Live Aquaria sold

jasonrusso · Jul 17, 2020

NeonRabbit221B said:
Hmm any clue on the time table for an announcement? Does that mean the end for petcos salt water section?

Petco was selling SW fish before they bought Foster and Smith. That won't change.

When they bought F&S (which was a great company for my dogs and cats) they also bought LA. Maybe they don't want that headache.

jasonrusso · Jul 17, 2020

ca1ore said:
I cannot think of many that have tripled .... care to provides some examples? Doubled, yes. Some as a result of reduced flights thus higher freight cost.

I've seen Blue Tangs for $200 on Divers Den. I don't mind paying a premium for DD fish, but some prices are crazy.

CoralVue_Marketing · Jul 18, 2020

LiveAquaria said:
As LiveAquaria® celebrates its 20th Anniversary, we want to take this opportunity to share important news to you, our loyal and valued LiveAquaria® customers:

Petco has entered into an agreement to sell LiveAquaria® to an independent company who is eager to take our brand to exciting new levels! The sale is scheduled to close in late July. The entire LiveAquaria team at our headquarters in Rhinelander, Wisconsin will continue in their same positions and roles with the new organization.

My role as LiveAquaria Director continues and increases as a stakeholder with the new ownership group. I am very excited to help lead our dedicated and passionate team to new levels. We look forward to an exciting future as we pursue new and innovative ways to ensure you, our valued customers, receive the best customer service, brand-name products, and the highest quality aquatic life you've grown accustomed to with LiveAquaria®.

Again, thank you for your loyal patronage.

Sincerely,
Kevin Kohen
LiveAquaria Director

We are excited to see the next chapter! Congrats.

ca1ore · Jul 19, 2020

jasonrusso said:
I've seen Blue Tangs for $200 on Divers Den. I don't mind paying a premium for DD fish, but some prices are crazy.

My point, perhaps not made clearly enough, is that hyperbole/exaggeration simply weakens arguments. I fully agree that $200 is excessive for a hippo tang .... but a good sized one hadn’t been $65 in many years. The airline industry is in for a tough time for a significant period of time, so how freight costs will move are somewhat hard to predict thus fish prices too. By July of a typical year I’d have logged close to 50,000 miles .... this year it’s about 3,000, all in January. Don’t see that changing materially until 2022 .... and all of my sky-warrior friends are similarly grounded.

Kearneyc77 · Jul 19, 2020

Unfortunately not all Petco have a reliable salt water experienced employee managing their salt/fresh stock. I used to omhave one and he helped get me started. He left and their tanks went south. I don’t trust anything from my store but dry goods and frozen food.

WiscoFishNut · Jul 19, 2020

Being a Wisconsin resident I'm really happy the HQ will remain in Rhinelander! I'm not sure if they allow it, but I think it would be really cool to take a tour of the facility(assuming they breed fish there). A 2.5 hour drive for picking up livestock would be pretty sweet if they have a retail desk

jasonrusso · Jul 19, 2020

ca1ore said:
My point, perhaps not made clearly enough, is that hyperbole/exaggeration simply weakens arguments. I fully agree that $200 is excessive for a hippo tang .... but a good sized one hadn’t been $65 in many years. The airline industry is in for a tough time for a significant period of time, so how freight costs will move are somewhat hard to predict thus fish prices too. By July of a typical year I’d have logged close to 50,000 miles .... this year it’s about 3,000, all in January. Don’t see that changing materially until 2022 .... and all of my sky-warrior friends are similarly grounded.

Other than telling me that I said something wrong, what was the point of your post??

The shipping prices haven't changed. It's harder to get fish right now because of less shipping routes, but that doesn't mean that the price has gone up.

Ippyroy · Jul 19, 2020

I have gotten several order from LA and they were shipped when I asked and they all arrived happy and healthy. I am looking forward to continuing doing business with them for years to come.

lavoisier · Jul 19, 2020

What really irked me was that they advertised free shipping at a particular price point then charged a box fee!

Box fees are fine but don't claim the shipping is free. I too had spent thousands over the years with LA but with Petco's purchase, raising prices, and box fees, I have gone elsewhere. I am eager to see what Kevin Kohen and the new owners have in store for us.

jasonrusso · Jul 19, 2020

lavoisier said:
What really irked me was that they advertised free shipping at a particular price point then charged a box fee! Box fees are fine but don't claim the shipping is free. I too had spent thousands over the years with LA but with Petco's purchase, raising prices, and box fees, I have gone elsewhere. I am eager to see what Kevin Kohen and the new owners have in store for us.

