Newbie learns a HARD lesson-never buy anything from sea-save in glenburnie

[Annap729]

Well, my inexperience took me down a dark road- I almost lost my dignity and self-respect back there, but I decided to leave. My gut TOLD me not to buy any equipment from them, but I moved forward. That was a $450 lesson I learned from those low-budget people. The lack of teeth should have been the first indication. Wow.

[Origami]

We have a vendor experience forum where you can post your experience there. I'd provide more detail, though, than is provided here.

 

Expensive lessons are part of this hobby, it seems. We've all had them. Finding WAMAS and benefitting from members' experiences can help you avoid these costly mistakes. One of the benefits of membership.

[sportzfish]

Can we get a hint as to what happened?

[Guest thefishman65]

lack of teeth

They bought a shark and it died?

tank and the oveflow got things it shouldn't have.

a motor with stripped gears

the possibilites are endless

[BowieReefer84]

They bought a shark and it died?

tank and the oveflow got things it shouldn't have.

a motor with stripped gears

the possibilites are endless

 

 

humans without teeth

[Origami]

They bought a shark and it died?

tank and the oveflow got things it shouldn't have.

a motor with stripped gears

the possibilites are endless

Dental hygiene.

[BowieReefer84]

They do successfully breed banjai cardinals there, which is pretty cool. It is easy to think they are honest at first...

[Integral9]

Well, my inexperience took me down a dark road- I almost lost my dignity and self-respect back there, but I decided to leave. My gut TOLD me not to buy any equipment from them, but I moved forward. That was a $450 lesson I learned from those low-budget people. The lack of teeth should have been the first indication. Wow.

 

sounds all too familiar. 5 years ago, different store, different state; that store is now closed. So what did you buy? How did it go down? Please post your experience in the vendor experience forum. After checking out their website, I have a feeling this is gonna be a good story.

[dmatt56]

I too had a bad experience with Sea Save when I started 3 years ago. I haven't been back since. House of Tropicals is less than 5 miles away, much nicer, larger selection, and easier to deal with.

[mogurnda]

Well, my inexperience took me down a dark road- I almost lost my dignity and self-respect back there, but I decided to leave. My gut TOLD me not to buy any equipment from them, but I moved forward. That was a $450 lesson I learned from those low-budget people. The lack of teeth should have been the first indication. Wow.

Oh, do tell! Welcome to the "fool me once" club.

[LanglandJoshua]

Oh, do tell! Welcome to the "fool me once" club.

Could not have said it better myself....+1

[Annap729]

Don't even know where to begin. Two mag 12's that didn't run, they never said when buying anything that ALL SALES ARE FINAL, I returned the following day because they convinced me I needed to run two mag 12's on my 125 simultaneously and choke them down and she said hey best I can do is tell you I'm sorry. I thought they'd at least offer me some live rock, or swap out some other pumps. She locked me out of the store and the guy wouldn't come out of the back; as I was leaving I said it makes sense why they don't answer their phone. I asked her how she could act like such a kind-hearted person towards animals when i just spent $450 with them and she just turns her back on my purchase so quickly. I think I called them criminals. They told me to change the rusty screws with nylon ones; as I unscrewed them two snapped off.

 

The thing that REALLY sucks is I paid cash. Otherwise I would have challenged the charge and they could have stuck.

 

I wish I had a way to exact some type of revenge on them. *** So, you put it well: I'm officially a member of the club I don't want to be a member of

Edited August 6, 2011 by davelin315
Removed remarks.

[davelin315]

Anthony, I understand your frustration but please remember that there are no personal attacks allowed here. I removed a tiny portion of your post. Thank you for exercising restraint through this whole thread.

 

Moving topic to Vendor Experience forum.

[Jan]

That's a lot of money to be scammed out of in one shot! I'm so sorry. I'd be really angry. Do you still have your sales receipt and original packaging? Try contacting the mfr directly and see if they can replace them or fix them for you. Report the store to the BBB. Do not post on "consumer complaint boards" online. That board has nothing at all to do with the consumer complaint bureau. It's some twisted persons arena for slander and defamation. You can post your experience on as many other marine aquarist sites as you can find. I wouldn't say I'd want revenge. Do it with civility.

