Selling home bred discus cross to local pet stores

[Holynehpets]

Hello all,

I have managed to get my various discus strains breeding and the fry are 2.5 months old now and are starting to get to the point where they look ready for sale.

I was wondering what people’s experiences have been like selling their discus to local pet stores? And if anyone has any other recommended avenues to help sell discus online or platforms for fish sales?

I had planned to sell as many fish privately as I could via internet such as on Craigslist, local For sale postings and any fish I could not sell to my local pet stores.

I have currently about 200 fry that are about 2-2.5”. What would be a reasonable price to charge for private sales and to local pet stores ?
I have some pure strained fish, and some interesting cross’es. I know vague, and this is very subjective and pricing depends on a number of factors, but fish are healthy and look good. Already culled off the weak and disfigured fish.

The reason I ask what would be a good benchmark for sales to pet stores is because every pet store I spoke with said they would be happy to take discus, “if the price was right” without specifying what range they would be willing to pay. I suspect this is to ensure they have a favorable negotiating position so that I will offer the fish at as low a price point as possible. So any thoughts would be appreciated just so I can figure out some accounting possibilities.

I live on the west coast of Canada in Vancouver, population about 4 mill, so it’s a large metropolitan area, with plenty of money (one of the most expensive locations in North America) despite the effects of COVID.

I appreciate that pet stores will have a significant markup to take into account losses from fish fatalities and the costs of operating their business.

Would a pet store be willing executioners to pay $20 per fish from a local breeder, or would $10 or less, be more likely.

As mentioned above, anyone who has had experience in Similar circumstances, I would be interested to hear some advice. Since I am in Canada, I will not be able to ship to the US, but most of my fry are cross’es anyways.

Would it be likely that I could charge more for the pure strains and less for crosses, or more a case of “whatever looks good” should fetch a reasonable price when dealing with pet stores?

My local biggest pet store owner has said he will take “all the discus I can sell”, as it is easier then having them imported from Asia, but he said it depends on the price. I don’t wish to “scare him off” asking for a price that is unreasonable and will kill off any goodwill that I am attempting to build as a long term source to sell my fish. But likewise I don’t wish to low ball myself because raising these fish has been a lot of work.

I have more batches of fry on the way, so my capacity should be to have 200 fry for sale every month Or 6 weeks I believe. (I have 7 breeding pairs) that are on giant closed loop filtration system. If my fish continue to spawn as regularly as they have been. After I remove fry (about 3 weeks) the parents spawn about a week later.

Thanks for the advice!

[Vinni Smith]

I have never sold discus to my lfs but I sold a LOT of plecos to them.
They never gave me money, only store credit.
And it was a very fair price for both of us.
Since then that pleco pair has lived out their lives and I am trying to get another pair going.

[danotaylor]

Can you show us pics of the pairs the fry are from, and a cross section of your fry? I think that would help in this process

[fljones3]

You could look at Kenny's list (realize his grade of fish) and start at or below his lowest pricing.
LFS vary, many are reluctant to pay but are more than willing to issue store credit.

[dornblaser]

I would also suggest looking at Aquabid.com for price comparisons. https://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auct...n.cgi?fwdiscus

Post-Script: the prices for the assorted discus might be a good comparison of what a final retail price might be
.

[peewee1]

It seems that if one lfs will buy all that it would be most efficient to sell all to them. Each time that you take time to sell one here and seven there in the end your overall expense is higher than if you made a one stop sell. Time spent responding to each purchaser and potential purchaser for 200 fish is time spent that you could be doing other things. Your time spent costs you money and the more time you spend the more money it costs you. And then what if you have to ship? What if several whom you have sold to complain that the fish died and they want a refund? Your best option is to sell all to the lfs. Most lfs are in a 50.00 to 100.00 price range for small discus. What do they mark up? 100%? A 50.00 fish cost them 25.00? Ask 20.00 each. The lfs will ask 50.00 or more. Next round note what he is asking for your 20.00 then you will realize his mark up. $200 times $20 is $4,000 for a one and done deal. If he will only pay 15.00 then you get $3,000. Do that once a month and you have yourself 40K per year. One and done times repeat volume equals easy money and lots of more freed up time for you.

[LizStreithorst]

How much does your store sell imports of the same size for? Divide that number by 3 and you will get the price the store pays for the fish. Don't expect to be able to ask more than he's already paying.

[fljones3]

+1

How much does your store sell imports of the same size for? Divide that number by 3 and you will get the price the store pays for the fish. Don't expect to be able to ask more than he's already paying.