Box fees and extraneous fees in any situation irk me. Just add $10 to the price of the fish!!

OrionN · Jul 19, 2020

For any business the animal, shipping, box and packing cost. If you buy enough then they can recoup the cost from the profit of the sale. There is just no way the buyers not pay for these cost one way or the other. The business charges these cost however it is best for them and we, as buyer, need to take these into account when we order the fish.
I always consider what is the final price I have to pay for the animal to get him into my tank, how likely is he to live through the process and make my decision accordingly, what recourse I have if he does not.
LA need to make a profit to stay in business. They need to make a living and put their kids though college too. If the price come to something I am not willing to pay then I just won't order it.
DD sold a Peppermint Angel to too long ago deliver to the buyer's aquarium. I would have love to have the little angel delivered to me, but I am not in the financial position where I can afford it.
DD need to be in business to be able to do this. That Peppermint angel was an extreme case, but I know that without LA and DD, there are a lot of animals I will never able to get because I don't live in California or New York. I would love for LA and DD to survive and thrive so my option of getting some of these rarer animals would not be severely limited.

Mr_Knightley · Jul 19, 2020

I have to say I'm happy for Kevin and the team. I'm exited to see who made the purchase! This will be something I keep an eye out for.

lavoisier · Jul 19, 2020

OrionN said:
For any business the animal, shipping, box and packing cost. If you buy enough then they can recoup the cost from the profit of the sale. There is just no way the buyers not pay for these cost one way or the other. The business charges these cost however it is best for them and we, as buyer, need to take these into account when we order the fish.
I always consider what is the final price I have to pay for the animal to get him into my tank, how likely is he to live through the process and make my decision accordingly, what recourse I have if he does not.
LA need to make a profit to stay in business. They need to make a living and put their kids though college too. If the price come to something I am not willing to pay then I just won't order it.
DD sold a Peppermint Angel to too long ago deliver to the buyer's aquarium. I would have love to have the little angel delivered to me, but I am not in the financial position where I can afford it.
DD need to be in business to be able to do this. That Peppermint angel was an extreme case, but I know that without LA and DD, there are a lot of animals I will never able to get because I don't live in California or New York. I would love for LA and DD to survive and thrive so my option of getting some of these rarer animals would not be severely limited.

Like I said, box fees are fine. Just don't advertise free shipping...

NashobaTek · Jul 19, 2020

I have to say that one thing I like about saltwater fish is you get freebies if you order so much, they have a box fee and free shipping as well. I have been happy with them and see no reason to buy from LA until I know for sure who they are tied to now. I refused to buy from them because of the Petco and UPS tie.

RevMH · Jul 19, 2020

I'm happy to see @LiveAquaria come in and comment. Good luck, everyone. I hope the transition goes smoothly.

Ippyroy · Jul 19, 2020

I don't mind the box fee. I got three boxes delivered for 5 fish and only paid one box fee. I just wished I could mail it back so they could reuse them. I hate the styrofoam. I would gladly pay an extra 5 bucks per box just to have a return label to mail the empty box and styrofoam back.

Reef Box · Jul 19, 2020

Someone may have already made these points but I'm going to go ahead and share my experiences. I live in an area with very few LFS, one being pretty close the other being far enough away that I'll only pop in if I have another reason to be in the area. The prices are reasonable and I'll likely buy a fish (or other purchase) if they have what I'm looking for and it looks healthy. Petco stores are no different IMO. If I'm looking for something and they have it at a reasonable price I'll pick it up. IDK if it's just my Petco but I have seen a lot of posts trashing Petco stores in general. I actually have always had good experiences with them from my tank needs to grooming our dogs. And again I have had DOA from LA and DD, none that would make me stop buying from them. Their customer service has always been reasonable and I have gotten plenty of nice fish from them.

I guess my point is that if I'm looking for something I will go to Petco, my LFS or LA/ DD. Whoever have it at a fair deal will get my business after I weigh out the shipping, box charge, chances of DOA etc. I don't think that's extraordinary, I feel like thats what most of us do. Also a solid QT practice is essential no matter where you get your livestock from... even from a friend with a "clean tank".

Ippyroy · Jul 19, 2020

I don't understand why people trash Petco yet they continue to shop at Walmart and use Amazon. I have quit using Amazon since january and have not shopped at a Walmart in over 12 years, yet I have used LiveAquaria and Petco many times.