Question of Shopping Online vs Local Shop

[JimmyK]

As with most people that have responded I try to buy almost all locally. I think most members on this site do. I used to travel extensively for work and have been to shops all over the USA. We have by far the best concentration of shops and prices that I have found anywhere. Perhaps withthe exception of LA area for obvious reasons. The shops have to find the right balance of having what drygoods customers need on hand and not wasting cash flow with high ticket items that sit for years... I havenever purchased livestock on-line. I want to see what I am getting. Also, I do not have time to drive and find what I need. I call 2 shops that I usually buy my drygoods from. If they can get it in in a few days or have it on hand I buy it. If it is longer than that I buy on-line.

I guess one thing that I do differently is I do most of my research for equipment and dry goods on-line. That way I have an idea of what I am looking for and what the price points are. I can't afford to pay double for high tickets items as I think we would all agree on that..

[Algae]

What I would like to see in a store is that when I ask "What do you think of the Korallian Purple T5". they would say; "If you are interested, I can get you a price ASAP!"

And not, "No we don't have them, but we do have Current" and leave it at that.

The other thing is when a lfs knows everything. I respect when a lfs admits that they don't have all the answers instead of trying to BS.

I like enthusiasm. If I want depersonalized service I can order online and I wish more stores would realize this. I almost wish that some salespeople could actually learn how to make a sale.

[TheNanoReef]

you make a good point Algae, when i was trying to train my wife she was always worried about what to do when she doesn't know the answer to a customers question. she felt like she would look stupid or the customer would get upset if she didn't know the answer. I keep telling her that "I don't know, but lets look it up online" is a perfectly acceptable answer. I would like the meet the person that actually knows everything, half the time i have trouble identifying new fish and corals.

[Jay]

If a store tries to make me feel guilty for shopping around it's a safe bet I'll shop elsewhere.

 

Thank You Rick!!

 

This is such a dead horse....why keep beating it. If the lfs doesnt like someone comming in and asking questions he can choose to not awnser them. Being in bussiness is tough and not for everyone. If they dont like online shops competing with their local store then they better open a webstore also. I recently bought a product from a local lfs not mentioning any names patrick....I knew it would be more money but I did it because I happen to like the store and the big selection. Plus he tested my water and helped me figure out that my tds meter on my reverse osmosis unit was bad and I needed a new membrane and new batteries in my meter. I happen to know that he ordered from air water and ice our sponsor and it was marked up pretty darn good but the help he provided me was worth every penny. Who would have thought that the built in tds meter on their reverse osmosis unit would read zero tds when the batteries are a little low.....he knew. My hair algae that I was battleing is now gone and I had been battling it for months without knowing it was my water when my meter was reading zero TDS.

 

What I do is make my choices on the fly. If I like the way I am treated someplace it makes all the difference in the world of how much money I spend there. If I am treated like a number or someone who is only there to rip off then hey....they have made my choice really easy. I especially hate it when a business owner openly complains that someone else is getting their business. In my opinion if they keep their selection really really good and their employees are friendly and helpful and the prices are not completely out of line then the business should take care of itself. We as consumers need to realize that it takes money to run a business and pay the bills and provide a living for the owner and their families. Also money spent at locally owned businesses is likely to trickle back into the local economy as the employees get paid they may spend money locally also. Who do you wish to help pay their rent....some mega-huge walmart type online store or some china-men in hong kong selling on eBay......or the guy that lives in your town who has children that are in school with your kids and buys his food and other goods locally when possible? I know for a fact that a small business owner will go out of his way to support another small business. Someone who is in the same boat as he. I personally have not set foot in a walmart in over 6 years....aside from when I had to give someone a ride there to get their medications. Walmarts and home depo and the likes kill small business. I can remember when walmart came to moses lake when I lived there. The next 2 years a dozen businesses downtown closed as least. I know because I worked right downtown as a computer tech for a small business. Clothing stores and gift shops and furniture stores...closed closed closed. It was just sad. Everyone working at walmart for minimum wages instead of haveing good jobs in smaller stores with medical Bennies. DOH!

 

Whoa....thats enough typeing.....did not meen to turn this into a bash the big corporate B*tch thread....sorry (flame)

 

Jay

[Emerald525]

Well.. since you asked... I shop online, ebay, look for deals on craigslist and of course frequent the local fish stores. I do consider my self a good and loyal customer and I do spend a small fortune as most of you do on this hobby.

 

I agree that it is extremely rude to ask a shop owner a million questions and then purchase the equipment online. I would never do this.

