In this video there is Business advice that you don't get in school. Honestly thinking about running and maintenance aspects is not just exclusive to pet stores; yet again great video mate. Took me through my cardio :)
These are my favorite kind of videos. I play them when I'm working in the fish room doing filter maintenance and water changes. Keep them coming! Love the rants. Love the Q&A, and miss the Real Fish Talk.
I love fish keeping and anything that has to do with fish. I too am contemplating opening a store in my town, we have petco/petsmart and two mom and pop shops. The mom and pop shops are always dirty and also sell used equipment and tanks. They are very nice people and knowledgeable in fish keeping, which is why I keep going back, but other than that, those places are not good. You pretty much hit the nail on the head about fish store keeping, I dont know much about business but I understand exactly what you are talking about when it comes to cleanliness and customer service being a big part of it. Smaller would be better in terms of store place, just maximize the space. Cory, I watch you on RU-vid and sometimes think that you're a know it all, but damn it man, I totally respect you and you know exactly what you're talking about, no BS. For this reason, I will always support you in any way I can and take your advice first over any of my LFS. I live in Bakersfield California by the way, I'm not sure why that matters lol. I'm watching this whole thing completely and taking notes, this really interests me. I'm gonna like and share it.
You have to be able to stock a good range of accessory products. That's just a business thing. A potential fish keeper is going to need a lot more than a glass bowl and a couple of fish. Get a good range of products available and make yourself indispensable, have a social media presence and use that to advertise and also to post tips and tricks to help amateur fish keepers. New fish keepers are joing the hobby every day and it's easy to forget that they need some of the most basic information that you may have acquired decades ago.
I live in a nice area with only one pet mom and pop pet store (all the others are petco or petsmart) and it is dirty and the fish tanks are kind of gross but they are the only people that have crickets for my lizards at a good price. I only go there for crickets and they have plenty of staff I don't know why its so dirty and smelly. The cages are pretty clean but it always stinks, and not the normal smell of animales more like they clean up poop but dont really clean stuff out.
My Dad always said, "Don't order a hamburger at a Chinese Food Restaurant." Cory, I live just outside of Edmonton, Alberta Canada. There is a Big Al's, many PetSmart stores, I think around five other lfs's then several more within reach. On top of this there are three (that I know of) home based fish rooms. Most of the local shops, what you may call Small business or Mom and Pop are well established and actually fit between the LFS and the big box. The home based fish rooms tend to use the big box stores to supply their customers with heavy buly products and meds etc. They sell you fish, plants and other odds and ends. Their fish tend to be healthy, and the selection diverse. As a consumer I bounce between probably four shops. I spoke to two managers at PetSmart s about the negative rep they have at times, yet both that I go to have really good fish, knowledgeable fish room folks, I enjoy going there because they take the time to talk. I asked why some are so bad and others so good. So the two I frequent are smaller stores, apparently no matter the size of the PetSmart, they hire the same number of employees, not the entire reason but understanding is not helpful. The two places I like best, will always stop and talk, unless they are crazy busy, talking about fish, keeps me in the store and I almost always pick up another item or two that I remembered while I was talking. America is also very far ahead of Canada when it comes to online purchases. For example, I could go online if I lived down there and still buy online and support you. Here not so easy to find good online outlets that will deliver to your door outside of Amazon. I think many of us are rushing, you know with the economy with both people working, sometimes you swallow the shipping and order online because you get tired of running around. True fish folks like to go in and see fish, talk to someone about fish. I'm a fly Fisher, the most successful shops are clean, well stocked and the owners and employees like to talk. Fishermen like to talk, fish people like to talk, anyone who is an enthusiast likes to talk. Cleanliness is also a big indicator. If you can't clean your bathroom, what is it that you are also not seeing, what else is being missed. Great video Cory! Love it! An eye opener!
I can only speak for the UK but good local fish stores are thriving. The majority of experienced fish keepers will insist upon a trusted and reputable local store. It's clear as day that big chain stores are incapable of caring for their stock and customers will inevitably bring home a sickly fish that will potentially nuke their community. Where local stores will struggle is with the floor space. They just wont be able to offer the extended range of products that a chain store can offer.
