RANT on Petsmart / Petco

[Gradual_BT]

Greetings -

This is not important, very off the cuff and my guess is that this is a beaten path of sorts for many....

I happen to live close to both a PetSmart and Petco. However, Its on very rare occasion that I ever make any sizeable purchases of any sort there.
Both locations are in between either the GYM I go to or another store etc, so at times I will stop in to double check the size of an aquarium or maybe take a gander at the fish stock, ... or maybe take a look at the Canine section as well.

Post my departure, I am always left with thinking: Who the hell shops here and pays these prices? Who can afford it? There is rarely a single deal worth while of any sort in the entire store. Most everything is wildly over-priced..... the entire Fish Section is marked up at least 20-30% higher than your local mom & pop spot or EBAY/ Amazon for that matter. You know something is wrong when a half inch Convict Cichlid is selling for $8.99....

The other blatant matter is irresponsibility of the fish that they sell. 'Most' (not all) people that go to such box stores are relatively new to the hobby or are not as dedicated/detailed as maybe the people that are included in this forum. These stores are continually selling baby Oscars and what seems like a never ending stock of African Cichlids. Anybody that knows a single iota of African Cichlids or Oscars knows that this is a very careful, thought-out process that requires planning, space, emergency resources... maybe even a spare tank. But yet they continually sell these types of fish to the new and eager and unknowingly hobbyist. I was watching one of the Cichlid Brothers videos on Youtube in which one of the brothers declared that the Oscars are one of the most abused fish... and I have to think that it starts with such stores... sure they put a younger person in the department to help screen some of the purchases etc but again... its all about purchasing and far less about responsibility.

Meh,
BT

 

[GaryE]

You aren't the first to be frustrated and post here about the chain stores. I was in when when I used to visit the States - I can't say which because even though they're supposed to be competing, they all look the same. They had tiny pacus with a card saying they were great for a 10 gallon tanks. Adults are the size of a 40 gallon.

They expect the fish they sell to be dead in a few weeks anyway.

 

[MuddyWaters2]

I go to both stores- am in a similar situation- they're both about 5 minutes away. If I want a fish that is pretty standard, I'll go see if they have one. They have a great return policy- 30 days now at Petco- as long as you bring a sample of water LOL. I quarantine them and see what happens. I don't ahve to return many. I also buy flightless fruit flies there. I breed them, but I don't keep the breed going- I did that once, but had so many that I was dumping them in the tank every day and ended up with them climbing up my wall behind the tank (wife went ballistic).

Anyway, I also get tanks there- half price tank sale can't be beat. I don't get much else, but they are what they are. I'm glad they are there- they give folks a chance to get in the hobby who otherwise would not seek them out - I got into fish keeping when I talked my Mom into buying me a few fish at K-Mart years ago.

They do print the size on the tag, so if someone bothers to read, they'll see. Also, some of the workers will ocassionally grill me about what size tank I have, etc. LOL so some of them are trying.

OH- also, at mine, the prices are really good for most fish- $2.99 the other day for red eye tetra- same for others like cherry barbs, mollies, danios, etc. I haven't bought any "serious" fish there- anything that is not a very broadly available fish, I'll get somewhere else. ...although I did buy a bamboo shrimp at Petco once years ago- have never seen them again LOL.

 

[TwoTankAmin27]

I started my first tank working with a kid in the fish dept. of a pet store. He knew very little. I was pretty good at searching the net and I found some really good sites for info and even better for shopping. I was getting my first tank and most of the equipment from that fish dept. But then I found online hard goods stores. I wanted a Marineland Emperor 400 with dual bio-wheels.

I told the kid at the store that if their price was withing 10% of the online I would buy from them. He told me the price and it was way too high. I told him what price I had seen online and he said they paid more than that from the distributer.

