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Thread: Buying fish online

  1. #1
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    Default Buying fish online

    I've always bought fish at my LFS because shipping is too expensive. I found some black angels this week on Aquabid that I'm waiting to have delivered, which should be tomorrow. I've read that you should only buy fish online that you wouldn't find in your LFS, problem is that my LFS is Petsmart. The angels I'm getting are from Lexington Kentucky, I live in Central Illinois, it's a 5 hour trip. The guy who sold them has a live arrival guarantee. For future reference what should I look for in a online dealer. I have been extremely hesitant about buying fish online because there's a chance they might not be alive when they arrive. The other thing is that the shipping costs is more than I want to pay. I had a good LFS that changed hands and the last time I bought fish from them, the pleco killed all but one fish.

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    Default Re: Buying fish online

    Quote Originally Posted by Goldenmelondiscus View Post
    I've always bought fish at my LFS because shipping is too expensive. I found some black angels this week on Aquabid that I'm waiting to have delivered, which should be tomorrow. I've read that you should only buy fish online that you wouldn't find in your LFS, problem is that my LFS is Petsmart. The angels I'm getting are from Lexington Kentucky, I live in Central Illinois, it's a 5 hour trip. The guy who sold them has a live arrival guarantee. For future reference what should I look for in a online dealer. I have been extremely hesitant about buying fish online because there's a chance they might not be alive when they arrive. The other thing is that the shipping costs is more than I want to pay. I had a good LFS that changed hands and the last time I bought fish from them, the pleco killed all but one fish.
    If you want to stay with the lfs then you are willing to live with the trade off. Local fish store is limited selection and online is unlimited selection. Kenny is going to post his September soon to be sold out shipment in a few hours. The selection is huge and those fish do not arrive anywhere dead. Unless the Fed Ex bozo runs a forklift blade though the like Fort Knox packaging that Kenny provides. So you pay for shipping. So you pay for limited selection potentially disease ridden second rate fish. For me I would pay the cost of shipping. It is more expensive to ship one fish than it is to ship 3 fish for the same cost. Shipping costs can be controlled by the size of the order. Some online sellers ship free with orders larger than 500 beans.

  3. #3
    Silver Member Willie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Buying fish online

    I don't think there's much difference in thinking behind buying locally vs off the web. The real question is "how much do you know the seller"?

    Since your local supplier is a big box store, you know that they buy centrally and distribute fish. That also means that they buy based on lowest bid. The Purchasing Department has no idea what gets delivered to the stores, and likely are unconcerned. They'll offer you a limited guarantee because 1) the fish is a loss leader to get you in the store to buy high margin accessories and 2) most people do not use the guarantee to replace fish. So anyone who puts extra care into their fish cannot afford to sell to a big box store.

    If you buy from the web, do you know the supplier? In the case of Simply Discus sellers, the website has essentially done due diligence for you. If they screw up, the website responds quickly, and often harshly. So these sellers survive by providing high quality fish with high levels of service. If you buy from Aquabid, the same issues are in play. I've had great suppliers and awful ones from Aquabid.

    The first time you order, I'd suggest you scrutinize the picture to make sure what you're getting. You can also send them questions ahead of bidding and see how they respond. You can ask if they spawned the fish or are merely resellers. You can ask them for tank conditions: temperature, pH, hardness, etc. You can ask whether they guarantee that the fish is disease free. Others have, although I haven't, asked them to send additional pictures or videos of the fish. If they fail to respond, or respond rudely, then your decision is easy.

    Good luck!
    At my age, everything is irritating.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Buying fish online

    Quote Originally Posted by Goldenmelondiscus View Post
    I've always bought fish at my LFS because shipping is too expensive. I found some black angels this week on Aquabid that I'm waiting to have delivered, which should be tomorrow. I've read that you should only buy fish online that you wouldn't find in your LFS, problem is that my LFS is Petsmart. The angels I'm getting are from Lexington Kentucky, I live in Central Illinois, it's a 5 hour trip. The guy who sold them has a live arrival guarantee. For future reference what should I look for in a online dealer. I have been extremely hesitant about buying fish online because there's a chance they might not be alive when they arrive. The other thing is that the shipping costs is more than I want to pay. I had a good LFS that changed hands and the last time I bought fish from them, the pleco killed all but one fish.
    Where's a good place to look for non-discus? At the moment I'm not looking for discus.

  5. #5
    Silver Member Iminit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Buying fish online

    This is a newish market. There are plenty of wholesalers selling on the internet. There reviews are mixed. For me I would try aquabid. Most of these are home breeders so they are looking to keep up the sales and are selling quality fish.

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    Default Re: Buying fish online

    Quote Originally Posted by Iminit View Post
    This is a newish market. There are plenty of wholesalers selling on the internet. There reviews are mixed. For me I would try aquabid. Most of these are home breeders so they are looking to keep up the sales and are selling quality fish.
    I got my angels. They look good and are in the acclimation process. I used the same rule I use for eBay. If the seller has 100% feedback I buy from them without hesitation. If they don't I go through their feedback to figure out why. The gentleman that I bought my angels from was from Kentucky and since it's fairly close I decided to give him a shot. The fish arrived alive and looking feisty. The guy had 100% feedback, was quick to respond to my questions.

  7. #7
    Silver Member Iminit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Buying fish online

    Glad they worked out! I’m in NY and I’ve bought discus from California. They were delivered overnight and are fine. No problems 1 year later. The less time in the bag the better.

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