Price of Live stock

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Hi

How can one justify buynig blood shrimp for R150-00 and other stores are selling it for +R250-00 or kenya liverock for R90-00Kg other lfs R250kg , sechem salt R800-00-other lfs R999-00, really makes me sick the way we are being ripped off.
 
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depends on the shipment.

In reality, most of the money go towards the weight of the shipment. So you are actually paying a lot for that water. The fish itself is "cheap".

Sometimes, with a lot of dead on arrival, after splitting the shipment cost over the survivals, it adds a lot towards them. Better survival rates and the overhead costs per individual is less.

Then shops run specials on certain critters.
 
There are many factors which come into play.
Rand Dollar exchange at the time the shipment was bought.
Which supplier the importer sourced the lives stock from as well as geographic location.
Sometimes you will have a lot of DOA livestock and you have to try recoup a little of the money, sometimes even to the point of just trying to break even.
Freight is without a doubt the biggest cost. The livestock itself normally costs about a quarter of the actual shipment. The rest is freight, importer fees etc. We even pay seperately for the packaging.
With regards to salt etc, some LFS are pretty big and can afford to buy in bulk. This way they will get decent discount from the supplier.
There are many many different factors that influence prices of items/livestock in a petshop. I had a similar view until the day came when I owned my own petshop. It was a bit of a shock to the system once I had seen how everything worked.
 
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its also expensive here as we only have like 3 agents that import, they markup, charge commisions etc what we need is a consortium/wholesaler like SDC, liveaqauria etc but alas our market is to fragmented with lfs owners trying to "kill" each other
 
I always thought lfs dont pay for dead stock?
You can claim doa only when you open the box not a day later when stock in your tank etc
 
we have brought this upon our selves ! if we all dont pay these crazy prices then prices will come down that is why you often see shops giving 50% of livestock because it is sitting so if we want cheaper live stock dont pay! wait for the specials and they will come thick and fast
 
we have brought this upon our selves ! if we all dont pay these crazy prices then prices will come down that is why you often see shops giving 50% of livestock because it is sitting so if we want cheaper live stock dont pay! wait for the specials and they will come thick and fast
People forget that shop owners have rent to pay, electricity, suppliers, staff, phonelines, tax, bank charges etc etc etc. Sometimes they are just trying to recover some of their money in order to pay theses expenses.
Until people know all the facts they should refrain from passing judgement on how things are done.
There may indeed be some shops out there charging exorbitant prices but I can tell you that the cast majority are charging simply what they have to cover running costs and to earn a living.
 
we have brought this upon our selves ! if we all dont pay these crazy prices then prices will come down that is why you often see shops giving 50% of livestock because it is sitting so if we want cheaper live stock dont pay! wait for the specials and they will come thick and fast

Guess you can say the same with hardware in the for sale section:m33: Lets not buy your goods and wait for you to give us 50% discount. I agree with you, your lights will go very quickly then.
 
maby you never know ! i dont need to sell where as the lfs does to make a living !!!!! you are missing the whole point but i suppose every one has a differant view
 
I agree with @rigby and @Esmond.... I recently went to Joburg to a guys house who has a setup as good as any LFS ive see and he is selling livestock at half the price of a shop. hes importing directly as well he has holding tanks .. frag tanks etc... only thing he doesnt have is plenty staff running around doing nothing
 
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I agree with @rigby and @Esmond.... I recently went to Joburg to a guys house who has a setup as good as any LFS ive see and he is selling livestock at half the price of a shop. hes importing directly as well he has holding tanks .. frag tanks etc... only thing he doesnt have is plenty staff running around doing nothing

Well, then he doesn't pay rent. And he doesn't have staff to pay.
@Nemos Janitor
 
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in hillcrest in durban at a LFS a coral will sell for R350 the same coral in JHB/PTA will sell for R800 -R900 so why is there such a big differance ? surely the guy in hillcrest also pays with the same $ and shipping as the rest of the shops
 
I agree with @rigby and @Esmond.... I recently went to Joburg to a guys house who has a setup as good as any LFS ive see and he is selling livestock at half the price of a shop. hes importing directly as well he has holding tanks .. frag tanks etc... only thing he doesnt have is plenty staff running around doing nothing

I reckon also no high commercial property rent and levy, no extra business tel line, no district municipality business tax and a few other expenses you need to pay when having a shop run business.

Good for him or any other person if he can operate a business like that and give the savings through to the customer instead of putting everything in his own pocket.
 
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by the way the guy in hillcrest which i am refering to actualy has a shop and has been around for along time ! maby you should support them
 
my business also relies on imports from South Africa.... I pay for shipping, import tax I pay rent staff salaries electricity business tel internet etc... and yet I work on 25-30% mark up. my business model is keep the prices affordable and rely on volume sales to make profit not a killing from a singe customer... just my 2c
 
my business also relies on imports from South Africa.... I pay for shipping, import tax I pay rent staff salaries electricity business tel internet etc... and yet I work on 25-30% mark up. my business model is keep the prices affordable and rely on volume sales to make profit not a killing from a singe customer... just my 2c
What line of business?
 
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