So, I did a mix of online hardware buying and got the fish and tank and lid from the pet store. I started with a 45 gal, tank. In the ensuing few years we had a couple more pet stores with fish depts. Ultimately they were all gone. But, I started to get fish online from AquaBid. From there I met a couple of breeders. So, I had a few decant sources. This was all between the end of 2000 when I started researching and shopping, but that 45 went up the last week of Jan. 2001.

Fast forward and by the end of 2002 I was not buying fish in stores any more. I did my first weekend fish event the 2003 OCA (Ohio Cichlid Association) event in Cleveland. I drove out Friday it took 9 hours. I went to meet a number of the fish form folks where I was a member. A bunch of people were coming from all over. One person from that forum whom I did eventually meet arranged for me to get my breeding group of wild zebra plecos in Apr of 06.

And I began to meet all sorts of new people in the hobby. The NEC hosted a weekend event in CT and for me it was about a 75 minute drive. That is where I first met Rachel O'Leary. In the end, I attended the NEC event as a seller in the vendor room for a number of years.

Because of all of the above adventures almost all of the fish I have purchased came from places other than stores. This includes given to me, from breeders, as imports, at events, from home based sellers with great reps and most recently, from the members of my fish club who put them in the monthly auction. We al sell stuff to each other basically.

So, I have been in Petsmart and we have a Petco in town now too. I have bought a few tanks on sale there and have had to buy some replacement items in an emergency. There is an amazing LFS about 30 minutes from me. I have bought a few fish there 18 or 19 years ago, mostly from having sold them some of my LF BN for store credit. To work there one must pass a written test, Their fish are healthy and look great. With the few I have gotten from them, I skipped quarantine. The problem is they are insanely expensive and serve a customer base which points and buys and doesn't ask about the price.

I have been to lucky in how I manged to acquire most of my fish, there are also a few good stories for some of them. Unlike a few of the folks here, I never collected anything in the wild.

This may be the digital age, but the best fish stuff happens when it is done face to face.

 

[GaryE]

It's interesting how these things operate. We have Petsmart here in eastern Canada, but in spite of their large stores, they have almost phased out fish. Maybe 5% of the floor space is given to unhealthy fish that are way overpriced and not long for the world. They have very few tanks, and one half aisle of dry goods. Petco is also present in partnership with another company - they have a few aisles in a basic general hardware type chain. They don't have any aquarium stock.

Both are forces within the dog and cat business, but not in the world of fish or aquarium equipment. To me, this speaks to how they'd like to operate. When Walmart invaded, they had fish sections larger than what's in Petsmart, and now, they have a few canisters of old food mixed in with the dog and cat supplies. They have no aquariums.

One wonders if they'll knock out all the Mom and Pop stores, and then like Walmart, knock themselves out of the field after the destruction ruins the market.

 

[emeraldking12 63]

Post my departure, I am always left with thinking: Who the hell shops here and pays these prices? Who can afford it? There is rarely a single deal worth while of any sort in the entire store. Most everything is wildly over-priced..... the entire Fish Section is marked up at least 20-30% higher than your local mom & pop spot or EBAY/ Amazon for that matter. You know something is wrong when a half inch Convict Cichlid is selling for $8.99....

Also overhere in my country, animals, food and supplies are overpriced. But it's still cheaper than in Northern America. In addition to standard discounts, wholesalers also apply tiered pricing. As a result, one company may pay a higher purchase price than another. On top of that, there is the profit margin the retailer wishes to add. Furthermore, if a wholesaler faces additional import duties—for instance, because products are sourced from abroad—this also influences the purchase price.
The number of intermediaries in the sales process is also a factor in determining the price, as each intermediary wants a share of it.

