hypertech December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 that's right you have NEVER been there, how can you say anything about them. are you on there fb page? or their mailing list? 2 way street, people need to put in an effort too. I have never once said anything about them other than I haven't been there and I've only heard good things. It isn't my job to track them down and keep them in business. Its their job to find customers and entice them to come in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 my point that has been diverted was, they all have other thing to do, wamas is not where much of the lfs's income comes from. As a club we have not helped our lfs out much. they pay for a sponsor, they donate livegoods, dry good and their time, yet they get nothing but a hard time from the club members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 On a lighter subject, I like PB&J sandwiches, sometimes with a thin slice of banana. Just sayin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 my point that has been diverted was, they all have other thing to do, wamas is not where much of the lfs's income comes from. As a club we have not helped our lfs out much. they pay for a sponsor, they donate livegoods, dry good and their time, yet they get nothing but a hard time from the club members. ironic coming from a "BB member." i think wamas does plenty for the LFS. besides sending them extra customers, the socials must surely bring in a lot of business to each LFS, and I wouldn't be surprised if 1 social offsets the costs of being a sponsor (but I don't know). if the LFS didn't get anything from wamas, they wouldn't continue be sponsors, year after year, right? then again, I am not saying wamas couldn't do even more for the LFS - but how? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 (edited) ironic coming from a "BB member." u have no clue, you see the date under that 2004? also to expand on your comments. There are not many sponsor that spend the time posting because its not worth it. Check the vendor section. Edited December 7, 2011 by rocko918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypertech December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 On a lighter subject, I like PB&J sandwiches, sometimes with a thin slice of banana. Just sayin... You can add a little honey for a special occasion too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlem December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 There are not many sponsor that spend the time posting because its not worth it. Check the vendor section. So I guess it's not worth it to work and to try to gain our support... seems like a win win for me. they dont work, and we dont give... win win... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 (edited) So I guess it's not worth it to work and to try to gain our support... seems like a win win for me. they dont work, and we dont give... win win... I do believe the lfs's have been trying to gain your support for many years (even before i joined in 2004). nothing has changed, why beat a dead horse now? clearly you could careless if our lfs were around. Edited December 7, 2011 by rocko918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 (edited) mouseclick...mouseclick.... several mouseclicks.... get credit card... mouseclicks... day later - a box has appeared! unpack...stuff died. picture. email. money back. vs. drive in dc area traffic for hour plus one way.. walk around store.. look at sick fish/algae growth.. find one thing you like.. try to find person that just asked how you were doing but has now disappeared.. be shocked at price of item that was not displayed on tank or anywhere.. get it anyway.. go home... tomorrow it dies... you're out of luck. Nope no effort at all. And brk has a facebook page? Am I seeing the wrong one? http://www.facebook....167503363260231 Edited December 7, 2011 by YiatzOfEden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 (edited) Wrong page yes you are on the wrong fb page brk fb are you saying that was your experience at brk or an overall experience with the lfs? Edited December 7, 2011 by rocko918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 I'll continue to support my LFS's as often as I can. I do appreciate their existance, their dedication and the special treatment I get from them. I like plain ole PB&J on Miltons multi grain bread. No chunky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reelsteel December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 Yiatz...seems like you don't care if the livestock that gets shipped to you lives or not as long as you get your money back. Sounds like you looking out for the hobby. So when your return pump dies, are you can jump on the old internet and click away and wait for your pump to get shipped someday or are you going to go to the lfs that is a waste of time and pick up a pump? I'm all for getting deals, but there is also a thing called relationships, that I would take over saving a buck here and there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrubberbandman December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 I know one thing most LFS have higher prices....rent isnt cheap.. Which leads me to the BRK business...I dont know what johnny and the guys do, but they do it well...offering quality livestock and supplies at reasonable prices..."very reasonable" prices...which helps for the gas I spend when I travel from Stafford co. to western P.W. co. Its nice to have places like this around. The "cozy clownfish " is another place that I liked also. Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rioreef December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 First off, if you are on these boards commenting you can already afford an expensive hobby (no matter where you get it)! Accept it Also, we all probably save so much already by getting other stuff in your life online that the savings out-weigh by a mile what you might spend extra at a LFS. So buy at your LFS as much as you can. Those that are looking for more from their LFS, patronize them more and you will get more. In any business, the face-to-face relationship goes a long way in the service and in our hobby it results in friendships too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 (edited) Awesome, thanks Rocko! Reelsteel - I love my fish, there's no question on that. When I get a new fish and it dies I cry because even if it's not my fault I feel responsible. I would much rather get my money back and be able to buy that fish again rather than be jaded by ordering fish online only to know if they die from shipping stress I'm at a loss. Fish from lfs have that same risk though there's no benefit to weigh against it. You get to see exactly what fish you're receiving, but I have rarely received a fish online that wasn't healthy. We are paying a higher price for the same stressed fish (not counting you wonderful lfs that quarantine). I live in Woodbridge, and driving an hour each way or more to get a fish that will cost more, have no possibility of return, and might not even be there is frustrating. Is it possible to have a return policy only with repeat customers? What I mean is, if they have bought a certain amount of fish from your location (let's say 5) and had no deaths you can be fairly confident that they know how to acclimate and have good water quality. Even have them bring in a water sample at some point to prove to you that their water is good, or even a sample with the dead fish to show that it was good at the time (Minus normal spikeage). If a LFS was close to me and had this policy I couldn't imagine shopping anywhere else, even if they are 10-15% more expensive then online retailers. I have a great relationship with my online dealers. Even if I haven't ordered from them before I get treated like I've spent a million there. I don't want to have to be a regular customer for them to give me 5 star treatment. That should