Very true. It doesn't take long for us to learn to avoid the chain stores over here. Every time you walk in half of the tanks are blacked out with a sign on them that says "These fish are undergoing treatment" usually because someone has pointed out that there are five dead fish on the bottom, so they turn off the lights and blast the tank with chemicals and magic for 24 hours and then put the fish back up for sale the next day.
Yep, they love that one. I have no idea what that's all about. I've done that all myself but if I could go back in time I'd refuse to share my info and just walk out. Data protection is so important these days, so why does a pet shop need all of my info to sell me a few Danios? It's ridiculous.
My biggest gripe with local fish stores in the UK hasn't been the lack of floorspace, it's the empty shelves, and the shelves that are fully stocked are full of outdated equipment and supermarket grade foods that no fishkeeper who knows what they're doing would touch. For example there are so many small fish stores that don't have things like a selection of bogwood, or plant growing substrates... the exact type of things that I don't want to have to buy online.
I've been on a binge of your videos. Setting up my new tank and you're constantly talking to me the entire time. It's pretty awesome to have someone this passionate and informative in your ear with seemingly endless quality videos one after the other. This stream is great and now I want to see Cory going from LFS to LFS like a super chill Gorden Ramsey filming "Fish Store Nightmares." Quality content like always. You have me wanting to open a fish store. Haha
I'm glad you decided to stay on youtube. This rant makes me appreciate my local fish store more. He does such a good job and ticks all the boxes for what you can want in a fish shop.
Deborah that is just great right? I love finding good stores. Do you ever leave good comments online? I never used to, then I was at an amazing Sushi Bar and had the most fun, best food, I decided to leave a good comment online. About six weeks later while I was having lunch I get a notification that someone commented on my review. I went and looked, the comment said, "Hey we are here now! You are right, great food and the guy entertaining is hilarious. I commented back to enjoy and they commented back, "We will!" Same things happened with a review for a Mexican resort. You actually make a difference. Glad you found a great shop!
You're a powerful speaker. Your videos are beyond amazing. I don't even want to open a fish store yet I'm halfway through the video. I live in Washington and I'm excited to come visit your store once the restrictions are lifted.
By far one of my favorite streams of all time. Whenever I need inspiration I come back to this. It came out right while I was purchasing my store and it always gives me revitalized inspiration.
This is probably the best talk on managing your business I’ve heard. This along with breeding for profit series has become such a great resource for my wife and I to supplement our income by breeding for our local store.
“Clean your bathroom”. Jordan Peterson says, “tidy your bedroom”. You’re becoming the JP of LFS. Love your channel and I’ve learned and learning so much from watching your posts. Thanks from New Zealand 🇳🇿
As a total beginner the biggest turn off of local fish shops to me was staff that seemed annoyed I was asking for help. I live close by to a few good rated shops with great selection etc. but awful customer service. I now drive an hour to Aprils Aquarium where the staff is incredibly helpful and really seem to enjoy it.
This is my bar none favorite rant/video you've done. I am spending my afternoon cleaning my fishroom & office while you rant at me about cleanliness. Fantastic
I'm 45 minutes in this video and love it! usually don't want your live streams over a hours and just love every aspect that you are talking about. I come from a family business and there's a lot of aspects that are small but so important, the bathroom cleaning being one haha. has to be done and be overall a good experience. Thank you
My local family owned fish/small pet store recently shut down after 30+ years of business after their 18 year old son committed suicide by a cobra bite. Strange as it sounds it was all over the news and very tragic. We really miss that store and hope the family is doing okay.
Many wise words Cory. I especially enjoyed your take on stores that are closed Sundays + their environment is dirty. The mom&pop where I live operates that way, frustrating to watch it in action.
Very good point. The reason I am not happy buying fish from the local fish stores is I have not seen ONE store quarantine their fish before they sell and they are selling sick fish.
