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Post by Crazygar on Apr 10, 2019 8:11:39 GMT -5
We had a Big Al's here in the early Eighties. Plaza across the street from Tecumseh Mall.
Gary
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Post by lesfromlakeshore on Apr 10, 2019 8:29:44 GMT -5
We had a Big Al's here in the early Eighties. Plaza across the street from Tecumseh Mall. Gary Remember it well . Good old days lol
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Post by Crazygar on Apr 10, 2019 10:37:10 GMT -5
The LFS maybe has 5% of windsor's population as potential customers since not every household keeps fish. That, by the way, that sentence summed up perfectly what Cory was saying in the video. The percentage of fish keepers is pretty low in this city. Correction, the percentage of people whom don't keep Cichlids in this area is low. Windsor is a Cichlid town. If someone were to reopen a Cichlids only store that specialized in only Cichlids (this was also in the video about specializing) then it might change a few things in regards to the others in town. At one point, 2000-2008ish, there was such a store in the Riverside area. I guess when the economy tanked here, so did a lot of other businesses. Here is some interesting facts; Windsor has 3 Petsmarts. One at Tecumseh Mall, one in the Plaza near Wallymart on Dougall and, get this, the biggest fish room for all Petsmarts in Southwestern Ontario, at Walker Crossing. Your average rank-and-file aquarist isn't overly concerned with factors like "hybrid, speciality, uniqueness". They want pretty fish in their pretty tank. Their needs are basic, and for the Mom and Pop LFS to survive, they also have to carry your Bread and Butter while still attempting to cater to the hobbyist (us). It's a balancing act and costs $$ either way. Windsor, needs a speciality Cichlid Store, which will either drive the other Mom and Pop operations to; a) Improve their quality b) Improve their selection c) Improve their prices d) Stop selling Cichlids, let the other store do it. Other than that, Windsor has hit its maximum potential for other Mom and Pop operations. Currently there is only 2 in town. We know who they are. No need to mention names. Outside of the City limits there is more, but I am focusing on Windsor. Gary
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Post by lesfromlakeshore on Apr 10, 2019 10:48:32 GMT -5
Another thing that severely hurts is that the stores around here can only draw from one direction . They are hampered by us being a border town . People from the States can’t shop for fish over here . At least not with some hassle involved . Places like London while also being bigger can draw from all directions around them .
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Post by Crazygar on Apr 10, 2019 10:55:22 GMT -5
Good point Les, as stated, Windsor has hit it's maximum potential. Border Town (and so close) SEVERELY hampers any more in the area.
I will admit, its roll of the dice here in town when it comes to what I require since I am a specialist. I lucked out with the Cobalt Heater but the other items I have (Lights, Filtration, plants being great examples) are across the border or beyond London (where I am told, Canada begins).
Gary
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Post by Andre on Apr 11, 2019 13:27:30 GMT -5
There was a shop a few years back that specialized in strictly Cichlid species of fish. The problem with that store was the owner of that store was very unprofessional and didn't really care to converse with customers and would rather just sit behind his deck while you were in the store. This was in my early infancy of getting back into the hobby and wasn't ready for the cichlid world.
Another issue and some may take offense and i apologize in advance but this area, we are cheap! There is something about being in this area and seeing something and telling ourselves that it's overpriced but then go outside of our "Essex County" bubble and be completely fine with the price. Not sure why that happens but i am guilty of it.
I remember the "Big Al's" that was across from Tecumseh mall, it's just sad and it speaks volumes that a store like that has not returned to this area.
