Who needs wholesalers/LFS/etailers, let's do a group buy

[Anonymous]

I don't think they are destroying their customer base. There are very few retailers that will choose a wholesaler on principle - especially when that wholesaler has something they want.

Pet stores buy from a number of wholesalers. If a wholesaler sells to the public, it makes a *big* differenc on how much the store will purchase from that wholesaler, if anything is purchased.

IME there are very few retailers that seem to care. They complain, but still shop there.
I guess it also depends on what 'selling to the public' means. I don't know of a single wholesaler that you can go to on your own if you don't own a fish business.
I do know some that sometimes let customers bring customers to shop with them. I am not sure how much impact there is from a store bringing a customer to help out and to pick some stuff at a wholesaler. Is that really that different from bringing a customers wish list to the wholesaler?

As pet store owners we chose how much to buy from each wholesaler. How those wholesalers coduct bussiness makes a *big* difference on how much and how often we purchase from them.

I don't think you can paint with that broad a brush. Like I was saying originally, I think that the pet store owners/manangers who care enough to change their buying patterns are few and far between. Most are looking for the best deal or the best stock and don't care who else shops there as long as they get what they want/need. Many are trying to make a 'living' and don't seem to have the time to cherry pick a vendor based on conduct, rather they act in terms of convenience.
It seems to me that if the bulk of shops did care, this wouldn't be a issue.

 

[Rascal]

I don't agree. I believe the store DO care. I think the reason this isn't a huge issue with stores is because it isn't a huge deal at the wholesalers...not on my coast at least.

There is stiff competition for the cherrys at the wholesalers, and yes, we are all looking for a deal. But in all my time in this industry I have never heard of this issue being a threat to my store or any of the other LFS's. As far as a store toting a good customer, well I'm not too worried about that either. Again I just don't see it happening enough to be a threat to my business. Ya gotta think that if the store that was bringing their own customers to the wholesaler was doing so to NOT make a profit, that they wouldn't be around for very long...not even bad business, just stupid.

If this happens to be a west coast thing, I'd like to know. I also wouldn't mind hearing from Eric on this one.

 

[WayneSallee]

IME there are very few retailers that seem to care. They complain, but still shop there.
I guess it also depends on what 'selling to the public' means. I don't know of a single wholesaler that you can go to on your own if you don't own a fish business.
I do know some that sometimes let customers bring customers to shop with them. I am not sure how much impact there is from a store bringing a customer to help out and to pick some stuff at a wholesaler. Is that really that different from bringing a customers wish list to the wholesaler?

I'm not refering to bringing a customer to help out.

I don't think you can paint with that broad a brush. Like I was saying originally, I think that the pet store owners/manangers who care enough to change their buying patterns are few and far between. Most are looking for the best deal or the best stock and don't care who else shops there as long as they get what they want/need. Many are trying to make a 'living' and don't seem to have the time to cherry pick a vendor based on conduct, rather they act in terms of convenience.
It seems to me that if the bulk of shops did care, this wouldn't be a issue.

Have you actualy poled pet store owners to get this oppinion?
That's sure not what I hear from other pet store owners.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets
[email protected]

 

[Anonymous]

IME there are very few retailers that seem to care. They complain, but still shop there.
I guess it also depends on what 'selling to the public' means. I don't know of a single wholesaler that you can go to on your own if you don't own a fish business.
I do know some that sometimes let customers bring customers to shop with them. I am not sure how much impact there is from a store bringing a customer to help out and to pick some stuff at a wholesaler. Is that really that different from bringing a customers wish list to the wholesaler?

I'm not refering to bringing a customer to help out.

I realize that. That is why I said that it depends on what 'selling to the public' means. What does it mean to you?

I don't think you can paint with that broad a brush. Like I was saying originally, I think that the pet store owners/manangers who care enough to change their buying patterns are few and far between. Most are looking for the best deal or the best stock and don't care who else shops there as long as they get what they want/need. Many are trying to make a 'living' and don't seem to have the time to cherry pick a vendor based on conduct, rather they act in terms of convenience.
It seems to me that if the bulk of shops did care, this wouldn't be a issue.

Have you actualy poled pet store owners to get this oppinion?
That's sure not what I hear from other pet store owners.

Have you polled store owners to get your opinion? Nope? Neither have I.
I am relating what I see and hear in my neck of the woods same as you.
Not polling doesn't make your experience, nor mine, any less valid.

 

[Anonymous]

Locally, I can name two Rich, and there's only 4.5 Both are on the down low, and NAA does business with one. One, a certain notorious one, used to sell HEAVY on the weekends, like LA, to off set weekend DAA. Dunno if they still do it, I've only been to that hole once. Some even offer stuff on Craigslist, under other names.

 

[Anonymous]

Locally, I can name two Rich, and there's only 4.5 Both are on the down low, and NAA does business with one. One, a certain notorious one, used to sell HEAVY on the weekends, like LA, to off set weekend DAA. Dunno if they still do it, I've only been to that hole once. Some even offer stuff on Craigslist, under other names.

Wow. Thats super lame.
If this was known generally do you think that people would stop giving them business? I don't.

