Liveaquaria.com price hike

[ladyshark]

I am disappointed. I was looking at a Scribbled Angel in the Collector's Corner section of liveaquaria.com--yesterday, a large sized was availabe for $299--today its price is $349.

Give me a break........

Anyone else notice other inflated prices?

[Mike5252]

Maybe liveaquaria.com will need a billion dollar bail out as well...sorry to inject politics. lol.

I'm not sure about your fish in particular, but I have not noticed other prices going up. (not that much anyway).

Check with the Drs F&S forum here on RC. They may know why.

[soccerbag]

Perhaps they are switching to airline pricing. Check back in an hour and it may be $100. Tomorrow at 5PM....$650 : ). I have not noticed price increases with them and I'm on the site quite a bit. That's not to say it's not happening....just my 2 cents worth.

[Recty]

You're crazy if you dont think prices vary... it is the way of things. Now if ALL their prices suddenly jumped 25%, I'd be worried. But it's supply and demand, maybe they only have one large scribbled left, or found out that in the future, they will only be receiving half as many as they used to.

[JustinReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13471054#post13471054 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Recty
You're crazy if you dont think prices vary... it is the way of things. Now if ALL their prices suddenly jumped 25%, I'd be worried. But it's supply and demand, maybe they only have one large scribbled left, or found out that in the future, they will only be receiving half as many as they used to.

I agree, if its not the whole site getting a price increase, there is probably a good reason why that one fish or a group of fish have gone up in price. Just the way things are these days.

[agreeive?fish]

could it be that the sold all the females and the one left is a male therefore the price increase...i dont know but price changes happen all the time..it also could be a diffrent shipment of scribbled and the cost for them was higher..there are so many reasons why the price could change overnight.. considering scribbled angels are one of the more sought after less avaliable large angels iam not suprised to see flux in pricing

[jnc914]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13466239#post13466239 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ladyshark
I am disappointed. I was looking at a Scribbled Angel in the Collector's Corner section of liveaquaria.com--yesterday, a large sized was availabe for $299--today its price is $349.

Give me a break........

Anyone else notice other inflated prices?




I also noticed that. I was looking at the male Personifer that was in Diver's Den. It went for $269 and was absolutely gorgeous. I lost it during my checkout, someone was quicker on the trigger. I checked the regular stock and they had only med-large available for almost double the price. Why would a 4.5" specimen be almost $200 less than a non Diver' Den specimen that was slightly larger (5-7"). I also saw what they did with the Scribbled. A little shady, but it won't stop me from buying from them in the future.

[aquaman67]

Maybe the first price was wrong and they caught and corrected it.

[TheH]

You know everyone will talk about price flux, supply and demand, and the state of the economy, but let me tell you: prices only go up at liveaquaria. That's just how it is in the marine aquarium industry. These places know that their customer base tends to be well-off and they can charge whatever they want.

Take a look at LiveAquaria's price on cerith snails: $1.99. You can get the same snail at ReefCleaners for $0.22. I can understand pricing for captive-raised livestock, but for most of the wild-caught stuff they just keep raising the price until they hit the "sweet spot".

[JustinReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13473108#post13473108 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TheH
You know everyone will talk about price flux, supply and demand, and the state of the economy, but let me tell you: prices only go up at liveaquaria. That's just how it is in the marine aquarium industry. These places know that their customer base tends to be well-off and they can charge whatever they want.

Take a look at LiveAquaria's price on cerith snails: $1.99. You can get the same snail at ReefCleaners for $0.22. I can understand pricing for captive-raised livestock, but for most of the wild-caught stuff they just keep raising the price until they hit the "sweet spot".

Man if only this were true! I would love if LiveAquaria's prices really were the only ones to go up lately :D

[ladyshark]

Let's face it...our hobby is not cheap! I take it as motivation to be sure to be very diligent with my swimming friends so they are happy and healthy. And, I know that liveaquaria is a great source for fish.

But, other sites sell scribbled angels for about $150 (maybe smaller ones though)

I'm just sayin'.........

[LisaD]

Man, now you guys did it! I just had to go and look at Diver's Den. It is not the right time, but I couldn't resist. I bought an Ostracian solorensis, juvenile for $40.(http://www.cowfishes.com/scribbled.html). Just to make the shipping worth it, I had to go and get a gorgeous marine betta for $90 (I admit that one was a bit pricey, but it was a really nice specimen). I think the prices overall look fair, and I know I will get quality. Now I'll have to move my Niger trigger and anglerfish to new digs...

