How do most of you shop?

I buy from everyone. Wholesalers, online, trade shows, in the stores.

 

it is nice to keep it local but if you find it a bit cheaper online its nice to. ive ben going to my LFS for the past 2 months every single friday. id buy little stuff here and there and then i would buy one rock about 1 or 2 pounds and as i went in more and spent a bit the owner of the shop started giving me small discounts like maybe 1 or 2 dollars on small stuff and a few more on other more expensive stuff. i went in yesterday to look at their O clowns and told him i was going to buy 2 of them tomorrow and he told me to talk to him when i went in so we could negotiate a price so im happy.

 

Having a great relationship with a LFS is priceless. I go to the LFS down the street often and you really get to know the employees. Last week the employee talked to his boss about a McCosker's wrasse that I wanted. I came back later that day and he took $15 off the original price!

 

So far, I have not been impressed with the two LFS around me. High prices, poor livestock. I've had much better luck ordering online (marine depot is "local", so standard shipping arrives next day!) both equipment and livestock.

 

For me it is quite simple. Equipment and dry good I buy online, because it is ALWAYS cheaper. Livestock I ALWAYS buy at the LFS or some other local venue because I like to actually see what I am getting before I get it. Plus, my LFS will wheel and deal with me because I go in so often. If I ever had problems with my tank they know my name and would be eager to help me. You can't get that if you never buy anything from them.

I'm curious to know where people are getting livestock online cheaper then their LFS. Something tells me that some of your LFSs are charging you ridiculous prices.

 

I try to stay local with buying fish around me, but buyeverything else online

 

some of the lfs do charge ridiculous prices. i got three blue legged hermits for 1.50 each ive sheen them online for like .45 but the thing that cost is the shipping. and at that same shop for the red legged ones they are 4.00. but still you get to see what your getting and online you dont.

 

I buy at the lfs, you see what your getting, I buy things on sale unless I really need it then I buy it. If everyone bought online only the stores would go out of business and when you need something immediately because of an emergency you'd be screwed. Plus when you buy online and you get the wrong thing or something arrives dead it takes time to send it back and wait for the new item and sometimes the online retailer is a pain too deal with, so much easier when the store is a short drive away. You don't really pay that much more after the shipping charges are added.

 

Though I just got started 3 months ago, I have already found that buying locally is for me. A lot can go wrong in transit I suppose and I hate having to wait for the packages and paying shipping fees when I could be doing something else. And I have found it's just a lot nicer to see the things you buy in person! Maybe it's just because I got burned once buying online but haven't had any problems locally. I guess it depends on what you can find near you though. I'm pretty lucky to have a lot of aquarium stores near me.

I searched all around my city for marine/aquarium/fish stores and picked which stores I wanted to buy from after visiting as many as I could. There are only about 2 or 3 that I would buy from on a regular basis and one of them sells a lot online as well. Those online stores are local somewhere in the world.