 

[Anonymous]

Nope, I sure don't, price is right, LFS don't care IME. Most people know about the notorious one, they do far more then just sell to the public. Yah want a leopard shark, talk to them Hint, it's not DSD.

 

[Anonymous]

Nope, I sure don't, price is right, LFS don't care IME. Most people know about the notorious one, they do far more then just sell to the public. Yah want a leopard shark, talk to them Hint, it's not DSD.

I figured that is who you were talking about. I thought all of that stopped. Maybe it has. Maybe I'll go there next weekend and see whats up.

 

[dizzy]

Nope, I sure don't, price is right, LFS don't care IME.

You guys are nuts. About the same percentage of retailers don't care, as the percentage of guys who don't care when they find out someone is doinking their wife.

 

[Anonymous]

Nope, I sure don't, price is right, LFS don't care IME.

You guys are nuts. About the same percentage of retailers don't care, as the percentage of guys who don't care when they find out someone is doinking their wife.

If they care, it doesn't seem to change their buying habbits.

 

[clarionreef]

Actually, I think we're seeing a shift in the % of people who care enough to act on their professed concern.
The public...far and away has the most careless, selfish and cavalier attitude.
They have pressured for nothing...they have demanded nothing.
They have rewarded he worst kind of behavior and supported a non furure for us all.
Clearly, the salvation of the reefs and the trade cannot be driven by the publics non-demand, public non preference for moral choices and public non insistance on sustainable well handled livestock.
It is upon this faulty premise that the entire MAC movement of consumer manipulation and influence rests.
The wrong end was adressed.
The field end is the relevant end...not the consumer end.
The field end can reform regardless of Western consumer sentiment.
The field end can reform for their own more important and immediate reasons and not wait for us to ever engineer enough caring people to put their money where their shallow, phoney pretentions to ethics are.
The public comments here underscore this. The non interest in MAC beyond stickers and deodorant prove this.
The Walmartization of the trade is driving compassion in the opposite direction.
Filipinos and Indonesians are the only ones who can really run their own affairs for good and forever.
We can help...but there is only so much you can achieve from this weak, distant, low price driven position so far from the real world.
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Nope, I sure don't, price is right, LFS don't care IME.

You guys are nuts. About the same percentage of retailers don't care, as the percentage of guys who don't care when they find out someone is doinking their wife.

Your nuts :lol: You have no idea of our local LFS environment, you speak for none of them Mitch :roll: This company I speak about gets a BOAT load of sales daily. Why? P R I C E, not quality, not facility, PURELY P R I C E. How do I know, I competed against them for a long time, and I know a huge chunk of the Bar Area LFS owners. Every local knows whats the deal with the place, and they still bring in loads of cash. Heck, you should see the cars they drive :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

BTW Mitch, how many stores are in your area? We got 50+ that sell marine/fresh, and even more that are only fresh in the greater bay area. That's not counting the chains!!

 

[dizzy]

There is not many left around here. I heard one that opened up in Evansville, Ind only lasted 6-months. The left coast retailers can transship in and don't need the wholesalers anyway. I think the retailers in the heartland and small market areas are struggling.

 

[Anonymous]

They can transship, but many don't for all the reasons that transshipping is a hassle, not a panacea (I am getting tired of the DAA's). Its so convienient to drive down to the wholesalers.

I would bet that most of the stores in our area are struggling, and I even think that having 50+ of them makes it worse. We have a bunch of not so great stores sucking the traffic from the better ones, and we it seems we have a new one open ever month (and close or change owners).

 

[WayneSallee]

Nope, I sure don't, price is right, LFS don't care IME.

You guys are nuts. About the same percentage of retailers don't care, as the percentage of guys who don't care when they find out someone is doinking their wife.

Your nuts :lol: You have no idea of our local LFS environment, you speak for none of them Mitch :roll: This company I speak about gets a BOAT load of sales daily. Why? P R I C E, not quality, not facility, PURELY P R I C E. How do I know, I competed against them for a long time, and I know a huge chunk of the Bar Area LFS owners. Every local knows whats the deal with the place, and they still bring in loads of cash. Heck, you should see the cars they drive :lol:

Yea it is true that those in California have lower values.

But for most states, I agree with dizzy.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets
[email protected]

 

[WayneSallee]

There is not many left around here. I heard one that opened up in Evansville, Ind only lasted 6-months. The left coast retailers can transship in and don't need the wholesalers anyway. I think the retailers in the heartland and small market areas are struggling.

What opened up in Evansville?

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets
[email protected]

 

[dizzy]

I don't know. I never met them. I just had a customer tell me about them going under. The other all salt stores up there are not doing so hot either. The customer that told me about Evansville used to work at one of them and stays in pretty close touch.

 

[Anonymous]

There was a guy that opened up not too long around here who's main focus was price. - And he had very, very low prices too...


Thankfully, he's not around anymore either!

 

[dcamp]

Main Stream Aquatics was the last one to go under around here that I know of and that was a couple years ago. He lasted about a year. A hobbiest who was going to "put all us crooks out of business". Then he found out all the things most customers never see or realize about what it takes to run a LFS.