POLL: What do you care the most about when buying livestock?

[AquaLocker]

This assumes healthy livestock and Arrive Alive Guarantee.

 

[stevenlu]

1. Lowest Prices
   1 vote(s)
   25.0%
2. *
   Warranty Availability
   2 vote(s)
   50.0%
3. 
   No Packing/Shipping Fees
   0 vote(s)
   0.0%
4. 
   Free Shipping
   0 vote(s)
   0.0%
5. 
   Free Livestock Items with Min. Purchase Amount
   0 vote(s)
   0.0%
6. 
   Reward Points
   0 vote(s)
   0.0%
7. 
   Company Reputation
   2 vote(s)
   50.0%
8. 
   Customer Service: Ability to Live Chat
   0 vote(s)
   0.0%
9. 
   Customer Service: Ability to Reach a Live Person via Phone
   0 vote(s)
   0.0%
   

The percentage add up to be 125%...

 

[samnaz]

Aquacultured or wild caught.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

I selected warranty availability as one of my three choices, but warranty terms and conditions would be more accurate in describing what I find important.

 

[Mark Gray]

For me I like warranty's and I hate it when they try and fix what is clearly broken

 

[BradB]

What's the difference between
No Packing/Shipping Fees
and
Free Shipping?

Does anyone really want to be promised free shipping and then get surprised by packing charges?

I don't understand live animals coming with a warranty. This comes with silly requirements to take pictures of dead things, arguing over if the pictures are taken correctly, if proper acclimation was followed to the letter, even when the box arrived stinking to high heaven. And knowing I paid more because the company reimbursed some idiot buying expert level livestock who threw it in an uncycled tank at double salinity.

 

[CMO]

100% fish health. IMO prices on many wild caught marine fish these days seem too low relative to the time and cost (including that of lost stock in transit) that must go into collecting them. I'd much rather purchase healthy fish at higher cost than all the diseased low cost stock we see today. I'd also love to see a supplier that takes pride in collection practices that ensure minimal loss of fish from the ocean to home aquarium. It seems like the fish industry has turned into a low cost volume game these days which is kind of sad considering the lives at stake. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the current landscape of the industry from my vantage point as a hobbyist.

 

[Fishie]

healthy fish > warranty (which is peace of mind) >=Company reputation (going above and beyond makes people always return)

 

[foxt]

I have had over 100 fish shipped to me, and have lost maybe 10% in shipping, maybe another 15% within a two week period of arrival. So 25% loss that was eventually covered by a warranty from sellers with very good reputations. There was only one vendor who gave me a hard time with issuing a credit, and he is well known for being a jerk and I had to take the loss myself. I should have paid more attention to his reputation and I did my part afterwards to let others know to not trust the guy.

I have at times had very specific questions about animals that I have received, and have been frustrated when dealing with some online sellers like Divers Den where you can not directly communicate with the people who are handing the fish. Smaller outfits such as LFS that also sells online will take the time to talk to you on the phone, and that can at times be critical to a purchase decision or for caring for the fish after I receive it.

So my vote is #1 for reputation, #2 for warranty, and #3 for being able to speak to a human about the fish.

 

[shoelaceike]

For an online store, it would be price and warranty. If the price is the same as the LFS and a bad or no warranty, I would much prefer to shop local where I can actually see the fish I'm buying.

 

[revhtree]

Picked my three!

 

[Greybeard]

If the animals arrive as expected, properly packed, and healthy, then I don't care one bit about warranty... as I'm not going to need it.

After all, the best warranty is one you never need.

Vendor reputation is critical in selecting a vendor. If they've got a bad reputation, I'm not buying from them, regardless of any other factors.

Prices, fees, and shipping are all the same thing... it's the bottom line of the invoice I'm interested in, how the dollars are spread around the page makes no difference. No doubt, price is important, but it's not a deciding factor for me.

I sure wish it was so, but 'healthy animals' are NOT assumed. In fact, from past experience, I assume if I'm ordering online, that the animals will NOT be healthy. I rarely order animals online, and when I do, it's mostly clean up crew type stuff. I DO NOT order fishes online, and very rarely order corals online. Experience is a harsh teacher... and I've learned my lesson.

