Aquabid,just my opinion

[mench]

I have been following the discus auctions on AquabidFo quite a while now...tells ya that I need to get a life :(....and out of the 70+ discus being offered for bids only 5 have a bid placed.....Himmmmmm what does that tell ya.....no body is buying fiah any more?...all the discus people have enough fish......I really don't have a answer for my questions...I just have noticed that the only bids being placed are the ones for reasonable priced fish....Another thing I wonder about...where do all the fish that don't get sold go?????? it seems that there are a whole lot of fish out there that aren't sold on Aquabid..who gets them...
Well these are just my thoughts,yea I know...go clean the fish tanks and do water changes and stay off the puter for a while.....
Oh and another thing...I finally have some fry!!!!!!! not a lot but it is a start....I have 2 pair with some fry..one pairs fry is almost 2 weeks and the other 1 week....not to keep them alive....
Seeeeee yaaaaa

Mench

[chirohorn]

It tells me:

1) most people don't go online to purchase fish
2) those that do are looking for a good deal

I feel knowledgeble folks (those that do some research) who want quality are more likely to order directly through a breeder than via an auction service. Not that there's anything wrong w/online auctions. Actually, I'd wish some of the better breeders/distributors would get on Aquabid so we could maybe get good fish cheaper!

[DarkDiscus]

Ron,

Great news about the fry! Good luck with them!

John

[fishfarm]

Aquabid has slowed down as of late, the best thing about it is people find you on there and then call and order fish off auction. I still sell all my fish, just lately not many on Aquabid. It goes in cycles. In January every auction I posted sold. Who knows, May be the cold weather and people are afraid to ship, Prospects of another gulf war, ????? Ken

[April]

heh mench. great news and lots of fun eh?
your in business now..

[gary1218]

So Ron, when can we expect to see those new fry on Aquabid :) :D ;D

GARY

PS Anything out of the Snakes?

[goldengatediscus]

I think that Aquabid is more or less like free advertising. It's targeted, has a picture in most cases, and a minimum acceptable price. A lot of people contact the seller outside of Aquabid, and purchase directly from the seller, without going through the bidding process.
JMO.
Brigitte

[Goldfish_in_a_bowl]

Mench,
First of all.... I am sure that the bride does not know where or how you are spending her honey do time..... ;) ;) ;)
I was going to say something to... then I forgot...
Oh yah.. I agree with everyones input!! I think what Bridgitte posted is true also on the help with/ or free advertisement ....... there!!! I added a Meaningful, Helpful with some sort of Reason post al........ ;) ;) ;D :-* :-* :-*
or was it??
Okay I know there are some good fish to be had on "aqua get what you buy in a baggy enter at you're own risk"
I have known a few breeders/sellers who have sold fish there, I think it may be the One out of the Ten sellers who ship "JUNK" that make it hard on the ones who really have something decent to offer.
I am and probably always will be a strong believer of KNOW you're fish!!! Know you're source!!
oh thats right... I was doing laundry.....
Mench do you use Fabric softeners in the wash or just the little sheets that appear half way through your day out of your pantleg??
K :gorgeous:

[fcdiscus]

Great news on the fry Ron! See, you may not need to buy every fish in sight! As for aquabid, I also find it a great advertising avenue, and have even sold a few fish there. I think it strongest for sales in Spring and Fall. JMO, Frank ;)

[mench]

AHHH RED my little apple blossom...shouldn't you be working,taking care of the kiddies or other womanly duties???????
It is always nice to hear from you...liquid softner for me.......Start saving your pennies so ya can room with Pril in Cinci......then Gary and I can take you two out and ply you with wallnettos and grape ne-hi.....
I just wonder what they do with all the fish that don't sell on Aquabid.... Gary another batch og eggs on the drain tubing from the snakes,heres hoping.


Mench

[ronrca]

You guys (and gals)! You have it all wrong!

Simplydiscus now has an auction link for discus! They are all waiting here, not on Aquabid! LOL! ;D

[snooze]

I think there are very few bids on aquabid because there is way too much supply of discus and just not enough demand. This is exactly what has happened to the Telecom industry. The current economic climate hasn’t helped demand either with the war looming, the stock market down and consumer’s credit card debt is at the highest levels in history. It could be worse though, Germany and France are in recession with double digit unemployment with little hope of growth. At least our economy is growing. Hopefully, our congress will pass many much needed tax cuts.

