Dr. Foster and Smith warehouse and website closure.

[ScooterV]

That explains why when I tried to call LA yesterday on an order I had placed I got only a message stating customer service was closed for the day for employee meetings and I should try again the next day. I don't think this bodes well long term for Diver's Den either. Doesn't seem like it would fit into their core business and be removed at some point

 

[Z3speed4me]

I have NEVER checked Petco.com for fish... although I did just look and noticed the prices are "close"

 

[Livinlocal]

I’m not sure if anybody here who is part of the huge Petco sale a month or two ago, but they sold 200 gallon buckets of tropic marin pro for only $35. I bought 10 buckets, and they were the new label.

I am going to take a guess they were trying to clear out DFS’s salt

 

[BZOFIQ]

but they sold 200 gallon buckets of tropic marin pro for only $35. I

That's insane - I would have done the same

 

[Pntbll687]

Acquisitions like this are happening across the industry.

Central Brands (aqueon, coralife, Kaytee, zodiac, ect) has bought up some small animal and fish suppliers recently. Rumor is that they acquired the contract to fill small animal and fish orders for petsmart and possibly petco.

 

[Opus]

I’m not sure if anybody here who is part of the huge Petco sale a month or two ago, but they sold 200 gallon buckets of tropic marin pro for only $35. I bought 10 buckets, and they were the new label.

I am going to take a guess they were trying to clear out DFS’s salt

Did you happen to check the shipping to see if they came from the DFS warehouse?

 

[TerraFerma]

I think I saw in a Petco earnings print a while back that Liveaquaria has never been in the black - so wouldn't be shocking if they shut it down. Wouldn't be a terrible thing - everyone else is getting squeezed by a subsidized loss making livestock seller with ridiculously low free shipping mins and an easy refund if your item dies within two weeks. Plus for me at least the quality of their livestock hasn't been great for some years.

 

[Tailfisher]

dang , that really sucks. They have been in business for many decades.

 

[mich2599]

Use 15RXJAN for 15% off works for AI, Ecotech, Gyre....

 

[BZOFIQ]

That's pretty sad, buy yeah they bought out competition, they will shut it down and force people to local stores where the prices are very different. Won't affect me much as I dont remember last time I bought from them but yeah, I spent decent amount of money with them in my early stages of fresh and saltwater hobby along with supplies for our beloved Boxer (R.I.P Puffer)

I've also ordered previously from LA but thats staying online - for now.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Petco and Petsmart and related mass merchandiser models are the single largest reason we are having fish disease problems in the distribution chain. The reason is they own the distribution chain including Quality Marine and Seagrest Farms. Mass merchandisers are not equipped to sell live stock of any kind. They are a major cause of destruction of the local fish store and it's relationship with customers. This has always been a bad business model from day one. I have always restricted my purchases from either source. I will only buy fish from a local aquarium store or trusted source. That means I have to sometimes drive 6 hours to buy fish or corals so I can support fish stores that do a great job in handling the livestock. Buying from Live Aquaria or Divers Den only perpetuates this problem in the distribution chain. If you want change or better supply stop using mass merchandising companies that are not equipped to handle livestock. Actually stop using Petco and Petsmart period.

Purchase closer to the source as much as possible like collectors, mariculture, propagation or breeding facilities. The quality of livestock and relationship to people who actually care about the fish, invertebrates, and corals will help to strengthen the supply chain.

Central Pet and Central Brands are all in the mix of controlling the distribution of pet products in the United States. They have done much to kill the quality of products offered through local pet stores. They also are responsible for the vertical integration of the supply chain. This has just increased the level of cheap low quality products offered at many pet stores. And they then have to compete with Petco and Petsmart who buy the same low quality products in larger volume which hurts the local store that has the same product on the shelf. No local store can afford a "dollar a gallon" sale twice a year on the very same products Central sold them at a much higher cost. Then they wonder why they are not competing with the local mass merchandiser?;Blackeye

 

[BGrand]

So... I checked the DFS website. Pretty much everything on sale. From 40-75% off...
Some prices are better than others, but worth a look

Thanks just bought three different Hanna Checkers and got 25% of each one!

 

[Z3speed4me]

Funny how a flea and tick coupon works for radions.... too bad I don't need any

 

[shred5]

I guess i was wrong on this:
Doesn't say anything about LA or DD though.

http://www.wxpr.org/post/petco-clos...ZYgI7dojHY1uMO-thqi2_2fYeOH9tu1kJ1EA#stream/0

 

[Matt Carden]

 

[shred5]

Has anyone noticed that Petco has silently started selling marine fish again on their website? Petco always used the same distributor as LA even prior to the acquisition (Quality Marine).

I am almost positive they stopped for quite a while after the acquisition. I've been watching, their available fish are growing. The selection is still not very large, but I've noticed a progression. Perhaps this is unrelated, but perhaps they're trying to compare net profit from each source to evaluate. It could also be a way to capture more market share. Or, it may be one of the first signs that LA and DD are either going to be sold or closed.

I wasn't initially alarmed by Live Aquaria changing their warranty/guarantees on fish. Their customer service has taken a bit of a dive, in my opinion. This indicates to me, at a minimum, that they're changing the business model. Whether that's the "save it" or to "drive traffic back to Petco some day" I do not know. It could simply be that people were taking advantage of them, and they would like to turn a better profit. My understanding is that they've never been very profitable.

On the other hand, I could be wrong in my assumption that Petco stopped selling fish online for a while, although I am 90% sure I am correct. I know for sure that over the past few months, they went from having 20-30 fish species available to the 81 they now show:

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/category/fish/live-fish/live-saltwater-fish

Has it been confirmed they bought quality marine?

 

[4FordFamily]

Has it been confirmed they bought quality marine?

No, sorry -- Quality Marine is the supplier of Live Aquaria's fish (most of them). They were also the wholesaler for Petco, petsolutions.com, and many others. They have not purchased QM.

 

[shred5]

No, sorry -- Quality Marine is the supplier of Live Aquaria's fish (most of them). They were also the wholesaler for Petco, petsolutions.com, and many others. They have not purchased QM.

OK because I heard some where else to that they had but it was never confirmed.
Worried me because my lfs gets some stuff from QM and that would hurt them.
They can get me anything pretty much and cheaper than LA.

 

[Squeaky McMurdo]

I’ve ordered fish online from Petco before. I got 3 fish shipped free with my $8 repeat delivery of Kent minerals on different occasions. They got wise to my trick and it didn’t work when my kid added an eel to my repeat delivery right before Christmas.

 

[bsagea]

Sorry for their employees for sure! Unfortunately, IMO the take-over by PETCO was the worse thing they could have done. Their livestock and customer service was NOTHING like it was before PETCO took them over. I too heard that they were trying to acquire Quality Marine. Hopefully that will never happen!