 

 

Don't even know where to begin. Two mag 12's that didn't run, they never said when buying anything that ALL SALES ARE FINAL, I returned the following day because they convinced me I needed to run two mag 12's on my 125 simultaneously and choke them down and she said hey best I can do is tell you I'm sorry. I thought they'd at least offer me some live rock, or swap out some other pumps. She locked me out of the store and the guy wouldn't come out of the back; as I was leaving I said it makes sense why they don't answer their phone. I asked her how she could act like such a kind-hearted person towards animals when i just spent $450 with them and she just turns her back on my purchase so quickly. I think I called them criminals. They told me to change the rusty screws with nylon ones; as I unscrewed them two snapped off.

 

The thing that REALLY sucks is I paid cash. Otherwise I would have challenged the charge and they could have stuck.

 

I wish I had a way to exact some type of revenge on them. *** So, you put it well: I'm officially a member of the club I don't want to be a member of

Edited August 6, 2011 by Jan

[flowerseller]

Don't even know where to begin. Two mag 12's that didn't run, they never said when buying anything that ALL SALES ARE FINAL, I returned the following day because they convinced me I needed to run two mag 12's on my 125 simultaneously and choke them down and she said hey best I can do is tell you I'm sorry. I thought they'd at least offer me some live rock, or swap out some other pumps. She locked me out of the store and the guy wouldn't come out of the back; as I was leaving I said it makes sense why they don't answer their phone. I asked her how she could act like such a kind-hearted person towards animals when i just spent $450 with them and she just turns her back on my purchase so quickly. I think I called them criminals. They told me to change the rusty screws with nylon ones; as I unscrewed them two snapped off.

 

The thing that REALLY sucks is I paid cash. Otherwise I would have challenged the charge and they could have stuck.

 

I wish I had a way to exact some type of revenge on them. *** So, you put it well: I'm officially a member of the club I don't want to be a member of

 

It sounds like you bought used merchandise from the store. Where you able to test it?

No disrespect but new / used kinda changes the over all out come at least to me.

 

Have you tried vinegar or 50/50 muriatric acid/water bath?

Either or both can often free up pumps.

[dmatt56]

My other question is how can they claim to be a non-profit when operating a commercial business? I assume it's for tax purposes. Anyone know?

[Jan]

Sea Save Mission

Basically:

 

Do the right thing because it

[LanglandJoshua]

Sea Save Mission

Basically:

 

Do the right thing because it

[jrok]

That place is a joke, the worst part is they probably knew they didnt work. It would be tragic if someone accidentally dropped a bottle of copper in their coral tub. Jk. Just remember what goes around comes around..... Karma will pay them back for you.

[FearTheTerps]

I'm kinda on the fence with Chip on this one. It sounds like you bought used merchandise, if that's the case then I don't see a problem. It's reasonable to assume that a business selling used equipment would sell it as a final sale, no returns. I certainly wouldn't have bought something used without testing it out first, especially something I'm dropping alot of cash on.

 

Did you buy something else as well? Even 2 new mag 12 pumps wouldn't cost $450. I hope you didn't get swindled on that as well.

 

I'm not trying to point the blame at you, but from what I've read it sounds to me that the store didn't do anything wrong (at least with the sale, customer service is a whole different story). I'm sorry for your bad experience, I know i couldn't afford to lose 450 on bum equipment. One of the biggest reason new people leave the hobby is because if the expense it takes to have a good running system, hopefully this doesn't deter you from going forward. Everyone in this hobby has made a mistake in one fashion or another. My advice would be to take this experience as a lesson learned, and next time do some more research before making a large investment.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

LINK

[Annap729]

LINK

 

I'll explain further. couple things-

Dave-Thanks for reigning me in, as i sat on my iphone and typed, I knew I was venting more than I needed to.

 

Mag 12's: they were used. your point is valid when you say, they sold you used equipment. I did not test it, and i'll explain why.

 

My "relationship" has been over a couple months with these guys. I stumbled upon them like any other idiot in the area, and thought: "WOW, they're rescuing sharks, growing amazing life in kiddie pools using simple methods, etc". I spent over 3 hours with John over several visits and listened to his system of filtration, his creativity with using regular household things like a rubbermaid tub and 3 sterilite drawers, etc etc. Being a complete saltwater noob, I began to be a believer in the system he mentioned, and asked him for suggestions on pump, flow, return setups, sump design, etc. All the usual stuff. He answered, seemed to be knowledgeable, and spent some good time educating me.