[Willie]

I've sold to LFS before and the typical mark up on any fish, including discus, is 300%. So if the store is selling discus for $30, then you can get $10. The advantage you offer to stores is the lack of freight and no death/no disease on delivery. LFS want fish with color, so a PB type is usually easier to sell than a standard type where the fish only starts to show highlights in the finnage at 4 month plus. Frankly, LFS cater to a less knowledgeable market. Most of their customers don't know how to chose for shape or other qualities. You can give them a fancy name, but they're very comfortable coming up with their strain names.

Many stores will offer only credit for fish and that's a huge scam. Essentially, they're buying your fish at wholesale and selling you their wares at retail. (Do I look that stupid?) The best stores (the busiest ones) will pay cash. The ones that do not are often working on a shoestring and won't move too many fish for you anyway. My best retail customer paid cash and offered to sell me bulk ingredients at wholesale prices if I had a business license.

The problem with selling an LFS is that the discus are unlikely to receive specialized care. If they have a centralized system, then your fish will be in 75F water. LFS owners are not going to be cleaning out the tanks and most of them do not feed. There are stores that I stopped selling because it was like torture to watch your discus slowly starving in their tanks.

The hardest part of doing this is not spawning discus, but selling them. Do not show up at a store on the weekend, or even Friday, to sell your fish. They're busy and they're not happy with your lack of understanding of their business. Monday morning was when I did my selling. The first batch is the hardest. Bring your fish to show them. Sometimes, it works to give them the first batch. Once you have an established relationship, just call the manager on Monday and ask if he/she wants more fish. I'd take my orders Monday morning and drop off my fish in the afternoon along with a printed invoice. The check usually shows up in 10 days.

Most fish stores these days are having trouble getting stock. I'm breeding plecos and they've called me for fish. It's probably a good time to start selling.

Good luck, Willie

[CliffsDiscus]

I can tell you what the wholesalers are paying for their Discus in California, one order equals at least 150 Discus of one strain, the size are 2.5 inch without the tail. Now the price they are buying the Discus is $5 each landed invoice included for income tax.
So now you know the what the price, now what price does the LFS ? The price depends on the purchase volume already established by the LFS ,
usually no more than $10 each delivered, this will give you some kind of price to play.
Now some LFS are buying straight from importers the price may be even cheaper but they have to pay for the shipping too.
Some LFS will offer cash and some will try to give you credit, I would take the cash because you will be buying back supplies at retail prices.
Private sales you can get higher price but low volume of sales..

Cliff

[two utes]

Ive only sold discus to my local fish store when Ive had to off load them quickly. You will receive better prices for them if you sell privately, and also possibly a better future for them than ending up without the right care.

[pastry]

3 weeks late to the party (this thread), but try telling them you'll sell to them at drastically low price (maybe $5-7 each) for 1st batch or 2 ONLY if they price them at... say... $25 each.

Reason: get locals hooked on your product. Just like a drug dealer. Get them hooked and then when the prices go higher, they will be more than willing to pay.

Sure... you put in more work and money than that initial price each... but you won't get anywhere at all if they price at $50+ each immediately. It's a strategic play

[pastry]

He still might have to augment by shipping see customers that are not local. Like someone said earlier, aquabid! Jot down your expenses (don't cheat yourself... even your time should have a price... even if you thoroughly enjoy it, Halley's put a small hourly wage for yourself) and add profit margin. Overall, get crafty and get strategic... you might discover that you have just as much fun doing that as you do having discus... but if it gets to a point when it's not fine, stop!... or take a break

[Iminit]

Op any luck with the selling? This is my fear of breeding. How do you get rid of all the babies?

[coralbandit]

A good LFS will pay 25-33% of what they sell for usually.
Store credit is often the offer so be prepared to not make a killing .You will be spending discounted money on retail price items usually ...
Learning how ship is not that hard but takes a small investment like O2 and foam ,bags and heat packs this time of year . I get boxes for free from the USPS .
If anyone wants shipping advice I am more then willing to help out .
I have shipped for years now with an average of 8 boxes every week all year long .I have shipped as many as 14 on some days !
I consider myself a good enough shipper to ship right till the week of Christmas and then start back after New Years ..
The biggest trick to shipping once you know how to pack is 'letting go' !
Accept you have no control over your delivery choice and be prepared to ship again and file for refunds if late .
All shippers are providing varying service depending on location.
Just charge enough to ship again for free if you have to and then if you are successful you will be on your way .
I did not star out to make money , just wanted to share good quality fish ..
Like Pastry said you may enjoy the shipping challenge as much as raising the fish ..