I shop online most of the time for dry goods but also for corals and never again for fish.

 

Here is my list of dos and dont's for local fish stores and please note these comments are not meant to be directed at nanoreef and are based on my experiences of both online and local stores. These comments are posted here only because this is where the thread was started and I appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback.

 

1. Do ask me for help. Unlike Mick, I may want help and your expert opinion. This is one of the advantages of shopping locally. Do not ignore me because you are too busy socializing. However, if I say "no" I don't need any help then (see below):

 

2. Do not hover and act like a used car salesman. This will turn me off and make me walk out the door.

 

3. Do not sell me fish or other live animals without knowing about my particular tank. This just shows that you are more interested in making a quick sale. You may not make a sale that particular day but you are more than likely going to gain a customer for life. I do read up and do my research because I have a passion for this hobby and generally care and want the best for these creatures.

 

4. Do provide some sort of guarantee. Again you may lose out on a fish gone bad for the short term but you gain my trust and respect. It also justifies the higher price I may pay locally.

 

5. For online, do make sure your corals are in good health and well healed before you ship them out to me. Again, I know there are risks with shipping and things can happen but I am not going to buy from a place where the corals repeatedly do not do as well and recede or die. I will spend more money for something that I know is going to do well.

 

6. Do not badmouth other local fish stores. This fish community is a small community and I will eventually form my own opinions.

 

7. I would also advise staying out of any politically charged discussions in this forum. Again competition is very high locally so that may just make the difference (of course location as well) as to where I decide to continue shopping.

 

8. Do not freak out whenever there is a group buy thread posted or try to guilt people about wanting to do such group buys. I absolutely agree with supporting my local fish stores but there is nothing wrong with saving some money on dry goods here and there. Trust me it just means more money to spend on your corals and fish!

[jackaninny]

I could talk about this topic for hours (and have) but let's see if I can do a brain dump in 500 words or less.

 

I would have several concise signs with the benefits of supporting a LFS v. Online - sometimes people just need to be reminded why my store is there and how it stays open. By concise I mean 5 or less bullet points and these signs would be in several locations in the store and at the register. They would also thank the customer for shopping locally.

 

You have to have tanks in the store so why not have a demo or newbie corner with 1 or 2 systems with all the workings easily viewable so you could show how a Berlin method works or where the sump is and how it's hooked up. I'd make sure it was the cleanest looking install and next to immaculate at all times and labeled too. Too basic? Too much work? Look at it this way - it's starts a conversation or acts as an icebreaker with a new/old customer. Who knows where it leads but if you're talking to someone they're in your store and not elsewhere shopping.

 

I'd have 1-3 canned starter packages setup (dry - no working) with everything a person needs to take home and setup a tank. Each of the systems would hit a certain price point so someone could decide where they wanted to enter the hobby at. You want to create the packages carefully so you get that price point separation and achieve a different level of options for each setup such as keeping a particular fish or coral (lighting and size). I'd also offer a trade-in for the most entry level tanks to make sure I locked that newbie in when they advance to the next level. You could reuse the tanks or donate to TFT or re-sell them.

 

I would be a sponsor of this forum and as such I would thicken my skin, lay my dander down and unfurrow my brow. Remember just because you opened a store you don't have a special birth right to make people shop with you or make them happy with your service. It's called a job for a reason - it's work and you can never work hard enough to please everyone. You can promise to put your best effort out there and let the rest happen or not.

 

I would have a legit website with a legit email address and have a presence on Twitter and Facebook and whatever other communications platforms people are using. By legit I mean get a f-bombing domain with hosted email. Google offers it for $50/user/year - Fishdude@comcast.net doesn't tell me you have a website but marc@ultimateaquarium.com does and looks professional and BRANDS every email you send out. Use services like Twittter and Facebook to create your own little social network and UPDATE them on a regular basis. Every update I get puts your name in front of me and reminds me of what I might need from your store. I would actively participate in the club forums making sure people knew who I was and more importantly who my potential customers are and what they do/like/hang out with etc etc. The club forum is crazy packed with information about people who shop in your local area. It's all about branding.

