LFS resale policy question

bratfink · Oct 5, 2025

Ok this one got me annoyed. I wanted to know if I’m alone here.

Bought some variety of Ocellaris 2 years ago from my LFS. It was $65, which seems steep but it’s a nice fish.

2 years later, it’s all grown up. Although not too big for the tank it’s become a bit of a bully so I decided it was time to move it out.

Turns out the LFS doesn’t give store credit for fish!
I expected that for inverts, but I expected to get something for a fish.

Am I alone here in believing this to be totally unreasonable?

They’ll go on to resell the fish for at least the same again. How can they justify profiting twice off the same fish!

All I got was the usual “it’s policy” and “you’re free to take it elsewhere”. Knowing full well the fish is out of the tank now and I’ve driven all the way out there!

There are not many good LFS stores left, and this type of practice has got me questioning if I even want to continue in the hobby. To take advantage of a captive customer base in that way should be criminal.

Thoughts?

kingranch2003 · Oct 5, 2025

Captive? Criminal?

A lot of times people bring in their ill tempered overgrown fish to the lfs. They dont want that problem anymore than you do. And they're taking a risk, not knowing what the fish was exposed to in your tank and why you're actually bringing it in. Personally I would never bag up a fish and bring it somewhere that I didnt 100% know, would take that fish. A simple phone call ahead of time prevents this. That one's on you my friend. I, in no way intend to be harsh, or to jump on you. ...just responding honestly to your questions.

Mr. Mojo Rising · Oct 5, 2025

I think its reasonable, maybe the LFS has no space, maybe they are over stocked on clowns and don't want more. And of course they are taking a big chance on your tank not having any disease. At the end of the day they sell fish not rent them and they may or may not take it back later but its not unreasonable of them to decline. Just my 2 cents, good luck

Sean Clark · Oct 5, 2025

I have freely donated problem fish to the LFS in the past and never once did I expect to get any compensation. As far as I see it they are doing me a service by rehoming the animal.

HCMNick · Oct 5, 2025

Not to be mean or go against you but quite frankly a few issues stand out. A. Call before you go, hell even a lot of the lfs near me require you make an appointment with a manager in order to even trade in livestock if they approve of it and B. It’s a risk no matter where they are introducing fish from into their systems and livelihood. Also not all stores have extra tanks for that one grumpy clownfish or eel or any species that comes that ways so easier to turn you down than to introduce risk. I think perhaps your best option may be a local Facebook page, marketplace etc and find someone who can appropriately rehome your clownfish and likely it may require you to forfeit any profit or monetary trade. After all we should value the animals health before monetary goals.

vetteguy53081 · Oct 5, 2025

bratfink said:
Ok this one got me annoyed. I wanted to know if I’m alone here.

Bought some variety of Ocellaris 2 years ago from my LFS. It was $65, which seems steep but it’s a nice fish.

2 years later, it’s all grown up. Although not too big for the tank it’s become a bit of a bully so I decided it was time to move it out.

Turns out the LFS doesn’t give store credit for fish!
I expected that for inverts, but I expected to get something for a fish.

Am I alone here in believing this to be totally unreasonable?

They’ll go on to resell the fish for at least the same again. How can they justify profiting twice off the same fish!

All I got was the usual “it’s policy” and “you’re free to take it elsewhere”. Knowing full well the fish is out of the tank now and I’ve driven all the way out there!

There are not many good LFS stores left, and this type of practice has got me questioning if I even want to continue in the hobby. To take advantage of a captive customer base in that way should be criminal.

Thoughts?

Most stores you will find adhere to this policy as even though you have fought to keep them disease free, they dont want to risk disease ro their systems and often with older fish, they generally dont make a worthwhile profit on resale

Reefer Matt · Oct 5, 2025

Sorry, you are not entitled to your own terms with someone else’s business. However, you may have luck rehoming it with a fellow Reefer in your area.

ReefinForAcans · Oct 5, 2025

bratfink said:
Ok this one got me annoyed. I wanted to know if I’m alone here.

Bought some variety of Ocellaris 2 years ago from my LFS. It was $65, which seems steep but it’s a nice fish.

2 years later, it’s all grown up. Although not too big for the tank it’s become a bit of a bully so I decided it was time to move it out.

Turns out the LFS doesn’t give store credit for fish!
I expected that for inverts, but I expected to get something for a fish.

Am I alone here in believing this to be totally unreasonable?

They’ll go on to resell the fish for at least the same again. How can they justify profiting twice off the same fish!

All I got was the usual “it’s policy” and “you’re free to take it elsewhere”. Knowing full well the fish is out of the tank now and I’ve driven all the way out there!

There are not many good LFS stores left, and this type of practice has got me questioning if I even want to continue in the hobby. To take advantage of a captive customer base in that way should be criminal.

Thoughts?

When I was about 2 years into the hobby I would go to this LFS that was like a metal cage so never had any signal to do my googling (I know partly my fault)… I went in and asked about a clown sweetlips and they said it would be fine and as I was super paranoid about fish aggression after a previous tank porcupine ate a clown I made sure that no matter what this fish would be ok and if it wasn’t it was coming back. Fast forward a week and it wasn’t going well and I took it back to them and they just put it in the tank and said have a good day. I was honestly speechless that they didn’t mention Ild be getting no money back at all or even credit when they assured me it was either going to be ok or can come back.

I got them to rebag my fish and dropped it off at another lfs.

tigresteve09 · Oct 5, 2025

Ehh, I see your point and their point. The “renting” fish comment lets it sink in.

