Buying direct from Hawaii divers

[4FordFamily]

Cutting out the middle man will always lower the price substantially. I get things from local divers. Just be sure they have all the permits. Don't want to get caught up in an illegal harvesting ring.

Not true. In business, if a "middleman" brings no value then they wouldn't exist. They bring some competitive advantage either in distribution, economies of scale, economies of scope, breadth or depth (access to) other valuable channel partners or retailers, contract agreements, etc.

If increasing middlemen increased price, there would be no middlemen.

The reason Walmart is so successful is that they have great middlemen and have so much power that their middlemen and channel partners cannot barter or negotiate. Competition amongst channel partners increases price to the end consumer, which is the inverse of how things work at the end consumer. This is part of walmart's competitive advantage.

 

[Naiad]

Not true. In business, if a middlemen brings no value then they wouldn't exist. They bring some competitive advantage either in distribution, economies of scal, economies of scope, etc.

If increasing middlemen increased price, there would be no middlemen.

The reason Walmart is so successful is that they have great middlemen and have so much power that their middlemen and channel partners cannot barter or negotiate. Competition amongst channel partners increases price, which is the inverse of how things work at the end consumer. This is part of walmart's competitive advantage.

It is true that often middlemen can negotiate prices and do bulk orders that make prices fall. I guess I should say when you take over rather than cut the middleman like we are here. One person finds a source, gathers enough people to get a bulk order that makes the cut and possibly negotiates for further sale.

 

[Brian Kim]

Oh well, just contacted one of them and they don't have achilles in stock

 

[Brian Kim]

Also, they were overpriced on some livestock compared to some of the reputable distributors.
I am not a store owner, my buddy owns one and had him contact them with his tax id number to open up an account

 

[4FordFamily]

It is true that often middlemen can negotiate prices and do bulk orders that make prices fall. I guess I should say when you take over rather than cut the middleman like we are here. One person finds a source, gathers enough people to get a bulk order that makes the cut and possibly negotiates for further sale.

In this case yes. I just want people to know how the value chain actually works because what you said is a misnomer that many share. But yeah in this circumstance in the short run (until they wise up, find a better use of their time, or better arrangements arise) this does make sense for certain.

 

[Pete polyp]

Not true. In business, if a "middleman" brings no value then they wouldn't exist. They bring some competitive advantage either in distribution, economies of scale, economies of scope, breadth or depth (access to) other valuable channel partners or retailers, contract agreements, etc.

If increasing middlemen increased price, there would be no middlemen.

The reason Walmart is so successful is that they have great middlemen and have so much power that their middlemen and channel partners cannot barter or negotiate. Competition amongst channel partners increases price to the end consumer, which is the inverse of how things work at the end consumer. This is part of walmart's competitive advantage.

I was under the impression walmart had no middlemen and went straight to the companies. That's why they have huge distribution centers around here. Walmart will use their weight against companies while negotiating.
True story
Walmart: hey kraft we are only going to pay $0.40 for a pack of cheese
Kraft: sorry walmart the price is $0.50 per pack
Walmart: it's $0.40 per pack to Walmart or you can come get every single one of your products off our shelves!
Kraft: I guess we will have to figure something out
What kraft ended up doing was changing the blend of their cheese just to make it cheaper for walmart. The kraft cheese at Kroger will be a different blend than the kraft cheese at Walmart.
My references for this came from employees at the kraft factory in Springfield missouri

 

[Naiad]

In this case yes. I just want people to know how the value chain actually works because what you said is a misnomer that many share. But yeah in this circumstance in the short run (until they wise up, find a better use of their time, or better arrangements arise) this does make sense for certain.

Yes and there are drawbacks to this compared to going through a LFS via wholesale. Each has its place in my opinion. I in no way think wholesalers are bad or not needed.

 

[4FordFamily]

I was under the impression walmart had no middlemen and went straight to the companies. That's why they have huge distribution centers around here. Walmart will use their weight against companies while negotiating.
True story
Walmart: hey kraft we are only going to pay $0.40 for a pack of cheese
Kraft: sorry walmart the price is $0.50 per pack
Walmart: it's $0.40 per pack to Walmart or you can come get every single one of your products off our shelves!
Kraft: I guess we will have to figure something out
What kraft ended up doing was changing the blend of their cheese just to make it cheaper for walmart. The kraft cheese at Kroger will be a different blend than the kraft cheese at Walmart.
My references for this came from employees at the kraft factory in Springfield missouri

No they have distribution and partners throughout the value chain they just control them nearly indefinitely. Much as you describe where they essentially control the manufacturer even.

 

[Pete polyp]

Something else about walmart that many people do not know is that they do not own the products on their shelves. They actually wait until after the product sells before paying for it. Sometimes this can take a very long time to get paid for products that are already purchased by consumers. 3-6 months seems to be fairly common.

 

[miyags]

I bought a baby Queen Angel from a diver for 30$ 36 t0 deliver. So 66$.Not bad for a nice Queen.

 

[4FordFamily]

Something else about walmart that many people do not know is that they do not own the products on their shelves. They actually wait until after the product sells before paying for it. Sometimes this can take a very long time to get paid for products that are already purchased by consumers. 3-6 months seems to be fairly common.

Yes this is fairly common in retail. Without knowing the stats I would say 90% of large retailers. I know for certain Best Buy and all of those types of stores do. Frys electronics is the only one I know that owns their inventory.

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

Be very careful with this. First off, there are tons of scammers out there in this industry, and once you send money you will not get it back.

Secondly as 3FordFamily stated importers/wholesalers bring a ton of value to the industry. Obviously they eat most of the DOA's, and any good wholesaler won't ship an obviously stressed fish. Most of the under the table divers just bag and ship, nothing more. And finally I've seen the most laughable shipping practices coming from some of these diver direct offerings: no oxygen, flimsy bags (single bags for tangs and triggers), crap boxes, etc.

I have the ability to tranship and am contacted regularly to order direct from divers although I don't. Over the years have learned to trust a few wholesalers, and deal with two divers directly.

There's more than meets the eye that goes into The Value of a Fish.

 

[ZoaCollector]

Be very careful with this. First off, there are tons of scammers out there in this industry, and once you send money you will not get it back.

Secondly as 3FordFamily stated importers/wholesalers bring a ton of value to the industry. Obviously they eat most of the DOA's, and any good wholesaler won't ship an obviously stressed fish. Most of the under the table divers just bag and ship, nothing more. And finally I've seen the most laughable shipping practices coming from some of these diver direct offerings: no oxygen, flimsy bags (single bags for tangs and triggers), crap boxes, etc.

I have the ability to tranship and am contacted regularly to order direct from divers although I don't. Over the years have learned to trust a few wholesalers, and deal with two divers directly.

There's more than meets the eye that goes into The Value of a Fish.

StunReefer is speaking truths, I've seen it all. Most the divers don't have the experience like the wholesalers do. Ie meds, system requirements, packing skills. They'll ship you whatever and if it dies good luck. There's usually a percentage swing on DOAs. Every single fish usually isn't covered. Not to mention the plethora of diseases that aren't screened for.