I wish that I could like this video more than once. Also, my LFS is an atrocious dump. Cloudy water, fin rot, fin clamp, ich, ich and more ich, dead fish in every tank. They share nets between tanks. They don't wash their hands, etc...I haven't seen their bathroom... They also serve cat and dog people--which I am one of those as well, this is irrelevant, except that they do everything not quite 100%. They sold a 2 gallon tank to a non-fish person, who is also my neighbor, and a nun, for $30. Standard rectangular tank. Not a kit. I was a bit appalled. All the prices are hiked up for dry goods, tanks, meds... All the fish are ill. I go in every few months in hope that some miracle fairy has flown in and place an epiphany up the owner's rear end. But alas no. So I either have to drive an hour to petsmart--which is limiting in quality and variety, or order online. But I would prefer to shop locally. I have an amazing local greenhouse that is a mecca, a go to place in the middle of winter. And to be honest I spend money in it every time, because they know about the plants, they have variety, they are lush and magical and the plants are healthy. Oh, and they are friendly and helpful. This is what a fish store should be as well. Knowledgeable, clean, magical in layout and display (i.e. live plants, etc.), and variety. Again, helpful too. In addition, a truly excellent local fish store is like any giant aquarium (i.e. Seattle Aquarium or Boston Aquarium--both of which I have been to). You get that feeling of looking into the heart of Mother Nature, of pulling back her skirted shoreline and being able to see the wonders of a different world within your own: air to water as it is. But with the amazing local fish store, you see possibility on a nano scale of being able to CREATE and OBSERVE for pleasure and education. Anyway, I dream of opening said fish store. I question the level of sanity in that dream. My husband questions my sanity: 10 aquariums in the house...But it is no different than having run my own small business in licensed massage and yoga instruction for 10 years and in two different states. You live the business and breathe it, if you are going to succeed. Someday, I shall have my yoga studio/massage studio with a greenhouse attached at the rear that houses aquariums and some of my extensive collection of terrestrial plants. OH, and don't even get me started about trying to get in decent aquatic plants, when you know well enough that the stuff you buy at Petsmart is all immersed and goes into shock the second it goes in for the first big submerged dunk. Sigh...Cory, this was an excellent talk. I respect what you do. I am also one of those customers waiting for plants to go back into stock on your website. I know how it is. In business. When you are succeeding, there is that uncomfortable period of the growing pains. Be well. Enjoy your fish. Enjoy your plants. Keep learning. We like to hear all about it. --from the center of the great rural state of Maine...
I currently own & operate a lawn service business here in Sarasota Florida... I'm getting too old to physically do the work anymore... I'm also 61 months sober so the daily pain is real...! I'm thinking in the next few years, I'm planning on either selling the lawn service or finding the right guy or crew to do that work, but I worry about the quality dropping if I'm not doing it... Then, I wanna open a fish store of my own, or I am friends with one of our local fish store owners and may be able to buy in/merge with him... I currently have over 50 tanks running, 2.5 fish rooms, where I breed a lot of fish for our two local stores... I haven't spent cash in quite a while at either one... Thanks again for more free brain learnin... Keep it up and go enjoy some nature today...!
I go to my LFS at least 2 times a week, and most visits end up in purchases. It's usually food or fish or maybe a small plant or something. At least 4-6 purchases every month. Recently I haven't been able to stop by/ shop at my LFS because of several issues. 1) I often stop by my LFS every weekend with my gf. I usually spend around an hour every visit. She is not into fish but she enjoys going to the store with me. Lately I spend less time in the store because of the bathroom issue. My gf hates the bathroom there as it is often dirty and filled with packaging materials. Listen to Cory and clean the bathrooms. 2) the store smells off. Everyone knows tanks don't smell like perfume but my LFS has started to stink. Maybe a dead fish behind the tanks or something. I donno what it is but they need to fix it. 3) lately, employees are not careful while netting fish. They often drop a lot of water on the floor and with people walking around, the store is quite filthy nowadays. And no-one bothers to clean regularly. I have seen people slip as well. 4) Understaffed on Friday and Saturday afternoons. Big mistake. I am very knowledgeable and usually don't need any help with questions. But I do need someone to bag the fish I chose. I don't mind doing it myself but it is against store policy. Sometimes I had to wait for at least an hour to get someone to bag my fish. Have left several times because I couldn't get service. 5) I have seen some families leave for the same reason. They can't get anyone to answer their questions and when one of the kids start crying, they leave without making a purchase. I have seen people wanting to get a whole tank leave because of lack of service. Once I got into trouble trying to answer a few questions for others waiting. 6) have a small seating area for family/ partners/ kids. It does wonders. And have a cute tank nearby with colourful fish the kids can look at while you shop. 7) again, clean the bloody bathroom.