I recently got a fish that turns out to be on the more aggressive side. I thought I had read this before buying this fish but I asked the guy at the store and his response made it sound like it wouldn’t be a big deal so I proceeded. Had to return it a week later because it was being aggressive. They gave me 10% store credit. That frustrated me, because I asked the guy before buying it. Oh well, they’ve been good to me and helped me out a lot of other times so I can get over it.

bratfink · Oct 5, 2025

Maybe I need to elaborate here.

I didn’t just show up at a random store with an unknown fish.

I went to my local store that I’ve built a relationship with over 4 years and exclusively bought from and traded back with.

This fish came from them and I had previously indicated I was going to bring it in.

10+ years ago when I was last in the hobby this kind of trading with my LFS was common.

I was just surprised to find the store I’d built a relationship with suddenly act like a car dealership.

Maybe my expectations were too high.

bratfink · Oct 5, 2025

Honestly I would have been happy with 10%.

exnisstech · Oct 5, 2025

Sometimes I get credit sometimes I'm just happy to have a place to take a fish to for rehoming. It just depends on the fish and if there is a demand for the fish or is it going to take up space and require months of care before someone buys it or it could even die. I just took a Niger in yesterday.

Tripod1404 · Oct 5, 2025

My LFS advises to call beforehand if someone is considering to trade in their fish. If you have a desirable fish, they often accept it and offer a fair price. I have also seen LFS that only accept fish when they receive a shipment of new fish, so that they can acclimate everything together.

But I highly doubt they will offer anything for an overgrown clown that they will struggle to sell.

BeanAnimal · Oct 5, 2025

bratfink said:
They’ll go on to resell the fish for at least the same again. How can they justify profiting twice off the same fish!

All I got was the usual “it’s policy” and “you’re free to take it elsewhere”. Knowing full well the fish is out of the tank now and I’ve driven all the way out there!

Their policy is their policy for whatever reasons they wish. A retailer is not obligated to give you credit for return at some point down the road when you decide you don't want the item that you purchased.

I understand that you feel there is a relationship there, but it is still a business. Expectations need to be talked about, not assumed.

In any case, I am not sure why you would not have called first and just assumed that they (or anybody) would accept whatever it is that you wanted to trade, be it a fish, coral, tank, or equipment -- unless their clear policy is "we take anything anytime and offer fair prices" or something like that.

I honestly don't see how they are taking advantage of you. It just sounds like lack of communication and misaligned expectations.

Reefer Matt · Oct 5, 2025

bratfink said:
Maybe I need to elaborate here.

I didn’t just show up at a random store with an unknown fish.

I went to my local store that I’ve built a relationship with over 4 years and exclusively bought from and traded back with.

This fish came from them and I had previously indicated I was going to bring it in.

10+ years ago when I was last in the hobby this kind of trading with my LFS was common.

I was just surprised to find the store I’d built a relationship with suddenly act like a car dealership.

Maybe my expectations were too high.

I understand. After a while we feel a good rapport with someone only to realize that the relationship was transactional. It’s just how business works I guess. I no longer see people I don’t socialize with outside of reefing as my friends. I realize that once that common bond is gone, our relationship is likely over. It’s even more pronounced with business owners as they are motivated by sales and not relationships. That’s where the hobbyist reefing community comes in, imo.

BeanAnimal · Oct 5, 2025

Reefer Matt said:
I understand. After a while we feel a good rapport with someone only to realize that the relationship was transactional. It’s just how business works I guess. I no longer see people I don’t socialize with outside of reefing as my friends. I realize that once that common bond is gone, our relationship is likely over. It’s even more pronounced with business owners as they are motivated by sales and not relationships. That’s where the hobbyist reefing community comes in, imo.

Business is transactional. The best course of action is to always communicate expectations, otherwise you are setting yourself up for confrontation, be it as the customer or as the vendor.

It doesn't meant that you can't have a friendly relationship or give and receive favors, but there needs to be communication regarding expectations, especially (if not more importantly) as the relationship grows.

Reefer Matt · Oct 5, 2025

BeanAnimal said:
Business is transactional. The best course of action is to always communicate expectations, otherwise you are setting yourself up for confrontation, be it as the customer or as the vendor.

It doesn't meant that you can't have a friendly relationship or give and receive favors, but there needs to be communication regarding expectations, especially (if not more importantly) as the relationship grows.

Of course. Sometimes people may assume their relationship with a business goes beyond that though, and they could be mistaken. I agree assumptions shouldn’t be made on certain outcomes without communication.

BeanAnimal · Oct 5, 2025

Reefer Matt said:
Of course. Sometimes people may assume their relationship with a business goes beyond that though, and they could be mistaken. I agree assumptions shouldn’t be made on certain outcomes without communication.

Lessons, often learned the hard way over the years, as both a customer and a business owner. I am sometimes shocked at people's insane expectations, as well as people's lack of awareness. As awkward as it can be sometimes, I have learned that it is best to setup expectations up-front and realign them regularly so that there are no surprises.

Reefer Matt · Oct 5, 2025

BeanAnimal said:
Lessons, often learned the hard way over the years, as both a customer and a business owner. I am sometimes shocked at people's insane expectations, as well as people's lack of awareness. As awkward as it can be sometimes, I have learned that it is best to setup expectations up-front and realign them regularly so that there are no surprises.

Yeah, I’ll usually take things a step further by settling an agreed transaction on the day of, instead of at my convenience also. Like trading in coral for store credit. I’ll just find something I can always use like salt and end the transaction that day. Written notes tend to get misplaced and forgotten over time, unless they want to hand out a gift card as the store credit.