 

Reduce the friction in the shopping process. If you don't want to or can't post all your inventory online then give me something where I can jot down what I need and send you a shopping list to quote for me. Let me give you Marine Depot part #s or Foster Smith part #s - if you can match it great if it costs a little more fine. A customer giving you a shopping list has a lot of value. A list gives you an idea of how much a customer is looking to spend in total, it might tell you about a system upgrade or change they are making it might tell you about future needs. Afraid people will shop your prices? Too late they already are and it's your JOB to make sure that they find the value in your price on that pump or that fishnet or that carbon. As I said we all know what item XXX goes for and where it's cheapest - thanks to the internet we are high information shoppers so do something different to engage us - club discount, punch card, entry into a monthly frag raffle and don't expect us to pay stupid markups - it's insulting. Offer willcall pickup. Offer home delivery for orders over a certain size. Offer email reminders when it's time to reorder. Anything to become more valuable to the customer.

 

Make strategic relationships with other shops either in the area or outside the area. Chance are someone in Gresham is not going to drive to Hillsboro on a regular basis to get sand or food. Work with those shop owners to buy in bulk or offer group buy specials. A shop in Seattle is NOT stealing your business so why not place some special orders with them to get better pricing and then drop ship or breakdown a shipment and reship locally. Never. Ever. Ever. Bad mouth another shop no matter how much you are baited into it. It's unprofessional and raises a red flag about WHY you are talking about another hobbyist/shop that way. Let your results speak for themselves and the posers/pretenders will be exposed.

 

Well that's what I have right right now. I love how many stores we have in the area and I want them all to succeed. I think some of this might be small business 101 but much of it seems to go unaddressed and I believe it's part of what is killing main street in the online v. local competition. I hope this doesn't sound too much like a rant and please excuse any grammar errors as I'm not going back to proof read it.

[Rick]

......

I would have several concise signs with the benefits of supporting a LFS v. Online - sometimes people just need to be reminded why my store is there and how it stays open. By concise I mean 5 or less bullet points and these signs would be in several locations in the store and at the register. They would also thank the customer for shopping locally.

......

 

I would not suggest doing this. The only purpose of this is to make the shopper feel guilty about shopping around. I.E. I would consider it bad mouthing the competition and walk out. It's also way too subjective. (In the list at the beginning of this thread everything can be swapped between both columns except for being able to see the livestock) I.E. You get some good and bad online dealers and the same thing applies to LFS. Some online dealers are super good at dealing with warranty or support issues and some LFS are lacking greatly in this area. Like most of us I shop almost exclusively local (for this hobby I bought one glass bit online that would have cost $200 plus to get locally). Therefore the LFS competition for most of us isn't really online but rather it is which local store we choose to shop at.

 

For the LFS specifically:

-I'm going to assume you already know how to treat a customer when they come through the door so I'm not going to go there. Others have already anyway. (You ought to know this before you even consider opening a business)

-Be prepared to tell me where your livestock come from, how long you have had them, and what compatibility issues there may be. If I'm looking for a specific fish then chances are I already know these things but I'll ask them anyway to see what answer you give (If you don't know then be honest). If I don't already know I'm going to come home and research it and expect it to be reasonably close to the answer given. The only wrong answer will be an answer that leads me to believe your just trying to sell me a fish rather than putting my best interest first.

-Take proper care of your livestock. If I find out you don't properly acclimate the livestock then I'll stop buying livestock from your store. I know one LFS that doesn't and to add insult to injury they only have a 48 hour guarantee. That's just about how long it will take before a starfish begins to melt from not acclimating it properly (I mention this specifically as it is how I found out about their acclimation procedure, or lack thereof). In my experience fish almost always survive for a few days as well so 48 hours isn't reasonable. If your taking care of your livestock then you should be able to provide a reasonable guarantee. Just be sure you educate your customers on acclimation procedures. If they buy a fish from you then they want it to survive as much as you do (Or I suspect more in a couple of cases) so they will follow your advise here. (We really do hate going back to the store with a dead fish as much as you hate having it happen)

-I'm sure I can come up with many more do's and do not's however really it just boils down to using common sense and having the customers best interest in mind. We will pay a little more (within reason) for the convienence of buying local if you do.

[CA2OR]

Re: Question of Shopping Online vs Local Shop

 

The only perc I see to local vs online is local I can see item in person....but online selection is WAY bigger...and often times cheaper too....guess that's why I shop online...well that and the attitudes I have received at LFS's or being ignored. It used to be a 50/50 split...then I experienced the attitudes of LFS's annd now it's more like 97% online and local for emergencies....