It's kinda hard here in Hawaii with insane shipping rates, whenever I shop online I already treat it like we are international lol. I do go to my LFS, mostly to buy fish if they're in good health and what I've been waiting for. There are times I will buy products in store if it's not much more expensive than online, like I needed a filter and they had a AC50 for like $45 when it was $37 online so I just bought it, it would take like a week and i didnt feel like waiting. So it's really iffy... either wait a week at least (could be up to a month) but pay a cheaper price, or buy at the store and pay a lot more. However, theres like maybe 9 stores I visit and only 2 are dedicated to fish, and of those 2 only 1 specializes in only freshwater while the other excels at both (I believe they have staff who are knowledgeable in the respective departments but idk, I dont shop for saltwater lol). Each store also have varying prices on the same product, so a bottle of Prime can cost like $29 in one store and $18 in another store, so I pick favorites if the price is within reason compared to online. Kinda like how you say 10% is about the max, I'd probably say roughly the same in my opinion. I have a lot of options for healthy fish and plants, theres a solid aquarium society; we've a club and a couple social media groups. So I dont have to worry about going through the trouble of getting paperwork and permits, waiting for approval by DOA, and spending out the wazoo on priority shipping live fish all the way in the middle of the ocean lol. However, products are a different story and it probably has much to do with shipping costs, whether it will sell versus how much they buy wholesale, and then retail price accordingly.
My local store sells used stuff but they are smart and sell it at a price that is such a bargain that it creates a wave of people racing to the store to get that deal and thus bringing in people to the store itself
I'd say about 75% of the time I go to an LFS I leave empty handed. Sick fish, multiple tanks running on same filter, dead fish with fungus , employees hounding me because of commission and they rarely have the fish I want. I'm considering paying extra to buy fish online.
Only online - Sole caregiver/parent to a severely disabled teenager. There are weeks where I simply can't leave the house and I'm lucky if I can get away to go grocery shopping. If I could get out more I would probably wind up shopping the big chain pet stores. Our LFS are 80% salt water with a feeble fresh water selection and I am only interested in freshwater. LFS here don't interest me since I can get a better selection at Petco/Pet Smart/Pet Supermarket stores.
You sound like a really good manager. it was a pleasure working for organized managers that encouraged their employees, like me, to take initiative to correct things they find that are wrong. Thanks for all of the content.
I've literally watched 45 minutes and will finish the rest...ive have managed a fish store for years and have ran a pond business under the same ownership...ie not me....Corey you got the right idea and this applies to so many other retail businesses. Ive lived the struggles of comfort and habbits of said ownership as you have. I applaud your efforts and business mind set. The rest have been the demise of our local business and revenue, but the guys like you have persevered through the internet sales and found a way...its pretty simple...quality products competitive pricing, knowledgeable staff, and admitting your faults....awesome video and should be titled how to survive in a non necessitie business!
(1) I forwarded this to my contact at my LFS. They are wonderful and a destination stop for me, but there are a few things here that they drastically need your guidance on. Thanks for hopefully making my local mom and pop store more successful with your expertise. (2) You gave my Betta fish joy this morning. I've never tried a laser pointer and MAN did they like chasing the thing. It was hilarious. (3) I watched the replay in my pj's xo
I know a big pet store that used to have lots of plants and fish... but last time I went there, the prices were literally 2½ times the prices of the same stuff online!! AND they cut back in amount of plants. Not enough hair grass, not enough anubias... and the buce was just horrifyingly expensive. The dog and cat divisions were larger than they were before as well. I never ever go there again........
You have such a refreshing attitude towards business... and the fact that you re willing to share your experience and philosophy is commendable! Dispelling romantic notions of those ill-prepared for the rigors of small business ownership will be appreciated by those who listen! There is a great book "Customers for life" that you would love.
Have you heard of The Aquatic Critter in Nashville, TN? I have never seen a fish store so pristine and clean and all the bettas are in their own filtered enclosures. It's been here since the 80s.
I have to drive over an hour (past at least 3 Petsmarts and 2 Petcos) to a LFS. Then one opened 20 minutes from me! I was thrilled!!! They lasted 5 months. They should have had YOU for a mentor!!!!