 

I returned two other occasions, and spoke with Bambi for much the same length of time. I went through my entire system architecture with them as they are one of the few "LFS" stores in the area that I could see face-to-face for guidance. I wont say we became friends, but I paid them several visits and they knew who I was. I felt their plight to save the sharks was a good one, and i appreciated their simple approach to reefkeeping. I trusted them. So, I finally came to them and said, ok listen. I need equipment-i need pumps, and I need filtration. You have spent some considerable time teaching me things, and so rather than go anywhere else, I'll buy things from you. I'll buy into your wet/dry system and give it a go. So, he took me into the back and put together one of his wet/dry systems. He also took the two mag-12's out and said, these are exactly what you need. I told him I was COMPLETELY green, and needed him to walk me through my setup. Bear in mind I'm making notes at this point. He told me to swing by lowes, pick up some nylon screws, swap them out, and plug n play. never a mention of a vinegar bath, a cleanup, nothing. sold me pond hose to hook it up, some plumbing fixtures, overflow pool hose, and some other minor stuff.

 

As I left, I mentioned how excited I was to be a convert to his simple system, and a few more compliments. As Im checking out, they're showing me this and that, never mentioning that there is a ZERO RETURN POLICY on ANY PURCHASE made in their store. I asked them, point blank: do they both work ok? Their reply was: it came from a completely working system, so you shouldnt have any issues. "Oh and anthony since you're such a good customer of ours now, we're going to give you a DEAL and sell you live rock for $7 a lb."

 

Now, I come from the school of thought that if you look a man in the eye and take him at his word that he honors, you never have an issue. Their motto is do the right thing because it's the right thing to do.

 

So, imagine my initial surprise when one pump doesnt work and the other pump has two screwheads that SNAP as i'm trying to remove them. I figure, not a big deal. They have a TON of equipment in their back area that we went through, and I bought every single thing he suggested. He told me to choke off the 12's, which i'm learning is probably not the thing to do. It seems like now he just wanted to sell them.

 

After speaking with a couple people on the forum, I determine that their wet/dry system wont work for me (nitrate trap), and I need to go back to my original design. I thought, I'll live with the mag 12's as long as they can be fixed, or replaced with something comparable from their used inventory.

 

SO...why am I so pi$$ed? Because after working with these clowns for two months, I bought equipment on their reassurance that I shouldnt expect ANY issues whatsoever.

 

They didnt say "give me a couple days with this and let me see what I can do", OR

"Let me see what other pumps I can give you bc these obviously werent what I expected them to be", OR

"I cant give you a refund and I dont have any other pumps, but I'll give you a store credit towards my super-high-priced florida rubble with 6" barnacles".

 

I simply sat there in stunned astonishment as John hid in the back. I asked Bambi if she really felt this was the right thing to do to me after all the time I've spent with them over the last couple months, after knowing what they knew about my lack of knowledge-if she really felt that the RIGHT thing to do was to turn their back on such an inexperienced customer who just handed over $450 (CASH, WHAT AN IDIOT:angry:)??

 

THAT is why I'm upset. Because I trusted them. Because I took them at their word. Because I expected them to honor it in SOME capacity, and when I walked out of there, she locked the door behind me. I didn't just walk in there once and make a purchase, I spent a considerable amount of time with them. I was totally taken advantage of due to my inexperience. SO, shame on me.

 

I learned the hard way, and I hope that someone out there reads this post and NEVER buys another thing from them, ever. And to curse them, I wish them a lifetime of bad cellphone service and customer service issues with every bill they receive. Those two things are enough to make one's teeth fall out..........but wait.....

 

Anyway, I'm back to figuring out my tank. Stay tuned for my 125 build thread....i'm hoping to make this one into something nice with the RIGHT guidance. Why arent there more reefers closer to Annapolis?? All you guys are in NoVA-what the heck!? It has to be the largest population ratio of reefkeepers in the country!

Edited August 10, 2011 by Annap729

[Annap729]

That place is a joke, the worst part is they probably knew they didnt work. It would be tragic if someone accidentally dropped a bottle of copper in their coral tub. Jk. Just remember what goes around comes around..... Karma will pay them back for you.

 

that would be TRAGIC. yes, i'm sure the universe is looking for them.

[Annap729]

My other question is how can they claim to be a non-profit when operating a commercial business? I assume it's for tax purposes. Anyone know?

 

dmatt, I've been in there so many times they say the exact same thing everytime. "Are you a non-profit?" "Our paperwork is submitted. The county councilman is helping us through it, he really likes us."

 

So, they admit they're not "YET" but act like it's coming anyday.