Selling To Lfs

[mc153]

Just wondered if anyone has had any luck selling to a shop
i called a few today with no joy

 

[Curiosity101]

It depends on a few things... often you'll have better look with small independant retailers as opposed to chains. And it often then depends on what you were trying to sell, for example kribs and convicts are normally wanted by shops as they're relatively agressive fish that breed like rabbits.

What were you selling? And where abouts in the country?

 

[james_fish]

I've had store credit of a few shops, i've never tried selling my fish. Maybe if I breed i'd give it a shot.

James.

 

[drobbyb]

Curiosity101 is correct. The large chain stores have their own contracted suppliers, and they normally won't buy fish from a hobbyist. I have sold fish to stores on occasion. They normally give you roughly 1/3 of the retail price. If they have BN plecs for $6.00 each, they will normally buy from you at $2 a piece.

 

[Harlequins]

I recently sold my albino corys to an independant fish store and they gave to £1 each for my juvi's which they sell around £2.99 mark. - They normally give me store credit which i don't mind,it keeps my fish stock supplied with food for a few months

 

[Monty-2010]

I sold a load of guppy's to my lfs once for 50p each! just ended up buying more fish from the same shop during the same visit!

 

[capester]

Yes, I think being independant shops helps as the decision maker is usually the owner. We are luck to have a few near us that will take fish no matter how big or weird and usually give a fair price (albeit in credit note). The reason they will give you credit rather than cash is because you will spend it there, so if they have a 50% mark up on their fish you are effectively getting half as much as the credit amount for the fish they have "bought" off you. Somtimes this can work into a bad deal, sometimes good- depending on how you spend the credit.

ie, you "sell" them a fish that they will sell for £30, they will give you a credit note for £15. You use the credit to buy a fish for £15 which cost them £7.50 (50%) to buy. Therefore they are making £22.50 out of you/ the person who buys your fish!
Not that I begrudge them for a minute, its called business!

 

[the biffster]

i used to deal with independents
all the time never much cash in
it just credit notes most of the time
but they came in handy {food treatments other
fish equipment stuff like that }

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

In my experience a great deal of petshops will not take fish on for free let alone buy them. As others have said, small independant family run petshops tend to be a lot more open to accepting fish off customers than big brand/chain stores are etc. If you are simply looking to rehome a fish you cannot look after anymore, IMO finding it a good home is far more important than finding someone/somewhere that will pay for it.

 

[BigC]

Breeding fish is no get rich quick scheme.
Some independent (true) aquatic shops run by proper aquarists may reward your efforts but be aware that they too will be wanting to make a profit so the best you can come away with is a credit note. The more likelihood scenario is for you to exchange for food stuffs and the likes. This will all be dependant on what species you are offering, what condition they are in, your reputation with your LFS, and if the LFS owner can shift your stock.
It is also the responsibility of the breeder not to breed so many fish as they cannot get rid of their surplus, this is bad practice, so it's up to you to find your outlets be it local auctions or dealers, build a reputation and breed your fish responsibly. The best way to earn a reputation is to get involved in your local aquarist club and find your niche and stick to your chosen genre/species, learn everything there is to know about them, listen to dedicated breeders note their methods and try to improve upon them. This in itself requires years of input on behalf of the novice breeder.
As in any walk of life there will be spoofers out there the art is telling which folks are true aquarists (folks that you should be listening to) and others which are just playing at it. Controversial words I know...but true.
Sorry if that comes across as patronising.
Best of luck
Regards
C

 

[drobbyb]

Very well put C. What I did was ensure that I had a market for my juveniles. I went and got to know all the LFS owners around. To get them to buy my stock, I went and gave each store owner 10 fish with the agreement that they were on consignment. If they sold the fish, I only expected so much in return, and if they didn't sell, I would take them back. This took the responsibility off of their heads. The only thing they had to do was hold them in their tanks. I came in and performed the maintenance on the tanks.

 

[PRW1988]

I live in Canada and Big Als Aquariums usually takes anything in, except monsters. They pay 1/3rd what they sell the fish for, so it's not horrible. They'll even set up deals with local breeders for store credit. Everything is store credit with them unfortunatly... Wish it was cash

 

[Pixietina]

im too nice lol i give any fry i dont want to my LFS