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Post by lesfromlakeshore on Apr 11, 2019 14:05:50 GMT -5
There was a shop a few years back that specialized in strictly Cichlid species of fish. The problem with that store was the owner of that store was very unprofessional and didn't really care to converse with customers and would rather just sit behind his deck while you were in the store. This was in my early infancy of getting back into the hobby and wasn't ready for the cichlid world. Another issue and some may take offense and i apologize in advance but this area, we are cheap! There is something about being in this area and seeing something and telling ourselves that it's overpriced but then go outside of our "Essex County" bubble and be completely fine with the price. Not sure why that happens but i am guilty of it. I remember the "Big Al's" that was across from Tecumseh mall, it's just sad and it speaks volumes that a store like that has not returned to this area. Not only will people drive out of town and readily pay what they wouldn’t pay locally but sometimes even buy fish online for a little less than locally but not consider shipping which puts the price higher . I remember talking a local fish store into bringing some nice pleco’s in . He priced them very reasonably and they sat in his tanks forever.
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Post by phish on Apr 11, 2019 19:43:58 GMT -5
There was a shop a few years back that specialized in strictly Cichlid species of fish. The problem with that store was the owner of that store was very unprofessional and didn't really care to converse with customers and would rather just sit behind his deck while you were in the store. This was in my early infancy of getting back into the hobby and wasn't ready for the cichlid world. Another issue and some may take offense and i apologize in advance but this area, we are cheap! There is something about being in this area and seeing something and telling ourselves that it's overpriced but then go outside of our "Essex County" bubble and be completely fine with the price. Not sure why that happens but i am guilty of it. I remember the "Big Al's" that was across from Tecumseh mall, it's just sad and it speaks volumes that a store like that has not returned to this area. I have to agree with this. People in the Greater Toronto Area are not afraid to part with their money. People in the Greater Windsor Area know the value of a dollar. I can't explain this either. We still live by old school economics. I think part of the reason why you don't mind higher prices when you leave the area is because you already spent the time and money to travel there, saw something you liked and didn't mind paying extra because it's not available in your area.
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Post by jred on Apr 15, 2019 9:38:31 GMT -5
Agreed this town is cheap, I fall into that category as well. I find though the more you pay for a fish, the more you are willing to put the effort in to raising and hopefully breeding that fish. However I think that is where the issue begins - most cichlid species are fairly easy to breed, then when someone has 50+ juveniles eating them out of house and home they dump them for cheap. This results in a perception that the stores are overpriced and people refuse to pay those prices (they are overpriced on certain items for sure). LFS then struggle to sell stock because of this perception and being undercut by hobbyists so they are forced to purchase cheaper stock but then they get "assorted" fish which hardcore hobbyists probably aren't interested in or hormoned fish which when they fade upsets the customer. Its a downward cycle and one I don't really know how to fix, end of the day the store has more overhead than any hobbyist does so I think they need to carry items which make them unique. Competitively prices fish food, unique decorations, quality fish, plant fertilizer, etc. should help but I think its building a core customer base and meeting their expectations.
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Post by Andre on Apr 15, 2019 11:02:02 GMT -5
Agreed this town is cheap, I fall into that category as well. I find though the more you pay for a fish, the more you are willing to put the effort in to raising and hopefully breeding that fish. However I think that is where the issue begins - most cichlid species are fairly easy to breed, then when someone has 50+ juveniles eating them out of house and home they dump them for cheap. This results in a perception that the stores are overpriced and people refuse to pay those prices (they are overpriced on certain items for sure). LFS then struggle to sell stock because of this perception and being undercut by hobbyists so they are forced to purchase cheaper stock but then they get "assorted" fish which hardcore hobbyists probably aren't interested in or hormoned fish which when they fade upsets the customer. Its a downward cycle and one I don't really know how to fix, end of the day the store has more overhead than any hobbyist does so I think they need to carry items which make them unique. Competitively prices fish food, unique decorations, quality fish, plant fertilizer, etc. should help but I think its building a core customer base and meeting their expectations. Big reason why i have pretty much gotten out of the whole breeding aspect of this hobby. I was all in to bring species of cichlids not seen in this area. I have approached LFS with some of the fish that i have bred in the past and unless they were "Electric Yellow's" they were not interested. I was surprised a couple times when i brought some other types to a local store, Stopping in a few weeks later to see how the fish did and how they sold and was surprised to hear that they went fast the store would be interested again but alas they were not. "I was asking too much" is what i was told, please tell me how asking $5 on a fish where the store is then asking $25.00 is overpriced on my end... was asking for credit to the store and not cash. This is where the whole "Support your LFS" dies for me... mind you i get the whole thing of them getting approached by numerous people wanting to dump their fish and i agree they can't support and take everyone's offering...
