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10/29/2019, 05:46 PM | #1 |
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Live Aquaria box charge...hmmmmm
So is LiveAquaria now actively trying to loose customers? First the refund policy now this. Today I went on to order some fish and noticed there was a box charge on my order that was under $149. So I pushed my order up to $174 and noticed the box charge was still there. Does anyone know if this is a permanent thing? I just ordered less than a month ago and there was not box charge. Any suggestions on other online vendors with quality fish for a reasonable price?
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10/30/2019, 02:56 AM | #2 |
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Yeah, they thought that they were selling too much livestock and so they did what they could to dissuade people buying from them...
After the latest changes I haven't ordered from them and am kind of hesitant to do so. I still have some credit from earlier orders with them so at some point I will use that up, but most likely to buy frozen foods or dry goods. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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Pairs: 4 percula, 3 P. kauderni, 3 D. excisus, 1 ea of P. diacanthus, S. splendidus, C. altivelis O. rosenblatti, D. janssi, S. yasha & a Gramma loreto trio 3 P. diacanthus. 2 C. starcki Current Tank Info: 200 gal 4 tank system (40x28x24 + 40B + 40B sump tank + 20g refugium) + 30x18x18 mixed reef + 20g East Pacific biotop + 20g FW +... |
10/30/2019, 11:20 AM | #3 |
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That's just crazy! I would have rather them raised their prices than to start nickel-and-diming people. I remember box charges back in the day for stuff and it sucked then and still sucks. I have a credit there too but dealing with them has been a pain since the Petco acquisition. I talked to them and reps are saying the they are not sure the box fee is permanent as of yet. They are saying packing materials have become more expensive and in order to avoid cutting corners on packing they introduced the box fee. I guess all we can do is shoot them an email and let them know we are not happy and or find a new place. I already see one of their competitors sending emails saying no box fees. I did not know what they were talking about until I went to place my order at Live Aquaria....
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10/30/2019, 11:40 AM | #4 |
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Oh, they actually also raised the prices across the board.
The final straw for me was eliminating the 14 day warranty on "expert only" specimens. Most of those fish are really just finicky eaters but otherwise no more demanding than similar species that are not classified as "expert only". Nearly all of those "expert only" fish will last way beyond 14 days even without eating. Had they just restricted the warranty that the specimen are not guaranteed to be eating it would have been fine, but restricting it to a simple "arrive alive" guarantee allows them to send you sick and half dead fish and then say it was the customer's fault when the animals died hours after arrival or the next day. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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Pairs: 4 percula, 3 P. kauderni, 3 D. excisus, 1 ea of P. diacanthus, S. splendidus, C. altivelis O. rosenblatti, D. janssi, S. yasha & a Gramma loreto trio 3 P. diacanthus. 2 C. starcki Current Tank Info: 200 gal 4 tank system (40x28x24 + 40B + 40B sump tank + 20g refugium) + 30x18x18 mixed reef + 20g East Pacific biotop + 20g FW +... |
10/30/2019, 03:32 PM | #5 |
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LOL I had not noticed that. I was too busy trying to figure out how many fish I needed to get rid of the box charge and have them arrive before my wife got back in town...lol. I feel you on that expert thing. I just wish they had thought it out a little better and implemented it better. I should have known things were going downhill when I started getting emails about all these things...lol. Oh well we live and we learn. Big corporations always mess it up. This helps me stick to avoiding Petco...lol. They are like a meddling friend that causes you to break up with your girlfriend....
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10/30/2019, 08:52 PM | #6 |
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Around here we are lucky to have several great LFS within just a few miles and even more if you are willing to drive an hour or two, but the people living in the middle of nowhere are screwed.
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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Pairs: 4 percula, 3 P. kauderni, 3 D. excisus, 1 ea of P. diacanthus, S. splendidus, C. altivelis O. rosenblatti, D. janssi, S. yasha & a Gramma loreto trio 3 P. diacanthus. 2 C. starcki Current Tank Info: 200 gal 4 tank system (40x28x24 + 40B + 40B sump tank + 20g refugium) + 30x18x18 mixed reef + 20g East Pacific biotop + 20g FW +... |
10/31/2019, 12:35 PM | #7 |
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Yep they are like airlines now. Next they might start charging a bagging fee.
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10/31/2019, 06:06 PM | #8 | ||
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To check out my pictures of my tank and trips just click on my name and visit my homepage. Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737 |
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10/31/2019, 06:22 PM | #9 |
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As for prices going up: DD listed a number of Bluespot Jawfish today for a whooping $300 each! That's about double what they were 2 or 3 years ago.
Around here those go for half of that or less these days! Diving an hour or more was normal to me back in Germany to get fish. At times we would drive even 3 to 4 hours to get to DeJong in the Netherlands or some further away store that had gotten something special in (you would call around to ask what they have in stock). Walking in at DeJong felt like Christmas at times, especially if they had just gotten a shipment in. They often had fish you would only see in public aquaria and even there only rarely.