 

[Pjhjr]

Accurate and realistic pictures of Corals so they don't look disappointing in our tank. We delete sites when the color in the name they give the coral doesn't match the colors in their photo or the photos don't match what we know the coral really looks like. Naming a coral "Green and Pink _____ when the picture shows a dramatic Blue and Red coral because of lighting and photo shopping is dishonest and dumb. Either the name or the picture is inaccurate. This seems so obviously bad for repeat business it makes me wonder about their overall common sense and ethics. We have unfortunately bought corals for their vibrant red or blue colors from heavily advertized online sites which are shades of brown under our Ecotech Gen 3 Pro lights which makes us disappointed, angry, and feeling inept. And now we have corals we don't want taking up space in our tank.

 

[Sunny Goold]

I feel information on the source of the livestock is critical. Is the frag a piece of a recently wild collected colony or has it been aquacultured so I have a much better chance of it thriving in my tank? Has the fish been collected using cyanide? Is it sustainable or are they destroying the reef to collect it. Reputation includes some of that but only the end of the chain really. So the animal's health is covered - it's healthy - but I would love to know more of the animals story.

 

[ThunderGoose]

Health, aquacultured or captive reproduction, method and location of wild collection. I'll pay more for quality product.

 

[PhreeByrd]

I can't say I care about any of those things. I mean, I don't want to pay $200 for a $50 fish, but beyond that, none of those things matter. The only thing that matters to me is getting the fish I want in perfect health. So unless I see the fish in person, watch it eat, watch it swim around and do its thing, I'm not buying it. When buying sight unseen, health can never be assumed.

Really, there is no fish I want that my LFS doesn't have or can't order in, so there is no advantage to me to mail order fish and have them shipped halfway across the country by the apes at UPS or FedEx. And if I had to, I'd gladly drive a couple hours to a different LFS for that 'special' livestock item and chauffeur it home in heated/air conditioned comfort.

 

[greg 45]

Getting the product that you ordered . I ordered 3 gigantee anemones and received 3 green hadoni anemones. I called and told them they were incorrect. Next you needed pictures , you stated they weren't clear enough. Sent in more cell phone pictures still not good enough. Next we had to check with the resident anemone expert , then the ware house manager. I told them in a text I was done , yes I am stating fact , they were happy at that point so that they didn't have to deal with me. Why should I give in when I am correct and was able to back up my statements as to what the nem sent was . I told the gal on the phone how to identify anemones by the blue dots on gig's. I was so ticked off by this drama I asked for the sanitations expert to look as he might know more. Well to say the least I was told I was harsh. After that I received a e / stating that I was a scammer and was not allowed to purchase from them , signed the owner not even a persons name attached. Then the gal ask what I wanted them to correct the sight. No I would like what I purchased. This is what happened in my opinion. I know this is going to get deleted , hopefully I can safe some one else from this .

 

[Crabs McJones]

Happy, healthy fish, And a company that is easily reached, responds, and is willing to back up that product. So I selected warranty, and both customer service options.

 

[DSC reef]

Getting the product that you ordered . I ordered 3 gigantee anemones and received 3 green hadoni anemones. I called and told them they were incorrect. Next you needed pictures , you stated they weren't clear enough. Sent in more cell phone pictures still not good enough. Next we had to check with the resident anemone expert , then the ware house manager. I told them in a text I was done , yes I am stating fact , they were happy at that point so that they didn't have to deal with me. Why should I give in when I am correct and was able to back up my statements as to what the nem sent was . I told the gal on the phone how to identify anemones by the blue dots on gig's. I was so ticked off by this drama I asked for the sanitations expert to look as he might know more. Well to say the least I was told I was harsh. After that I received a e / stating that I was a scammer and was not allowed to purchase from them , signed the owner not even a persons name attached. Then the gal ask what I wanted them to correct the sight. No I would like what I purchased. This is what happened in my opinion. I know this is going to get deleted , hopefully I can safe some one else from this .

I'm confused about the statement that this is going to get deleted, are you referring that this was a transaction with fishy buisness? Why not start a thread on the vendor feedback if your concerened????

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

My personal biggest barrier is shipping cost. I can't justify paying $40 for shipping. Liveaquaria lowering their threshold to $100 has been really enticing, but I'm such a cheapskate that I rarely spend that much in one sitting.