Crazy LFS prices ...

It was a rumour at one stage.... (@jagga)... but I have heard contradicting rumours from a reliable source that it isn't so anymore.

 

Was doing a LFS crawl on Friday lunch-time (needed the break) - spotted a rack (must have been 13 jars wide by 20 high ) with about 70% stocked. It was beta males - going price R99 - true some of them where real lookers crowntails, combtail, plakat etc .. then some mixes. I caught myself thinking - surely R99 is a bit excessive? I have no clue if this was local stock or imports. Are these guys upping the cost to carry the loss for the fish that do not sell and die? It is always sad to see the boys in those little jars.

 

:sad2:

Since I've only recently had a betta boy, a gift from @HennieRoux, in a 1 ft tank that he uses to it's entirety, I can't imagine but that they probably die of boredom if nothing else - he's an inquisitive creature, and rather interactive.

Fair enough, I'm not trying to house dozens... or breed...

 

Here an ordinary fighter costs R55,00 and does not look to good always either.

For a healthy, fancy variety spending more I believe is worth it.

 

@f-fish @Zoom - Jungle Aquatics has taken over the pet store in Broadacres. So now there are 2 Jungle aquatics stores. They did not move to Centurion.

 

Interesting ..

 

Hi all, just to add in my pennies worth being a shop owner. Some background on the costs of having fish for you guys to buy. Airfreight costs have rocketed this past year. How does one recoup these costs? Electricity costs have climbed over 50% in the past two years! I used to use R700 over 8-10days, run about 10 000litres of tanks in the shop, this is now down to 4-6 days! How does one recoup these costs? Depending on who the pet shop gets their fish from will largely determine the landed price from which to work out a reasonable selling price. Sometimes it is better to buy from a more reputable supplier, at a higher price, knowing the losses, not those that happen with in the first 24hrs, but over the next couple of weeks, will be as low as possible. On average you can work the losses at about 20% being very conservative. I always try and buy bulk, 50+, per species and try and get a much better price for the fish. Buy in 300 neons thus allowing me to sell at R10.50each, R95/10, R170/20. But then this new supplier carries the freight cost thus allowing me to actually drop my prices. Guppies can quite easily be that price, and more, as there are quite a lot being imported from Israel and their cost price is quite high. If the shop owner, like me, treats his fish when found to be sick , these are costs that have to be recouped from the customer at the end of the day. I like to think I give a great service and will do what I have to to supply a great quality fish to my customer.
I hope this goes some way to helping you understand some of the behind scene things that all affect the end price of the commodity. Not even prepared to comment on the tank pricing. All I will say is I price to encourage the hobby!

 

Hi Natz17, if you are looking for Mbuna then go to Aquaterra on the Bottleray Road between Kuilsriver/Kraaifontein. I buy all my wild caughts and F1 stock from them. The best breeder of Malawi cichlids in the country.

 

Thanks for the input @scotty - what you say makes allot of sense and I am sure that is why the George guys and girls support you.

Sounds to me like we need more local quality breeding - a cooperative if you like or are we doomed that this hobby will be an exclusive one?

 

Theres's a few local commercial breeders, some guys in KZN, one in the EC, a few in the WC but they cant keep up with the local demand.

 

Also a couple in Gauteng, but very erratic supply comes from them.

 

Hi guys,

I understand what everyone is saying about the prices, but unfortunately a lot of these LFS are paying exorbitant rents and thus need to have such pricing structures. I am an importer and wholesaler of Ornamental fish and even for us with the Rand / Dollar exchange rate the pricing has gone up a lot compared to last year this time.

 

The biggest problem as I see it is being able to breed the quantity to really make it viable. The one guy, down in Cape Town, who could really make a go of it then battles with winter conditions. This year the season started late. Some of the little things that make it difficult. Far East don't heat their water as it is warm all year round. Freight costs are also our biggest killer. I am looking, down the road, to importing my own. This though means I must bring in quantity and have the place t keep them. Problem with George is I don't have the feet as like Gauteng or Cape Town. Cutting out the importer is one way to reduce the price.

 

I understand the concerns of the LFS, but, for us as the consumer, there are certain things which are crazily overpriced. Like the lowly neon tetra... How can we be expected to pay R25 for a neon? Really? I think there are certain things which we are getting ripped off on. I am not really one to complain about the costs of livestock, as coming from marine, fresh water fish are cheap as chips. Even the most expensive discus is cheaper than a cheaper type of marine fish. But that is not the point.

