I live in the UK and our on-line fish market is very much in it's infancy, in the US it seems much more established. I would like to call on your experiences of on line buying of fish specifically.
I enjoy going to a LFS, either locally or travelling, where I can look at the fish, assess if they are healthy, check that the shop is clean, pest and disease free. I can ask the LFS owner/worker how long they have had the fish in, what and whether it's feeding and perhaps, most importantly watch it feed. I can pick the specific fish I want and maybe find that hidden gem of a fish lurking in that bottom tank.
Picking a fish from a web seller, I have to take the fish on trust, I have no idea which specific fish I'll be getting, I don't know if it has been kept in reasonable conditions, if it is pest and disease free, if it's feeding. TBH I have no idea if the fish was swimming in the ocean yesterday. I also note that on-line prices seem roughly equivalent to LFS prices even though all the risk has been moved from the seller to the tank keeper.
Now the questions-
QT seem to be much more widespread in the US, is that as a result of on-line buying, would you consider it essential.
If the fish arrives dead, how easy is it to get a refund, what is the process.
What happens if the fish arrives damaged, diseased or just isn't what was ordered.
What about if the fish refuses to feed when it arrives, you don't know if it was feeding when it left the on-line seller. What happens if the fish never feeds and dies a week or so later, do you have any comeback.
Is buying on-line cheaper than going to a LFS, especially if you have to travel distances.
How do you find that hidden gem.
How do you return a fish. Do you need a specific reason, what are they. Can you return a fish because you don't like the look of it eg. a designer clownfish.
I enjoy going to a LFS, either locally or travelling, where I can look at the fish, assess if they are healthy, check that the shop is clean, pest and disease free. I can ask the LFS owner/worker how long they have had the fish in, what and whether it's feeding and perhaps, most importantly watch it feed. I can pick the specific fish I want and maybe find that hidden gem of a fish lurking in that bottom tank.
Picking a fish from a web seller, I have to take the fish on trust, I have no idea which specific fish I'll be getting, I don't know if it has been kept in reasonable conditions, if it is pest and disease free, if it's feeding. TBH I have no idea if the fish was swimming in the ocean yesterday. I also note that on-line prices seem roughly equivalent to LFS prices even though all the risk has been moved from the seller to the tank keeper.
Now the questions-
QT seem to be much more widespread in the US, is that as a result of on-line buying, would you consider it essential.
If the fish arrives dead, how easy is it to get a refund, what is the process.
What happens if the fish arrives damaged, diseased or just isn't what was ordered.
What about if the fish refuses to feed when it arrives, you don't know if it was feeding when it left the on-line seller. What happens if the fish never feeds and dies a week or so later, do you have any comeback.
Is buying on-line cheaper than going to a LFS, especially if you have to travel distances.
How do you find that hidden gem.
How do you return a fish. Do you need a specific reason, what are they. Can you return a fish because you don't like the look of it eg. a designer clownfish.