"If your LFS is not quarantining fish they deserve to go out of business" = rough paraphrase, but yes totally agree, and yes mine did! They also went about pricing totally wrong IMO in trying to compete on price with the UK equivalent of Petco, when they should have been educating their customers about quality of stock, transportation methods(ref. care of fish during shipping to and from wholesalers to LFS, i.e. cheap is rarely also good), and of course quarantine. The quarantine period is also a great opportunity to condition the fish. In the UK your three meds combo is not legally possible, but they could certainly use aspects of it and selling fish that haven't been at least dewormed, fed good food and are looking their best is simply stupid. I don't know of a store within 50 miles of my home that properly quarantines - they all assume wholesalers do this and rely on massive central UV systems to fight disease. So fish get sick when you bring them home - but I've heard these jokers then convincing their inexperienced customer that THEY killed their fish. On both occasions when I've overheard this kinda thing and intervened, it turned out that the customer had a better quarantining set up than the fish store, and their quarantining had done exactly what it was supposed to in identifying a sick fish and protecting their existing stock. Guess where I buy my fish? Not from any local stores! Mostly I prefer to buy from fellow hobbyists with decent standards.
This has to be my all-time favorite stream. I mean it, this is my like fourth time watching it, because it is SO on target! I LOVE the rant about LFS but it applies to so many other types of businesses. People and their excuses and crappy attitudes and "Well, this is how we've always done it" make me want to scream. Think, try, listen, pay attention, lose the ego, don't be afraid to make mistakes, then own them, FIX the problem, and try something else. Treat your employees well, treat your customers well, and they will both amaze you.
If you think about it those counterfeit markers can be circumvented! A washed 5 dollar bill reprinted to be a 50.00 bill will mark the same as a real $50. If your not checking for the security strip and the proper watermark a fake bill will get through. In the last few months the county I live in has been making multiple busts for counterfeit bills.
The security strips glow different colors depending on its denomination. If you know the color/denomination pairs you can weed out the bleached and reprinted
Segrestfarms has terrible shipping practices. They don't clean their nets, holding tanks, and other equipment enough to prevent the spread of diseases. They also bag up fish way too early before they even get shipped out of their warehouse. The fish sometimes sit for a day in bags and then another day in shipping transit. That's why the water is always yellow and murky when they arrive, and not blue and clear like from other vendors. Just test the ammonia level, pH, and oxygen level the next time you get a shipment from them. That's why so many of their fish die within three days of arriving.
I stopped buying fish from my LFS, the day we brought a fish back because it wasnt getting along with our other fish a few weeks later. They just dropped the fish back in the sale tanks
the interesting thing about this vid is it's business advice or insights if you like that is perfectly applicable to any small/medium sized business in this day and age, not just the fish shop business
Main issue is the running costs of a shop, rental,ur staff wage, utility bills, licenses, insurance etc. A pure online E-commerce website doesnt have all that, and frankly can be a 1 man team with a computer. Its EXTREMELY hard for a shop with a physical shopfront to beat the online price, and still have enough to cover the running costs AND still make profit. Cheers, just my 2 cents. The reality is, no matter how much u lower ur price, that pure online site will be able to beat ur price; unless u go to the extent of losing money to beat that site's price, but then that already makes no sense. On a side note, the scenario i'm depicting, doesnt just hurt fish shops, it hurts ALL retail business across the board. The SAD reality is, retail shops are there for everyone to come try/test the "product" they want, so they can physically see it. Then , they tell u thanks, and go home and order it online for 20-25% cheaper.
Just started my first aquarium and have been looking for tons of information and found this channel to be super helpful. Then I hear he is based out of washington I about shat myself. I had no Idea as most fish stores near me are petco and petsmarts. Unfortunately he is an hour away but this weekend I might take the trip up if I add more fish and buy from him now.
Thank you so much for this video! I've got one foot out of my current job right now, and have been considering working at a LFS (or here, I guess it's a local pet store). A lot of your business advice isn't just applicable to fish stores, but to business in general, especially generalizing instead of specializing, inventory, and customer service.
I have started businesses for people and stepped in and helped save businesses and still watch people go back to bad habits. It was enough that when I met an investor who wanted me to start him one and I was going to be in charge of everything I walked away. It is insane how some businesses waste 10 years slowly going out of business and not want to fix it. I realized people don't really want to run a business, they just like being a business owner.