BTW, I think their angler prices are good. I was very tempted to get the pink tinted Antennarius coccineus for $49. They have some nice painted anglers (A. pictus) for under $100, also good prices.

I have the perfect tank for the boxfish. That, and the fact I've never seen this smaller species for sale swayed me. I was NOT going to get any more fish for a while, but you guys just had to get into this discussion.

[bluedevils32701]

i believe liveaquaria.com is extremely overpriced. they do have great customer service and healthy fish but most local aquarium stores can do much better on the pricing.

[LisaD]

maybe depends on where you live... You are fortunate if you can find good prices in your area. The retail LFS I've seen aren't so different from liveaquaria, sometimes LA is cheaper.

I support mainly one LFS in my area, a mom and pop deal, because I consider their prices fair, their service is good, and their fish are generally healthy. there are a couple larger stores in the area with much better selection, but they don't QT their fish, the prices are very high, and the service is poor. I don't buy from these except on very rare occasions.

I have visited liveaquaria's Diver's Den (Drs. Foster and Smith is in Rhinelander, Wisconsin). These fish are all quarantined and healthy when shipped. IMO, selection is great. They will honor their guarantee and replace or refund money for fish that don't live two weeks. There is no LFS in my area that will offer a guarantee like that and their prices don't offset poor survivability. Dead fish end up costing a lot of money...

I don't order that often from regular liveaquaria, but Diver's Den has been great for unique specimens, WYSIWYG, the best health, and great service. (and no, I don't work for them :))

[bluedevils32701]

ya i do agree they have healthy specimens but i would prefer to purchase a fish and quarantine it myself. i still would always qt fish from liveaquaria not matter how healthy they may seem. they definitely have more livestock available than any LFS!

[LisaD]

I agree, all fish should be in QT, but it helps if they aren't totally stressed/starved/diseased when you get them. If the LFS QTs, that means I don't get stuck with the ones that no how, no way, had a chance of making it. Also, a QT'd fish is more likely to adapt to my home aquarium.

If I am buying from a store that doesn't seem to know how to care for fish, I ask them to notify me when the shipment comes in and I will buy the fish in the bag (if it looks good). I think going straight from the bag to my QT is preferable in those cases...

[agreeive?fish]

Well I just checked the prices of the scribbled angelfish and compared it to the print out i did on 9/30/08... the price went up on all sizes (even the ones that are out of stock) so i imagine its a cost pass down to the consumer level

[jnc914]

The mark up on fish is ridiculous. I understand it with the more rare, sparcely collected fish. I like getting fish direct from the collector shipped from the ocean to my home. Anyone who deals with a wholesaler or directly with the fish collectors knows there is a a double and almost tripple mark up. My LFS(who is also a friend) showed me his wholesale stock list from a hawaiian wholesaler. The number of specific fish were limited. However, the list included medium Goldflakes at $130 wholesale, Scribbled Angels are around $130 for medium and $160 for smaller, Personifers were $120-140, Flames were $25, etc. The more common fish like Yellow Tangs go for $15-20. When I got a BLueline from Vietnam several months ago my LFS sold it to me for $189, he told me the wholesale on them was around $100. Its a very lucrative buisness to get into if you have enough startup and live in HI. Oh to dream.

[DFS]

Greetings,

All of us in the United States are feeling the pain right now, in our pocketbooks both at the consumer level and industry level with the current state of the economy. The marine aquarium industry is by no means immune to this, and is significantly impacted.

In the last year, the biggest factor influencing the price of raw materials and consumables is the sharp increase in fuel costs.

Transportation costs are a significant cost of the fish we house in our aquariums. Australian freight rates on Air New Zealand and Air Pacific have skyrocketed this year alone, and it’s not uncommon to pay upwards of $7.50 per kilo of freight from this region. Add to this the increased cost of the fish themselves (it costs more to get to the collection areas), along with the drastic increased cost in Styrofoam boxes and plastic shipping bags (another petroleum-based product), and the fish are by no means getting cheaper.