I think if the quality of the livestock improves, then people wouldn't mind paying a premium. Good quality livestock is very hard to come by nowadays. Take a look at the "German" blue Rams. You buy them from the LFS, they live happily for 2 weeks, then they die. No fault of the aquarist in some cases. But they always die. Well before maturity. I would happily pay R200 for a pair of them, that I know is not hormone treated, and pumped full of steroids to make it colour up early, so it can sell fast.

But it's not all livestock only. How can one shop sell a filter for R2300 and another shop sells the exact same thing for R3900? I saw this with my own 2 eyes this weekend. I'm not going to mention names, but this is just craziness. It's just getting silly really. Until prices can be standardized, this whole industry will suffer. Sure, the costs of electricity have gone up, so have fuel prices, which affect every single industry on earth. The fact we are in an economic recession does not help anyone either, but something has to be done here.

To be brutally honest, I think this whole argument comes down to quality of service. Not necessarily the prices. I will gladly support any shop that gives good quality advice and customer service, than one that doesn't. Unfortunately, there are only a small handful of stores that do this. The thing about good advice, is that it will bring repeat business from grateful customers, who appreciate the help. Selling stuff, to make a quick buck, is the easiest way to lose loyal customers, and drive people from this wonderful hobby.

 

Hi Sean J, The customer, at the end of the day, will determine where he shops and that will be based on the type of service he obtains. My total focus is service and then a good price. I always ask myself if I would be prepared to pay the price I want to sell something for.
I think the most expensive I have ever sold neons for was about 18.5 but then the initial purchase price was way higher than I pay now. Also size of fish much bigger. Let us see the influence of the floods in Thailand! I believe certain fish prices will rocket due to them. They are saying it could take 6mths for things to stabilze there!

 

Probably will ... but in GP they never seem to come down, it is almost as if the LFS goes hmmmm these suckers are willing to pay X for Y ... why drop the price. Most LFS's here run an electronic stock / labelling system, I have wondered if these things do not have a software bug that does not allow them to reduce the price on an item.

Yeap add to this the fact that a LFS that sells non-aquatic plants as aquatic and stocks bl'ed items really get me thinking "this guy is in it only for the $$" In the end it is a business, I get that. Is it a business that will thrive with many happy customers or one that will survive with a few exclusive clients?

 

Been contemplating this a bit more ... @trevor1971 @scotty has eluded to another issue that I can agree to. This might explain the reason why some items cost more at one LFS than another (or not) - fact is out LFS do not always see high volume for quality items - we like to buy cheap every 2 years vs expensive once every 5 years. With the Euro vs Dollar sitting a the same ration as it did in Jan this year it is interesting to note that the Rand Euro is not (i.e. our currency has become weaker).



I started using rainbownation.com last year at some stage to track our currency movement - and made the call in Dec 2010 to do my own imports from Germany (I think I hit the perfect spot) at that stage it was costing me 1/2 the price to bring in German products vs what I was being charged at the LFS (That was including SARS, DHL, and the product cost) These items varied - pumps, CO2 stuff, HOBs, substrate additives, heaters even open celled sponge for my HMF addiction.

It would seem that this type of stock does not move fast if you are a LFS owner - so all we see bad investment on the shelves.

But what gets me is the blatant hiking of prices for xmas - then again @Zoom might be right xmas shopping lust and standard retail practise?

 

Ok thern there are also the guys who want to get rich on selling 1 x Juwel Vision 450 Aquarium that they all buy from Marltons, when I started looking around I found it from R17 000 to R14 000 and lastly R11 000 where I ordered from now tell me how much is a reasonable profit margin and how much is daylight robbery if the guy selling it for R11 000 is still making a decent profit??

 

f-fish if you brought stuff in directly then you must realise you have cut out one or possibly two middle men! They all add to the price we then have to pay! Just been in Gauteng and was shocked at the price of things. Extremely disappointed by the lack of variety by some big well established stores, fish very specifically. Found pricing to be rather strange! Remember that if an item is bought and stands in the shop for a period of time there is money that needs to be made over that time. I do not have the space to hold the larger tanks so when ordering one for a customer I drastically change my mark up. No money standing still!

 

100% scotty and I think this is the point of this thread ..

.. something is not lekker here in GP.