 

In my experiences as a business owner I realized that businesses don't steal customers from other businesses.....businesses simply give them away to competition

 

I simply do not agree with some of the cons you have listed for online.....there are places online that give 2 even 3 times as long of a warrenty or "live guarantee"

 

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[TheNanoReef]

The only perc I see to local vs online is local I can see item in person....but online selection is WAY bigger...and often times cheaper too....guess that's why I shop online...well that and the attitudes I have received at LFS's or being ignored. It used to be a 50/50 split...then I experienced the attitudes of LFS's annd now it's more like 97% online and local for emergencies....

In my experiences as a business owner I realized that businesses don't steal customers from other businesses.....businesses simply give them away to competition

 

I simply do not agree with some of the cons you have listed for online.....there are places online that give 2 even 3 times as long of a warrenty or "live guarantee"

 

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Have you been treated this way at all the shops? I personally try say hi to everyone who comes in and offer help, even when i am stacked with people. It is hard to believe that you got this at every shop?

[undrtkr_00]

 

You have to have tanks in the store so why not have a demo or newbie corner with 1 or 2 systems with all the workings easily viewable so you could show how a Berlin method works or where the sump is and how it's hooked up. I'd make sure it was the cleanest looking install and next to immaculate at all times and labeled too. Too basic? Too much work? Look at it this way - it's starts a conversation or acts as an icebreaker with a new/old customer. Who knows where it leads but if you're talking to someone they're in your store and not elsewhere shopping.

 

This is a great idea. I went to a local pond place that had "in process" version and "finished" versions of the same small pond/waterfall setup. Really helped me see how things go together as I was getting started, and now I keep going back to the same place for supplies.

 

I'd have 1-3 canned starter packages setup (dry - no working) with everything a person needs to take home and setup a tank. Each of the systems would hit a certain price point so someone could decide where they wanted to enter the hobby at. You want to create the packages carefully so you get that price point separation and achieve a different level of options for each setup such as keeping a particular fish or coral (lighting and size). I'd also offer a trade-in for the most entry level tanks to make sure I locked that newbie in when they advance to the next level. You could reuse the tanks or donate to TFT or re-sell them.

 

This is a good idea, especially if you have a little space to work with. Help give a noob an idea of what options they have for what starting price (softy tank, mixed, SPS dominated, etc).

 

 

Here's a question for some of you LFS folks. What % of your customers are people who have been in the hobby 6 months or less? Seems like there are a ton of people who start up tanks then give up the hobby after a short while because it is harder/more expensive/more time consuming than they realized. I imagine this accounts for a lot of your business, but do you have any idea how much?

[jgf86123]

Anytime any LFS proceeds on well respected members of our local fish community or on another store, they have lost my business for good.

 

That has happened at several stores in this area that I will not name, but I will not be recommending people to visit them nor will I visit them again.

 

I've worked in the retail business before, and have managed more than one retail business, if you don't have anything nice to say about your competition, just keep your mouths shut, trust me, you are better off.

[CA2OR]

Re: Question of Shopping Online vs Local Shop

 

Have you been treated this way at all the shops? I personally try say hi to everyone who comes in and offer help' date=' even when i am stacked with people. It is hard to believe that you got this at every shop?[/quote']

 

 

I have only been to a handfull since moving here and The Nano Reef isn't one of them....but...got horrible information from one which cost me 7 out of 8 of my fish and then most of my coral....then got ignored....twice at another....got screwed by another on a "good deal" that I found out less than 48 hours later that their "sale" price was $200 over normal cost straight from manufacturer...not only that but there is another component I would have gotten had I bought it online or ordered from former LFS's...and then got downright insulted and had my wife and mother insulted at the fourth...and made 4 attempts to visit a fifth and regardless of posted hours on door and recorded hours on thier machine they were never there.

 

It took months and an emergency for me to be willing to try another LFS...which ended up being the first of the non-disappointers...then of course there's TECO. Waves was also good but they are closed now. DJL is cool but far away from me.

 

In my 8 years of previous FW and 2 of salt in CA I have NEVER had experienced anything like the above described scenarios...it has also taken some time to get used to the pricing differences as well as the color differences....example I don't know what they are out here now but last I looked Coco Worms here were $20 or $30 ea....I guess that isn't bad but I like the $8 each or 3 for $20 myself....but I understand there is shipping costs that LFS's out here pay. JMO....don't pay too much attention to it. I got spoiled down south.

 

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[NoobtoSalt]

Hey Mick, I completely agree with you about not talking smack about the competition. I was actually at The Nano Reef yesterday and I was extremely impressed that Ryan was recomending me check out some of the other shops in town since he didn't have what I was looking for. He was honest and recomended me check out Westside to get what I was looking for. Unfortunately I didn't go there but that fact is that a shop suggested me go somewhere else to meet my needs. Ryan's got my business based off of that conversation alone!

