LFS Rant - why are coral prices never listed?

[hebdizzle]

A bit of a rant - but does anyone else have a LFS that doesn’t have corals priced? What’s the thought process behind this? It seems like having some organization to corals - either separate frag racks separated by price or some sort of printout with prices - would be helpful.

The last three stores I’ve been to, there are no listed prices or seemingly any order, with mother colonies or other grow-out pieces interspersed with frags.

I am always chasing down a worker to ask how much a certain frag costs, what’s the general price structure (e.g. $29/each frags but 5/$100), or if certain items are for sale.

What’s the deal?

 

[Uncle99]

Yup, negotiate the price type dealers.
I find that annoying.
Drive a nice car, may be higher.
I rather have stuff priced upfront.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

My LFS has all items priced. Helps me steer clear of the clams and torch coral

 

[kingranch2003]

Yup, negotiate the price type dealers.
I find that annoying.
Drive a nice car, may be higher.
I rather have stuff priced upfront.

Ride up on a bike unc!

 

[kingranch2003]

My LFS has all items priced. Helps me steer clear of the clams and torch coral

Steer towards the torch my friend!

 

[SpSDrew]

I prefer prices marked. I’ve even carried it over to frag swaps and put corals in cups with a name label and price. Everyone gets the same price and it’s transparent. Saves the 50 question game as well.

 

[PotatoPig]

The two near me all have prices clearly listed. One also labels the PAR range for each display, which is nice for acclimation.

 

[VintageReefer]

I’ve never heard of this

Every LFS I’ve been to in two states has the prices on the glass

 

[rogueshrimp88]

Yeah, mine usually have it on the glass. I've been to a couple that do that though.

 

[jrill]

Never seen that. Ours are clearly marked

 

[kingranch2003]

Interesting. Our lfs has their corals clearly marked. They even mark the price on the lid of the cup that you take them home in. Luckily it's written in dry erase marker. That way I can easily change the 8 to a 2, making an $80 coral a $20 coral for when my wife sees it.

 

[Reefer Matt]

It could be because they move so much inventory that they would be constantly changing the prices. Or just laziness.

 

[PharmrJohn]

If they get you into a conversation they can then use their wily ways to talk you into a sale.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I’ve got one by me that puts the prices on the glass and another one that’s just a guessing game for how much they are.

 

[Pntbll687]

It really depends on the store.

The general thought process behind not having prices (from what I can tell) is that someone who's really interested in coral will ask about a price, and that opens it up to a larger conversation and the opportunity to sell more. The problem is, the customer has to ask, and the employee needs to have not only in depth knowledge but also great sales skills.

I sell at frag swaps, and I clearly mark my trays with pricing, even bought acrylic rods to make sections even more clear. I have found that people DON'T want to ask about prices, they only want to confirm that the price is correct when they see something they like.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Steer towards the torch my friend!

Helllll no. Too much money. I don't understand why torch popularity has completely exploded. When I got out of the hobby, nobody cared about torches it seemed like. Everyone wanted the next chalice or "designer" acro.

 

[TX_REEF]

Here in the DFW (Plano, TX) area, all prices are clearly marked. I've only seen some unmarked frags at frag swap/shows, which is understandable as they may wish to lower prices toward the end of the event to move inventory...

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

It sounds like those aren't very professional stores, honestly. Theres no reason not to write a price on the glass. They know what they paid for the coral and what their markup is...it takes 1 number multiplied by their markup percentage to calculate the retail price. Writing that number on the glass takes 2 seconds.
There is simply no good reason not to spend a total of 5 seconds to do something that customers wpuld obviously appreciate.

 

[exnisstech]

I have 2 lfs, two mark everything. One marks everything but coral. I won't buy coral there because I won't ask the price. It's the same if I see a car for sale. If it's a car I'm interested in and the price is in my range I'll stop. No price I just drive by.

 

[Northern Flicker]

I’ve never heard of this

Every LFS I’ve been to in two states has the prices on the glass

This happens in basically every shop I go to in my part of Ontario (Canada). Nothing has a price, you basically have to ask and you can see the LFS guy thinking about it before he answers.

It's my #1 pet peave in this hobby and I am starting to order online more because I don't want to play that stupid game.