Would YOU pay more for a good fish shop

[parker313]

Yes, and I do. I buy ALMOST everything from my locally owned lfs. I like the idea of supporting the local guys and they are much more knowledgable than the employees of PetSmart or Wal-Mart around here. Plus, they really work with me to get the best tank setup I can. They exchange fish for me and know me and remember my tank inhabitants when I come in.

The extra money is definitely well worth it for the quality of the fish and the service I get.

--Kristin

 

[Eve]

Unfortunatly where I live at the moment my choices are bad versus very bad. They switch places depending on when I visit.

However, before hand I would always go for better quality. I would rather a small fortune for a fish that is healthy and happy, then a larger fortune in the end for a weak unhappy fish.

 

[CFC]

I cant get any of the fish i keep or would like to keep from my LFS so i have to travel around to find them but i do try to buy all my dry goods from my actual real LFS, unfortunately they dont sell the large 1 kilo bulk packs of frozen food i buy so i have to get that from somewhere else but everything else like test kits, water conditioner, dry food and hardware i get from them.

 

[rvm]

For dry goods, medicines etc, I go to Pets at Home or ebay purely cos they're cheaper. But for fish I get them from reputable aquarium shops. However I always ring a few local(ish) shops before going to check prices etc. Just as an example; I went to my nearest shop yesterday looking for a big clown loach to go with my current 3. They had one that was about 3", but they wanted £25 for it. I actually asked them if they were joking, and they said no, that is the going price for clowns that big. 1/2 an hour drive later I had a 6-7" clown in a bag on his way to his new home for the same money!!! Both good aquarium shops as well!!

 

[Crystal]

I am finding the lfs that I trust have around the same pricing as Petsmart here, so I would rather buy from a smaller shop who I trust.

 

[Undawada]

I support my LFS, in fact, I reccomend it to everyone I know in the area.

I take two buses for a total round trip of about 2 hours to go there, instead of a Wal-Mart and Petsmart which are much closer.

I go there even for trivial purchases, even though it's more expensive on the most part. Why? Because they have knowledgeable staff and have to pay them more (I hope) to keep them there.

Basically, I'd rather take more time and pay more money to keep a good store in business. If you take your business to a cheaper, but lower quality store, don't exect your favorite higher priced store to stay in business.