dizzy":1bqogppv said:
JennM":1bqogppv said:
I think the local reef club has *maybe* 300, and most of those bought a membership for a discount card that affords them a discount from 'sponsor' stores - usually 10%.
Jenn
Jenn,
I think some might give a better discount than that. I went around to a few stores when I drove down to Orlano for the APPMA show last year. This was apparently before kalk had the largest selection of cultured clams and acros
in the world. :roll: If you exit his store and go left, and then turn right a few blocks up there is a store on the right next to the Petsmart. The store was nice and the staff knowledgeable. I told him I was a retailer just passing though and did not try and trick him. Anyway the guy told me they gave club members upwards of 25% discount. I was shocked and he admitted it was too high, but seemed to indicate other stores did as well. Perhaps a lot has changed in 18 months or so.
Mitch
Mitch, that store recently restructured its discount structure with the club. There was a TON of backlash...
Here's the initial thread where the changes were announced:
http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/showt ... h+discount
The outcry was ridiculous. I don't usually post on that forum anymore but I got so pissed off at the sense of entitlement that people who buy essentially a $20 discount card were making, I actually came out of lurkdom to spill off. The thread eventually got locked, but the store made changes, including its store hours. It ticks me off that a small percentage of local hobbyists think (and apparently succeeded) in telling a store how they can run and how they can price things.
Here's the follow up with 'changes':
http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/showt ... h+discount
In short, they're only offering the discount now during the week and Sat. from 10-12 - which in my experience are times that are typically slow. They're offering 30% on livestock and 20% on dry goods.
I don't know how their base prices stack up against other stores' every day prices, but when people ask me if I offer a reef club discount and I say no, I haven't had anybody put back their stuff and leave. I simply explain that I don't think it's fair to offer cheaper prices to somebody who bought a $20 membership to a club - all customers pay the same. If a customer demonstrates outstanding loyalty and spends a significant dollar amount regularly, for some I give 10 % as a courtesy. Very few people on that list, and I don't think any of them belong to the club (or any club).
For that store it was a calculated risk - on one hand the extra discount is a bigger attraction for card-carrying members to spend their dollars at their store, versus the other sponsor stores. However in the bigger picture, club members make up a small percentage of the overall customer base.
However if I was a customer and I saw the guy in line in front of me paying 20-30% less for the same stuff, I'd be pissed. Just speculation on my part but by limiting the discounting hours to slow times, it's less likely that you're going to have a full-price customer witness a fat discount if it's during a low-traffic time at the store.
I recently saw one of their sale flyers for a truckload sale and some of their posted sale prices were comparable to my everyday prices... so it's all relative.
Jenn
Since when is the USF&WS involved in domestic flights from HI?