At first glance, looking at a stock list and prices from an exporter, collector, or supplier, things appear to be "really cheap". It’s important to understand the difference between FOB prices and the true landed cost. When dealing with marine aquarium animals, the added costs of transportation, customs fees, clearance fees, mortality, and overhead dictates the retail price of fish, corals, and invertebrates. It’s important for successful businesses to fully understand the true costs associated with the products they sell, or you will see more and more companies in the aquarium biz closing their doors, like hundreds across the country have already done so this year.

I hope this better explains why prices of marine animals from certain regions have increased in price this year, and unfortunately I don’t foresee this turning around anytime soon. All of us at Drs. Foster and Smith/LiveAquaria constantly strive to offer the best quality aquatic life that is competitively priced, all backed by the best customer service and most comprehensive guarantee in the business.

Regards,
Kevin Kohen
Director of LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

[JustinReef]

^^ Great explanation and very nice of you to spend the time to explain things...now...can you start shipping to Canada ;)

[ariel47]

I just got a nice large scribbled angel from pet solutions for 178 dollars and they have a 14 day guarantee. its about 6 inches.

[mandynm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13474356#post13474356 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LisaD
[B]maybe depends on where you live... You are fortunate if you can find good prices in your area. The retail LFS I've seen aren't so different from liveaquaria, sometimes LA is cheaper.

Exactly my thoughts. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to my LFS to see that a fish I'd been ogling on DD was much cheaper, even after shipping. My LFS rarely offers a guarantee and definitely not 14 day, no questions asked. I go to my LFS every Friday and sometimes in between there and they know I'm not a moron when it comes to fish. However, even after saying that a fish mysteriously died in QT after 2 days or that this fish had this or that and my treatment wasn't enough, I only got partial credit. I fully support LA. The fish I have bought from them have been superb. In this "hobby" (addiction, whatever you want to call it), I don't consider money to be a swaying issue.

[Saltcity]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13473108#post13473108 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TheH
[B

Take a look at LiveAquaria's price on cerith snails: $1.99. You can get the same snail at ReefCleaners for $0.22. I can understand pricing for captive-raised livestock, but for most of the wild-caught stuff they just keep raising the price until they hit the "sweet spot". [/B]

Livaquaria runs the BYO deal.... Build Your Own reef cleaner package. They offer free shipping on orders over $80 BUT, you are paying for the shipping because its in the price of the livestock.....I think that is why it seems that they are so expensive.

Prices are subject to supply, demand and the competition.... If they are so over priced that everyone bought somewhere else, they would be out of business!?!

[prime311]

Hey Kevin I always wondered, since I live in WI, is possible for me to skip shipping altogether and pick something up locally?

[squealy]

I cannot say enough good things about Live Aquaria. Although their prices may not be the cheapest in the industry, their customer service is the best (and ditto for Drs. Foster and Smith). Unfortunately, I've had 2 sensitive, expensive fish from them die within the 14 days, and they refunded my money without hesitation, apologizing for the deaths. Unfortunately I have no LFS within 100 miles, so I am forced to get my livestock shipped to me. When I buy from LA I have the peace of mind that if the fish doesn't make it I will be treated with compassion and respect, and will get my money back. Priceless.

[scrombussquared]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13599283#post13599283 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by prime311
Hey Kevin I always wondered, since I live in WI, is possible for me to skip shipping altogether and pick something up locally?
I live 2 miles from Saltwaterfish.com and they do not have a showroom, and do not sell out the door. I e-mailed them about ordering from them and picking up my order directly, but was still shot down due to "insurance not allowing pickups". They would actually send my order out FedEx! It would still be overnight! Go figure.

[DFS]

Hey Kevin I always wondered, since I live in WI, is possible for me to skip shipping altogether and pick something up locally?

Prime311,
Sorry for the delay in responding, I just noticed your question. Any of the marine life we quarantine, condition and ship from our Rhinelander Wisconsin Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life facility which includes all of the Divers Den animals, the DFS Aquacultured Corals and coral frags offered by other growers, can be picked up at our Retail Store with no shipping charges as long as the order is placed before 9:30 AM for same day pick up. Please list this in your notes on the order.

In the future you will receive a much quicker answer to a question about our policies if you wouldn’t mind posting these kinds of questions in our Sponsors Forum Section located HERE (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=406) on RC. Thank you.

Cheers!
Kevin Kohen
Director of LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

[ladyshark]

I also commend the service and quality of fish from liveaquaria. I only started this thread because of a sharp increase in price on a fish I was watching in less than 24 hours.