are doing great after 2 months. Keep in mind that WC altums are difficult to acclimate; you must be prepared for a very intense and sophisticated QT process; anything short is almost a guarantee for disaster.

The issues I posted had to do with my F1 Altums (Tony Tam) ... this had nothing to do with the supplier or the reseller (Kraig at Kingdom Come Discus) ... I've had them for 5 months.

[jimg]

It had nothing to do with acclimation. i think by now I know how to acclimate fish!
If they were not shipped the way they were things may be different.
I have altums from snookn no problems with his shipping or altums

[jimg]

Update to this day he has not resent the order as he promised, he told me last month he was getting new ones in, when I didn't hear from him I called and was told he got the new shipment in but they were sick and he don't want to send me sick ones and they died anyway. then I was told he will be getting another batch in and will send them directly to me....never heard from him called and said I wanted the full refund due to his mistake and he left me a message saying to call him about refunding me, when I called he told me again he's getting another shipment in. I waited couple weeks again and finally emailed just to refund me because he cannot possibly imo get dime size altums this time of year, they have mostly grown.
i said I also do not trust if he can get them that small being sent in the winter usps.
His response was out of $191.40 he will credit me $80.00$20.00 each for the 3 that died and $ 20.00 for my troubles with the other 3. BS....he screwed up with the shipping and expects me to pay more than 1/2 of his screw up!
I did save the other 3 with a lot of time and treatments and they are still not much bigger than nickle size.
I have dealt with many suppliers over the years and even somethingsphishy made good on his screw ups...not this guy.
total bs every time I talk to them.
I told him I would accept $150.00 and I will pay the balance for the 3 sickly ones I have and he denied that and said he refunded me $100.00 i checked with the cc company and no refund was given..
Like I said many times before had they been shipped the right way I would have taken full responsibility for the ones that arrived alive. he was being cheap and now he doesn't want to man up to his mistake

[GulfCoastDiscus]

To clarify the situation,

We shipped you your fish the end of October at a sale price for Simply Discus Members. Before you even mentioned there was an issue you waited 5 days and started this thread, with incorrect informatin in it about costs and prices. We offered to replace your whole order. Unfortunately the last batch of Altums we got in was sick, so we didn't send you them, which we explained to you. Now that we are getting in the last batch you decided you do not want them due to the fact you have been discussing it with others and they may be to big for what you want. We refunded and emailed you the reciept for $100 out of a $191.40 total. refunding over half your money for the 3 of 6 that you lost and half the shipping cost. Its a holliday weekend and it can take up to 2 business days to post to your account anyway. We are sorry you lost half your fish, and have been trying to accomidate you every step of the way, while every step of the way you have been trying to ralley other members to your cause to get what you want instead of dealing with us. We are also doing all of this on your word alone, no pictures were sent or any other proof.

[jimg]

again with the bs.... I emailed your within a couple of hours of receiving them I waited 5 days to give you a chance to reply before publicly stating what was going on, your reply was that your computer was not getting emails.
many emails and phone calls were sent, I still have if you would like copies I also have the original quote of $210.00 for 6 $25.00 altums plus $60 shipping. After I asked about 20% sd discount I got the altums for $20 each but the shipping went up to $71.40
Any time you would like copies of what I have just ask! maybe pics of the bite size heat packs?
about returning them you told me not to bother, everyone was having them die and that I could send the caudal fins to finarama so they could do a study and see why they are all dying.
I have listened to excuses and stories for 2 months, I think that was giving you a fair chance. your as nice as could be and apologetic until I want cash back.