 

Anytime any LFS proceeds on well respected members of our local fish community or on another store, they have lost my business for good.

 

That has happened at several stores in this area that I will not name, but I will not be recommending people to visit them nor will I visit them again.

 

I've worked in the retail business before, and have managed more than one retail business, if you don't have anything nice to say about your competition, just keep your mouths shut, trust me, you are better off.

[Rick]

One other item I failed to mention earlier is that any store that goes the extra mile to support the local community will be more inclined to get my business.

[theJenchild]

For me it is a need for shop employees or owners to understand my degree of commitment to this hobby. I enjoy my tank, and I enjoy this club, but I am not willing to spend thousands of dollars on it. I also don't spend a lot of time researching all of the intricacies of the hobby. If I come into a shop and say "I need a clean up crew for a lightly stocked 40g tank and I can spend $30 on it." Its a HUGE perk for me for an employee to say "Ok, here's what you need." At one particular store the owner just starts bagging for me, and they get excited when they think of something else that's cool that I might want, and I LOVE it. Its like personal shopping for my reef.

 

I also really appreciate suggestions for what I might like. I may not know what my options are, because again I'm not super committed to learning everything there is about this hobby, so having someone tell me about what's out there is really helpful. Don't assume that I know. And if I come in with an idea about something, and its super off base, tell me in a polite way that doesn't make me feel dumb. Offer an alternative that is more appropriate, and tell me why.

 

Lastly, don't push me to purchase something we've been talking about. I operate on a really tight budget and I like to mull things over. Usually I end up coming back to buy the item, and I never expect things to be held for me, but I do like it when shop employees/owners let me purchase at my own pace.

 

The shops that I frequent are masters at these things, and I appreciate them so very much for it.

[TheNanoReef]

I appreciate the feedback. I try to always keep a good attitude about the competition. and most of them have been kind to me. I came from a marketing background and i am fully aware about the dangers of bashing ones competition.

 

in a way i am proud of the shops here in Portland. I think the only other place in the USA with this much variety is in so. cali. i had a friend come up from Denver Colorado and he has to drive an hour to get to the closest shop.

 

I do appreciate the kind words, as well as the advice. i think it is so important to do research on what the customers want. Most of my business actually comes from non-club people from craigslist so i normally don't have a chance to do research.

 

As far as the extra setups and displaying stuff... my shop is tiny so i dont have much room to display (or money right now). but if you come into my shop i am always glad to open the doors and curtains and show people the methods we use. i agree it is a great idea. maybe if the accountant next door moves out i will rent that spot for a show room

 

and to CA2OR- dude, i know where you are coming from. I started my shop from the perspective of a customer. i know how annoying that can be. i recommend taking a day and doing the portland LFS tour and see if things have changed. sometimes saturday can be crazy and it can be hard to help everyone on a personal level but i think we all try, i know i do.

 

If your upset with the way you were treated somewhere please let them know. I want feedback. if i pissed someone off i want to do my best to make it right. I think any good store would want that opportunity.

 

Rick- Tanks for teachers, we sell corals on their plugs and help them get the supplies they need. I agree if a shop has a resource they can use they should do it. I think there are other shops that help TFT as well.

[CA2OR]

Re: Question of Shopping Online vs Local Shop

 

Where are you located? Just might have to swing by

 

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[Rick]

...

Rick- Tanks for teachers, we sell corals on their plugs and help them get the supplies they need. I agree if a shop has a resource they can use they should do it. I think there are other shops that help TFT as well.

 

Thanks for the support. I intentionally left off the list of ones I knew of because of newer shops like yours that I may not have seen in the past couple of months. I know 2 others that almost always provide support to the community and a third that does so frequently. On the other hand I know 3 or 4 that don't even respond to requests to help out so I seldom go to those shops. I haven't been to your shop yet however your not too far from me so it's just a matter of time. I'll be sure to let you know. (I usually don't until I visit a few times)

[jackaninny]

I would not suggest doing this. The only purpose of this is to make the shopper feel guilty about shopping around. I.E. I would consider it bad mouthing the competition and walk out. It's also way too subjective. (In the list at the beginning of this thread everything can be swapped between both columns except for being able to see the livestock) I.E. You get some good and bad online dealers and the same thing applies to LFS. Some online dealers are super good at dealing with warranty or support issues and some LFS are lacking greatly in this area. Like most of us I shop almost exclusively local (for this hobby I bought one glass bit online that would have cost $200 plus to get locally). Therefore the LFS competition for most of us isn't really online but rather it is which local store we choose to shop anyway. (You ought to know this before you even consider opening a business)