Cory makes extremely good points here (20 year LFS employee and store manager here). This video helped inject more energy into my mission of dropping all the suppliers who don't give a crap about us, and don't support us with competitive pricing. (Some insight for those who want a peek behind the curtain). As Cory alludes to, there was a time when you could be a successful store that was all things to all people. Freshwater, Saltwater, Reptiles, Birds, Rodents and all the accouterments from every manufacturer you could stuff on the shelves. We raked it in this way, but that has clearly been a losing strategy (especially the last few years) and we've had to make big adjustments (some stores may still be able to pull this off ymmv). I recently found a couple dozen Items on our shelves that were cheaper to buy from Amazon than they were for me to buy from my own wholesalers. By A LOT. That's a sure sign of a broken supply system there. These are products and manufacturers that I like, and I've carried for years, but the pricing differential has gotten more and more extreme. A slow creeping death. So what do you do? You try cutting out the middle man and go right to the source. BUT most manufacturers don't even like to give small retailers discounts for large quantity buys because their contracts with the big-boy Box stores, Wholesalers, and Online retailers preclude that. This winter, nearly all the wholesalers and manufacturers have announced across-the-board price INCREASES because of "the tariffs", they claim. The big buyers have contracts, you won't see the increases there. At least not for a while. But the small fry have to raise prices immediately or cut margins further and try to absorb it. The only answer is to SPECIALIZE in good products from manufacturers that at least TRY to play ball with the little guy. Inevitably this means less selection, but maybe that's just the reality of retail in 2019 and beyond.
Hey Cory, You're the exception to the rule, you're smart and doing things the right way, hence success. Prices on hard goods in NJ are very high, I could buy online and sell to LFS's and make a profit. Fish wise there's very little variety and they seem to cater to the beginner and intermediate fish keeper. Stores don't specialize but they should.
I shop online and at my LFS. My LFS does not quarantine which I find annoying. Other than that, it’s a pretty good shop. It is well staffed. The education level is not equal amongst the employees. After shopping there for over 6 months, I know where to direct my questions. I think your “rant” was spot on. Sending pats and scratches to the pups.
There is a chain store and three LFS in my region. One LFS is stellar. Best place I've ever shopped. Spotlessly clean. No foul odors and brilliant staff, healthy fish. The chain store is a typical pet chain store. Some of the staff are knowledgeable, others not so much. Some fish healthy, some not. The other two LFS's are dirty, smelly and disgusting. Don't know how they stay in business.
I found a wonderful local fish store near me, but found out they just do not quarantine, and they sell pea puffers! This means I might not be buying from them since I won't know if they're dewormed or anything. thankfully I found another local fish store (more like 40 minutes away) and their setup reminds me of your store. AND they sell sponge filters of all kinds. I just need to find out if they quarantine..
You are right, I go always first to the bathroom in a restorant ... the idea behind is : if they can not clean this room they do not clean the kitchen either.
The local shops have been gone from around here in Charlotte NC for 20 years. Pet Smart and the internet shut them down. I miss them I used to go hang out and get to know a fish before I bought them. I watch these vids and remember the old days.
@1:37:00 I'm one of those watching in my PJs! That said, this is an amazing rant Cory, thanks! I'm working on setting up a store at the moment (all the way down here in Costa Rica) and I've learned a lot from you and your videos. Thanks! Now, if only RU-vid would let me buy memberships from down here...
Cory, it has to do with volume. Online you have tremendous volume potential. Next you have to think of convenience. Its easier to order on-line than drive some place and HOPE they have what you are looking for. So the difference in volume between store and online makes up for the increase expense of sales for online.
Corey has that standard of true winner 🏆. Success made not given. Profession and progression driven by passion and he knows how to water the seed for better results. We need more people like this in this new era. I appreciate rants of truth and wisdom.
I found this livestream very insightful in regards to fish stores in general. I don't think they are dying but closing due to lack of customer service, pricing and accesibility. Customer service being quite big since, the owners or workers also need not only focus on selling but on ocassion to be mentors to new hobbyists (potential loyal customers) thus helping grow the hobby. At least from my experience.
Thanks for the tips at 1:50:37 on how clubs can support local stores. We have one local store who is utterly opposed to the idea of a club in the area, so maybe next month we'll all just mob his store and buy things after the meeting. Hopefully that will sweeten his outlook 😂
My local pet store.... Pet land discounts is closing all their stores after more than 20 years 😭. The owner died so his family doesn't care and is closing it 😭
Corey has a video touching about that. If I remember correctly, he was saying that it's hard when only one person is responsible for all those lives. If something happens to me personally, I need to make sure my friends can "take over" or "Find new homes and liquidate" feel like it's my duty
I had to got to 3 different stores to find a fish net larger than 2x3 inches last week. That seems like a pretty basic item for 2 stores to be out of at the same time.
