I have been keeping fish for 30 years now. During this entire time my
LFS (local fish store) has always accepted trade-ins of fish that were
either incompatible, too large, etc as long as they were healthy
specimens. This has been assumed and expected because how else do you
humanely deal with healthy fish that would otherwise die. I am
accustomed to getting 25-50% of a fishes value in store credit, never
cash, which means that LFS also makes a margin when I use the credit
to buy a fish at full price.

I had some africans that had grown to adult size and were attempting
to kill each other. I separated the adult males and bagged up one of
each to take back to my LFS. I would never have bought 2 males but
with africans it is often impossible to sex them when they are small.
These were beautiful healthy fish. 3 of the 4 fish had actually been
purchased from the same LFS that I was taking them back to. I had
purchased several hundred dollars of fish from this LFS.

When I got to the LFS ( in Danville VA), which was a forty minute
drive from me, the LFS informed me that they now had a policy that
they no longer accepted trade-ins. I explained the situation, that the
fish would fight until death, and that I had bought them there at
their store. They said "Sorry there nothing I can do". I never named a
price so it is not like I was asking too much $.

I have long been struggling between supporting my LFS versus ordering
off the Internet. This has helped me make up my mind. I will never
again buy another fish from a retailer who will not take them back
when there is a problem. I am an experienced aquariest and do not
need help testing water and selecting proper filtration, the only
support I need is a place to return fish when I move or change my tank
or developed comparability issues. If I am not going to get any
support after the sale then I might as well save myself 50% and order
straight from the breeders.

So, I just placed a $300 order directly from a breeder in Florida, it
will arrive at the airport tomorrow. There are also several online
shops that can easily support all of my hardware and dry good needs.
My LFS wont ever see another $ from me.
Mike Petro
mikefilter@mikepetro.org
remove the "filter" in my email address to reply
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