Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

snoopdog wrote:the reason I do not go in there are the prices.

Ditto....I get my RO water there (until I can get my own RO filter) and that's pretty much it nowadays.

B&B prices are just crazy. You can buy reef shite for half the price that B&B wants for it. I got suckered in when I first got into the hobby by B&B but it didn't take me long at all to learn that there price where way off. I get my Ridiculous fish sales from Rich these days.

Well, NM354 and I are working on it. The longer we badger him about it, the more he will lower things. We have made more progress within the last few months than we have in years (many many many years).

I would like to make it so the real hobbiest in mobile would want to come to B&B (trust me i know why you don't). Its going to take time for this to happen but we will keep hounding him about prices. Like Amphiprion said within the last coulple months we have gotten more stuff done to get going in the right direction than has been done in the few years we have both been there.

Point Bill to the direction of this post. Let him see what the Reefer's really think about his prices. I have no problems with the quality of his fish though, they do better than most other vendors as far as survivability.

A little update for everyone:

We had the meeting and I spoke with the Kent rep. I personally think it went very well. He basically had no ground to stand on in his side of the argument--all he could really do was agree. After I threw out most of what he said at our meeting, he finally just said that they (Kent) make these supplements (and will continue) because there is a market whether people actually need them or not. Other than the issue of actually adding supplements, his information as to what many of them actually do was either wrong or far outdated--or in some cases, neither he nor Kent actually know what it does, but they still sell it.

Hope this allows for a different perspective for everyone.

So I have to wonder where the "market" would be if they started paying attention, and stopped advertising?

But it is a company, and the bottom line is money, I guess. From your post, it sounds as if he was placating you somewhat....or do you think anything you said actually got thru enough for them to act on it?

While he may have conceded to the facts in the end (because I literally gave him no choice), it will not change anything. He will not stop saying what he does because of what I did, nor will Kent Marine stop. However, he did try to placate me by saying that "you are an advanced hobbyist and can 'get away' with not adding these things," which told me that he either 1) missed the point entirely or, more likely, 2) was dodging the point. Anyway, my main goal was to get other saltwater employees thinking for themselves (and not blindly trusting advertisements and labels). I even ask them to challenge what I say and find out for themselves. While we may sell the supplements, I will continue to not use them and recommend against their usage to others. I will criticize anyone who does do so without even knowing what it does or why it should be added (or not, in most cases). Selling these things is just setting people up for potential failure (not to mention lessening their wallet thickness)--which is WRONG and I do not believe in it. I think that a good deal of the problems people experience is not from missing "essential trace elements", but rather an overabundance of them. I may as well stop now, since I am starting to get philosophical and theoretical.

snoopdog wrote:He is only hurting himself with the high prices. When he keeps the reef nerds away from his own place he is only chopping his nose off. His store hours are good and it is always "manned" but the reason I do not go in there are the prices.

Fish prices use to be pretty good....but I have not checked them in a while.

The truth is, Bill is still charging premium prices as if he were still the only player in the game.....like things were 10-15 years ago when I worked there. He could pretty much name his price..there was little if any internet retail sales, and almost no local storefront competition...within 100 miles really. The average customer had nowhere to turn for knowledge other than the local store...

Ask any honest store owner, and they will tell you....the majority of business has always came from the new, naive customers who will pay what is on the ticket...and buy what is recommended....at least for the first purchase...and many will keep paying what is asked, and buying what they are told....never doing research.....never shopping online....never seeking out second opinions. For better are worse they are your typical "hey my car is making a funny noise....fix it and send me the bill" type folks. This will just be a purchase for them...not a major hobby or passion. A person at the mercy of a hungry man's conscience. They are the sparkle in your average store owners eye.

Things have changed though. I would say that the percentage of reefkeepers who take it beyond a casual hobby is increasing...serious hobbiest are more savy... the average customer does not stay average all that long any more.....they learn fast and rely less , in the long run, on the store for advice. Even the most loyal customer will sneak out and shop elsewhere when prices reach the stupidity barrier.

On an average (non emergency) purchase, I will pay a few bucks more to the right place.....at the right time... but I'm not gunna take an arse whuppin at the register AND still have to show them my ID and spell my name on every single visit.

Well said.

I couldn't agree with you more. But I am making progress in making B&B a more "true hobbiest" friendly store. We will probably never cary high end skimmers, halide retro kits, T5's, or lots of the things most of the people on this board are looking for but thats what the internet or progressive are for. Our coral prices might be off the wall most the time but i am still working on that. Things are going in a better direction now than they have been in the past couple of years.

Indeed. I, too am trying to make our store more friendly toward the dedicated hobbyist. What our upper management may not realize is that the vast majority of our sales actually come from repeat customers. If we give them a reason to come back (other than just for information, as they usually do), we will end up making more money in the long term. Changes are always occurring now, so who knows what we may end up doing as time goes by. Hopefully, we can get the store back into shape as far as fish, corals, etc. and put our store back on the map for people who are truly involved in the hobby. While I am not able to make the major changes like NM354, I can still help out by getting people on the right track. The dissemination of correct and honest information goes a longer way than one might think. Though forums are where quite a few people go for information, myself and a few others are proving that pet stores really can be sources of reliable, truthful, time-tested, correct, and time-tested information--all with just one step at a time.

How much are you guys selling your blue hermits for, have you gotten Bill to come down on the prices.

10 for $10. He used to have them at 10for $15 .

How is that compared to Progressive, anyone picked up any from him lately ?