Thank you, Cory, for this very comprehensive look into getting invested in the business, running the business and all the potential problems and issues one can run into everyday. Your experience in the hobby and in running your store and channel is priceless. This should inspire potential fish store owners, and inform them as to what's required and all the challenges they can expect to experience.
Lfs all day every day. I live in the UK so the weather is always cold. I can't have a parcel sitting out in the cold or take a days holiday to sit and wait in all day.
Nowadays shipping fish is getting much better. Looking at weather in your area, heat packs, packaging, not shipping on weekends. The package can stay out and you dont need to wait all day.
This was a great video. Tons of business sense. I honestly think you could write a book and provide a lot of value for people. I guess that’d be adding another tho g to your long list. :)
I love freshwater fish. My mother had fish tanks when I was a kid. In my state (Ma.). There are only chain pet stores like Petco or Walmart. Tropical fish stores are few and far between. Great info, thanks.
LOL, I have never seen a local fish store that quarantines, & I'm retired military and have moved around a lot! You just have to pay attention to the fish in the store as a consumer & do your own preventative measures from my experiences.
Loved the video. I really like my LFS, but my wife does not, for may of the reasons you stated. So I can only go if I am in town (30-45 minute drive) by myself or she feels she owes me some type of favor. But I go every chance I get. They sell mostly live stock and do a good job have mixing things up, I have yet to leave with out something, that I am trying to figure out where I am going to put it. lol
As someone who worked for a bank. Fake counterfits come in all the time that have been washed. It test good to the ink and even the UV test, but unless the cashier notices your out the money. The UV would be in the wrong spot, the feel is spot on, but coloration maybe off, and still marking good.
Most LFS in greater Toronto area are specialty livestocj fish stores with food, plants and equipments/filter materials. When it comes to tanks and heavy filtration they cannot compete with the big box stores like Big Al's and PetSmart. There's specialty stores for Goldfish, African cichlids. There's one LFS close to me that only sells Asian arowanas, flowerhorns and Discus. One thing that is good about Big Al's is that there are 5 within the GTA and some are privately owned so their prices for same product may vary and they will price match. Their loyalty program points isn't very generous, spend $1, 000 =1000 points =$20 credit. 1500 points =$40. They do have double points every Wednesdays. One thing I do like about Big Al's is that they quarantine their fish in the public area so customers can see. The tanks will just display NFS. Not everyone will appreciate that as sometimes it can look unsightly when a tank full of German blue rams have a really bad case of ich
We have an aquarium store here in Columbus that I kid you not prices things 50-75% higher than amazon. Just like you said, I am trained to go there and not buy anything but look at products haha. I almost get more enjoyment seeing how much more expensive they price their stuff than going to the store.
I want more goldfish content!!!!! I wish more local fish stores were great like you :) it's not nice seeing goldfish tanks where it looks like they are all 5 minutes from death
Im so glad that this video was suggested to me. I couple weeks ago I went to this one local fish store I go to because their tanks and substrate is waaaaay cheaper then the other local fish store. Anyway you have literally made this video for them. The last time I was there was my last time there for good. Their tanks are always gross. Like beyond gross. I then started looking at the fish which the selection is always meager, the fish always have ick. I mean always. And I couldn’t understand why. I just happened to be there when someone was trading some angel fish and some blue rams for store credit I watch her put those bags into the one of the for sale tanks she didn’t quarantine those fish or even acclimate them. Just dumped in. Then over heard her talking to another employee that she wanted those fish and she was going to buy them. He said what did you give to him she said 35 store credit. He said that’s awesome you gonna take em home. She said yes I have to I want them. And I thought to myself I wonder if the owner knows your using their money for you to get fish. Plus on top of that the store is always gross there is stuff all over the place. And they are only open Friday Saturday Sunday now. It just sucks that they could have a lot of better business if they hired people who care and don’t think of it as their own personal fish store. That’s what it comes across to me. They are lazy and don’t care it’s not their money.
