Seeing as many of you guys go there, a couple days ago I decided to give it a peek. It’s about an hour away but I need to try a new LFS.
So we arrived and I was impressed at the number of tank, although alot was under construction which is reasonable. I didnt know where the corals and salts were so i was like omg i hope i didnt take the trip and they are redoing it all.
Also I found the fish and corals, overall the tanks were in good shape. Most prices were decent , the coral frag rack i found that maybe instead of 2 20$ racks one should of been a 10$ rack. Bc some of the frags were def not worth 20$ and 10$ would of been a perfect price…There was though great pieces for 20$. But no biggie it was all good. I give a good rating and would recommend to a friend to go there,
I agree some of the frags in the $20 tank could go for $10.
The staff not being knowledgable is concerning as most of them are members in this club.
Are you sure the “random person” was just a customer? Many of us spend a lot of extra time just hanging out while we’re in the store and could appear as normal customers. I was in last night and the exact situation occured, however the “random person” happened to be Ken, who I believe most of us regardless of experience in the hobby would defer to him in order to not only get the correct generic name, but also the scientific name and particular care requirements.
I find the fact that the employee asked someone more knowledgeable then he to be a huge plus and not a negative as the employee was ensuring the customer got the best information readily available.
I hope i did not come off as thinking the store was anything but great. I just thought the guy helping me could of thought about it a sec, b4 asking. I did not take into consideration that members did go there. I did just think it was a random person, but they were all nice and courtious. I def will go back.
I dont know i really didnt wanna come off mean, or thinking DPA wasnt great
No worries. I may have a little more info as I spend a lot of time around the store. Some of the things in the frag tanks came from members here and often times we are going to be more knowledgable then the store employee.
Take the time to talk to some of the other employees and you will see that comparatively they have the smartest employees in the area (when it comes to fish and coral anyway).
yea i should have taken more time, i was a lil tired from the drive. I am going back saturday really quick, so i will def introduce myself and talk a little
i think the prices are extremely reasonable for a LFS. i’ve done comparisons to the other fish stores in the area and DPA is 50-75% cheaper for live stock not mention the quality…i’ve seen GSP and candy canes for sale at just fish for 100$+ not to mention billy at greenbanks prices are significantly higher as well. all in all i agree with your opinions just not on the frags i mean it’s a store and a markup of 35-40% is perfectly sound considering the live stock isn’t insured and can die easily. can’t expect to get wholesale prices at a retail outlet
[quote=“andrewk529, post:8, topic:2042”]
it would be but i’ve never seen a 10$ frag rack at any local store…obtaining those prices from fellow hobbyists is more common[/quote]
I’ve seen $10 racks @ LFS before, but they generally don’t last long in the store. Probably due to either a low profit margin or a lack of inexpensive supply.
Im one of the biggest DPA fans and i spend WAY to much time and money there and you know what? I agree with you. A lot of their “coral nuggets” are budget corals and should be priced at $10 and not $20. The coral tanks can also look very beat up and picked over at times. There is absolutely nothing wrong with expressing constructive criticisms. DPA is popular for a reason but its FAR from perfect. I feel that constructive criticism might motivate an owner/manager to make improvements whereas only praising a store that needs obvious improvements might lead to complacency. Like you mentioned, Charlie is doing a lot of construction and constantly making improvements which is hard in this economy. The liverock station is new(and very nice IMO) and they are installing a new coral section with all brand new Ice Cap T5 and MH lighting. The reason i like DPA so much is because of the staff(im not sure what your comment was regarding this due to your edit), LOW prices(lowest around by far IMO), and quality livestock.
I feel that im a loyal DPA customer and i try to give them every opportunity to meet my needs as a hobbyist. However, its not blind loyalty. If i dont feel appreciated as a customer or if a store is not able to get me the animals/dry goods that i need i have no problems going somewhere else. As it stands, though, Charlie, Andy and the rest of his staff have gone out of there way time and time again to get me things that they dont carry quickly and almost always at the same price it would cost me online. There are a lot of perks to be had with establishing a relationship with your LFS. The guys that “coupon shop” and would rather save a nickel than support their LFS will never understand that and never enjoy these perks.
yea, i felt kinda bashed for saying something negative about the store, in the sense none of you guys really know me, and i dont wanna give off the impression that im an ass. I do support my LFS, and them mainly being Frazer Zoo, capt nemos and East Coast Aquatics. and frankly both have their downsides as well, and you are dead on, loyalty will get you benefits beyond any coupon… I am not cheap, i buy whatever coral i want regardless of price and if i deem worth it. I got a great galaxea coral and toadstool. and i felt it was a great deal. but there were some zoas that had 1 polyp that werent anything spectacular for 20$ as well. Thats were the 10$ frags came in mind.
That being said, they had corals on hold for someone and i thought that was great, i love when a LFS does that for a loyal customer. But i do feel once a month it is worth the hour trip down to see whats new.
Like i said , i hope no one gets the wrong idea or impression about me.
Like i said , i hope no one gets the wrong idea or impression about me.
your fine man. sometimes people forget that we all dont have to have the same opinions. as long as criticism is constructive and accurate, it should be welcome. FWIW, i consider myself to be one of DPA’s biggest fans and i think your comments were accurate and constructive.
yea, i felt kinda bashed for saying something negative about the store
i dont think you got bashed, but i could see you were kind of retreating and thats why i put my :TWOCENTS in! unfortunately, this hobby, and forum specifically, has a history of d-bags creating posts with no intentions other than to slam and flame a particular store with little or no accuracy or truthfullness. i think because of this people are quick to defend the reputation of their favorite LFS. IMO, thats all that happened here, i dont think anyone was attacking you or your opinions.
there is no lfs in this half of the country that couldnt use some tweaking. and a huge thumbs up to DPA for trying to improve and freshen up some things in these times!!! believe me, its not easy. (but always well worth it in the end!!!) i say good job DPA, and aside from the edited part of your post (i didnt get to read it…) there is nothing wrong at all with what was said.
DPA rocks most of the time, most of the stuff is greatly priced.
I’d love to see a $10 frag rack, I think they could sell more than letting some sit on the $20 rack, but thats IMO.
Can’t wait till the new section is up![/quote]
I'm with Ian DPA is awesome all the guys over there are great. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEW SECTION TO BE UP AND RUNNING. New live rock tank coming along nicely!!!
Oh yeah, i spend lots of time at DPA too. Can’t seem to stay away. Ive encourged them on the $20 frag rack, because its an affordable way to add to your genetic diversity at a low price. at that rack we are not buying a “Show Piece” coral, but rather a seedling to grow one from. Just like in garden nurseries, the price is proportional to the size which is proportional to the time, cost and energy invested to grow it to any given size. and also to the rarity, or color or desireable growth structure of the coral. So i have always loved going to stores that have low priced starter frags of interesting corals. i have patience and am willing to grow them.
Many people do want a show piece right now for their big new tank and are willing to pay for it. That’s fine too. But when i go out of my way to go to any store like ECA or DPA or TFP that has a stocked $20 rack, i Usually come home with at least one of something different i dont have, to make the trip worth while.
Buying genetic diversity. In the past, i have had broken pieces of frags with a few polyps, grow to overtake a tank in time. DNA is repetative.
Oh thanks for the tout yous guys, but i dont really know all the names and stuff. I just grow what I can. Then i just ask my friends Andy and the Toms and Charlie at DPA what heck they are. They know much more than me. My memory is just…A… Memory. I just like the way the corals and fish look!