FishProfiles.com Message Forums

My lfs wants 75.00 for a AquaClear 110 power filter. I can get one a lot cheaper than that. Big Al's wants on 39.95. I understand that a local lfs cant compete with a place like Big Al's online, but 75.00 to me is highway robbery.

17 years experience with freshwater.

Uh...so don't buy it.

Joe Potato

That's pretty normal. I buy nearly all my equipment online because it's at least $10-$20 more expensive in stores. The aquaclears seem especially way overpriced compared to what most online stores sell them. I searched 4 fish stores for an aquaclear powerhead and finally just ordered it off drfostersmith.com. Sometimes even plant substrates despite their weight and shipping are cheaper to get online than to pay the mark up at local stores.

Want to hear about overpricing? What you guys buy there for $25 (Tetra Whisper Power filter 40)I may pay $50 for it at one LFS and at another one they charge me $35. The Penn Plax Guardian 110W heater that costs $20, one place would charge me $65 and another $35. Talk about a difference!!

Shop around is what I do to find the best bargain. If nothing else works or I cant find the product Im looking for I buy it online.

Of course the situation is different due to location but different pricing is something that happens everywhere around the world.

J.

If it's a good store, I'll try & bargain with the owner over the price. Remember sometimes their wholesale price is more expensive than even the retail price you'll pat at some bargain outlets online.

I'll pay a little more at a local store to support the local fish store and keep my money here. Also, remember at a good fish store you're paying a premium to be able to even walk in there and touch the product and to have someone to talk to.

I doubt your fish store's owner is rolling in the cash, if he's like most they're probably barely getting by, even charging as much as you indicate they do.

~Michael

I'll pay a little more at a local store to support the local fish store and keep my money here. Also, remember at a good fish store you're paying a premium to be able to even walk in there and touch the product and to have someone to talk to.

Usually the information you get is outdated or a bunch of myths. I wouldn't trust the word of 90% of the fish store employees and owners out there. Touching a heater or filter also really doesn't help much. You can't even tell if it will work until you stick it in your tank much less how reliable the brand is. Online stores usually have an even better return policy than local stores even if it requires relabelling and shipping the product back. Most stores also have their brands they swear by and won't give you an honest opinion of other brands. There is 1 out of 20 stores within a 100mile radius of me that I kinda trust the owner although he won't say anything good even about eheims because he's been using and selling rena canisters for 20years. I do occasionally buy things there just because I don't mind supporting him but when I don't have cash to burn I'm not going to buy the same thing for twice the price when I'm headed past a cheaper store anyway.

That's why I prefixed my post with "If it's a good store"

~Michael

Yes indeed, if its a good store and its locally owned. I'd much rather support local economy and give my money to them, following along the lines of being a responsible consumer, plus if its in my community or close to my home well convenience is also a factor to include into the equation. Time is money so they say and it may be more of a hassle to drive around looking for the product somewhere else, using up time and fuel.

Then again, its also important to be responsible with oneself and know how much you can spend. So bargain hunting may pay off, specially if prices being charged are exorbitant.

Nontheless the options are there, it's a matter of choice, your choice as a consumer.

J.

Some local stores will price match if you take in a printout of what you want with the price on it.

I so try to support my local pet stores, especially with rumors of a PetCo. moving into the area soon, but I won't buy overpriced equipment from them. It's ridiculous that even after shipping, I can still get most of my equipment for far less online than at the LFS. I was incredibly aggravated when I broke a heater while cleaning one of my tanks and had to rush to the LFS and buy a 50 watt heater for $30 when I could have gotten one for $15 online.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

Yeah, I do understand that there is no way for a smaller shop to compete with someone like BigAls online, BigAls buys in larger quanity so they get a lot better price for each product themselves, plus being basically a worldwide distributor they get a ton more biusness. Living on a fixed income I have no choice but to be really conservative with my cash. If I had more money I would show more support for the little guy out there. Im not really trying to call my local shop a crook, it just threw me for a loop seeing the big difference in price after being used to buying online.

The store they have here is huge, they bought a old building 10,000 square feet and put over 1 million dollars in it.

17 years experience with freshwater.

Online shopping is great because:

-shipping products around the world, one at a time is the most efficient way to burn our oil

-when it is defective I just order another, because the iStore won't take emails without credit card numbers

-I've been banned from the local stores for being rude

It seems everything these days is going to online, right down to renting videos, and with the security that there is online these days it's actually the safest way to use your credit card, everything is encrypted

Another thing about shopping online is you seem to get a lot bigger selection than what you do walking into a small to mid size store. I bet im making a lot of store owners angry posting this.

No, seriously it's too bad that the deals online are so good, I really truely would like to fully suport the little guy, but I can't afford to pass up the good prices online not to mention the larger sellection, Bigalsonline.com is my favorite.

17 years experience with freshwater.

I'm always hearing people complain about how unsafe buying online is and how often credit card numbers are stolen. However I only know one person who's credit card has been stolen and it wasn't done online. The card was only used at a gas station. The numbers had to of been stolen there. So long as you check that the sites your ordering from are legit the risk is really no greater than using a credit card at any local store.

I've walked out of alot of stores saying I can get it cheaper online. I'm sure a few store owners have been upset especially this one little petstore near me who marks things up higher than normal and gets very little business because of it. She's given me bad looks when I pick up a bag of petfood and then tell my boyfriend we can get it $20 cheaper if we order online straight from the manufacturer. I don't have the extra money to spend though and I don't really care to have a store I can walk into. I'd actually rather order everything online and never have to go any stores again. I can't wait for that to be possible. We even order from certain pizza places over others because they have online ordering and we don't have to call it in.

Exactly Sham, I totally agree with you.

17 years experience with freshwater.