anyone know?

[SConrad]

does anyone know where i could buy fish online with free shipping?
everywhere i look i'll end up payin 35$ for a $1.50 fish..PLZ HELP ME!

 

[Becca]

Chances are you're not going to find a place with free shipping, unless you're spending quite a bit of cash on fish. Just from reading articles and what others go through when they ship fish, there's quite a bit of money sunken into shipping costs.

If you do find one, let me know though!

 

[SConrad]

okay I will
anyone have ideas?
thanks

 

[CFC]

Why would you want to buy $1.50 fish from a mail order shop? Surely you can get the normal everyday fish from a lfs, i only use mail order for rarely seen fish that i cannot get locally.

 

[SConrad]

i was just setting an example.
but my lfs only has the most common fish:
guppies
blue gouramis
tiger barbs
ect..

 

[ger87410]

Ditto cfc. And before I go to an online store I try to order it from my lfs.

 

[SConrad]

anyone know a place...just a 'free shipping special'?

 

[SConrad]

so i guess thats it??? anyone else buy fish online that might have a special goin on?

 

[Becca]

SConrad - I'm sure quite a few people do buy fish online, but I highly doubt that you're going to find an online store that will give you free shipping. As I said before, there are huge costs that go into shipping a fish (heating pads, stress chemicals, styrofoam, oxygen tanks to fill bags with, boxes, priority shipping - usually requiring air delivery, etc.) In fact, most people that I know who DO ship their fish (these being breeders) only charge about 20-30 for shipping and they usually still put in a bit of their own funds.

If you buy enough fish online, you might find a company that will be willing to pay part, or all, of your shipping costs - but I doubt you'll find one that will do it for a single fish. It's just doesn't make much economical sense - spent $30 of their own cash to sell a fish that would get them between $1-$10.

Of course, as I stated earlier - if you find one, please share it with us.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Browse around AquaBid, some sellers offer free shipping.

 

[Sorrell]

I buy a lot of fish online, especially in the winter. I'm in Wyoming and my closest fish store is two hours away and there are some times that I cannot get over the summit out of town. I try to do large orders at once (some places like liveaquaria) have a minmum. It helps because you can get your fish shopping out of the way all at once.
Downside though, you can't personally pick the fish yourself. I've always been sent healthy ones, but if you're wanting something like platies for example, you have no choice in what color they'll send. I guess just weigh out the pros/cons and decide what's best.

Will your lfs do special orders?

 

[SConrad]

not sure if my lfs will do special orders or not, but we have many around here and im sure that i could find one that will...
its just that online prices seem cheaper than the stores...
anyone else come across anything?