happen with all customers, that's how you keep them. I am getting a hammerhead pump for my tank, which I can get online for $389 w/ free shipping, the cheapest I found from at a LFS was $450, and I would then have to drive 3 hours total to pick it up. Like I've said before I don't mind spending an extra 10-15% more from a LFS, if my pump was to die I think I'd be FORCED to go to a LFS and spend almost $100 more with gas. I shouldn't feel like I'm being forced to go to a LFS. This isn't an issue of quality either, the Hammerhead I get online is going to be exactly like the one in store. I'm sorry that I don't have an excuse to spend time and money at an lfs. they don't seem to have any more to offer me than online retailers (the ones that I shop at regularly are small business btw, just bc they're using this new fangled technology doesn't make them big retailers). I stop by whenever I'm in the area. I do try to support you lfs, I do. I entered this conversation over the effort it takes to support lfs vs online. I offered suggestions of having an inventory list or posting more things online as a help. If I see something I like for the price I want to pay I'll stop in and more than likely buy even more. Rioreef - a bunch of us are in this hobby bc we love it, not bc its a status symbol and we can afford it. Yeah it's expensive, and some of us can't afford to spend extra. Edited December 7, 2011 by YiatzOfEden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 I've never lost a fish or coral that I've purchased from BRK or F&F's to disease or illness. Not a one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnybv December 7, 2011 Author Share December 7, 2011 As I figured this post would go way off track, again the purpose was to bring to the clubs attention that your LFS's are in trouble. Just think about that the next time you click click click. As far as working and changing the way we do things we have been working our asses off to bring you quality products at reasonable prices for years, I dont have time to take pictures, resize, cleanup, photoshop, upload, then post to wamas, facebook, our webpage ..... and run a retail store. Anymore negative comments, or personal attacks and I will close this thread. This was meant to open your eyes, and not "say huh, thats too bad that they went out of business" John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 This is true, I'm really trying carefully to not offend brk and F&F. From what I hear from everyone they are wonderful stores. F&F has been great to me (and my dog!) and if I was closer I would definitely frequent these sponsors. I've had some unfortunate experiences with brk but with everyone elses experiences there what I went through just must not have been a good time and I understand that it happens. Places that I refer to may or may not be within this area. I've been to and worked at many that aren't necessarily in this state and just try to portray why we may not want to frequent lfs sometimes. I know you can't cater to me, and that it's very hard to keep up a business in this economy. I just want to help with changing times - customers are having a hard time too. That's why gas is a big factor in my reasons for not shopping there. I also hate to waste your time by calling in and asking what you have in stock before I drive out there. I'd really like to support you and I'm looking forward to seeing you soon when I am able to make the drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypertech December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 In that same vein, I don't really think there are negative comments or personal attacks in this thread. I read a discussion of an important topic in which people have offered their perspective in a way as constructive criticism. No one wants to see a good store close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rioreef December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 Rioreef - a bunch of us are in this hobby bc we love it, not bc its a status symbol and we can afford it. Yeah it's expensive, and some of us can't afford to spend extra. Didn't mean it as a status symbol, just that it is expensive and you know it going into it. The reason why we do and get past that acceptance of the cost is the love of the hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnybv December 7, 2011 Author Share December 7, 2011 This is true, I'm really trying carefully to not offend brk and F&F. From what I hear from everyone they are wonderful stores. F&F has been great to me (and my dog!) and if I was closer I would definitely frequent these sponsors. I've had some unfortunate experiences with brk but with everyone elses experiences there what I went through just must not have been a good time and I understand that it happens. Places that I refer to may or may not be within this area. I've been to and worked at many that aren't necessarily in this state and just try to portray why we may not want to frequent lfs sometimes. I know you can't cater to me, and that it's very hard to keep up a business in this economy. I just want to help with changing times - customers are having a hard time too. That's why gas is a big factor in my reasons for not shopping there. I also hate to waste your time by calling in and asking what you have in stock before I drive out there. I'd really like to support you and I'm looking forward to seeing you soon when I am able to make the drive. Not sure what situation you went through that was bad, we have had so few of them. Please PM me to refresh my memory. As far as knowing what we have we bust our butts to get the stocklist updated weekly, and I usually even post the link here on wamas, dont know what else I can do to tell you what we have. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 I think a benefit of this post was the free market research. Some have clearly articulated what they deem important and consider value added when pondering a purchase. If a LFS can distill these posts and come up with a cost effective way to meet some or all of the wants, they may be able to capture more foot traffic, sales, and loyalty. Not easy or free. But if running your own business was either of those things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 I also hate to waste your time by calling in and asking what you have in stock before I drive out there. I'm not sure that you're aware of it, but BRK does post a stock list. Many of our other LFS's don't, though. (It may be helpful for them to do so.) BRK Homepage Look about center-right, and you'll see the stock list is posted as a PDF file. Because it may be up to a week old, if you have something specific that you're looking for, you still may want to call. If it's not on the list, John may be able to get it for you. Just ask. They have great customer service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 I think a benefit of this post was the free market research. Some have clearly articulated what they deem important and consider value added when pondering a purchase. If a LFS can distill these posts and come up with a cost effective way to meet some or all of the wants, they may be able to capture more foot traffic, sales, and loyalty. Not easy or free. But if running your own business was either of those things... Well said sir. Instead of trying to change people's minds or habits or tell them what to think or do (ie, work against them), it may be better to resign oneself to the fact that that is how people "are", and work with their existing habits, wants, and needs, if possible. Surely not easy or free, as you said...things worth doing rarely are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal December 7, 2011 Share December 7, 2011 Any chance one of the local LFS' might begin carrying PB&J sandwiches? I'd order them online but they usually arrive soggy and stale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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