Reefs.org Forums

[dizzy]

Race what you should do is is open a quarantine/holding facility in LA and eliminate the shipping stress to Wisconsin. It sure would be handy for Kevin to go around cherry picking and you could do your own shipout and stop the dropshipping. Hope that helps.
Mitch

[Thales]

Please, lets stop wit the pot shots.

[Thales]

Perhaps reducing shipping is not the right way to look at it, maybe reducing the number of tanks makes more sense. I am happy to buy animals from DD because they are held and treated and eating well before they are posted.

Well you really can't have it both ways. Either dropshipping is best or feeding, tanking and then reselling is best, but they can't both be best.

I don't think either is 'best'; I think they are different and have pros and cons.

[aquaticvet1]

Mitch,
To clarify, I do believe the best for livestock is to be rested and then sent, or dropshipped directly from the wholesaler to the hobbyist. I do not know who in their right mind would despute that.

In my case, QM in an effort to protect their retailers, will not let us have our Divers Den in their facility. QM will only allow us to dropship common items which will not deplete their retail selection and therefore compete with their retail customers for inventory. All shipping and costs, including sales tax, must be 100% at our expense. Contrast this to PAF/BlueZoo.

Additionally, Diver's Den are one of a kind and must be individually photographed and Chris Buerner will not allow that in his facility. I personally met with Chris about this and he will not sacrifice his commitment to his retail customers.

The second best scenario I had was to build a facility in Wisconsin so that I could utelize multiple livestock resources and handle the photography locally. This is for the rare, high end and ultrahealthy specimens for which we pay a premium for. Yes, some die in transportation and housing. Since I am not a wholesaler allowing direct sales, there is not much I can do about it other than demand good stock in the beginning. I take the losses myself in order to supply the customer with the best items we can find. From a distribution and green perspective PAF has a better idea, eliminate the retailer and sell direct, all in one step. I will not argue with that.

In my case it is best to dropship common stock and put the rare and unusual under Kevin's Diver's Den care in Wisconsin. I guess what is best simply depends on the stock in question and the limitations one has to work around. Remember, different steps are required for Diver's Den fish including individual photography and specimen sequestration. Different challenges than selling common stock. Ideally, all livestock should be properly rested and shipped or dropshipped from the wholesaler directly to the consumer. Maybe someday I will have enough energy to follow Dave and PAF.

[dizzy]

I guess if BlueZoo is resting the livestock before they ship......... then they really do have the best model. I mean it's pretty silly to ship from LA to WI then back to California, wouldn't you think.

[aquaticvet1]

I agree, they do have the best model.

[aquaticvet1]

Yes Mitch I do agree.

The problem for me is that Quality Marine protects their retailers so I cannot ship DD from California to California. QM will not sell me enough DD items and they will not dropship DD specimens. I can only solve that if I become a California wholesaler, I realize that. Dave and PAF have set the new standard and if it works, I will have to follow, simple as that.

[aquaticvet1]

Edited, posts crossed, sorry.

[nemo24]

Ya this trend will no doubt harm the local store business but it is not the end of the hobby. The same happen to the local gas station, coffee shop and cafe. I can still buy gas , coffee and breakfast though, just comes from a different source. Feel bad for the fish store guys though.

[JennM]

Ya this trend will no doubt harm the local store business but it is not the end of the hobby. The same happen to the local gas station, coffee shop and cafe. I can still buy gas , coffee and breakfast though, just comes from a different source. Feel bad for the fish store guys though.

You get coffee, gas and breakfast by mail order?

[Raskal311]

Ya this trend will no doubt harm the local store business but it is not the end of the hobby. The same happen to the local gas station, coffee shop and cafe. I can still buy gas , coffee and breakfast though, just comes from a different source. Feel bad for the fish store guys though.

You get coffee, gas and breakfast by mail order?

I think he means buying gas direct from the manufacturer but from what I understand the gas stations are franchise.

[JennM]

So are a lot of coffee shops and restaurants. So I don't get the analogy.

And yes, many gas stations are franchises. The Chevron outside my shop is owned by my landlord - another small businessman.

Jenn

[Vili_Shark]

Race, you skirted answering the question like a politician.

Your website states, "This item ships from our California facility."

"Our" is a very powerful word.

So does this mean you (Liveaquaria.com) own O2O?

What percentage comes from "other sources" not your WI facility or "your" CA Facility?

I didn't notice anywhere where it said, "This item ships from a third-party facility"... or "may ship from a third-party facility"

You did mention:

by aquaticvet1 » 11 Dec 2009 23:58
I will not speak for Kevin, but I have no desire to become involved with a Wholesaler. I am content paying Quality Marine the same or more than retailers do for identical specimens and for paying all the associated dropshipping fees and California sales tax. I wish QM would give me a better deal but since this is just a hobby for me I do not push it or have the critical mass to demand it. Since Chris Buerner puts retailers first and will only allocate some specimens to me I use the other Wholesalers, just as I did with you back in the day.

So how is a customer to know?

Remember... transparency...

Jenn

I just finished reading all this thread, very interesting.

JennM, I like your post, very sharp.

[JennM]

Why thank you, Vili. I've had PMs and phone calls about it too

Jenn