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Pairs: 4 percula, 3 P. kauderni, 3 D. excisus, 1 ea of P. diacanthus, S. splendidus, C. altivelis O. rosenblatti, D. janssi, S. yasha & a Gramma loreto trio 3 P. diacanthus. 2 C. starcki Current Tank Info: 200 gal 4 tank system (40x28x24 + 40B + 40B sump tank + 20g refugium) + 30x18x18 mixed reef + 20g East Pacific biotop + 20g FW +... |
10/31/2019, 09:10 PM | #10 |
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A bunch of whining and crying here....no one has a gun to your head buying from DD. Take your business elsewhere. Capitalism will weed out the bad businesses.
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11/01/2019, 05:53 AM | #11 |
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Its more about the abrupt changes that happened in August with the refund policy, box charge, alive arrive on fish they deem "expert only" and the price increase on all fish across the board.
No one likes change and especially no one likes change after almost 14 years of doing things one way. The problem is Petco, its just sad to see honestly. I have been buying fish from LA/DD since they opened but they have now taken what made them better than everyone else away. I have 2 LFS within 20 mins of me that have hundreds of tanks between the two of them, the problem is all of their fish are sick or are in systems with sick fish so having to deal with a sick fish from the start is the problem..
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Fish are not disposable commodities, but a worthwhile investment that can be maintained and enjoyed for many years, providing one is willing to take the time to understand their requirements and needs Current Tank Info: 625g, 220g sump, RD3 230w, Vectra L1 on a closed loop, 3 MP60s, MP40. Several QTs |
11/01/2019, 11:36 AM | #12 |
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Dmorty you said it when you stated no one likes change! The problem is Dr.s F and S didn't just sell yesterday to Petco they sold a few years ago and we have been enjoying great price, shipping and products for years. FYI they are not the only online selling BSJF for $300
https://aqualocker.com/fish/jawfish/...otted-jawfish/ |
11/01/2019, 12:37 PM | #13 |
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FWIW and to add to those with a credit. Im pretty sure that credit or loyalty credit , etc expires pretty quickly now. That was a change a few months ago. I didnt know about the box charge or no more real guarantee on expert only. I'm lucky with my ritteri! . I got it not knowing about that expert only lack of guarantee. LUCKILY it wasnt sick when I got it. Or sick soon after with something it had in shipment of from them etccccccc. I would have thought twice if I kneow there was no guarantee. It's good actually I did not see that, as I just pretty much got lucky with mine.
Same with my OSFF. I got those though before the changes. I probably wouldnt have noticed that until I saw this post. So whoever said dont complain. I'm glad you did! |
11/04/2019, 06:50 AM | #14 |
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At first they had a few months to use credit, but enough complaints changed that to a year for using your credit
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11/04/2019, 09:00 AM | #15 |
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11/25/2019, 03:59 PM | #16 | |
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11/25/2019, 04:19 PM | #17 | |
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Pairs: 4 percula, 3 P. kauderni, 3 D. excisus, 1 ea of P. diacanthus, S. splendidus, C. altivelis O. rosenblatti, D. janssi, S. yasha & a Gramma loreto trio 3 P. diacanthus. 2 C. starcki Current Tank Info: 200 gal 4 tank system (40x28x24 + 40B + 40B sump tank + 20g refugium) + 30x18x18 mixed reef + 20g East Pacific biotop + 20g FW +... |
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11/26/2019, 05:37 AM | #18 |
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https://aqualocker.com/fish/jawfish/...otted-jawfish/
Only one left at $238 They did send out a sale item for BSJF for $179/$169 yesterday |
11/26/2019, 05:55 PM | #19 |
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Recently ordered a few fish from LA. Box charge is absurd, what happened to free shipping? 2 fish showed up dead, and all others have died since. Not sure why or what’s going on but I don’t like it for sure.
Corey |
11/26/2019, 06:44 PM | #20 |
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Save yourself headache and trouble. Order fish from here.
Www.tsmcorals.com All quarantined and healthy. You will not have any issues. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
11/26/2019, 06:46 PM | #21 | |
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11/26/2019, 06:49 PM | #22 | |
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12/08/2019, 01:10 AM | #23 | |
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Pairs: 4 percula, 3 P. kauderni, 3 D. excisus, 1 ea of P. diacanthus, S. splendidus, C. altivelis O. rosenblatti, D. janssi, S. yasha & a Gramma loreto trio 3 P. diacanthus. 2 C. starcki Current Tank Info: 200 gal 4 tank system (40x28x24 + 40B + 40B sump tank + 20g refugium) + 30x18x18 mixed reef + 20g East Pacific biotop + 20g FW +... |
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12/08/2019, 06:00 AM | #24 | |
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Prove it. I have found their prices fair. I will also consider the health of the fish you get from them worth the cost. I haven’t lost one fish I purchased from them. Make sure your comparing identical fish. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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12/08/2019, 05:12 PM | #25 |
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I think I did precisely that in my post above. BTW, according to one of the LFS here those Ventralis are just $65 wholesale.
With other fish that are "easier" to acclimate they may have less markup but they are still significantly more expensive compared to what local stores here charge for those. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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Pairs: 4 percula, 3 P. kauderni, 3 D. excisus, 1 ea of P. diacanthus, S. splendidus, C. altivelis O. rosenblatti, D. janssi, S. yasha & a Gramma loreto trio 3 P. diacanthus. 2 C. starcki Current Tank Info: 200 gal 4 tank system (40x28x24 + 40B + 40B sump tank + 20g refugium) + 30x18x18 mixed reef + 20g East Pacific biotop + 20g FW +... |
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