any way to find out prices of... fish/coral HELP

They don't understand the actual costs of running a business, though. The vast majority of people have zero involvement with the finances of the businesses they work for, and don't realize every little cost, the risk of loss at any given point during transit without reimbursment, the cost of running hundreds of light bulbs, pumps, heaters, chillers, thousands of gallons of water used per month (then multiplied by 4 to add waste from RODI; my LFS runs a 90GPD membrane nearly 24/7/365 to keep up with their needs), rent of thousands+ per month, interest on any startup loans taken, and every other business factor I didn't mention.

Consider this. I work for a jewelry store. A few things are wholesale at 1/2 of MSRP. The actual cost of keeping those goods in the store is more like 3/4 of MSRP, because of all the stupid stuff people don't realize about the business. The entirety of the displays in the store cost over $20k, and last about 5 to 10 years - a cost people have no idea about. The lighting system for the cabinets alone cost $10k. Insurance monthly is astronomical, there's alarm companies to pay, and an engraving machine that's well over $15k. Then there's the cost of running a steam cleaner (constant electricity draw to keep water above boiling), an ultrasonic (again, heated water), computers, a cost to have someone set stones (the cost of setting alone is usually $100 plus for any more than a single stone), a cost to have someone do goldsmithing work (jeweling, which is also expensive, and a totally different skill set than setting). The majority of this stuff comes "free" to the customer (we have a ring you like, and it's a size off, we get it sized for you), but eats into the profit margin like you would not believe. Imagine, a $3k ring, bought at $2k, that needs to be sized (realistically, $100). That's 10% of the before-tax, before-operating-cost, before-cost-to-close-up-shop-one-day-a-week-to-go-to-manhattan-to-actually-bring-the-ring-to-get-sized profit gone, just to size the ring one size down!

Employees then need to be paid (not a problem at either the local jeweler or my LFS, since they're both operated only by the owners). Then, all of these costs (for either store) need to be paid for after 40%+ of the income of the business is taken in taxes. What's left is what the owners take home, which is then taxed again, possibly at 25%+.

This is why people don't get to see trade secrets like wholesale prices, at least on a regular basis. They don't know that the costs above and beyond those prices is absolutely enormous, since 95% of them have absolutely no experience in running a business of any type whatsoever, and can't even fathom what the real profit margin is.

 

i agree with the this but so what if people think their lfs is "screwing" them. if where else can they get exotic salt water fish for cheeper. online is the cheepest but with the shipping charge of like 40 bucks it makes sense to just buy from the LFS. i originally asked this question because i was curious about various wholesale prices and what the RAW fish alone cost. i know and i think most know that a business has certain expenses and that you lfs is not under any circumstances getting rich off of you.

 

They might be ripping you off. On the other hand, they might be making $1 and hope you buy some food, some Phosban, and a magazine that has actual markup. Knowing the wholesale price of a fish won't tell you a single thing. Low volume LFS's have to charge more. Stores further from LA or Miami have to charge more because their shipping prices are higher. If you want a rare fish that doesn't ship well, your LFS is going to NFO that shipment. That's a considerable cost. It's also a considerable risk. You might look at that fish and say, "I don't like it" and now they have a very expensive fish to sell.

 

I think most people on here are able to understand that wholesale and retail are completely different things. Why do you think walmart is so cheap. They can order any other competitor under the table and therefore can have low prices. The more volume the lower the overheard. I don't think it hurts do understand the mark-up you LFS is making. They obviously can't charge wholesale prices but I have two LFS in my area and one is about 300% more on both fish and corals as the other. I only go to the more expensive one if I need to quickly pick something up. However if other customers new how much of a mark up they do they may look to another place. They charge like $45 for a frag of zoas and $50-60 for a flame angel.

 

But here's the problem: you have no idea what they pay wholesale (different wholesalers), and you don't know what portion of their markup is costs and what part is profit. There's a reason this information is considered a trade secret in literally every single industry - because it's enormously damaging to anyone except the biggest chains.

I mean, you say that other LFS has a 300% markup and sells flame angels for 50-60, but what are their expenses? Do they have to support 10 employees with full benefits? Do they live in a township where they have to comply with crazy local laws? I wouldn't automatically say their business is taking all of that extra markup as profit.

 

What exactly are we discussing here?

 

The possible damages of actually releasing wholesale price information to the public at large, after some wholesale info got posted to respond to the original question.

 

Ah.

If I am a seller and I want to say "I paid "$$" for a fish, but this is what I'm charging you", that's within my right.

It wouldn't be kosher to run around town with a printed stock list from a particular wholesalers.

 

If you are a hobbyist and feel that your LFS is ripping you off, just open up a LFS and charge less than them. Tons of hobbyists have done this in the SoCal area. It's great for the hobbyist, brought prices down and none of them are making the big bucks as they anticipated. Many of them have gone out of business. The most successful stores in SoCal still have the highest prices!

 

And there's a reason for it. Those higher priced stores know how to run a business, while the others thought they could do better without knowing any of the details.