IMO, it’s almost too difficult to make money selling discus. Just look at how many breeders/importers have quit in the past decade(see my previous post). Hardly any advertise in the national fish magazines anymore. Here are just a few breeders/brokers who I believe have recently(last several years) stopped selling discus: Shenandoah Valley Discus, Rainwater Discus, Blue Moon discus, Rarebreed discus, Diamond State Discus, DiscusUSA, FullMoonDiscus, Todo Discus and TeamDiscus.

It has to be very expensive to breed and raise discus as a business. Plus it has to be very time consuming if you want to maintain high quality fish. Changing water daily has to get old after awhile, especially if you have lots of tanks to care for and also like to travel. Plus the costs are not cheap... Water, electric, gas and oil for heating, phone bill, food, medications, water conditioners, tanks, filters, heaters, nets, shipping materials(boxes, styros, bags, oxygen, rubber bands, heatpacks) website costs, advertising costs and fish(did I miss any other costs besides time?). Bruce from Majesticaquatic stated on Daah, that he hasn’t made a profit in 2 years. Mike Wells recently said he was getting out of the business. Paul Methven from StCroixdiscus said his recent discus sales had been the worst in years. Cary stated his monthly costs were around $1600 - $2120 a month in a recent post. So he has to sell around 20 to 25 thousand dollars worth of discus a year just to break even. That’s a lot of discus to produce and sell without getting a paycheck for yourself for all your hard work.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=6280;sta rt=15

Another problem with some Aquabid sellers is that they list their starting bid of their fish at the same price as what they sell them for on their web site. So why should anyone bid? Most would expect sellers to have the starting auction price of their fish well below their retail price. I think they are just using aquabid basically as free advertising. That to me is wrong. It defeats the true purpose of an auction.

And for the fish that don’t get sold, I guess they get larger. So the sellers probably need to get more tanks or else they have to try to sell them to fish stores, probably at cost or at a loss. You won’t get rich selling fish to pet shops.

[Goldfish_in_a_bowl]

DAMG Snooze... I hate it when someone has so much to say AND it is actually worth reading! ;D
I agree the Discus business in Not something I could or would Want to take on...IMO and from knowing a few breeders personally, WAY too much work for little or no pay! and then again that sounds just like my job,.... :-\ difference being noone is going to die if I decide to NOT clean a toilet today..... ;D
to those who have managed to stay in business I applaud them! I can't imagine the time, energy and dedication it must entail.
speaking of... has anyone heard from Bill or Brenda Norris?


Mench :elvis:...... :-* :-* :-*
Ya ya yaaaa I will get right on that Saving money thing!
Presently WALKING to or hitch hiking to work as my car sits happily in a *&^% shop for over a week... lets see STILL..... Forever... and twenty two and a half (*&*&^ DAYS looking for or waiting on my house so I will have a place to Live! the dumpster behind Texaco is starting to look good...hey I checked into it yesterday it has running water close by?? OR... I can wait and if I time it Just right.... I can move into one of those Retirement homes with you and GARY! ;D ;D ;D ;D
Save Money!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ROTFLMAO!
besides....I am not sure Pril could handle another week with me.. isn't she still in Therapy?? :o :o :o :o LOL
TTYS
K :gorgeous:
oh p.s
I don't know mench.. wouldn't they have a alternative? I would think they would Sell the fish to the pet stores.
MAYBE...... there is a Place like on Rudolph instead of Misfit Toys it would be for MISFIT DISCUS?? ::) :P

[chirohorn]

Snooze, excellent points! I believe the majority of the discus sold today are done via the LFS. Isn't that where most of us started? At least w/community fish it was. In a perfect world, that wouldn't be the case.

I feel for the breeder who tries to make ends meet & doesn't cut corners as far as quality is concerned (we know who you are). Of course, he/she deserves more for their product than the LFS. I root for the quality breeder more than anyone, but it's all about visibility & accessibilty...that's where the LFS wins.