 

Hmmm...that's interesting I never looked at it as bad mouthing the competition but I guess it could be construed that way. I'm not sure I would have any real combative points on the signs. Just things like local people to do face-to-face conversation with, a local phone call to discuss problems and a local place to pickup the solutions to those problems, thriving LFS means a better local coral selection you get to look at in person instead of having to trust the camera work on a website. Bottom line the 'L' in LFS is the difference in the local v. online battle and a shop owner needs to communicate to their customers what exactly that means.

[reefboy]

I was going to stay out of this but I have to state a few facts my corals stand up not my pictures or cam skills or Id be done and as anyone here who knows me and who deals with me they have full access via email or phone or to come visit.I see some of your points but it's competition plain and simple and everyone wants a deal so you need to learn to adjust and get those customers coming back as here I am in Medford getting some of your business and its not do to my fancy camera tricks on the web.

[CA2OR]

Re: Question of Shopping Online vs Local Shop

 

I agree that patronizing local will improve selection but at the same time I for one am not rich so when I buy coral I want something nice so I turn to either former locals or online. At the same time I don't buy from just any onlines....never bought from cherry, unique, juicy,or any of those....I buy from Vivid because I have spent over $5k in person there before the $5k online...but I have repour there and them with me. Some here have managed to do the same...but sadly it is few.

 

But like I said, with me...stores don't "steal me" they give me up. I patronize till I lose interest or respect.

 

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[Emerald525]

I was going to stay out of this but I have to state a few facts my corals stand up not my pictures or cam skills or Id be done and as anyone here who knows me and who deals with me they have full access via email or phone or to come visit.I see some of your points but it's competition plain and simple and everyone wants a deal so you need to learn to adjust and get those customers coming back as here I am in Medford getting some of your business and its not do to my fancy camera tricks on the web.

 

Totally agree Jody. Sometimes your pictures do suck LOL! It's always nice when you get in the mail something nicer than the picture!(clap)

 

When someone "enhances" their online pictures, I will figure it out. I'm not stupid and will likely not continue doing business with you!

 

And I agree with Rick about supporting the local community. That's actually what made me start checking out TECO corals to begin with.

[Rick]

Hmmm...that's interesting I never looked at it as bad mouthing the competition but I guess it could be construed that way. I'm not sure I would have any real combative points on the signs. Just things like local people to do face-to-face conversation with' date=' a local phone call to discuss problems and a local place to pickup the solutions to those problems, thriving LFS means a better local coral selection you get to look at in person instead of having to trust the camera work on a website. Bottom line the 'L' in LFS is the difference in the local v. online battle and a shop owner needs to communicate to their customers what exactly that means.[/quote']

 

Done creatively this could work provided none of the points are subjective or could be viewed as being subjective. That next customer might do a lot of online business and have a good rapport with them though and not being careful could drive them back out the door.

[jackaninny]

I was going to stay out of this but I have to state a few facts my corals stand up not my pictures or cam skills or Id be done and as anyone here who knows me and who deals with me they have full access via email or phone or to come visit.I see some of your points but it's competition plain and simple and everyone wants a deal so you need to learn to adjust and get those customers coming back as here I am in Medford getting some of your business and its not do to my fancy camera tricks on the web.

 

You are exactly right about the competition point but I'm not sure anyone would put you in the "online" side of the online v. local discussion. I only say that because 1)you are active here on the board and in the club 2)people on the board have sung your praises in their personal testimonials after TECO transactions 3)by virtue of being an pure online store you can offer corals that some local shops cannot because you can present these offerings to an internet wide audience. All of these are pretty huge factors in allowing you to straddle both sides of the local and online worlds. I can think of a couple of other local players that are moving more to your model and away from retail-bricks and mortar.

 

I think I detected a little defensiveness in your post aimed at my camera/pictures point and that certainly was a broad brush that I was painting with in my comment. I think it's VERY relevant to the discussion based on the endless posts about poor "photo-shopped" online experiences. It was certainly NOT aimed at you and most people reading this thread know about your excellent reputation.

[reefboy]

I understand post's can be vague so thanks for the comments and clarifying as I was a little defensive lol..