Re: [Killietalk] Killies at LFS's

["Edd Kray" <edd at catfishnthecrawlers_com>]

Now we have a couple of local shops that will take killies, pay us $5/pr
for then, sell them at about $15 and appreciate our bringing them in. I
suggest looking around, getting to know the owners of local GOOD shops
and dealing with them. True, we find few real killie-people come to us
this way, but even if its only one new member a year (and that's about
the average rate) . It's worth it.

I walked into one of those shops yesterday (Neptunes Tropical Fish in
Littleton) and he had a beautiful batch of chocolate australe....didn't
remember who brought them in....but we need to find out and  corral this
guy for our club here in town

Edd in wintery Denver.

-----Original Message-----
From: killietalk-bounces at aka_org [mailto:killietalk-bounces at aka_org] On
Behalf Of Koran, David HQ02
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2005 11:21 AM
To: killietalk at aka_org
Subject: [Killietalk] Killies at LFS's

Killies should normally sell themselves but it is always advisable to
provide
tips to the shop on interim care so they continue to display properly.
I
gave up trying long ago when (my only time successful with the fish) I
had a
good hatch of Blue gularis and bagged up 5 pairs individually and took
them
to an area shop which impressed me with their selection of fish.  I
asked
only to be reimbursed if they sold anything but they had assured me the
fish
wouldn't sell and killies in general didn't sell.  They floated the bags
while I browsed around the store but by the time I was ready to leave
they
had already sold 3 of the pairs without even releasing them from the
bags.  I
left my name and phone number and don't remember if I ever got anything
before leaving the store but I never came back and they never called
even
though they got 100% profit on the fish.

I tend to believe when you place killies at the LFS you are basically
doing
missionary work.  Don't expect business and be thankful for anything
good
that comes of it.  For most fish, your LFS can probably only continue to
exist as long as it focuses on the general hobby.  When you specialize
you
serve a niche market and unless you have an extremely large pool of
customers
you would spend your resources chasing a limited number of suppliers.
Again,
my feelings are that working arrangements between clubs and shops are
best
fashioned on the general level and are non-(business) threatening.  I
agreed
whole-heartedly with Bob Goldstein when he suggested at our discussion
session at the Convention that our best hope for recruiting killie
people is
through the local aquarium societies, people who are already predisposed
to
keeping fish and looking for the next challenge.

I don't want to imply you are throwing away fish if you take them to
your
local LFS buy don't require reimbursement, let them suggest payment.
Instill
curiosity and offer suggestions but they are advertising an item that
may
divert business to your club.  You want people to see killies and get
curious
about them.  If the LFS offers the killies at outrageous prices, accept
it.
It might add to the aura but I don't think it will stop the curiosity
and you
will just need to have the fish show up in other venues before the truly
interested will seek you and your club out.  Heck, when they find you
are
basically giving 'em away at club auctions for a few bucks, why pay
double
digit prices at the LFS?

Dave Koran

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