So I stopped in today and it looked a lot better inside! As far as support for the clubs, what I could gather is that the owner doesn't like that members do stuff like fish brokering and selling frags out of their basement! In my opinion though I don't see how not supporting the clubs supports his business, as I doubt anyone is gonna stop selling fish or frags because of it and instead might increase and avoid the store because of it! Anyway my $ .02!
AquaMart??
- Thread starter GoldenReef
- Start date
well he did decrease some competition by hiring chris who no longer does group buys that i know of but he lost a great opportunity to use chris's popularity in the club to support the store and act as a rep for the store with in the club ...instead now we are talking about how they don't support the local clubs
I personally wont shop there again or recommend them unless they plan to change their mind because I can get what ever they have right here or online for the same price or cheaper ...now if they supported the club i might stop by and buy something on impulse but if you can't get me in the door you can't sell me anything its a shame too because i liked the store. oh well elite reef will be open soon enough
I personally wont shop there again or recommend them unless they plan to change their mind because I can get what ever they have right here or online for the same price or cheaper ...now if they supported the club i might stop by and buy something on impulse but if you can't get me in the door you can't sell me anything its a shame too because i liked the store. oh well elite reef will be open soon enough
As opposed to those who sell on-line, or on eBay, or on Craigslist, or as an aside to their maint business.... or other LFS for that matter.....
It's a difficult decision on the part of the retailer in a slow economy..... the bottom line for the retailer is, if they are a know quantity, most folks will shop there anyway. As a rule, average sales per club member (ie margin) is lower than normal sales.... we tend to seek better pricing, use other resources (Internet) and as a group, tend to be more price oriented.
It's a difficult decision on the part of the retailer in a slow economy..... the bottom line for the retailer is, if they are a know quantity, most folks will shop there anyway. As a rule, average sales per club member (ie margin) is lower than normal sales.... we tend to seek better pricing, use other resources (Internet) and as a group, tend to be more price oriented.
So Rob are you saying it doesn't matter if they support the clubs or not?
The way I look at it is this! Most people from the Springs are not going to make the drive up to a fish store in the north unless it is one that is good, which Aquamart is, but one that also supports the members of the local clubs, which it seems they aren't. I think there relationships with the clubs brought in additional business. For example, when they were letting you DARC guys have the fragswaps next door, I think that helped introduce new members to their store, plus bring in other members that probably would not have stopped by if it weren't for the swap! I know personnelly I would go to the frag swap and then go into Aquamart and probably buy from both! I just think that if the reason for not supporting the local clubs is because of a threat of competition from members, I believe that thought is unfounded!
On another note I did find out that Dave now owns the horticulture store, that is in the same shopping center as Aquamart, called GroWize! Supposedly Dave is trying to run that shop much like Aquamart was and has some pretty good deals! For those that haven't been into one of those type stores they have a lot of stuff we can use! Ballasts, reflectors, chillers, flexible hose, dosing systems, etc.. and usually for significantly cheaper than most reef related stores(even the online ones). The only thing you most likely won't find in one is 20000K Bulbs, or anything over maybe 7500k for that matter!
The way I look at it is this! Most people from the Springs are not going to make the drive up to a fish store in the north unless it is one that is good, which Aquamart is, but one that also supports the members of the local clubs, which it seems they aren't. I think there relationships with the clubs brought in additional business. For example, when they were letting you DARC guys have the fragswaps next door, I think that helped introduce new members to their store, plus bring in other members that probably would not have stopped by if it weren't for the swap! I know personnelly I would go to the frag swap and then go into Aquamart and probably buy from both! I just think that if the reason for not supporting the local clubs is because of a threat of competition from members, I believe that thought is unfounded!
On another note I did find out that Dave now owns the horticulture store, that is in the same shopping center as Aquamart, called GroWize! Supposedly Dave is trying to run that shop much like Aquamart was and has some pretty good deals! For those that haven't been into one of those type stores they have a lot of stuff we can use! Ballasts, reflectors, chillers, flexible hose, dosing systems, etc.. and usually for significantly cheaper than most reef related stores(even the online ones). The only thing you most likely won't find in one is 20000K Bulbs, or anything over maybe 7500k for that matter!
I think it does matter, but was simply trying to present it from a different angle. Indeed, when DARC ran the swap next to Aquamart, their traffic increased four fold. However, if you think of it as all the sales that were lost to the event next door, you will come to a different conclusion.
I think that smart owners work with the clubs to help build their businesses, rather than ignore the clubs hoping that they will go away. Most of us would rather deal with someone locally.
When it comes to dry goods, you typically don't walk into Sears and tell them that you saw that drill on sale on-line for 20% less and expect them to meet the price. However, that is now the reality of most SMB owners.
As for Dave, yes.... he is cashing in on the recent need for horticulture in the state.... and we can certainly use many of those items in our tanks! It's nice to see him having fun again.
-Rob
I think that smart owners work with the clubs to help build their businesses, rather than ignore the clubs hoping that they will go away. Most of us would rather deal with someone locally.
When it comes to dry goods, you typically don't walk into Sears and tell them that you saw that drill on sale on-line for 20% less and expect them to meet the price. However, that is now the reality of most SMB owners.
As for Dave, yes.... he is cashing in on the recent need for horticulture in the state.... and we can certainly use many of those items in our tanks! It's nice to see him having fun again.
-Rob
I DO go into places like Sears and see what they can do for me if I saw the same exact drill on-line for 20% less. Most of the bigger places will work with you in some capacity because they know that if they don't then they will just lose business online. You've gotta be willing to go in and haggle with people lol, if they say no they you buy theirs or online and move on.
I'm letting you guys know this is a ancient conversation. We've been dealing with this for as long as I've been part of the club. Everybody has their .02 & it comes down to its Dave's business & if he wants to become a sponsor,offer discounts to the club or anything he does is "his business" all we can do is offer him what the club can do to help improve his sales. I went in there today & the shop is looking good. Prices were a little high but it looked good. Just my .02.
I stopped in today. Chatted with Tom and Chris. They had a big coral sale this weekend. Not a single person from the club came by to use their club discount.
The store looks good, is well stocked considering that summer is upon us. It's the slowest time of year for fish stores. It costs more money to stay open than you make. So go say Hi, flash your membership card, spend some money and thank them for sponsoring your club.
The store looks good, is well stocked considering that summer is upon us. It's the slowest time of year for fish stores. It costs more money to stay open than you make. So go say Hi, flash your membership card, spend some money and thank them for sponsoring your club.
To be fair, I'm not sure where/if the coral sale that happened this weekend was advertised anywhere? At least i didn't see it, maybe I'm blind haha?????
I do agree though, last time I was in there they had some sweet stuff and a were going through a couple of changes, hopefully for the better I was told lol.
I do agree though, last time I was in there they had some sweet stuff and a were going through a couple of changes, hopefully for the better I was told lol.