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Post by Crazygar on Apr 15, 2019 12:56:25 GMT -5
Why, more often than not, it's better going through the Society, other Societies, this Forum or Kijiji.
I didn't expect ANY of the stores in the area to have what I am looking for. I did visit and found a few things but not enough to consider my habits as "Local Only".
Add to it, my planted phase is complete. My CO2 (Canister, Lily Pipes, Bubble Counter, Diffuser) items are complete (barring replacement Nylon washers, Home Depot or Lowes). Equipment - Complete, Substrate - Complete (I did buy a bag locally), at this point. The big items are done.
The only thing I am now looking for is Boraras brigattae, which I know I will get in Toronto on the Bus trip (yes, you folk have to endure me for an entire day, my condolences in advance).
I could ask for a special order in, as I am wanting either 11 or 15 (not sure yet) but I am going to wager the price would be a bit higher than what I would get at one of the stores on the Tour. So patience, being a thing of mine, I can wait.
Gary
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Post by phish on Apr 15, 2019 18:41:57 GMT -5
Why, more often than not, it's better going through the Society, other Societies, this Forum or Kijiji. I didn't expect ANY of the stores in the area to have what I am looking for. I did visit and found a few things but not enough to consider my habits as "Local Only". Add to it, my planted phase is complete. My CO2 (Canister, Lily Pipes, Bubble Counter, Diffuser) items are complete (barring replacement Nylon washers, Home Depot or Lowes). Equipment - Complete, Substrate - Complete (I did buy a bag locally), at this point. The big items are done. The only thing I am now looking for is Boraras brigattae, which I know I will get in Toronto on the Bus trip (yes, you folk have to endure me for an entire day, my condolences in advance). I could ask for a special order in, as I am wanting either 11 or 15 (not sure yet) but I am going to wager the price would be a bit higher than what I would get at one of the stores on the Tour. So patience, being a thing of mine, I can wait. Gary Shrimp fever usually carries Chili Rasboras but they are all out of stock according to their website. Angelfins usually has them too but they are out of stock as well... must not be the season yet.
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Post by Crazygar on Apr 16, 2019 7:34:33 GMT -5
This drives the whole point home. How we all know that "online sources" that are way outside of our area have. This entire discussion is what Cory is talking about in the video.
I'm not cheap, but I am not going to pay top dollar for low quality fish.
If they are good quality fish, I'm willing to spend the $$. This City has a habit of charging top dollar for lower or lesser quality. That needs to reverse itself.
When I lived in Saskatoon and Winnipeg, I was willing to pay the prices as they had good quality fish. Most LFS's Q-T'd their stock and you could tell my looking at the tanks, they cared about their livestock.
From what I've seen locally, that's not always the case. Which is too bad.
Gary
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Post by Andre on Apr 16, 2019 11:01:57 GMT -5
This drives the whole point home. How we all know that "online sources" that are way outside of our area have. This entire discussion is what Cory is talking about in the video. I'm not cheap, but I am not going to pay top dollar for low quality fish. If they are good quality fish, I'm willing to spend the $$. This City has a habit of charging top dollar for lower or lesser quality. That needs to reverse itself. When I lived in Saskatoon and Winnipeg, I was willing to pay the prices as they had good quality fish. Most LFS's Q-T'd their stock and you could tell my looking at the tanks, they cared about their livestock. From what I've seen locally, that's not always the case. Which is too bad. Gary Could not have said it any better! Also, the likely hood of any store locally that's part of this site reading this, unlikely!
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Post by lesfromlakeshore on Apr 16, 2019 12:37:15 GMT -5
The likely hood of any fish store having a quarantine period for their fish is minimal. Can anyone name one not called Aquarium Coop ? I’m sure there’s others but probably not within driving distance .
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