The other blatant matter is irresponsibility of the fish that they sell. 'Most' (not all) people that go to such box stores are relatively new to the hobby or are not as dedicated/detailed as maybe the people that are included in this forum. These stores are continually selling baby Oscars and what seems like a never ending stock of African Cichlids. Anybody that knows a single iota of African Cichlids or Oscars knows that this is a very careful, thought-out process that requires planning, space, emergency resources... maybe even a spare tank. But yet they continually sell these types of fish to the new and eager and unknowingly hobbyist. I was watching one of the Cichlid Brothers videos on Youtube in which one of the brothers declared that the Oscars are one of the most abused fish... and I have to think that it starts with such stores... sure they put a younger person in the department to help screen some of the purchases etc but again... its all about purchasing and far less about responsibility.

Sadly not all relevant stores are putting the wellbeing of live stock first. And not all stores have even the proper knowledge despite of the fact that they call themselves experts. A store using the name "expert" or the word "expertise" is more of trying to use a sort of status to make themselves more interesting and customers can fall for that.
Sadly with a lot of relevant stores, it's about gaining money instead of having a heart for animals. This may feel like an insult to many stores. But unfortunately, there are a lot of stores that just exist to sell and nothing more. As long as there is money to be made from something, you will have to deal with this. And of course, I know that a store needs to earn money to create a living for themselves. I completely understand that. But in my honest opinion, when you're making a living where animals are involved, you should take responsibility for their wellbeing. That includes also giving the correct info to customers before a sale is made. And not thinking: I need to make this sale, no matter what...

 

[Chickadee13 33]

I hate our Petsmart. I've been given the worst advice by the so-called fish department who pronounce bettas as "bay-tas." I once picked out a blue mystery snail, and the clerk started banging on all the other snails with the handle of her net to get them out of the way. Then she started banging on my snail to get him off the side. I asked her to please stop and offered to get it off the side myself. She gave me an angry look and said I wasn't allowed to do that, then said "it doesn't hurt them" as if I was pathetic. When I got the snail home, it had a crushed spot in its shell. I tried to patch it with crazy glue and eggshell. It survived for a few weeks but finally died. I haven't bought a live animal from them since, although I did recently buy plants from them and regretted it. Never again.

 

[MuddyWaters2]

...department who pronounce bettas as "bay-tas.

I say it that way.... old habits die hard LOL.

 

[Boundava9 2]

I say it that way.... old habits die hard LOL.

Beh-tah, Bay-tah...to-may-toe, toe-mah-toe
Don't get started on aluminum!

 

[Innesfan31 15]

As long as they spell it with double Ts, 'Betta,' and not like the second letter of the Greek alphabet, 'beta'.

 

[MuddyWaters2]

It's not spelled "baytuh?"

 

[Herpin Man2]

Petco and Petsmart love the uneducated.

 

[outofwater5 1]

There are 3 chains around me. These two, and pet supplies plus. I don't think I've ever bought anything at petsmart, no particular reason. Bought most of my fish and plants at petco, pet supplies plus, and local fish stores. There were two lfs that were my go to. One closed (owner retired and sold off everything), too bad I didn't know on time to get deals, and he was knowledgeable and very reasonably priced. The other one is in limbo: new landlord honeymoon didn't last at all, jacked the prices and most tenants are leaving including lfs. Got a handful of fish there a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully he relocates somewhere. Hes also a nice guy, knowledgeable, but he is expensive. I mean if a fish is $5 at petco or similar, he has it for 8 or 10.

I've learned not to buy fish in the cold months here, guaranteed die off with no store showing any clear advantage over the others in terms of which fish will survive. And almost everyone except lfs treats fish like disposable things, with bettas always faring the worst.

Oh well, such is the world. We do what we can.

 

[Jennet12 70]

I'm off out today to buy a second small 24 litre tank from Pets @ Home in the UK. The first was supposed to be a quarantine tank and has ended up being made ready for some shrimps.

 

[GO Yes ants ant ad fishy1]

My local petsmart is just sad. Everytime I go most of the fish are laying there dead for who knows how long with other fish picking and nipping at them. When ever I would point this out the workers would say ¨They are fine" along with Betta capsules that are fully green and I cant even see the beta in them.